Adjustments
Some are relatively easy (i.e. looking right-left-right instead of left-right left before crossing the street). Others are a little more difficult (i.e. remembering that my computer doesn't like to multitask and that I have to limit the number of windows I have open so that it doesn't crash). Others are even more difficult -- the one I'm having the most trouble with is adjusting to what feels like a loss of independence since I've been here.
In DC, I cook for myself, I do my own laundry, I drive/walk/bike/metro/bus wherever I want to go, whenever I want to go there. Here, my food is made by a cook, my laundry is done by a maid, and although I can matatu/walk pretty much wherever I want during the day, at night I'm dependent on taxis and my host family's driver.
The control freak (um, I mean independent spirit) part of me is just annoyed at what I see as a loss of self-sufficiency, but there's another part of me that is just really fundamentally uncomfortable with the idea of people waiting on me. I have two hands, two feet and a brain -- if I'm hungry, I should cook something and then clean it up when I'm done; if I notice I don't have any clean clothes left, I should throw them in the washing machine and then move them to the drier when I'm done. It feels really, really strange to have someone else do these things for me.
I do know that the service sector is a very important part of the economy here, and that people's livelihoods (and lives, even) depend on their jobs as cooks, maids, and drivers. And I am happy that I'm able to bring business/money into the economy, but I have to tell you, it just feels really, really weird, especially when there are people only a few kilometers away from here living in abject poverty. I doubt this is something I'll fully adjust to in my three months here (and to be honest, I'd be a little freaked out if I did).
In happier news, I'm going to Ol Donyo Sbauk National Park this weekend, so I promise photos on Monday!
In DC, I cook for myself, I do my own laundry, I drive/walk/bike/metro/bus wherever I want to go, whenever I want to go there. Here, my food is made by a cook, my laundry is done by a maid, and although I can matatu/walk pretty much wherever I want during the day, at night I'm dependent on taxis and my host family's driver.
The control freak (um, I mean independent spirit) part of me is just annoyed at what I see as a loss of self-sufficiency, but there's another part of me that is just really fundamentally uncomfortable with the idea of people waiting on me. I have two hands, two feet and a brain -- if I'm hungry, I should cook something and then clean it up when I'm done; if I notice I don't have any clean clothes left, I should throw them in the washing machine and then move them to the drier when I'm done. It feels really, really strange to have someone else do these things for me.
I do know that the service sector is a very important part of the economy here, and that people's livelihoods (and lives, even) depend on their jobs as cooks, maids, and drivers. And I am happy that I'm able to bring business/money into the economy, but I have to tell you, it just feels really, really weird, especially when there are people only a few kilometers away from here living in abject poverty. I doubt this is something I'll fully adjust to in my three months here (and to be honest, I'd be a little freaked out if I did).
In happier news, I'm going to Ol Donyo Sbauk National Park this weekend, so I promise photos on Monday!
posted by Erica at
2:37 PM
1 Comments:
You know... I hear ya on the being waited on thing, but I have to say that my landlord has a maid come once a month (I know that's not like what you're going through) who gives *everything* a good hard scrub.
I fully and openly admit that I LOVE the fact that I don't have to clean the tub all summer.
Or the toilet.
By
The Marpepps!, at 5:52 AM
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