I have been at site for almost two months now. I have totally settled into my little house. I have shockingly (for anyone that experienced my apartment while at Fresno State…) become a little bit of clean freak, because I feel like the cleaner the house is, the less bugs there are. And nobody likes cockroaches the size of your big toe. I sort of have a routine going…I get up every day at around 6:15, work out (duh), go to work (?), and come home in the afternoon, relax/go to the market/maybe finish my workout, cook dinner, mess around on the computer or watch a TV show, and then go to bed around 9:30. So basically, I’ve turned into an old lady.
So why does work have a question mark, you ask? That’s because my work situation is…a work in progress, to say the least. I know I’ve explained before that I work at he nursing school and teach a nutrition class, which is pretty cool. This, however, does not fill all my time. I only teach my class on Monday and Tuesday afternoons, which means I spend a large part of my week sitting at a desk. They are very short staffed at the nursing school and need a lot more help than I can provide. I know they could really benefit from an actual nurse, and unfortunately, that’s not me, which makes me feel a little helpless at times. And I also get very anxious sitting all day, because I am terrible at sitting still, and as my neighbor tells me, “I have too much energy”. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy teaching my class, but I have also been looking for other opportunities to get involved in the community for side projects, or better yet, ways to get involved that also include the nursing students. I haven’t quite found this yet, but I’ll keep you all updated.
So my next stop on this work finding journey was to go to the hospital. The hospital doesn’t have a dietitian, so it seems like the perfect opportunity right? I thought so. I talked to a few people there, but it seemed like I got a lot of suggestions that I work in the kitchen and help cook. I suggested that I work with patients, and I didn’t really seem to get a lot of positive reinforcement for that idea, and as it turns out, most people (even some of the nurses), don’t actually know what an RD is, and think that I’m just a glorified cook/food prep person. Imagine my feeling of defeat when I found that out.
This did help explain some of the pushback I was getting, however. Equipped with this new knowledge, I was finally able to talk to the nurse in charge and explain what a RD does and what I wanted to do at the hospital. After all, it’s not like they are paying me, so what do they care if I talk to patients instead of working in the kitchen anyway? So I set up an appointment to meet with matron and discuss a work plan and schedule…only to show up and find out matron wasn’t there. A couple more days and appointments later, I found out she is on leave, so I guess I will aim to start working next week? Wish me luck that everything falls into place.
On a more positive note, I got a kitten!!!!! His name is Curry, a.ka. Monkey or Curry Monster, and he is the cutest little monkey there ever was. I’ve had him almost four weeks now (wow, I do suck at keeping this thing updated), and he is almost eight weeks old. The first week was hard since he was so tiny and had to be fed every couple hours, but now, he’s just a regular old crazy kitten terrorist. He eats four big meals a day and eats like he hasn’t been fed in years. He uses the litter box like a big cat, and if it’s too dirty for his liking, he goes pee on the floor. He’s been earning his keep by killing cockroaches and GIANT green grasshopper things. And today, he figured out how to get on the couch all by himself! Although this makes me sound like a crazy cat lady, it’s been really nice having a little friend to hang out with me when I’m alone, even if it is just a cat.
Otherwise, everything is business as usual. Things that shocked me when I first got here just seem like normal life now, and I’ve gotten pretty good at navigating my way around New Amsterdam, as well as using public transportation. Certain things still get to me a little, like the constant kissy noises and being called “white girl”, or even better, “white meat”, but I’ve gotten a lot better at ignoring it, which seems good. I’ve really been enjoying how fresh all the produce is, and after making pumpkin cookies and oatmeal with real pumpkin, I can say that I’m never going back to canned pumpkin again. I’m also currently working on becoming a vegetarian, which is actually pretty easy here, so that’s a plus! All in all, nothing too terribly exciting to report.
During training, one of the speakers (I can’t remember exactly who…oops) said “The days go slow, but the months go fast”, and I definitely feel like they were right. As hard as many of the days have seemed so far, there have also been good days that make up for it, and those are the days are what make the time go by.
Thanks for reading!
P.S.
How have I gone my whole life not knowing about the YouTube to mp3 converter?!?! I feel like my life will never be the same again. Mind = blown.
Life in Guyana, Just Now 