Skip to main content

Patience


Patience is definitely something I´ve learned and developed at a young age. In fact I’m pretty sure it´s my mother´s favorite word! Though in the past this annoyed me, I now see the value in learning how to be patient, patiently. Some people understand the concept of patience, but they simply cannot wait to see the positive outcome of their patience, with patience. I always remind myself to wait, everybody has a pace, and mine may normally be much faster, however, it doesn’t mean it´s better. Learning to wait can only bring positive things, especially when it comes to international development and capacity building.
I'm focusing on establishing relationships within the community that I´m working in before jumping into workshops. Slowly but surely I am getting a short debrief of the issues some of the women are facing individually. I have been documenting this and will keep my eyes wide open for any patterns in answers, and that will inspire the topic of my first workshop. I will most definitely stay in touch and require some help in the future. So far I´m finding it difficult to get a moment in a woman’s busy life! I have been successful when I asked them if I could help them out with cooking or cleaning, and we chat during that time. I get to learn how to cook in the process so I really and truly cannot complain, and neither can my stomach for that matter.
My progress may be a very slow process, but its progress nonetheless. It´s as if everyone’s individual story is a puzzle piece. I'm taking it a day at a time, and slowly, but surely beginning to see a bigger picture of the completed puzzle. I just need to start thinking of ways to put the pieces together, and that will not be easy.


"Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience." - El Alquimista, Paulo Cuello 

Labels:

Comments

  1. GentillefilleAugust 31, 2011 at 12:39 PM

    I love reading your blog babygirl. Everything is so much fun and interesting to read! I can't get enough of it! Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AgustinSeptember 14, 2011 at 8:58 AM

    This is very interesting. I never realized there were s many differences between Ecuador and US.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Attention

This post could be considered as my first ´´culture shock´´ experience. In the past, as a shy person, attention has never been something I looked for. However since I couldn´t help but get an abundance of it, eventually, I learned to work with it through humour, smiles and friendliness.  [cartoonstock.com ] For those of you who may not already know this, I am unusually tall for a female, and taller than most men for that matter! An old teacher used to tell me, ´´Feeling weird about your height, will only make other people feel weird about it. Strut, be proud, they will see your beauty if you feel beautiful.´´ Without shoes I stand at 6´3 inches in height. I´ve always been the tallest woman by far in every location, at school, in my neighborhood, and even in my city if you ask me. When I´m in Canada, almost every day I hear the following things: [torontodominicano.com ] Stranger : ´´Wow you are tall!´´ My response : ´´Thank you, I didn’t notice ;)´´  Strang...
5 comments
Read more

Danger

Every country has their share of crazy drivers. But here in Guayaquil, saying "just a few" is the understatement of the century. My ears eventually got used to the constant sound of beeping, and people shouting out their car windows, but that isn’t my main issue. Many of the street lights don’t work, and most the ones that do, don’t have a “walk/don’t walk” sign. When crossing the street, whether you believe it’s rightfully your turn to cross the street, you always have to be alert. Many cars don’t follow the rules, and keep driving even when it’s a red light for them. Sometimes, in the center of Guayaquil, there are more than 20 people crossing on both sides at one time, but that doesn’t seem to faze them. They simply keep driving, and people are forced to suddenly stop before them, or run across past them to not get hit. The people don’t have the right of way, and are not “royalty of the road”, as I was taught in Canada. Here in Guayaquil, the cars are in control. I almost ...
3 comments
Read more

Support

Being away from home is amazing, you get to meet new people, immerse yourself into a new culture and way of life, learn a new language and experience more newness than you’ve ever imagined. When things are going well with both your personal life and professional life, everything is pure bliss. However, recent events have made me realize, that when things begin to go wrong, and you feel upset or sad about anything for any given reason, suddenly being far away from home becomes slightly excruciating. At the pre-departure orientation for this internship over 4 months ago, the interns were warned of a “breaking point”, this might be mine. It’s strange to realize how much I rely on my support system at home; my family, fiancé, old friends, my neighbors and that familiar feeling of belonging exactly where I was. All of those things combined bring both comfort and encouragement to me, and I got so used to it, that I barely noticed how helpful and important my support system is in my day-to-...
4 comments
Read more