"It is sooooo hard not to get frustrated with how slow things can be here. What a statemnt to make as one who is SLOW HERSELF!!!
It seems there's so much to learn. There's plenty to do but it seems so little time to do...so first things first....one small patient step at a time.
A few nights ago for example...I got here at 1 pm....and wanted to do work, only to find my fan was no longer working....so one of the Sisters showed up to ask if my fan worked...when I said I wasn't sure...I was told to try it while she watched....being one who could never say a word that was interpreted as cross - especially to a Sister (inside I was dying to ask for time alone since I already had a deadline)...I reluctantly agreed - giving my work on last mournful look, and started the side track task....some 2 hours later....I made the mistake of mentioning that I would like to clean my place soon....and suddenly...there was Sister with a mop, bucket and detergent in her hands....offering to help me!
Sigh....she stayed to ensure I know how much detergent to use along with watching me carry out my tasks....soooo....not wanting to offend Sister....I first tackled cleaning the fan....and then cleaning my room...finally....when I thought I was done....WRONG!!!!....there were the Sisters kindly appearing at my door inviting me to mass.....as I knew inside I had to get my work done and had just spent over 3 hours side tracked from my work....well....after swallowing every ounce of impatience and dreaded doom that I would fail my pracitcum...I reluctantly concurred and began the process of getting ready for church...
I was told church would only be 1 hour....thinking to myself...I rationalized...welllllllll....how bad can it be to have 1 more hour of time away from work? WROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!!!!!!!!!! 3 hours later I was still in church...and silently...I laughed at my own foolish impatience...how Western I was ...but yet my Eurowestern instructors think I'm slow!....all I could do was grin and look over at Sister....and think...."what a wonderful lesson I'm learning here"...I quickly am seeing how I've bought into a somewhat western idea of time....though my sense of time remains slower than my Canadian friends....I know I have to adjust fast...or this sense of guilt over not 'working' according to western notions of work and not staying busy enough according to Algonquin notions of working will eat me up!"
It seems there's so much to learn. There's plenty to do but it seems so little time to do...so first things first....one small patient step at a time.
A few nights ago for example...I got here at 1 pm....and wanted to do work, only to find my fan was no longer working....so one of the Sisters showed up to ask if my fan worked...when I said I wasn't sure...I was told to try it while she watched....being one who could never say a word that was interpreted as cross - especially to a Sister (inside I was dying to ask for time alone since I already had a deadline)...I reluctantly agreed - giving my work on last mournful look, and started the side track task....some 2 hours later....I made the mistake of mentioning that I would like to clean my place soon....and suddenly...there was Sister with a mop, bucket and detergent in her hands....offering to help me!
Sigh....she stayed to ensure I know how much detergent to use along with watching me carry out my tasks....soooo....not wanting to offend Sister....I first tackled cleaning the fan....and then cleaning my room...finally....when I thought I was done....WRONG!!!!....there were the Sisters kindly appearing at my door inviting me to mass.....as I knew inside I had to get my work done and had just spent over 3 hours side tracked from my work....well....after swallowing every ounce of impatience and dreaded doom that I would fail my pracitcum...I reluctantly concurred and began the process of getting ready for church...
I was told church would only be 1 hour....thinking to myself...I rationalized...welllllllll....how bad can it be to have 1 more hour of time away from work? WROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!!!!!!!!!! 3 hours later I was still in church...and silently...I laughed at my own foolish impatience...how Western I was ...but yet my Eurowestern instructors think I'm slow!....all I could do was grin and look over at Sister....and think...."what a wonderful lesson I'm learning here"...I quickly am seeing how I've bought into a somewhat western idea of time....though my sense of time remains slower than my Canadian friends....I know I have to adjust fast...or this sense of guilt over not 'working' according to western notions of work and not staying busy enough according to Algonquin notions of working will eat me up!"
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