The End of Ramadan

Very little happens during Ramadan.  And now, it is over.  It's all over, and I am very grateful.  The hope is that work will begin before too long, although I can't get my hopes up too much.

Krista and I went to our Dar Chebab this morning to meet with our boss.  We thought we were going to meet her yesterday but she wasn't there.  And we thought we were going to meet with her about 6 days ago, but she wasn't there then either.  So, we go to our meeting, and, what do you know, our local post-Ramadan summer camp has been cancelled.  But it's okay- because we didn't really have our hopes up, and yet we were prepared.  We had a rough outline of the daily program, and an announcement in Arabic advertising the camp.  And it feels good to be prepared, although, in this case, also fairly sisyphean.  The problem, you see, is that nobody signed up.  The possibility of a free language camp apparently doesn't fire-up any 18-25 yr. old youths. This whole development thing may be a bit harder than I thought.  Not that I'm entirely convinced English classes should be considered development.  French classes would probably be more useful.

Anyway, I'm not too worried. It looks like regular English classes will start in early October and I'll be teaching Tue, Thurs, Sat.  This is what my boss told me.

What boss?
Yes, I have a boss. My original job description had led me to believe I would work with counterparts on development work of my own design.  However, recently the Peace Corps and the local Ministry have changed their working relationship.  I sometimes forget that the PC only goes to countries that they're invited to.  I suppose that means, if they'd like to stay, they sometimes have to suck it up.  Unfortunately, when somebody is your 'boss' in a country that has a king, it means a wee bit more than it may mean in the United States.
When my newly-crowned boss tells me that I will teach three days a week, it means I'll teach three days a week, and I have to ask permission to go teach health classes at the orphanage on the other days.  I'll see how this thing works out.

People say you can't really anticipate what pc is going to be like; what the real challenges are going to be.  For example, I thought I'd be facing the prospect of living in a tiny village, but instead end up with a whole new array of issues in a rapidly-expanding urban center. I thought it would be difficult to stay aware of the important news in the world, instead, I have wireless internet and face the very real problem of being overwhelmed by articles about this asshole Paul Ryan.  But mostly, I thought the challenge would be creating work- starting something on my own. I did not expect to face the hurdle of being placed inside a hierarchy and having to ask permission to do the work I want to do.  I will not know how to respond if that permission is denied.

Anyway, this reminds me of a wonderful Emerson quote, "Shakspeare will never be made by the study of Shakspeare.  Do that which is assigned you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much."  This is why I don't like this change.

Another great Emerson quote which I need to remember when I start to lose my cool due to being stared at and yelled at and told to convert to Islam: "The power men possess to annoy me I give them by a weak curiosity.  No man can come near me but through my act."