Are you f'n kidding me? I swear, did I really get my Ph.D. for this? What the hell???? So, this has been my day - Go to the office. When I say my floor is sticky, it's like a rat trap where you can't get one foot up off the floor without holding on to something to brace yourself while prying your foot off. Some of the students have tried going barefoot, so sure, I'll try that - Um, no, that just feels like my skin is going to peel off. I'll risk breaking my shoes instead. (Two people have already broken their cheap flip flops on my floor!)
You're thinking, yo, Dr. Wendy, dumbass, put down some cardboard or something. Yeah, asked for that. Asked for anything. I tried to get cardboard from the stores on campus. Nogat. Everything is taken around here. If it's useable, reusable, or can be modified, it's taken.... with the exception of plastic garbage bags which just seem to be everywhere, but I digress.
I had the final debate coordination meeting in my office to figure out the logistics of all these people coming in from all over PNG. It was to start at 9, but I know better. I got my petty cash check Wednesday and just needed to get it cashed. Uni owes me so much money and I just can't keep fronting cash. I decide to go to the bank first thing and come late to the meeting.
I get a call from a girl from PSI, which is an NGO that does men's health that has agreed to help out with education stuff for the debates. YES! I'm getting help!!! So while in town, I go to the bank, swing by the travel agent (yipee, I got CONFIRMED tickets for Carl and the girls.... focus on the positives, focus on the positives!!!), and then picked up Jovitha from PSI on the way.
I get to the office, expecting to have everyone show for this final meeting... as in we need to finalize all this shit for Sunday. The head people from the National Aids Council Secretariat, who are in town, who said they would be there, decided not to come. Um, ok. So, when we review flight times for people arriving and realize we have a group coming in at 6:30 and yet we're to have stuff on campus from 2-4, well, that doesn't work, now does it? I finally snapped.
Here's the thing. Yeah, my blog is pretty snippy and snarky and pessimistic. It's probably because I keep my mouth shut and keep a smile plastered on my face most of the time at uni. I contribute in that upbeat, positive way...yeah, I'm a team player! Lucy hears me mumble and rant and tends to laugh at her crazy American "bos meri". I think she has Spidey-sense of when I'm about to go off, though.
So, finally in the meeting as we're going around in circles, and after one of the guys is calling the head people for NACS, I just said this is bullshit and we're changing the schedule. We're moving adjudication training to Monday. We're canceling trips to town unless NACS has already coordinated with organizations as we're not taking on anything else. We're changing the time for the debates, because, um, I don't know about you, but when I do the math... 8 minutes x 6 speakers = minimum 48 minutes for a debate. Plus time for people to get to the venue, settle in to start, and have a person to introduce the two teams.... We just need more time. I shuffled some things around, moved lunch up a half hour, and moved a debate until later.
I know part of this is actually futile, as time in PNG is loosely translated, but last year in Madang, we did actually keep it going fairly on schedule. I reiterated that when the bus needs to pick up students at the hotel at 6:30 am, the bus needs to be pulling away at 6:30 am. Breakfast is served at uni at 7. If the students are left behind the first day, they'll learn. That's the way we got it to work in Madang and we need to do that again this year.
Anyway, we got through the meeting, organized as much as we could without the people actually sponsoring the thing in attendance. Whatever. I just cant beat myself up over something that is just out of my control. It's just so frustrating.
I take Jovitha back to town.... now lunchtime and no one is still at my office from maintenance. I can only raise my voice to the secretary so many times before she just stops answering the phone. Lucy just starting walking over there. They can't lock their doors, too! So the "reason" they haven't come over is that they have no stripping stuff and no money to buy it. Okay.... so I tell Lucy to have them give a list of what we need. I go to hardware store to get turpentine and some other cans of stuff and then Lucy tells me they said to get rags, too. Fuck.
So, I stop on the side of the road where a second hand store has a pile of clothes on the grass. I hop out, dig through my wallet and tell them to give me k20 worth of t-shirts for rags. I'm kind of in the back industrial section of town so I realize English isn't cutting it. Between the guy with missing teeth that was standing around and a girl that worked at the store exchanging Tok Pisin and me gesturing what I need.... well, it wasn't pretty. "how mas?" as I waved at the pile. K1. Okay... so I just started grabbing and counting. I pulled twenty tossing them into the back of the ute, while trying to cover the fact that I had my laptop sitting there as well.
I called Lucy on the way telling her to get maintenance at the office NOW. I'm on my way... it's nearly 1:30 and uni closes at 4:06. Yes, government hours.... I just need my floor as a walkable surface. It doesn't have to be pretty, but dammit, the floor needs to be functional! I've got training in there the week after next and, well, next week, I'm just a tad busy with debates from 6:30 am - post dinner. Come on, people, part of the reason I like PNG is the passivity and non-urgency of everyday things, but oh, occasionally, shit needs to get done.
It's just combining it all. It's just when trying to drive, two more roads were closed so as I try to cut through town, there are no signs and we all end up down the main f'ng road in town and all have to do a u-turn. THIS IS THE MAIN ROAD IN TOWN. How can you close it without some alternative??? The stupid contractors just don't communicate with each other. (Side note, apparently the other day contractors closed roads where cars actually got stuck in the middle and there was a fight so they could get out.). Yeah, no shit people, we have to be able to get to one side of town to the other. We all made a u-turn and went back down around two streets.
No this wouldn't sound so bad if you're driving in Australia or some place where you have regular roads, but we're talking our roads are off-road conditions. I have to wear a sports bra to drive these streets. So when I have to go down some shit road 2 km only to make a u-turn to go back, I get a little pissy. Especially, when I have students that need practice, and a bunch of phone calls to make to ensure people will show up for the debate, and a flooded office.
Bottom line, I have two MIA debate students and have yet to have two fully functioning teams do a single practice. One guy said that worst case, he can pull in the student rep president to debate. That's just lovely as we picked the final six, plus two adjudicators, plus a student coordinator. You'd think we'd be able to get people to show up. It's just so typical. They only realize how cool it is, how how special it is after it happens, when it's kind of too late. I guess this year it's even harder as it's here in Lae. Unlike last year, these students don't get to go on a trip or stay in a nice hotel. But, still, they get a per diem, a bag of loot, and a nice hotel dinner with awards and stuff. If they do win, they get a paid internship.
I hear it from Molly about how frustrated she gets not being able to motivate students. I get it. I used to teach. But, damn, there's unmotivated, then there's UNMOTIVATED. The one guy understands and is really working towards it, only because he was on the team last year and knows what a big deal this event is nationally. He can't even convey this to his peers. WTF? And poor guy. He's the one that had to escort his friend's body back to Mt. Hagen earlier this week.
Well, maintenance never came but said they would come in on a Saturday! (Shock, gasp!) Um, okay... great. 7 am, they say. Lovely. Lucy said she'd come in for me. Bless Lucy, she's too good to me. I told her to keep track of her time and I'd make sure she gets paid.
Anyway, it's just been a completely frustrating week. I still have a bad hair cut. And my iPod died. Time for a gin and tonic or possibly a Xanax. (Focus on the positives, you can get any drug over the counter at the pharmacies here!)
You're thinking, yo, Dr. Wendy, dumbass, put down some cardboard or something. Yeah, asked for that. Asked for anything. I tried to get cardboard from the stores on campus. Nogat. Everything is taken around here. If it's useable, reusable, or can be modified, it's taken.... with the exception of plastic garbage bags which just seem to be everywhere, but I digress.
I had the final debate coordination meeting in my office to figure out the logistics of all these people coming in from all over PNG. It was to start at 9, but I know better. I got my petty cash check Wednesday and just needed to get it cashed. Uni owes me so much money and I just can't keep fronting cash. I decide to go to the bank first thing and come late to the meeting.
I get a call from a girl from PSI, which is an NGO that does men's health that has agreed to help out with education stuff for the debates. YES! I'm getting help!!! So while in town, I go to the bank, swing by the travel agent (yipee, I got CONFIRMED tickets for Carl and the girls.... focus on the positives, focus on the positives!!!), and then picked up Jovitha from PSI on the way.
I get to the office, expecting to have everyone show for this final meeting... as in we need to finalize all this shit for Sunday. The head people from the National Aids Council Secretariat, who are in town, who said they would be there, decided not to come. Um, ok. So, when we review flight times for people arriving and realize we have a group coming in at 6:30 and yet we're to have stuff on campus from 2-4, well, that doesn't work, now does it? I finally snapped.
Here's the thing. Yeah, my blog is pretty snippy and snarky and pessimistic. It's probably because I keep my mouth shut and keep a smile plastered on my face most of the time at uni. I contribute in that upbeat, positive way...yeah, I'm a team player! Lucy hears me mumble and rant and tends to laugh at her crazy American "bos meri". I think she has Spidey-sense of when I'm about to go off, though.
So, finally in the meeting as we're going around in circles, and after one of the guys is calling the head people for NACS, I just said this is bullshit and we're changing the schedule. We're moving adjudication training to Monday. We're canceling trips to town unless NACS has already coordinated with organizations as we're not taking on anything else. We're changing the time for the debates, because, um, I don't know about you, but when I do the math... 8 minutes x 6 speakers = minimum 48 minutes for a debate. Plus time for people to get to the venue, settle in to start, and have a person to introduce the two teams.... We just need more time. I shuffled some things around, moved lunch up a half hour, and moved a debate until later.
I know part of this is actually futile, as time in PNG is loosely translated, but last year in Madang, we did actually keep it going fairly on schedule. I reiterated that when the bus needs to pick up students at the hotel at 6:30 am, the bus needs to be pulling away at 6:30 am. Breakfast is served at uni at 7. If the students are left behind the first day, they'll learn. That's the way we got it to work in Madang and we need to do that again this year.
Anyway, we got through the meeting, organized as much as we could without the people actually sponsoring the thing in attendance. Whatever. I just cant beat myself up over something that is just out of my control. It's just so frustrating.
I take Jovitha back to town.... now lunchtime and no one is still at my office from maintenance. I can only raise my voice to the secretary so many times before she just stops answering the phone. Lucy just starting walking over there. They can't lock their doors, too! So the "reason" they haven't come over is that they have no stripping stuff and no money to buy it. Okay.... so I tell Lucy to have them give a list of what we need. I go to hardware store to get turpentine and some other cans of stuff and then Lucy tells me they said to get rags, too. Fuck.
So, I stop on the side of the road where a second hand store has a pile of clothes on the grass. I hop out, dig through my wallet and tell them to give me k20 worth of t-shirts for rags. I'm kind of in the back industrial section of town so I realize English isn't cutting it. Between the guy with missing teeth that was standing around and a girl that worked at the store exchanging Tok Pisin and me gesturing what I need.... well, it wasn't pretty. "how mas?" as I waved at the pile. K1. Okay... so I just started grabbing and counting. I pulled twenty tossing them into the back of the ute, while trying to cover the fact that I had my laptop sitting there as well.
I called Lucy on the way telling her to get maintenance at the office NOW. I'm on my way... it's nearly 1:30 and uni closes at 4:06. Yes, government hours.... I just need my floor as a walkable surface. It doesn't have to be pretty, but dammit, the floor needs to be functional! I've got training in there the week after next and, well, next week, I'm just a tad busy with debates from 6:30 am - post dinner. Come on, people, part of the reason I like PNG is the passivity and non-urgency of everyday things, but oh, occasionally, shit needs to get done.
It's just combining it all. It's just when trying to drive, two more roads were closed so as I try to cut through town, there are no signs and we all end up down the main f'ng road in town and all have to do a u-turn. THIS IS THE MAIN ROAD IN TOWN. How can you close it without some alternative??? The stupid contractors just don't communicate with each other. (Side note, apparently the other day contractors closed roads where cars actually got stuck in the middle and there was a fight so they could get out.). Yeah, no shit people, we have to be able to get to one side of town to the other. We all made a u-turn and went back down around two streets.
No this wouldn't sound so bad if you're driving in Australia or some place where you have regular roads, but we're talking our roads are off-road conditions. I have to wear a sports bra to drive these streets. So when I have to go down some shit road 2 km only to make a u-turn to go back, I get a little pissy. Especially, when I have students that need practice, and a bunch of phone calls to make to ensure people will show up for the debate, and a flooded office.
Bottom line, I have two MIA debate students and have yet to have two fully functioning teams do a single practice. One guy said that worst case, he can pull in the student rep president to debate. That's just lovely as we picked the final six, plus two adjudicators, plus a student coordinator. You'd think we'd be able to get people to show up. It's just so typical. They only realize how cool it is, how how special it is after it happens, when it's kind of too late. I guess this year it's even harder as it's here in Lae. Unlike last year, these students don't get to go on a trip or stay in a nice hotel. But, still, they get a per diem, a bag of loot, and a nice hotel dinner with awards and stuff. If they do win, they get a paid internship.
I hear it from Molly about how frustrated she gets not being able to motivate students. I get it. I used to teach. But, damn, there's unmotivated, then there's UNMOTIVATED. The one guy understands and is really working towards it, only because he was on the team last year and knows what a big deal this event is nationally. He can't even convey this to his peers. WTF? And poor guy. He's the one that had to escort his friend's body back to Mt. Hagen earlier this week.
Well, maintenance never came but said they would come in on a Saturday! (Shock, gasp!) Um, okay... great. 7 am, they say. Lovely. Lucy said she'd come in for me. Bless Lucy, she's too good to me. I told her to keep track of her time and I'd make sure she gets paid.
Anyway, it's just been a completely frustrating week. I still have a bad hair cut. And my iPod died. Time for a gin and tonic or possibly a Xanax. (Focus on the positives, you can get any drug over the counter at the pharmacies here!)
1 comments:
I'm kind of in the back industrial section of town so I realize English isn't cutting it. Between the guy with missing teeth that was standing around and a girl that worked at the store exchanging Tok Pisin and me gesturing what I need,Accutane well, it wasn't pretty.
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