I've always been a terrible procrastinator. In college, the semesters when my grades were less than stellar were the semesters when I didn't have a sufficient part-time job. I take the free time for granted and I procrastinate. In the end. I don't accomplish as much. Being busy in a way manages my time for me. There are only so many hours in a day to go around, and when the days are filled, I don't have the choice to sit around.
Here in the Peace Corps, I have nothing but time. And as a result, I procrastinate, a lot. For the Books For Cameroon project, we are in the process of designing library management training for the participating schools and communities. Kate has compiled materials from two different sources to create the training manual. While I've delegated the training design to Kate and the others, I still somehow ended up with the amazing job of translating 30+ pages of document into French (note the extreme sarcasm.) I just keep telling myself it will be good for my French...
I have started on the translation work and frankly, it's not that bad. But, it is a lot like in college when I have papers to write. I know all it takes is me sitting down and just doing it. Yet when I have the time to put it off, that's exactly what I've been doing...
For the past few days, I have been obsessing with thinking about life in London next year and everything that comes along with that. Oh yes, battle of graduate school is over. I made a decision to attend London School of Economics next year! Anyway, I told myself I would reserve the entire Sunday to my translation work.
Naturally, Sunday gets here and my Internet was out all day. Internet makes my life a lot easier with the online dictionary. So of course, I decided the work can start tomorrow. Old habits die hard.
It is also no wonder Cameroonians never rush to do anything and are always nonchalant about scheduling. Why bother scheduling anything when things out of your control will happen and mess up the plan?
Showing posts with label grad school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grad school. Show all posts
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
So Close, Yet So Far Away
Somehow, the end of January has sneaked upon us. That August 2010 COS (Close-of-Service) date once seemed so far away is now in the not-so-distant future. Usually, people leave a bit earlier, especially those of us that are going on to graduate school.
With an end in sight, I've been thinking of the next step. With graduate school decisions slowly rolling in, I am faced with some important decisions, and one that comes with a hefty price tag. Unless American institutions cough up some serious funding, my choices remain between schools in London and Paris. With an acceptance from the LSE (London School of Economics) in hand, the other offers will need to be quite impressive to compete. Stay tuned to the battle of gradschool!
I've been doing some research online between the different schools, accommodations, etc. One thing leads to another, and before you know it, I was looking at cell phone plans, home decor, grocery stores, gym memberships. And as I look at all these shiny websites, I realized just how far removed I am from the modern world. Everything seems incredibly foreign to me, and I had forgotten a good majority of things that even exists on the marketplace.
The re-integration process will be brutal. In roughly 7 months, gone will be the days of waking up without an alarm, and leisurely drinking coffee and easing into my mornings. Yikes, I best enjoy the remaining of quiet village life while I have it. It's a tough balance between feeling very excited about the "real world" yet being sad that this part of my life is about to come to an end and I will never experience anything like it again.
But until next summer arrives, I have got some serious work to get done! Currently, I'm teaching the third series of business classes in village. The final count of students from this round is 31! I am quite pleased. Books For Cameroon project is progressing. 20,000+ books will arrive at the end of February. Crossing fingers that all well go somewhat smoothly and that maybe, just maybe, for once Cameroonian bureaucracy and corruption will not rain on our parade.
With an end in sight, I've been thinking of the next step. With graduate school decisions slowly rolling in, I am faced with some important decisions, and one that comes with a hefty price tag. Unless American institutions cough up some serious funding, my choices remain between schools in London and Paris. With an acceptance from the LSE (London School of Economics) in hand, the other offers will need to be quite impressive to compete. Stay tuned to the battle of gradschool!
I've been doing some research online between the different schools, accommodations, etc. One thing leads to another, and before you know it, I was looking at cell phone plans, home decor, grocery stores, gym memberships. And as I look at all these shiny websites, I realized just how far removed I am from the modern world. Everything seems incredibly foreign to me, and I had forgotten a good majority of things that even exists on the marketplace.
The re-integration process will be brutal. In roughly 7 months, gone will be the days of waking up without an alarm, and leisurely drinking coffee and easing into my mornings. Yikes, I best enjoy the remaining of quiet village life while I have it. It's a tough balance between feeling very excited about the "real world" yet being sad that this part of my life is about to come to an end and I will never experience anything like it again.
But until next summer arrives, I have got some serious work to get done! Currently, I'm teaching the third series of business classes in village. The final count of students from this round is 31! I am quite pleased. Books For Cameroon project is progressing. 20,000+ books will arrive at the end of February. Crossing fingers that all well go somewhat smoothly and that maybe, just maybe, for once Cameroonian bureaucracy and corruption will not rain on our parade.
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