Reflections (written March 2)

DISCLAIMER - This post is not overly culturally sensitive or politically correct. Remember, these are only my views and do not represent the views of the US Government. Also, please do not run off thinking I am depressed or jaded or hate it here or anything like that. We try to keep our posts relatively upbeat, but we also want to present a realistic picture of our experience, complete with all the ups and downs associated with Peace Corps service. So here goes:

So, I have been thinking lately that there are quite a few things about life here than really bother me. Some (hugely generalized) examples are:

-The lack of freedom/control women have over their lives and their futures.
-The fact that almost all work stops for the day at 2pm, and closer to noon on Fridays to allow for prayers (I'm all about being respectful of religion, but this is a poor counry and think about the productivity loss!! There has to be a better way. For example, in some Muslim countries the weekend is Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday.).
-The low work ethic and/or pride in their work I see in many people here (for example, it is completely out of the question to expect people to work beyond normal work hours or attend attend extra meetings or workshops without significant compensation).
-The use of corporal punishment for EVERYTHING, as mentioned in an earlier post.
-The lack of value placed on indiduals' time, as mentioned in an earlier post.
-The complete lack of basic business sense, resulting in inefficient use of already scarce resources, again, as mention in an earlier post.
-The way mothers try to imitate the way nurses give children medicine by lying them on their backs and pouring medicine and/or water down their throats, essentially waterboarding their children.
-The fact that all school here is taught in English, regardless of whether the children have any knowledge of the language. This results in children who can recite entire paragraphs in English but have no idea what they are saying.
-The relative absence of abstract/theoretical thought (such as difficulty envisioning how something might be done better, what might be tbe best solution to a problem, rather than just what has been done in the past, difficulty grasping the concept of placing yourself in someone else's shoes, etc etc)
-The fact that screaming "toubab" over and over at any white person you see is not considered rude (even for adults).
-The complete lack of shame in asking a white person for money/food/medicine/their bicycle/etc.

That's just a small sampling to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. There are certainly exceptions to each of those broad statements - they are observations based on overall impressions. While feeling upset/angry/frustrated/indignant/depressed/etc about these sorts of things certainly is not pleasant, I feel very strongly that as a human being, these things SHOULD bother me. In talking with some volunteers who are nearing the end of their service, it seems that at some point over the two years, many people start to become numb to these sorts of things and just resign themselves to it all, saying this is just how it is and there is nothing they can do about it. I am afraid of this happening to me and I intend to fight it with all the strength I have.