Building 7.1.18-Payton Calvert
This week marked my third week here as an intern. I have been making progress with letter writing and obtaining biographical information. I have been surprised by the cultural difference that extend to many aspects of everyday life. Visiting an African country, I knew before that many cultural differences would be present but I wasn’t sure what all that would entail. One of the main differences is the lack of urgency in completing everyday tasks that are typically rushed in the States. Emphasis is more placed on building relationships as opposed to obtaining maximum efficiency. This has been a learning curve for me, since I typically prefer to do the most in the least amount of time, but this is not always what’s best and relationships are often compromised in this mindset.
I have been tested in patience when it comes to writing letters with the children because my instinct is to want them to focus, not talk much, and write quickly. This is in stark contrast to the way they prefer: joking, talking, and playing with their friends while writing. Their way takes longer, but they have more fun through the process and more memories are made this way. For instance, the kids were joking one day about “big sticks of cassava,” and in a state of impatience I told them “no more cassava, keep writing.” This initiated a huge wave of laughter and has since become one of the kids’ favorite ways to tease me by repeating it often. These life lessons like these from the kind-hearted kids of GSF are building to my time here and emphasize the fact that I have far more to learn from the people here than I could ever teach.
A highlight of my week was quality time with my mentor and supervisor, Corinne. Another one of the unique and meaningful aspects of my internship is the relationship between interns and their supervisors, as well as interns and their mentors. My mentor and supervisor happen to be one in the same and we had a great time discussing detailed aspects of her job, her experience as a GSF intern as a student, my progress, and life in general. I learned more about GSF and the children it cares for and she explained to me much of the child development aspects of her job which were intriguing and very thought provoking. She is very encouraging and has so much wisdom and insight, not only as a GSF employee, but as a person in general. Corinne is yet another example of the amazing, God-fearing people GSF has brought into my life so far this summer and each week I am able to deep these relationships which will last long after my two months in Uganda are up.
