Polychronism: "The ability to work happily with many things happening at one time, in a non-linear and emotional way that allows you to change pans at a moments notice without distress or worry over missing deadlines." (worldwidewords.org)
Secondary definition (as defined by me): Running around like a chicken with your head cut off only to look back at the clock 4 hours later and realize that you have done... Absolutely. Nothing.
Even before I write this blog post the thought process in my head goes something like this:
"I think I need some music to write. Maybe I should come up with some food ideas for tonight's iftar. But first I need to look up recipes. No, maybe just inspirational pictures. Why am I not in cooking school? Omg, stop thinking about food. It's Ramadan! Speaking of which shouldn't you be like, spiritually feeding yourself or something? Go pray or pick up a holy book. Oh s***, I have that workshop on Islam that I'm supposed to be working on! I should really look at my calendar to see what night I need to schedule that for... Oh and while I'm looking at my calendar, I'll count out how many days I have left before Blake comes to visit. I can't wait for him to be here. Maybe I should come up with potential travel itineraries. Oh and I should post that to Pinterest on my traveling board. Man, there are so many zween Pinterest ideas... but honestly who on earth has 40 million Popsicle sticks just lying around their house to do that DIY project with anyway?"
This is exactly why I didn't thrive at Cisco. I suck at staying the present because my head is most often in the future. It's also potentially precisely why I think I can thrive in Peace Corps... especially in Morocco. It's difficult not to be a polychronic person when the society totally lends itself to this lifestyle.
Part of Peace Corps is learning about yourself as a person. Even though this may not be the reason why you joined in the first place, you end up spending a lot of time in your head. And you end up learning a lot about yourself as a person. What makes you happiest, what makes you want to run back home, etc. For myself, I have learned thus far that I am happy when I am busy and even happier when I have tangible results to show for my work. It doesn't matter what that work is, maybe it's just a tick mark on a checklist saying that I did my laundry today (still need to do that) or that I lesson planned for tomorrow. Or even still, when I finish a lesson and I see all of my students glowing/sweating (my work out classes are no joke, folks) from their hard work. Either way, I have a lot of inspiration, a lot of creativity and the attention span of a chipmunk.
The beauty of working for Peace Corps is that no one seems to mind my-rodent like attention span. For all of the troubles that serving in Morocco has presented me with, when it comes to my creative abilities and my want to foster them, all the world (read: Morocco) is my oyster. The majority of Moroccan people are wildly imaginative, quick to see the end result and completely lacking in time management/ goal setting. Sometimes when my family here asks me what I did today, I spill the whole truth: I imagined a lot, but I barely got any of it down. And their response? "That's great! We are so proud of you." I have never felt so supported in being completely and utterly slow.
And yet, I think that as much as I fit into this slow lackadaisical world, I still have enough drive in me to question why I am not seeing any results. I still feel frustrated when I don't see the dream thriving. But I think honestly that is the beauty of Peace Corps in Morocco. Everything takes longer. It's ok that it takes longer. It's just about finding that perfect balance and taking the end dream of the people in our communities to work it down into bite size goals. I think that Morocco and I might end up learning that lesson together.
Spoiler alert!
First Dream to Accomplish? Making El Jadida more environmentally sustainable!
Method ? Roof gardens using compost from the exorbitant amount of waste in my site. Stay tuned for all my garbage diving activities!
Secondary definition (as defined by me): Running around like a chicken with your head cut off only to look back at the clock 4 hours later and realize that you have done... Absolutely. Nothing.
Even before I write this blog post the thought process in my head goes something like this:
"I think I need some music to write. Maybe I should come up with some food ideas for tonight's iftar. But first I need to look up recipes. No, maybe just inspirational pictures. Why am I not in cooking school? Omg, stop thinking about food. It's Ramadan! Speaking of which shouldn't you be like, spiritually feeding yourself or something? Go pray or pick up a holy book. Oh s***, I have that workshop on Islam that I'm supposed to be working on! I should really look at my calendar to see what night I need to schedule that for... Oh and while I'm looking at my calendar, I'll count out how many days I have left before Blake comes to visit. I can't wait for him to be here. Maybe I should come up with potential travel itineraries. Oh and I should post that to Pinterest on my traveling board. Man, there are so many zween Pinterest ideas... but honestly who on earth has 40 million Popsicle sticks just lying around their house to do that DIY project with anyway?"
This is exactly why I didn't thrive at Cisco. I suck at staying the present because my head is most often in the future. It's also potentially precisely why I think I can thrive in Peace Corps... especially in Morocco. It's difficult not to be a polychronic person when the society totally lends itself to this lifestyle.
Part of Peace Corps is learning about yourself as a person. Even though this may not be the reason why you joined in the first place, you end up spending a lot of time in your head. And you end up learning a lot about yourself as a person. What makes you happiest, what makes you want to run back home, etc. For myself, I have learned thus far that I am happy when I am busy and even happier when I have tangible results to show for my work. It doesn't matter what that work is, maybe it's just a tick mark on a checklist saying that I did my laundry today (still need to do that) or that I lesson planned for tomorrow. Or even still, when I finish a lesson and I see all of my students glowing/sweating (my work out classes are no joke, folks) from their hard work. Either way, I have a lot of inspiration, a lot of creativity and the attention span of a chipmunk.
The beauty of working for Peace Corps is that no one seems to mind my-rodent like attention span. For all of the troubles that serving in Morocco has presented me with, when it comes to my creative abilities and my want to foster them, all the world (read: Morocco) is my oyster. The majority of Moroccan people are wildly imaginative, quick to see the end result and completely lacking in time management/ goal setting. Sometimes when my family here asks me what I did today, I spill the whole truth: I imagined a lot, but I barely got any of it down. And their response? "That's great! We are so proud of you." I have never felt so supported in being completely and utterly slow.
And yet, I think that as much as I fit into this slow lackadaisical world, I still have enough drive in me to question why I am not seeing any results. I still feel frustrated when I don't see the dream thriving. But I think honestly that is the beauty of Peace Corps in Morocco. Everything takes longer. It's ok that it takes longer. It's just about finding that perfect balance and taking the end dream of the people in our communities to work it down into bite size goals. I think that Morocco and I might end up learning that lesson together.
Spoiler alert!
First Dream to Accomplish? Making El Jadida more environmentally sustainable!
Method ? Roof gardens using compost from the exorbitant amount of waste in my site. Stay tuned for all my garbage diving activities!
It sounds like you are adapting to your environment. Have faith in yourself and remain the strong woman you are. Thrive. You are so loved.
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