| (2003-10-02) Too Much to Ask!? The weeks fly by here, which lately, has been lucky, because one of my jobs is stressing me out. I'm a Systems Coordinator for the Planning Department for the Ministry of Health for the country of The Gambia. Yeah, sounds pretty impressive. With impressive sounding titles comes impressive amounts of issues. My goal for the next five month is to analize all sorts of information that the Ministry of Health has, organize it (put it on one computer) and then put as much of that information as possible on two websites (designed by yours truly). Possible? Not sure. Meanwhile, I've got to teach Gambians (who are infamous for doing things at a turtle's pace) File Management, I've got to learn about Content Management Systems, convince people to buy software (if necessary), develop the web sites without any of the usual software that I need to design them... the list goes on. I think I've got too much on my plate. And this is only a part-time job. My other job is teaching women computers (women who have hardly- if even- touched a computer before) three hours/five days a week. And when I go home, there's no power, no easy meals, hand washing laundry, killing cockroaches, dealing with people that I don't want to talk to... When I came here, I wanted to be uncomfortable. But all I really want right now is to be unemployed, curl up in a warm bed with clean sheets and no mosquito net over my head, smell my mother's fresh brown bread cooking, pinch my sister, hear the phone ring and have my best friend on the other end of the line, kiss my boyfriend and eat hot tamales. Is that *really* too much to ask? ** I have cats that beg outside my door every day. I'd let them inside if they weren't so dirty and diseased. I still call them beautiful though.
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