STEM

Over the week of Thanksgiving, we had a team of Americans come to spend some time here working and learning. It was my first time being on the receiving end of a short term team, and it was quite the experience.

It was nice having them here, because it meant extra hands that were willing to work (And they brought food for Thanksgiving!), so we were able to put together desks for two different schools and do a medical clinic. Laura and I got to spend all three work days out at the schools building desks, which was a lot of fun. – And, Warren had fun laughing me on the first day while I was trying to use a hammer that probably weighed more than my arm, on small nails no less. Needless to say…I found a smaller hammer. :P

I think that we did more manual labor in those three days behind the walls of a school compound than we have done during the rest of our internship combined. (Culturally, women here don’t really do manual labor – including painting – so we don’t do nearly as many projects as the guys are involved in…)

They worked hard, and it was fun to see them learning – although I think that their learning curve was much less steep than what my parents experienced when they came. (There is a definite cushioning effect of coming with a larger team and having special work projects to focus on.)

Even though it was a cool experience, it was exhausting by the end of their week, and I wasn’t even directly responsible for them in any way. I definitely have a new respect for people like the Grandberrys who have teams come out all summer long, one after another, after another. It’s nice having short term teams, but it’s a lot of WORK.