...pulls a 9 to 5.

"We pretend to work because they pretend to pay us." -Unknown

I feel better with a plan. I always have and I probably always will. My husband is a nice man. He always has been and he probably always will be. It was easy to convince him to attempt a "9 to 5" work week because well, like I said he is nice and I feel better with a plan. The idea behind "9 to 5" was heavily due to the lack of structure in our days, easily leading to boredom, annoyance, and more sleeping and movies than should be allowed. We decided to make a todo list per day. Now the list was pretty open to most any activity, but things such as laundry, working out, cleaning, and watering the garden were personal time items. In the real "9 to 5" world you can't do those things - and this was a real "9 to 5" effort! We did include grocery shopping, tutoring, and crafts... We had to fluff our activities some to get through the day! So now that you get the idea, here is our weekly review.

Sunday: While Sunday doesn't count towards our work week, it was eventful. Sean killed a spitting cobra in the garden. It was a baby (Sean says juvenile) but nonetheless it was the first snake encounter in Swaziland. Church took a great amount of our time (fist pump!) lasting three hours instead of the usual two. That's Sunday for you. 

Monday: "9 to 5" began with working on a presentation for SOS regarding the summer (summer being December - I know...so confusing) program we aim to lead with the community youth. The program focuses on life skills, specifically HIV/AIDS, risky behaviors, healthy relationships, and gender equality. Sounds pretty school-like until you add the twist of basketball! All of the subjects will be taught while teaching the sport of basketball. Grocery shopping happened here too along with redoing our waste water buckets, researching NGOs and an hour of language with our sisi. At 5:00 we even had items to roll over to Tuesday, successful 9 to 5 completed!

Tuesday: If we count walking to SOS as work, we really started our workday earlier than 9:00. The presentation at SOS was very well received and we now have December booked for a summer program! I know you want to ask, what's the schedule like? How many children? What ages?... Well don't. I have no idea and I'm very positive I will have no idea until the very first day of the program. When is the first day you ask? Again, no idea. But we are happy with the yes! We also were able to schedule a presentation on Monday. We are hoping to train community members on permagardening, grey water recycling, compost and incoming generating projects. We plan to give the introduction to these things this Monday. After our meeting we went home and finished the presentation that will be given next week, created some educational charts for the NCPs (community pre-school type facilities) and made a todo list for Wednesday. Two "9 to 5s" down, way to many to go!

Wednesday: I had my programming site visit today. It was supposed to be at 2:00 but it was switched to 9:00. My program manager actually showed up at 8:30 so my day started early. We spoke about the report I turned in a few weeks ago, she complimented our couch, and we went to SOS to speak with the ladies I have been working with over the past two months. I will add my personal thought really fast before returning to the synopsis of our week. As a community health volunteer I have a great programming staff. They are capable and competent. At SOS instead of drilling my counterpart about the do's and don'ts, and the what you likes and what you don't likes that the assessment paper requires, she simply thanked them. She thanked them for welcoming us, being willing to work with us, and for the work they do. I have a great deal of respect for the choice made. Anyways, Sean was at the umphakatsi, primary school and high school checking in during my site visit. Reconvening at 11:00 we decided that "9 to 5" was pretty hard. So we took a nap. We rallied around 3:00 and made some charts and materials for December. You can't win them all.

Thursday: Today is the last requires "9 to 5" this week. I forgot to mention we aim for a 4 day work week. What? We aren't in America anymore! I spent the majority of the morning taking charts to the NCPs while Sean worked on his presidency responsibilities. I got offered a baby when I was out. Despite the cuteness I politely declined. I told her I was too young to have a baby. She told me I was too old not to have one. We agreed to disagree. Or at least I did. At home we worked on flyers and permission slips for our program. 

Now, I am writing this blog (which counts) and it is currently 5:00. My work week is over! 

In all seriousness, boredom is a daily concern. But this week proved that the work is about to begin and we cannot wait to start! Remind me of this post when I begin to complain about not having time to watch New Girl.