The last two weeks at WR

If Monday was any indication of the rest of the week (which it was) than both Owen and I were in trouble. The training of the new caregivers was being facilitated by the government, or people from the Mzimba district, so WR was basically just managing the logistics and making sure everything ran smoothly, aka doing nothing. Was it frustrated to do nothing for my last two weeks at WR? Yes. But, at least it was Owen AND me doing nothing, so I got to spend quality time with him. Over the summer, Owen and I grew to be very close friends, talking about pretty much anything and everything very openly, so I enjoyed his company a lot. It's good to like a person when you work with them just about every day from 2 and a half months.

Back to Monday. We were at the office early because it takes about an hour to get to Mtuzuzu, where the last training and this training were to take place. Well, we ended up sitting at the office (or more specifically outside of the office, on the grass) for more than 2 hours, doing nothing. Talking, complaining, and doing nothing, while waiting for the district people and knowing that the caregivers at Mtuzuzu would be waiting for over 3 hours. What would you do if you were waiting for something for 3 hours? LEAVE? Yes, we (Americans) would probably leave after a half hour of waiting for a meeting, and then come back maybe. Oh my goodness, so frustrating. But Owen and I chatted, which was what we did mostly for the two weeks of us not really working. We were both frustrated about waiting and the boredom of the whole two weeks, but at least we were spending it together in boredom, gaining quality time before I had to leave. So by the end of the week, we were a little more lackadaisical about timing, letting the trainers go ahead of us, catching up eventually...etc. Training was also taking place in Embangweni, but the trainers there were even more boring! So Owen and I stayed at Mtuzuzu for most of the 2nd week. AND training also took place on Saturday and Sunday all day. I was surprised that the caregivers actually showed up on Sunday, they came all of the 10 days with no pay. By the end of the two weeks and the former training, I was pretty familiar with all of the caregivers at Mtuzuzu, and at least we were spending the boring days with friends in Malawi. Better than being bored anywhere else I guess. But it was good, despite the boredom and lack of work, I would not trade spending time with friends for much!