Work and play
From time to time I feel like I did not have enough time to play as I was growing up. Before I knew it I was spending half my day in preschool drinking milk and napping. Following years were characterized by primary school and learning new things, high school and then following a dream which would ultimately give me a lifestyle.
Once I started working I continued chasing dreams and job titles etc. Fortunate enough my jobs have always taken me around places, i.e. work combined with tourism/holidays.
South Sudan particularly comes to mind, on one hand I felt imprisoned due to the security nature of the country. On the other hand I felt my work had brought me an opportunity to socialize ( few drinks do not hurt) and learn new skills.
Without knowing what yoga is I found myself joining a group of mainly white colleagues for yoga classes. I must admit that it ended up very addictive and also offered me some kind of healing. Today I can say with confidence that "I love yoga". https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/health/womens-health/count-yoga-38-ways-yoga-keeps-fit/
From that website are a number of benefits yoga can give , however for me I have benefitted of :-
flexibility
Patience
makes me happier
Improved my focus
I sleep better
I eat well
I also learnt swimming during my assignment is South Sudan - at least Placidia will not drown, and I guess it goes with being a WASH practitioner.
When I went on mission later to Nigeria, more than half the time when I was going on field trips, with my built up muscles and backpacks, people often asked if I was a sportswoman, and to prevent myself from further questioning I would nod yes, and heavens knows how many lies I made about which sport I did. In any case if for some reason I am not so effective on my WASH work, then I am a great looking sportsperson :)
Generally I derive satisfaction from my work this far from a number of reasons but not limited to :-
a. Friends circle is so wide - some of my friends are as good as family!
b. Visits to so many places and appreciating nature - the memories are so personal and priceless
c. Appreciating small things in life
d. learning new things aside from my work
e. .... this far its been an adventure and half
I am greatly motivated to build up this short article, acknowledging that whilst there is the "shitty" part of the job especially on the sanitation component, there is also the brighter side that we bring sanity and in the process can take advantage of other benefits mentioned earlier.