Americans on parade.

Yesterday was a little rough.

Let me start with the information that the Tall One and I are part of one team of about 14 people from The Shoreline out of over 100 people from the States here in Zambia. Allow me to also confess that in general, I have a low tolerance for humans other than family, friends, quick interactions with total strangers and about 95% of my patients. Now picture me here, and you realize that bad things could happen. It's a little phenomenon called Snap Judgement. It's vicious, let me tell you. It's all in my mind, but it's tough.

On Monday, our ENTIRE group piled onto buses and we toured all the sites where people are working this week and got a tour of the city of Ndola in the process. We went to the two school sites where Vacation Bible School are going on, to the Children's Hospital, and to the Northrise University farm and land. When you bus that many foreigners around town, it's a spectacle. And in case you don't know me, I don't like to be part of a spectacle. Especially in the townships visiting the schools.

The townships are full of the poorer and poorest people. When visitors come, it's a highlight for them. The children come running from all directions and they just start yelling and smiling and waving- it's a happy time and you can't help but laugh and smile with them. And then you pull yourself back and you think about the oddity of waving from this big bus down to these children and you start to feel a little comical. At least I do. Like I'm on a parade float. And you can't not wave back, and you don't want to not wave back. The kids are all yelling "Bye!" back to you because that's what people say to them when they leave so they think it's "Hi!". Well, after a while, there were a few people taking it to a whole new level that I found just amazing and not in a good way. Like, hanging halfway out the bus window waving like a crazed sports fan at these kids. And sticking cameras in the face of every person they came across.

Next was the Children's Hospital where, again, the entire group went on a tour of the only children's hospital in practically the country. Now, maybe I'm a little sensitive because this is the place that I'm specifically at for 4 days during this trip, but for most of the people it was like oooh! ah! ICU, Malnutrition Ward, "Hey, did you see that 28wk-old baby?", "Did you see all the burn patients?"... I chose not to go on the huge tour because it felt invasive and I would be there all week. I had people pass me and say sympathetically, "Ohh, do you not want to go because it's hard to see?" And I had to struggle to put on a straight face and plainly say, "No, I don't feel like being part of a big group taking in these patients and their families' pain when I'm going to be here all week." Was that harsh? I think I'm being harsh.

It went on from there. But, let me give you some more highlights from yesterday and today since I'm still burning with the indignation!
-Being whistled at like a cattle call by an arrogant photographer who felt it his job to round us up to start the hospital tour. Oh, and while we were walking toward the buses afterwards. Because we were probably walking too slow.
-Is there anything more annoying that having to listen to certain people when you've come to the realization that they love nothing more to be heard?
-When kids are loud and obnoxious, like a lot of American high schoolers, you sigh and think par for the course. But when it's their parents too?

I'm kind of venting right now. I never once imagined that this trip was a vacation, I knew it would be work. I just didn't know that the work was going to come in the form of tolerating the majority of my own "kind". And I know I'm not alone on this trip in feeling this way.

Well, I'm going to post this now because I'm being booted from the computer lab and I don't have time to spell/grammar check. So all you proofreading freaks just relax and wait for tomorrow.