OVERWHELMED!

We are about “maxxed out.” It has been a very busy and frustrating week…simply getting our classes underway.

Every year—this is our fourth—we have experienced considerable strain in the transition from American culture and “our way of doing things,” and the realities we face in Africa. Here it takes 3-4 days (in a 3-week course!) to get underway: that is frustrating for all visiting faculty.

Personally, we have been faced with other challenges as well. Last year, I had left behind 15 copies of a 50 pages of course handouts; this year, those materials cannot be found. Fortunately, I had brought a “master set,” so I was able to get the materials reduplicated (at my expense!). Darlene had a more substantive (70+ pages) set of text materials for her undergraduate course. Anticipating as many as 40 students, she had these copies made in the US. Too much to carry in our suitcases, we took a big box to Indiana last summer to be shipped over in a container. Those materials cannot be located either, and the class is not 40 students but 50+!

All of the visiting faculty (there are 7 of us here at the moment) are carrying heavy teaching loads. But Darlene’s is the heaviest. Additional to lecturing to her large class 3+ hours per day, she has to supervise 3 clinical practice groups for the students. Beginning on Monday, she also will be teaching the first graduate-level Nursing course to a group of 5-6 of the recent B.S. grads. Over the weekend, Darlene has to figure out how she is going to schedule and manage all of this!

I have tried to help her in every way I can. The past two mornings, I have arranged and set up her classroom. Yesterday, I helped with the clinical skills labs: my assignment was to teach the students how to measure and record height and weight! This morning, I helped her check out the oto/opthalama (ear/eye) scopes and charge the batteries.

We are overwhelmed, but your prayers sustain us.