A phrase that most of us Peace Corps Ethiopia volunteers
have become familiar with is “Don’t suffer silently.” It is a phrase that our country director has
said time and time again. I have
realized, especially since moving to site, that it can be extremely easy at
times to shut myself off from others.
This happens if I am feeling sick, lonely, etc. This is why we are so often told not to
suffer silently! If we are feeling sick,
call/text Peace Corps medical office! Or
if feeling lonely, call another volunteer.
I love having the option to call another volunteer if I am having an
especially rough day for what can result from many different reasons. Some days, even if there isn’t anything
particularly negative happening, it can still be nice to hear a familiar voice.
This past
week, I have had a handful of ups and downs.
I got to a point where I needed to talk to people, so preceded to have
phone conversations with a few people.
It is amazing what an actual conversation with someone on the phone can
make a huge difference, even if they don’t know what’s going on and we don’t
talk about it. It is amazing the comfort
one can get just from hearing another persons’ voice.
Considering
that I am fairly introverted, I have always greatly valued having time to
myself to reflect on things. Since being
in Ethiopia, I have valued having other people around so much more. Being at site, I have a lot more time to
myself (and much less time with other people that really understand me). On one hand, it is good for me to have all
this time to myself because I am and always be a bit of an introvert and need
time to myself. But I have realized how
much I need others around as well and I have come to understand much more the
importance of “not suffering silently.”
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