Difference: a CHN experience

  We started our community duty at 6AM and ended at 6PM. It was a fairly long day. We had our data collation for school health nursing (7-11AM), our implementation phase for community organizing (1-3PM) and to top it all off, we were assigned to do the general cleaning for the staff house (4-6PM).

    But what i found, which amazed me, was that at the end of the day i didn’t feel tired. It was so weird.  We were all over the place getting things ready for the CO program, working our ass off cleaning the staff house (which btw had a micro ecosystem in one of its corners due to the presence of wet wood and stuff. Eew), but i didn’t feel as exhausted as i thought i’d be.

   And i was thinking about this as i got off the illegallyloaded van (na FX) which we loaded with 15 people (that would be me & my group mates) plus 7 other passengers and the driver [23 in total]. I realized that being with my friends during the last 12 hours made a difference in the way i walked through my day. Throughout those numerous tasks, i was not alone. I was with wonderful people who carried the burden with me. People who i can hug when i feel tired, people who can when i can’t, people who showed that they were strong and happy despite the stress. I guess they really made things lighter for me. They actually made my community experience pleasant and enjoyable (to the point that i don’t think i want to go back to hospital duty again). They are truly a blessing from GOD.

    Maybe seeing your friend look like a haggard, or hearing somebody crack a corny joke, or maybe just feeling the warmth of their friendship makes a real difference in the stress you perceive everyday. Actually, i think it made all the difference.