Movement

So it's time for another one of my required blog posts. I've been having trouble deciding which topic to choose... I'd like to be able to write something deep and insightful, but after reading some of my fellow interns' blogs (like Lynsey's post from Uganda that I read this morning... very touching), I know I'll have a hard time competing.

So instead, I've decided to write some of my observations pertaining to movement. More specifically, I've realized that a person's capacity for movement will very often surprise you. My job is physically demanding. I give 3-5hour tours of a 60-acre property. The park where the art works are located is gorgeous, hilly, with steep, rocky, often precarious terrain. Before arriving here, I tried to hit the gym fairly regularly and do hot yoga as often as possible, but I certainly wouldn't consider myself to be a very active person. However, I've really appreciated the change of lifestyle, and I really enjoy the changes I see in myself... not only how I look, but also how I feel. Near the end of the first few tours I followed Miranda on, I could scarcely absorb a word she said because I was so incredibly exhausted from the walk. Now I could (and sometimes have to) run circles around my groups right until the end.

Other people often surprise me too. Especially after this week, I've learned to stop judging books by their covers. Many of my first tours were all very elderly people. I'd start the tour out with a very negative mindset, thinking "oh dear god this is going to take until tomorrow". But the very oldest visitors are often the best! No complaining, can keep up with my pace... it's great! One very elderly woman early on was wearing a thick wool jacket and thick wool full-length skirt, and the heat was sweltering that day. She never made a peep about being uncomfortable.

On the other hand, the worst visitors seem to be the ones you'd expect to still be relatively fit, between the ages of 30-50. It's been a real test of my patience, dealing with people in this age group who complain like small children. I begin each tour by clearly stating that the tours are expected to last 5 hours, but I hope we can finish it in 3-4 hours. These visitors then proceed to ask me a hundred more times over the course of the tour "how long will this take?", "are we almost done?", "are we halfway yet?", "how much longer?", and "how many more art works?". Yesterday I actually had a woman take me aside and yell at me that the tour is too long. This is especially aggravating considering that in our email correspondence with all visitors, when we confirm their visits, we write a 2-line email. The first line says "your appointment is for such and such day and time", and the second line says "it is imperative that all members of your group read the page on our website titled How To Visit". This webpage clearly outlines the duration and physically demanding nature of the visit. But no one ever seems to read it. Ever. This is most problematic when halfway through a tour, people come up to me and say "I can't do anymore I need to go home" and I have to explain "there's no way you'll ever find your way back without me. You have to finish what you signed up for".

Finally, as mentioned above, I've had some of my most surprising experiences this week. On thursday a couple showed up for their tour with a small child (we clearly state online that the visits are not for children). This kid was 5, and I was absolutely dreading the visit because I had no clue how she would be able to finish. In the end, though, she made it the entire way without whining once! And then yesterday a group arrived with one very elderly woman in a wheelchair. I almost started to cry, I honestly had no idea how they expected her to do the tour. As it was, she had to miss a lot of things and take alternate routes to meet up with us, and it was a bit aggravating for me trying to co-ordinate that while also trying to lead my tour (which was full of hard-core whiners), but that lady and her wheel-chair pushing friend definitely surprised me in their ability to make it through the park. The other visitors also surprised me in their willingness to help lift her over obstacles.

The moral of the story is, I now aim to show people that they are a lot more capable than they think they are.