The entire process of dishing out uniforms to 25 people took... not kidding... over 3.5 hours. Systems of efficiency here are non-existent. There was little organization, and a lot of wasted time. We moved boxes from one place... to another place... to another place. We walked with those boxes from one place... to another place... to another place. We opened up boxes... stared at them... stared at them some more. We began to distribute the loot... confusion... confusion... confusion.
We American eager beavers were practically having anxiety attacks watching this happen. We just wanted to jump up and yell, "It's not that difficult, folks!" Finally, someone stepped up and explained what, to us, was the obvious way to complete the task. The Chinese volunteers were amazed... and, after some careful thought, went along with it only to find that we got the job done in about fifteen minutes.
As Americans, we're taught that wasted time is bad... efficiency is good. We're told ways to multitask. We learn how to delegate. It's just what we do. Quite the contrary here.
Anyhow, we got our bags of gear... three shirts... two pairs of pants that zip into shorts (money)... one jacket... one rain poncho... one fanny pack with water bottle... one pair of shoes... three pairs of socks... oh yeah, and one hat. ONE hat. And here's where I get upset... the hat you recieve is determined by your sex.
All this time I was prepared to recieve two hats... a bucket hat, and a baseball cap. Oh, but no. Because I am female, I recieved only the bucket hat. Girls=buckets. Boys=baseball. What.
You might think I am crazy... someone hands me a bag full of clothing that would retail for at least $300 USD, and I get jazzed about a hat. Well yes. A bucket hat? Really? I look like a fool in it. And I love baseball caps. But noooooo, I'm a girrrrrrl. And even after a clever attempt to switch it out... and even more clever attempts to trade (btw, trading a bucket hat for a baseball cap is like trading a 1990 Grey Corsica for a Benz... never gonna happen)... I am stuck with the bucket.
And that's all we did at work. Four hours of uniform distribution. Popsicles on the way home.
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