I was going to tell him that I understood my volunteering was to be a mutually beneficial work arrangement. that in the two months I've been here, I see little to no benefit for my resume. that I still have enough time in the next three weeks to accomplish something on my own, outside of working with the organization. that I planned to pursue research on immigration issues and interviews for articles I want to write. that the two options I see moving forward are either this is my last week volunteering or I cut down to only two days a week for the next three weeks.
I was prepared to hear him make empty promises of changing my work so that I'd be happier, but I've heard him say this too many times without any follow through to believe it. I was prepared for his attempt to guilt me into staying, based on his email last night saying that he'd accept my 'resignation' with 'great disappointment.' [Sidenote: Volunteers can't resign. So dramatic.] I tried to prepare myself for what I expected to be a volatile, emotional reaction, since that's how he usually responds to things.
This morning, the boss and I moved from the office to the back porch to discuss my schedule. I told him I was frustrated by my lack of new work experience. I told him I planned to pursue research and interviews on my own outside of the office. And he listened without interruption. This is not his normal reaction. He sat stoically, sipping his black coffee, his feet resting on the white wicker chair in front of him. And when I finished talking, we proceeded to have a conversation - not a debate or argument - about what it was that I hoped to do while I was here - policy research on immigration - and how that could still happen in my last three weeks here. The boss pulled out a copy of today's Mail&Guardian newspaper and showed me two calls for submissions from Parliament on upcoming legislation that could impact immigrants in South Africa.
We discussed what steps are necessary for me to research and write short policy papers on behalf of the organization and what can be done to lobby MPs to support our recommendations beyond just submitting the statement. We discussed who would take over my current work load. We discussed that I would not be tied to the office and could work wherever I wanted, so long as I kept to the proposed schedule and got the work done.
This was not at all what I expected. As of last night, I was resolute that I was done with this organization. I was done sitting back and watching my time here slip by as I continued to do a whole lot of nothing of importance. But just when I think I'm out, the boss pulls me back in. So I'm back in until my tentative trip to Durban and Gaborone. Today I found and read the originals and proposed amendments to the South African Citizenship Act and the Births and Deaths Registration Act. Tomorrow, I will summarize the proposed changes, with an emphasis on those that would directly impact immigrants.
And the other benefit of this new plan is that I don't have to give up on my plans for pursuing interviews for articles. The flexibility offered by my new schedule and the fact that I'm not pinned to the office means I can schedule interviews when I want, so long as they don't interfere with my work.
So I will be getting the new work experience I wanted and a more flexible schedule so that I'm also able to pursue outside-of-work interests. I'm still confused how this all happened, but I'm okay with it.
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