-Greeting
-Update on site (which usually starts with “So, do you have work to do yet?” followed by a scoff and “I wish!”)
-Gossip about PCVs from our training class and others
-FOOD
It seems no matter what circumstance we meet in, the conversation always ends up about food. What foods we’ve been eating for the past four months at site, what foods we have gotten in care packages, what food we have attempted to cook, what food we hope to be able to cook, and finally, what food we miss the most. Some of us (okay, mostly me) talk about the food we see in television shows and movies we’ve watched recently, which only leads to an angry exchange of words between PCVs because it only serves to remind us what we are missing out on in the U.S. Also, just an F.Y.I. for all you Facebook picture-posters, PLEASE STOP POSTING PICTURES OF AWESOME FOOD! It just hurts. Really, every time I see a picture of a home cooked meal with all the trimmings, my soul dies a little. Even the dishes I wouldn’t eat (i.e. meat dishes) become appealing to me.
Case in point: My craving for barbeque wings (sorry mom).
I was watching some of the most recent Modern Family episodes (if you haven’t seen this show, please watch the first season, it is pure hilarity) and I began the episode where Phil takes his eldest daughter to visit his alma mater. They go to a pub where they have the best wings in town. I don’t really know what the major point of the episode was; all I can remember is realizing how hungry I became every time they had a shot of the two eating the wings or talking about the wings (reminder: I'm a vegetarian). This also happened during another episode of Modern Family, where Claire is at her father’s house baking cupcakes. Sigh. Having become deprived of the glory of cupcakes, I realize how serious my obsession has become. I have even been shown a website where there are instructions on how to make cake using my rice cooker…desperate?
TRIVIA TIME: If you can guess what food I miss the most (right now), I’ll send you a postcard!
In other news, I survived the 6 month mark! Time flew by faster than I imagined, making me more confident I can make it to the end…you have to begin with the end in mind, right? Projects and real work have definitely picked up, making me feel slightly more useful and appreciated here. It’s also good to know I have a few staff members backing me up in many of my initiatives to impact the nursing school and the community. I still miss my friends and family everyday (Facebook definitely does not help) but I know you’re all there supporting me and sending good thoughts my way.
I recently had a meeting with the Red Cross Student LINK Group at the nursing school, which I have been elected the Patron of, and we’ve made a list of programs and projects we want to work on throughout the year:
-Launch event – something similar to the community clean up
-Basic First AID/Prevention method Tip of the Week
-RCSN Grounds Clean Up
-Dormitory Clean Up here on the grounds
-Sanitation education for the students
-AFRIPads Promotion (within the school and around the Rakai community, including secondary schools)
Hopefully we’ll be able to get some of these programs accomplished, along with heaps of outreach and community service.
I also started working at the newly opened library between 8:30pm and 10:30pm. Initially I was supposed to work from 6:30pm to 10:30pm, but of course the individual who had the keys was nowhere to be found and it took some convincing to get the extra set of keys given to me (why, I’m not really sure). Either way, the first evening was a success. I thought I would be overwhelmed, working the library by myself, but its small and manageable and the students seem to respect me (at least to the extent that they don’t want to piss me off for fear I won’t help them find a way to the U.S.)…hopefully things continue on this upward slope!
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