Recently I visited the Peace Corps office to have an infected finger treated by the doc. That night while staying at the office dorm and shooting the breeze with some other volunteers, I spotted a photo of mouth watering beef and veggies in Us Weekly that just looked so right. Unfortunately, it only took me a moment to realize I was salivating at an advertisement for dog food. It was then that my PCV cohorts Geoff, Kayla, Tim and I decided to scour all of the copies of trashy American magazines we could find lying around to create an epic collage of delicious longed-for treats. I would call this my greatest accomplishment in Rwanda thus far. You'll notice we included the dog food ad on the top left directly under the hot dog.
A shot of Kayla next to the collage for scale:
Things have been kind of rough out here lately, trying to figure out my place and feeling extremely homesick/depressed. Add to that the oddness of being the constant center of attention including stares, calls of umuzungu etc., plus the obvious lack of creature comforts and, as this post points out... FOOD! Sometimes I actually envision myself just getting on a plane out of here. Not sure if that's the normal jitters 4 months in or if this is maybe a wrong fit. But a decision like that involves a whole different set of concerns--feeling like a failure, disappointing myself, family and friends, and so many other complicated emotions. I have a training coming up next week and am hoping that will help me to get my head straight. As they say in Kinyarwanda, tuzareba (we shall see).
Stay strong, Darcy!!! When I lived abroad, everyone I knew had a make-it or break-it moment around the 4 month mark. I think it might be the point when the novelty and sheer shock of being somewhere different fades and you start realizing you actually live there. It'll get better! Just remember you will come back to the land of dog food that looks like real people food soon. Melissa D :)
ReplyDeleteHey, Darcy! That is one fiiiine collage. Y'know, I'm a vegetarian with a full belly and even I think that dog food looks kinda palatable...Kind of like your basic Chunky SoupTM?!?!
ReplyDelete--Whatever you decide to do will be the right thing and wherever you are--there or here--you will make a positive difference in this world.
--Lily is sending tail wags.
Hi Darcy...I've fallen behind with my reading of your blog. I'm catching up and so sorry that you're feeling less than 100 percent! You're going to be just fine. Whether it seems that way now or not, doesn't matter. You ARE going to do well and be AWESOME! Your friend, Melissa, seems to know exactly what stage you're in right now. Take her advice and know that the feelings will pass and you'll be gung-ho again before you know it!
ReplyDelete-love from me and Bill, too.