Who Was I Then?

November 7, 2007


Today all 37 volunteers (yes, someone did leave back to the U.S. so we are 37 now) for some hub day fun and the topic of ‘who was I before I came here?’ came up.

It’s interesting because you find yourself settling for things you wouldn’t normally settle for, feeling stupid on a daily basis because you can’t communicate, eating things you wouldn’t normally eat and hiding things about yourself that you wouldn’t normally hide. Vegetarians aren’t vegetarians anymore and broccoli lovers just have to settle for cucumbers. And I’ve been eating tons and tons and tons of cucumbers.

So who was I six weeks ago?

I would have been a lot more irritated by how much gas I have.

I didn’t eat as much chocolate…and didn’t abuse it when I was feeling down.

I didn’t get excited about pooping solid.

I was much more irritated when I didn’t have internet access.

I didn’t care and didn’t think about the limited access to education in other countries.

I didn’t have to fend off wild dogs on my afternoon run.

I wouldn’t have accepted oily soup two times a day every day as acceptable nutrition.

I didn’t have to constantly watch where I step

I didn’t get drained and frustrated when I couldn’t communicate something to find myself giving up and looking like a fool in front of people who really want to talk with me.

I didn’t have nearly as much patience.

I hated eating fruit…now I am happy to eat at least two apples a day because it’s the best way for me to keep healthy over here.



Six more weeks until training is over…