Only 20 days to go until the Race for Hope! Are you as excited as me? I bet you aren’t. But would you at least help me get to the $520 fundraising mark? Yes? Well thank you! And click right here.
Harmattan Shmarmattan. I have finally figured out where the dust in this country comes from. Turns out that one such origination point is right below my balcony. Kinda makes me want some barbecue….
I have misplaced my cell phone. That is one indication that my apartment is probably too big for Megan the Starving Backpacker. But hey, I won’t complain. Actually, the idea that no one can call and I can just space out and contemplate studying Wolof appeals to me greatly. That and the cashew and tofu curry that I have sitting in the fridge sounds fantastic….I am so eating you for lunch!
It’s been another weekend of randomness, which was kicked off by a meeting that really needed to be catered by Bushmills or Jameson (pick your allegiance). Various embassy department heads all clustered around a table, discussing how they should fund and procure stuff for me and my new apartment. I kind of felt like an 8 year old kid, having been invited to the adult table where, after 30 seconds of dialogue, the subject was completely lost on me. I tried hard to look interested, but what I really wanted was for them to just tell me what I needed to do to make this a less contentious subject. I even (half-jokingly) told them:
“It’s been two months already, I’ll just keep doing my laundry in the sink, don’t worry about finding me that washer/dryer.”
I took this photo at the start of moving day. My stuff was only four crates. I wasn’t even sure what was inside till they showed me.
…behold my stuff
So now that I have outed myself as the proud owner of far too many American provisions for one person, I will now talk a bit about my own contradictory opinion on material things. I liken it to those who complain about forwarded e-mails, and then say that they “only forward the good ones”….
A friend recently asked me what I missed about living in the States. I had a real hard time answering this question, but eventually I wrote back that there was nothing in particular that I missed from the States- from a material standpoint* (I instead answered that it was my family that I missed the most, in case you are interested).
Having been kicked out the door and sent abroad at a fairly young age (thanks Dad), I do think that I am pretty adaptable to most situations, and don’t require much to get by. As a teenager I remember visiting expat American families whose children were always on the hunt for American foods (in France, no less!!) by constantly asking, “Does it taste like home?”
Really, who would trade a box of Little Debbie Snack Cakes for a pain au chocolat? Don’t answer that….
For your entertainment, a photo from Megan’s first junior year abroad, and pictured with some of those expat Americans who just wanted to go back home and listen to New Kids on the Block. When you are 16, you think you have everything figured out. I’m twice that age now, and definitely less than half as smart.
So, back to stuff. I will concede that I am gâtée (spoiled) in my own right, and I really do enjoy my spice collection and wardrobe of workout gear. But when it really comes down to it, I do believe that stuff is just stuff. It’s not going to be there forever (unless of course we’re talking about the landfill), and all it really does is weigh people down to a great extent. If all of my Costco spoils and clothing were lost in that smoldering fire outside that may one day creep up my building and clean me out, it would be okay.
Here’s to doing more with less. And here’s to the pot calling the kettle black.
*I will concede that I could probably answer that there was “nothing” material that I missed because I had it all imported in my household goods shipment.