And so it begins...
With only 6 days left as a liberal American residing in my well preserved bubble, the panic is beginning to set in. On Sunday I will be leaving for Philadelphia for my staging (beginning training) for my two year term of service in South Africa. From there I will be going to New York where I will be flying to Africa on the 17/18.
The response rate to the decision that I have made to do this has ranged from merely humorous to frightfully alarming. Thus far these are some of the best responses I've received. Some names have not been included to protect the stupidity of some of the people who I've talked to:
"Yes, Cait I know you're going to South Africa, but I want to know what country." (I can only imagine if I had told her that I was going to somewhere like Benin or Togo. Utter confusion would have occurred.)
"She's probably going to bring one of those negros home to marry." (Some people I know are not overly enlightened to the new millenium.)
My mom: "They only want your dental records so they can identify you if you're killed."
A response to my mom's response: "Well they would only use your dental records if you were so maimed beyond belief that they couldn't identify you otherwise."
My brother's dentist: "One of my assistants was in the Peace Corp, but she had to come home early because she got a giant goiter."
My brother (disclaimer: he's five and has a speech impediment): "Tait...when you go back from South Africa are you going to live back at Cal Poly."
Me: No, I graduated from college so I won't live there anymore.
My brother (very excited): "So you're going to live with us again!"
Me: "No, I'm an adult now and adults don't live with their mommies."
My brother (contemplating this development): "But mommies and daddies live together."
Me: "Yes, mommies and daddys live together."
My brother: "And grandmas and grandpas live together."
Me: "Yes grandmas and grandpas live together."
My brother (at this moment you can literally see the light bulb go off in his head): "Then you need to find a daddy!!
(He's still searching for one to help me out)
One of my the children in my second grade class who was angry at me: "Ms. Burkholder, I hope you get eaten by a lion!"
As you can see, the list goes on and on. For now I am concentrating on preparing myself for the trip, and let me tell you I'm quite behind.
The response rate to the decision that I have made to do this has ranged from merely humorous to frightfully alarming. Thus far these are some of the best responses I've received. Some names have not been included to protect the stupidity of some of the people who I've talked to:
"Yes, Cait I know you're going to South Africa, but I want to know what country." (I can only imagine if I had told her that I was going to somewhere like Benin or Togo. Utter confusion would have occurred.)
"She's probably going to bring one of those negros home to marry." (Some people I know are not overly enlightened to the new millenium.)
My mom: "They only want your dental records so they can identify you if you're killed."
A response to my mom's response: "Well they would only use your dental records if you were so maimed beyond belief that they couldn't identify you otherwise."
My brother's dentist: "One of my assistants was in the Peace Corp, but she had to come home early because she got a giant goiter."
My brother (disclaimer: he's five and has a speech impediment): "Tait...when you go back from South Africa are you going to live back at Cal Poly."
Me: No, I graduated from college so I won't live there anymore.
My brother (very excited): "So you're going to live with us again!"
Me: "No, I'm an adult now and adults don't live with their mommies."
My brother (contemplating this development): "But mommies and daddies live together."
Me: "Yes, mommies and daddys live together."
My brother: "And grandmas and grandpas live together."
Me: "Yes grandmas and grandpas live together."
My brother (at this moment you can literally see the light bulb go off in his head): "Then you need to find a daddy!!
(He's still searching for one to help me out)
One of my the children in my second grade class who was angry at me: "Ms. Burkholder, I hope you get eaten by a lion!"
As you can see, the list goes on and on. For now I am concentrating on preparing myself for the trip, and let me tell you I'm quite behind.
posted by Cait at 5:41 AM
1 Comments:
CAIT i miss you so much already, you're so funny and more importantly brave! If you don't find a daddy, i'll be your mommy!! dynia
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