In every Volunteer's PC experience there are hard times where we think, “What the hell am I dong here, why am I putting up with the stresses of a third world country anyway? And why can't I just go HOME!?!” These moments suck. They appear when we least expect them, sometimes for no reason at all. It has been a while since I have personally had one of these moments but I have no doubt that there are more in store for me in the future. For now I am glad that I can be there for my fellow PCVs, friends and, occasionally, husband when they are going through difficult times themselves.
Recently one of the coping mechanisms I have been thinking a lot about is finding something to laugh about every day. There is a lot to laugh about when you are a Peace Corps Volunteer. There is a TON to laugh about when you are a Peace Corps Volunteer doing work in the health field when you are a Poli Sci major and have no experience or desire to experience the nastier side of healthcare (thats ME!).
Yesterday I laughed when Sara told me the names of two babies at the clinic in her health center: Shaun and Toshaun (yeah, like Shaun number 2). Mom must really like the name Shawn. If she has a girl maybe she can name her Shauntell. LOL!
Today I laughed at the fact that I got a letter from my friend Heather S. I was confused reading it because she was discussing her Thanksgiving. It seemed odd so I checked the postdate; she had mailed my letter from California in DECEMBER 2010! Nine months ago! I could make a baby in 9 months but Guyana can't get me my letter in that amount of time. Annoying, no. Hilarious, YES!
I also laughed at the BCG vaccine clinic today when I got pooped and peed on by two different babies in a row. Gross, yes! Funny, hells yes! I won't go into graphic detail of all the messiness, although I want to. But anyone who knows the color and consistency of newborn (under one month old) baby poop can imagine what my health center looked like when one baby messed in the scale, then peed on the measuring board. Then the next baby pooped on me and the floor when I was lifting him from scale to measuring board. I had to laugh at this situation, otherwise I would have been mad or disgusted. It just made me think maybe we should weigh and measure these babies with their diapers on?
So, here I am blogging and laughing about poop, baby names and third world country postal service. I am presently giggling at the 80's music that is blasting from the shop down the road. I could be annoyed by all of these things. But instead I choose to laugh. I hope my fellow PCVs, in every country around the world, are also choosing to laugh at the strange joys that our Peace Corps life brings.
Laugh it up friends!
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