I don't know if any of you have had the pleasure of reading the book or watching the movie High Fidelity. If you haven't, I would seriously recommend it. I actually read the book years ago, and I'm not one to reread books, but alas, I did, and I fell in love with it all over again. I couldn't exactly figure out what I liked about the book anyway. The main character is pretty pathetic and not exactly the nicest guy in the world. I finally figured it out though: he' a listomaniac, just like me. What more could I ask for?! Throughout the book, Rob incessantly makes "Top Five..." lists, so here's my top fives for all different kinds of things in Uganda and about my life in Peace Corps. Note: the lists aren't necessarily in order, so number one isn't more special than number five).
Top Five Foods (that I make for myself)
1. Oatmeal with Peanut Butter
2. Popcorn
3. Tuna stir fry
4. Tortillas
5. Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Top Five Things I do at site to feel good
1. Wash clothes
2. Run
3. Mop my floors
4. Yoga
5. Bathe
Top Five Hardest Things about Site
1. Pests (rats, maggots, spiders, cockroaches, mosquitoes, you get the picture.)
2. Loneliness and isolation
3. Lack of direction
4. Chores
5. Guilt
Top Five Moments at Site
1. Teaching fifth graders how to play hangman, and them actually enjoying it.
2. Passing a school recently, and having fourth graders shouting "Madam Chelsea, you come and you teach!"
3. Baking pineapple upside down cakes with my landlady's family.
4. Making friendship bracelets with the neighborhood girls.
5. The first time I realized all the women at the market know me by name.
Top Five Goals for the next few months
1. Visit all of my schools in my catchment area. There are 12 government schools, and so far I've visited five.
2. Teach library hour to my center school's upper primary classes.
3. Choose three other schools to focus my work on and develop a work schedule around visiting them.
4. Work on developing the resource room at my school.
5. Paint my house.
Top Five Things I'm most grateful for
1. My support network at home. They're the ones that have to deal with me after all. That being said, I guess I should be grateful for having good phone service in my house too.
2. My landlady's family and all the love and guidance they've given me.
3. My wonderful PCV neighbors that don't mind hearing me vent about the same thing over and over again. Plus, enjoy indulging in the same things, like popcorn.
4. The headteacher at my center school being so welcoming and willing to work with me in any way.
5. Easy transport Mbale so I can get my peanut butter and internet fix.
Top Five Words or Phrases I've picked up and can't drop (even when talking to Americans)
1. Trousers - American equivalent of "pants"
2. Chips - American equivalent of "french fries"
3. To pick - American equivalent of "to understand" (ie, "have you picked me?" means "are you getting me?")
4. Sir/Madam - I think you know what this one is.
5. Demands just general are the way to get things done. Like "You come, and we go" or "You take now." I may forget what please even means.
Top Five Things I wish I knew
1. Worrying about packing is such a waste of time.
2. You won't walk miles with your luggage, so take the 80 lbs and get over it.
3. Yes, you can find things here. You're not going to the moon, so bringing two bottles of shampoo is a waste.
4. Men lose weight, women gain weight while in service. It's a fact.
5. At least in the beginning, the work is slow... very very slow.
Top Five Things I'm happy I brought
1. My kitchen knives
2. My iPod
3. My running shoes
4. My laptop
5. My travel quick dry towel
Top Five Songs I've been listening to
1. "What's My Name" by Rhianna
2. "Bird Song" by Florence and the Machine
3. "The Cave" by Mumford and Sons
4. "Let Go" by Frou Frou
5. "Animal" by Miike Snow
(alright, maybe my music needs to be updated. I can just feel Jessica or Grant cringing when they read this list. Of course, I would very much appreciate any CDs with new music! Shameless plug, I know).
Top Five Things I miss from home
1. Family, boyfriend, friends
2. The grocery store
3. The gym
4. Being in control
5. Privacy
I encourage you to make top five lists for yourself if you've enjoyed mine! Feel free to post them here.
Top Five Things I wish I knew
ReplyDelete1. Worrying about packing is such a waste of time.
2. You won't walk miles with your luggage, so take the 80 lbs and get over it.
3. Yes, you can find things here. You're not going to the moon, so bringing two bottles of shampoo is a waste.
Hahahahahhaahaa well lucky we didnt spend all day every day at REI and Patagonia buying and returning bags and clothessss.