Thanksgiving and the All-Volunteer Conference are the two events each year when (almost) all volunteers get together. For Thanksgiving, we went to this place in the capital and spent the whole day holding basketball, volleyball, domino, swimming, and other tournaments. A whole team of volunteers spent the previous day cooking so we could gorge ourselves at lunch time, which was awesome.
In the evening we had a talent show. Adam, Chandler, the two Justins, and I (ICT4EDU PCVs woooooo!) performed a pretty amazing viral video, “give your love to a cowboy,” and it was a good thing that we went last, because after us, they would have likely shut it all down. Most of the skit was shirtless with copious air-humping, and the finale just brought it all to its logical conclusion when we dropped trow. All-in-all a successful event, and will be hard to top next year.
Two other guys sang a song about Phil, the volunteer who lives just down the road from me, to the tune of a song from The Lion King. Phil himself was in three skits, including one with a new PCV, Vera, singing a song they wrote. “I’ll be the change in you, if you’ll be the change in me.” Mas was one of the MCs, and between each skit put on something different from the Free Box (the bin in the lounge where PCVs can take or leave clothing they want or don’t want).
Speaking of the Free Box, I have gotten about half the shirts that I wear every day from it. Bellvue High NHS, old Peace Corps shirts, A-shirts, and my favorite: a worn red T-shirt with thin faded yellow lettering that says:
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: Free as its people, Tough as its winter, Rugged as its coastline.
I love this shirt. I don’t know why. The second I pulled it from that overflowing cardboard box of discarded sports bras and women’s jean shorts, I knew that I wanted to wash it in scalding hot water twice and then wear it for a week. So, I was rather distraught when another volunteer approached me at Thanksgiving and accused me of wearing his shirt. He had some story about his family making them, and then losing the rights to the print, and it being his favorite shirt. I wasn’t really listening; I was trying to decide if I could Capoeira kick his knees out and hide the body before it was time to eat turkey, or if I should wait until nightfall.
Peace Corps can be hard, but no one had actually asked me for the shirt off my back yet. I ended up doing the right thing. I waited until it was dark, and then threw the body in the ocean. Ok, fine, I gave him his T-shirt. Stupid conscience--thanks a lot, MOM.
