Stories from Uganda

Peace Corps Volunteers, at least those in Uganda, are obsessed with food. This is fact.

However, when you´re eating beans and rice way more than anyone should AND your comfort food is a thing called a rolex, maybe that's to be expected.

First, let me illustrate the extent of this obsession:

I once watched another PCV lick their plate after a good meal at Ryder Hotel.

There have been stampedes and arguments over the Pineapple Crumble during trainings at Ryder Hotel.

I have dreams about food on a regular basis.

I admit that a certain Peace Corps Volunteer (I won't name names...) once bribed me to do something by offering me another PCV's chocolate brownies....And I obliged.

You get the picture...

So,when I thought about the prospect of going to Spain for 2 weeks, naturally, my thoughts gravitated on all the delicious things that I might eat there. And when another PCV asked "Are you excited about going to Spain?" My first response was something to the effect of "Of course, I can't wait to eat good food and enjoy modern comforts." To which the PCV responded, "What about seeing your parents?" Well, I thought that was just a give-in...But in my defense, I don't think that I am the only PCV who treats trips abroad as an opportunity to binge eat. And more than one PCV wished me farewell by saying, "Eat a lot of good food for me!"

As a consequence of the above mentioned, my trip to The Netherlands and to Spain was primarily food-centered (as well as family-centered, I thought that was assumed but let me make that clear so no one else misunderstands me...)For approximately two weeks, I enjoyed tapas, pastries, cold cuts and cheese, fresh bread,ice cream,way to many bocadillos, grocery store sushi, as well sandwiches, and Asian buffets. It was beautiful. Actually, it was beautiful minus the Asian buffet part. I actually ended up waddling (like a duck) out of the restaurant. Then, when we finally made it back to the hotel, I collapsed face down onto the bed and fell into a food-induced coma.

So - minus the Asian buffet - It was beautiful.

So what's the moral of the story? I don't know. Maybe I just wanted to brag about all the good food I ate. Maybe I wanted to make it clear that seeing my parents WAS a highlight of going to Spain. Or maybe this was just a commentary on the Peace Corps Volunteers unhealthy relationship with food.

Either way, Spain treated me well!