"This is the generation that could save a
generation."
I'm in a bit of a giddy mood tonight...I've been like that every day after work...I sit in a cubicle for over 8 hours by myself, by the time I get home, I'm so tired and starved for human interaction! We've had some pretty special room mate bonding time because of it...for example, tonight we had a trailer trash party. This basically means that we cooked up weiners and beans for dinner, and ate them with white bread and beer... Pictures will be uploaded as soon as Kenya wireless permits!!
Work is going well. Well, to be honest, it's a bit overwhelming, and I really do feel quite lost, but I'll get the hang of it. The people are so amazing, I really can't get over it. Yesterday we got called to the board room at 11, I assumed it was for a meeting so I showed up with my notepad and pen, ready to do something terribly important. As it turned out, Elly (one of the guys from work, he's acutally the one who drives the work van in the morning) had his birthday last weekend, so we had a bit of a birthday party for him. I was one of the first ones to the board room, and Jonathan told me I could MC the party... I thought he was kidding, but no, he was dead serious. So they walked me through how to MC a coffee-break birthday party. I'll explain the process:
1) When everyone is in the room, the MC must make a little speech welcoming everyone, and saying a few words to the birthday person. This basically consisted of me saying "So.... welcome everyone....*awkward pause* .... So.... Elly.... happy birthday.... I .... um....hope this year brings you alot of happiness....??"
2) Then the MC must invite everyone else to make a comment. We actually went around the room saying nice things to Elly. Jacques (the supervisor) came in late, and he acutally launched into this really serious speech about getting older, and God's plan and stuff, it was pretty intense!
3) The MC gives the birthday person the birthday card. So I was like "Well, here...?" and handed it across the table. But no. This was not appropriate. They made the two of us stand up in the center of the room, and I had to hand him the card while shaking his hand, as if I was the Publisher's Clearing House handing out a check for a small fortune. I'm dead serious. There are pictures to prove it (again, when Kenyan wireless permits)
4) Then the MC must invite the birthday person to cut the cake. So like the birthday card, I basically handed it to him and was like "Well...here you go?". Wrong again. Why cut the cake normally when you can make a huge production out of it?? Euloge, who was sitting on the other side of Elly from me said "No, you need to invite someone to cut the cake with him". I was like "Ok then, would you like to cut the cake with him??" Everyone at the table burst out laughing; as it turns out, a girl must help the boy cut the cake, or vice versa. And by help, I mean pose for the camera while cutting the cake together. ?Yep, I could'nt make this up if I tried.
5) The MC lets everyone chit chat and eat their cake in peace. Lively conversations about HIV and then God insued.
6) When everyone falls into an awkward silence, the MC must dismiss everyone from the table. "Alright then... thank you for coming? You can go....?"
All in all, quite the experience. I was on the verge of the giggles the entire time, I didn't realize until the end that they were acutally totally serious. I thought it was kind of a lighthearted party, but no, they were all very genuine and serious about the whole thing! It was pretty funny, but truly, it was actually really nice.
I would love to continue and tell you about the adventures of travelling to and from work, but I'll save it for tomorrow, I should get to bed, its 9pm, which, sadly, is my bedtime these days!
-Delaney xo
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