Peace Corps
The waiter brought out a green ceramic cup made to look like a polynesian mask. Resting across the rim was a little plastic sword with a cherry and an orange on it. The drink was called a Zombie and after we passed it around the table, taking sips, we concluded that the pretense that it was a mixed drink and not all liquor was a flimsy one.
L. and I were sitting in a booth at a Chinese restaurant in Springfield with our friends Ross and Emily, who are going to Africa. That's how they explain it. If people persist, they say, we're going to volunteer. Only the persistant questioner will get out of them that they are joining the Peace Corps.
They're not sure exactly what village they are going to, but it will be in rural South Africa. Most likely, the villagers there will speak Zulu or a related language. They are about our age and are also recently married. They've been living in Connecticut, so we haven't seen them that often, but it still seems sad to see them go, even though we're excited for them.
On Monday, they fly to Philadelphia for training. Then, after a few days there, they fly to Johannesburg. This morning, L. and I are both reflective, slow moving, groggy. Was it just the Zombie? Or was it something else, a contact high, wishing friends off on a grand adventure?
L. and I were sitting in a booth at a Chinese restaurant in Springfield with our friends Ross and Emily, who are going to Africa. That's how they explain it. If people persist, they say, we're going to volunteer. Only the persistant questioner will get out of them that they are joining the Peace Corps.
They're not sure exactly what village they are going to, but it will be in rural South Africa. Most likely, the villagers there will speak Zulu or a related language. They are about our age and are also recently married. They've been living in Connecticut, so we haven't seen them that often, but it still seems sad to see them go, even though we're excited for them.
On Monday, they fly to Philadelphia for training. Then, after a few days there, they fly to Johannesburg. This morning, L. and I are both reflective, slow moving, groggy. Was it just the Zombie? Or was it something else, a contact high, wishing friends off on a grand adventure?