Don't worry 'bout a thing...

Growing up, my father always warned me, "Be careful what you wish for, for you surely will get it." Today at lunch, he was proven right once again. For almost the entire year, as you know, I've been complaining about the steady diet of rice and beans we get here at the university every day. When I got back from the US yesterday, there was a memo in our e-mail saying that the cafeteria was being renovated over the summer and thus, starting today, we would no longer be eating in the cafeteria, but in the two classrooms closest to my office. (so much for long lunch breaks) And we would no longer have the services of the caterer we'd used for the past year (YAY!). The university will be looking for a new caterer over the summer. In the meantime, they contracted with the gentleman who runs the snack shop at the park to provide lunch for University staff and students. Sounds good, right? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No, it is not.

Today, the new "caterer" pulled up in a foodmobile (what my father, who once worked construction, refers to lovingly as a "roach coach") and gave us the option of "Special" hamburgers (cheeseburgers with spam-like substance on top), fried chicken, french fries, fried tacos, and pop. No rice. No beans. No fruit. No salad. No fresh juice or water. Grr. If I eat this food every day for the next month and a half I'm going to gain 75 pounds before I leave here! AND to top it all off, it cost me MORE MONEY than the previous contractor. Today's lunch (spamoriffic burger, small fries, and a gingerale) was 1300 colones ---nearly a dollar more than the usual---and my boss helpfully pointed out that a Burger King meal only costs 1200. Gah!

Oh, and they didn't have a menu with prices posted, and the servers in the (mobile) kitchen didn't speak any english, so our poor african students were having a hell of a time understanding what was available and/or affordable. My boss and I did a little bit of translation...but, c'mon.

Speaking of Africans, my African friend blew me off last night (thankfully). At least he called. He said he didn't want to be that african guy who makes plans, doesn't show and doesn't call. God was clearly having fun with me on that one. After blasting the stereotypical african male in my post yesterday, my african friend calls and checks in so he can avoid being the stereotypical african male....riiiight got it. So, we're supposed to get together tonight. But it's rainy and cilly [er...that's chilly] out now, and I'm still exhausted. So, who knows, I might not get out of the house today either...

So, the post title today comes from a She-Daisy (of course I still listen to country music) song. I was listening to it on my launch.com station today. It came on after simon and garfunkel's sound of silence. The mixture of these two songs is how I feel today. Don't worry bout a thing. Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again. Can you tell I'm still feeling a bit out of sorts? Maybe it's jet lag. Maybe some weird form of Costa Rican short-timer syndrome. Don't know. Don't really care. It's july. One month and 19 days till I go home.

Happy weekend one and all.