"Errands"

I was just realizing the other day that this word has been removed from our vocabulary here in PC. I was reminded of this when our last stipend deposit came a week later than usual…during the holidays…when we’re BROKE…and trust me, when you’re already living hand-to-mouth, BROKE means BROKE.

Come back in time with me, it’s Christmas Eve’s Eve. It’s already a couple days past when our stipend is usually deposited. On our way to meet up with other PCVs for the holidays, we stop at the ATM to get some much-needed cash. And yikes! Balance inquiry: Less than $1US. Meaning: no deposit yet. …(Don’t worry, we were able to improvise through Christmas.)

We’d check back again 5 days later, on our way back to our community. Besides, 5 days later would be the deadline for the latest our deposits are supposed to come. So when I (Julie) arrived in Santa- the last stop before Accompong- where we do all our grocery shopping, I couldn’t believe we STILL had not received our deposits. (Take “I couldn’t believe” with a grain of salt, because after living in the developing world for almost 2 years, you ‘can believe’ just about anything –especially when it comes to things like deadlines.) I bought what groceries I could, with what little money I had, knowing our cupboards at home were bare, and made my way back to site, texting PCJ staff about our deposits. And sure enough, as I was walking up to my doorstep back in Accompong at 11am, I received word from the PCJ office that stipends were scheduled to be available at 2pm, at the bank.

So, what does all this have to do with ‘errands’? Well, my friends, because back in the States, going to the ATM , doesn’t consist of a tiring journey that costs half of your daily paycheck -a journey that takes a minimum of 3 hrs, involves the discipline of not missing one of the two taxis that travel to Accompong, and the flexibility to be entirely on other’s timeframes.
I’m also reminded of this, when for the 4th time in a row, Matt forgets to get the tomato paste on the grocery list -no matter that there’s only a dozen things on the list to start with, TOMATO PASTE is underlined, capitalized, and starred. Or that I sent reminder texts….but that’s a story for a different time. Of course, this is infuriating, but what drives you to the edge of insanity, is that Matt can’t just say, “I’ll run back real quick and get it” (as he knows this would definitely be his best option). But there’s no “running back real quick” in our lives. There’s no “stopping-by.” And, there certainly, most definitely is no such thing as ‘errands’ -at least in the way we know them.