Random Thoughts

Hey,
I feel like everything in Middletown, Pa is coming to an end. This is both sad and good at the same time. I have about two months left here. As I attempt to finish off school projects, pack, wait for my invitation to the Peace Corps, and deal with my social life, I am starting to feel drained! I love the buzz of being busy but I really just want to relax and do nothing for at least a week.

My Peace Corps Placement Officer called me Wednesday to see if I wanted to leave earlier than scheduled. I was truly considering leaving early, like June, but than I started to think about all the commitments I have already made. I cant leave early. I haven’t seen my niece since she was three and I have never seen my nephew who was born two years ago. I need to be able to see them and the rest of my family before I leave. I also accepted the position that I mentioned in an earlier post that I don’t want to turn down.

Although I really am not too keen on Middletown, I have had some great experiences here. I actually went to a hockey game for the first time a couple weeks ago!!!! Imagine and African American girl at a hockey game, how weird. To be honest, I really enjoyed every aspect of the game. It was a great experience. I also got a chance to see a play at the Whitaker Center on the "Diary of Ann Frank". The plot was great, the acting was not so great. A lot of the people in the play didn’t seem to have much acting experience. It was a play nonetheless! Yesterday I got a chance to see Hershey Chocolate world. If you know anything about Hershey Chocolate, you know it was a stimulating experience for me. I love chocolate. I learned about how chocolate is made, which made me think about my experience in Ghana, West Africa.

In Ghana a lot of the natives were talking about the Coco industry. Coco comes from Ghana but Ghanaians purchase chocolate from the western part of the world. It is like the people in the Middle East selling oil to western parts of the world but purchasing it back once it has gone through the purification process. Coco is produced in Ghana but they don’t have a huge chocolate industry there. Companies like Hershey, produces coco plants in Ghana and sells them Chocolate. Interesting concept to me, especially considering that coco is a huge part of their GDP.

Anyhow, weird things keep happening to me in Middletown. I was followed by some random guy last summer and now it seems like his buddies are trying to harass me because I reported him to the police. Long story short, I usually walk the same route to school every time I walk past a cemetery. The guy that harassed me was usually by the cemetery. I know people suggest woman should vary their routes but this town is really small and its irritating to go out of my way just to avoid some wackos.

I was walking back home Wednesday, the day my placement office called me, and one of the guys, that I know recognizes me as the person that reported his friend, stepped out from the shack near the cemetery. I think he works there because he always seems to be there between the hours of 7am and 3pm. The shack is the place where they store all the equipment to dig the graves. Scary!!!

Anyhow as I walked past the shack he stepped out and stared at me the entire time. It was a stare of recognition and intimidation. He was literally purposefully trying to scare me. I pulled out by cell and called my sister so that I wouldn’t feel alone. I stared right back at him and walked home. I am getting pissed off at men that think they can intimidate women! Ok this guy is about 6'3" 300 pounds and I am a only 5'3 but who does he think he is! I am not going to be afraid of some bully. All I have to say is BRING IT! If they think they can intimidate me, they have another thing coming. I am not going to be the same scary little mouse that I was last summer. I want to confront them and let them know that their behavior is inappropriate. I don’t think I will approach them but I need to do something soon. I am not going to be afraid anymore.

Sorry that was a long vent but I am tired of this craziness.

My apologies for the grammatical and spelling errors. Happy Easter!



This is a picture of the Hockey Game! Hershey Bears Versus Some other team. Bears won.




Another Picture!!! Fun times, fun times...