Day 5 and some afterthoughts

This day was awful. My calories were so depleted and I was so exhausted from my lack of sleep that I was about ready to crack. In my first class, my professor wouldn't let me eat because he was allergic to peanut butter (I was eating peanut butter and crackers). In my second class I was falling asleep, and I snapped at a kid who said that the people sleeping in the shanty town didn't have it that hard. After that class, at 2 - 2 hours before I would be allowed to eat - I came home to my roommates eating Five Guys. I got upset, and they mocked me. I had to retreat to our bathroom to escape the aroma of the burgers. my last class was rotten - I was upset at my roommates on top of being cranky, and so hungry I was about to cry. I got back to an empty apartment at 4, couldn't find my burger, and burst into tears. When I found it, cold and unpleasant in the fridge, I wasn't even happy about eating it as I usually am. I was just ravenous. I quickly showered and went to work. It took me about 2 hours before the calories from the Five Guys set in and I stopped being cranky.

The rest of the weekend revolved around me getting food. I'm still extremely tired and catching up on my eating. Despite the lack of realism of this assignment, I gained quite a bit of insight into the hardships of impoverished people. I anticipated the discomfort of being unhygenic, and wasn't too surprised by the bugs. Also, based on the type of food I was eating (mostly inexpensive vegetables and peanut butter and crackers which I was rationing) I am now painfully aware of what it means when text books and articles talk about people who receive a lower-than-optimal amount of calories. That, combined with the lack of sleep, made me far less productive than I would have been otherwise.

I was surprised by how disdainful people were toward the assignment, and how they still seemed to judge me as some hippie freak even after I explained everything to them. I was also incredibly disheartened by the lack of support from people close to me. Although I chose to do this assignment and stick to the rules, that didn't make it any less hard. I needed sympathy, or passivity at the very least (I'm making that a word). Instead, I was mocked. Usually I have a sense of humor about it... but based on the circumstances, that behavior lead me to redraw my assessments of the character of those individuals.

On a brighter note, Katie and I did very well by coordinating our funds. We were able to buy toothpaste and toothbrushes, and shared the effort of making food. Also we had quite a bit of luck, as we came upon food at the speaking center on Wednesday. Also, despite how hard actual sleeping was, the shantytown was a lot of fun.

I will end with a story from the Sunday after the project. A coworker came into Starbucks during my shift and told me she read about me in the paper, and that I was quoted. I asked what I'd said, and she replied "I feel dirty, but that's OK." I spent the rest of the day very concerned, only to discover that she had misquoted the article. I was actually reported to have said "I feel gross, but I'm fine with that." I'm much more comfortable with the reality - what a silly matter of semantics!

Day 4

I have fleas. I don't think I actually do, truth be told, but it's a pretty indicative line. I have bug bites all over one of my legs and a few on one hand. It was 51 degrees outside the night before. there's NO reason why there should be bitey bugs around. I'm not a happy kitten... I look so gross scratching all the time. Other than that, Katie and I were able to get a lot of food yesterday... so I think I'm going to be alright in that department. I also bathed out of a sink because I had to go to work at 5. My shift felt bad for me and kept offering me food that we were going to throw away otherwise. After that, I had to do homework until about 2 AM, so I had to go to a public place which was the 24 hr study lounge in trinkle. Actually, I was more comfortable and productive there than I would have been at my apartment... so I think I'm just going to keep using that.
I want to change my clothes like you wouldn't believe. I want my hamburger from Five Guys. I WANT TO SHOWER AND SHAVE MY LEGS AND WASH MY HIDEOUS FACE. I've impressed myself and people who know me enough, and I'm ready to go back to being a consumer whore.
Last night I slept in my bed for the first time, which made me a little less cranky. I had a dream that I was going on an adventure with pirates, one of whom of course was Johnny Depp's character. He caught a falling star that turned into a bottle of wine, and he had me drink some, and apparently it was love potion wine... It was good times. Then I had to go rescue him, and I found him singing in drag on a ship, so he swam over to the dock where I was and I rescued him. Then there was a tornado. The end.

Day 3

Yesterday kind of sucked hardcore. I woke up really early and didn't get back to my apartment until after I'd given an Arabic presentation and taken a linguistics exam. Also, I foolishly gave all of my food to Katie, so I didn't eat until around 5, and in the meantime I got BITCHY and frustrated. The registrar's offices here and at CNU were both giving me a hard time, and being of no help. It made me very angry, and I acted childishly because I was exhausted and hungry. To suffice, it was embarassing. However, then I met up with Katie for dinner, we went to Combs to find silverware to eat our leftovers from the night before... and found chicken and pizza and brownies in the speaking center! They let us take everything we wanted, and gave us the entire plate of brownies. We were happy little clams. I decided to sell the brownies for 50 cents each. Ultimately I traded them for duct tape to secure our shelter. A couple of Katies stayed in the shantytown last night, so I wasn't the only girl this time. Last night was really fun - the shantytown people went to chill in Monroe, because it was too cold to hang around outside.

Day 2

Yesterday was quite busy... After waking up early around 6:30, I did some homework in a computer lab and went to class. Somewhere during the day I managed to hop over to Starbucks (I'm allowed to drive there because it's where I worked) to pick up some free coffee for Dr. Humphrey. Yeah, I'm a little bit of a kiss ass, but my grade will reflect it. Also the poor addict was suffering and I get free coffee which I dislike... so it just made sense. Dinner consisted of the cheapest vegetables at Giant, which were yams, carrots and tomatos. I cut them with my army knife and cooked them on a camping stove. My partner said it felt like she was on Survivor, and the people who had come to study with me were too amused to mind that I wasn't really paying attention to linguistics. We also boiled some rice and lentils. Truth be told, it was actually a quite delicious meal, and we had plenty to spare. I'm down to $4, which is still FAR better than most people. I studied until I had to get away from electricity, then I headed over to campus for the night. As we had seen that it was supposed to thunderstorm last night, I arrived to an already made tent made out of a tarp and cardboard boxes. I was the only girl there... which was quite awkward, but I dealt with it. Sleeping on the ground wasn't so much fun last night... I couldn't move because of the tarp and was thus very uncomfortable. but I'm starting to wake up around now... and it's a good thing, because I have to give a presentation in 40 minutes! ... no me gusta

Day 1

Yesterday was my first day living on $2. I had previously arranged to pool money with 3 other girls, but only one of them came through... I was very hungry in the morning, and I was uncomfortable having not brushed my teeth. I had planned to go to the store with one of my groupmates, but she didn't show up and I had to go alone. I spent $9.12 on food, toothbrushes and toothpaste. I was very glad to finally be able to eat, but didn't like having to pace myself.
All in all, yesterday wasn't all that bad. I sold some extra toothbrushes to classmates for 25 cents each, and my partner and I both have over $5 left for the week. As far as I can tell, we're in better shape than the majority of people participating in the project.
Last night, however, sleeping outside was not too fun. I pretended I was a caterpillar, and then I was alright, but it was very cold and uncomfortable.

Pregaming

Tomorrow morning I start living on two dollars a day. I should be eating an obscene amount of calories, but I'm too lazy. Instead, I'm enjoying the pleasures of having the lights on after dark and clean clothes and bathing. I'm apprehensive about how well my pseudo-family situation will work, and wondering if it would actually be easier alone. I also can't help thinking about the unrealistic aspects of this assignment. I can't fully engulf myself in the lifestyle of a truly impoverished person because of requirements of school. I can't function without migrane medicine, and will probably be taking some over the course of these next five days. Impoverished people have to suffer through all of their pain. I still get to use my computer, my cell phone, my car... poor people don't have all of those things. I feel this experiment would carry more weight if I were not allowed luxuries I have received from living in a highly developed country. Maybe if people could see one of their own people deteriorate from poverty they would understand. I haven't even started yet, so I'll bite my tongue for now. It would probably be a good idea to get off my ass pretty soon for a sandwich or a salad or anything good for me that I won't be getting... but inertia will probably prevail.