Showers and our first insane friend

Aboard Carl’s shuttle once again, and the young man behind us said we were clearly new arrivals, we seemed to have too much energy. Clearly, he was talking about Tina, as I was barely speaking at that point. We struck up a conversation, and he turned out to be the MD on duty at the Camp II medical tent. He’s doing his residency in Chicago, and had just returned from Delhi, attending his father’s memorial. When he got home, he just decided at 11:30 one night to load up the car and head for Crawford. So he’d been there a few days, and was happy to take us into the Peace House, introduce us around, and see that we got showers. Saif became a friend that night, and we spent a good deal of our time in Texas laughing with him. He was the first person I talked to when I got home (he was still winding his way back to Chicago, site seeing along the way).

Peace House is no different from camp; in that once you’re there you don’t want for anything. Towels, soap, toothbrushes, coffee, home made bread- it’s all there and if you’re a volunteer you’re welcome to it. Although there’s only one bathroom and a five-minute shower limit, after sweating in the ditch it feels like heaven.



Freshly showered (but still in smelly clothes), we sat in the garden as the sun dipped, and made more friends while we sipped coffee and water and had some snacks. Saif entertained us all with impressions and weird accents and general silliness, and we got to meet people young and old who we’d see every morning at camp. I felt so good- clean and cooler and without the sun beating me up. My energy came back and I felt ready for anything.