day 95: old books and tutoringAfter the field trip, I helped a friend study for our upcoming Danish final. She said she was feeling really sick and nauseous, then she asked me if I wanted a cookie. She took out a package of digestive biscuits. "I love these," she said. "I'm going to buy a bunch to take home. I have a habit of eating them in mass quantities."
I looked at her. "Have you eaten anything else today?" It was 4pm.
"Uh, a banana."
Hmm. "Maybe you're feeling sick because you're overdosing on fiber and you haven't eaten a real meal today."
"Oh, but I woke up late so I haven't been up that long."
"How late?"
"Like, one."
Eventually I persuaded her to go buy a bagel, but she was resistant at first. She told me that she usually only eats once per day because she just doesn't have any money. "I wish I lived with a host family so I could just eat whatever I wanted!" She laughed. She knows I live with a host family.
I sit next to her in Danish. Some mornings she coms in with a coffee and a pastry from 7-11. When she sets her bag down on the desk, I always see at least two packs of cigarettes inside. It's easy to conclude that maybe she doesn't need more money so much as she needs to learn how to budget and shop for herself. Or maybe she really is just broke.
A part of me wanted to stuff a 100-kroner note ($20) in her bag while she was off buying a bagel, but I didn't. I know I get these sorts of urges from my parents. One time when I was about six (I think?), my parents were packing up groceries in our kitchen. I asked them where they were taking our food. They said they found a family living in their car somewhere and that those people needed our food more than us. What a Hallmark moment, right? Still, it stuck with me, 'cause there's a part of me that wants to give money to skinny, pale girls who can't concentrate because they eat once a day and smoke too many cigarettes and can't take care of themselves.
Labels: day 95: old books and tutoring
