Wednesday, 17 April 2013

Day 2: Craving some sausage rolls

“Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.” Mark Twain

Observations from today include: not liking black tea but drinking it to get some caffeine, appreciating value jam to liven up my porridge and being thankful for my 'treat toffees' of which I get 5 a day to give me a sugar boost.  

On my way to and from the office today, more than any other time before, I noticed all the smells from various eateries making their way into my nostrils. Usually this wouldn't bother me but today as I knew that I COULDN'T go in and buy anything. Today I have no choice what I eat, the food I have is the food I will eat and there is no room for manoeuvre. It has been said that 'Choices create temptation' but I would argue the opposite and say that a lack of choice leads to greater desire for something, in this case some sort of greasy snack. Even the manufactured smell of Subway was quite enticing.

When in Zimbabwe visiting Christian Aid partners we were told that people living in poverty often view technology/development as a plane. They can see it, see what it does but know that they will not partake of its services or benefit from it. It is this feeling of helplessness that even though they may be surrounded by wealth/development/hope that they are still outside its reach and as such are powerless to have direct involvement. To a far lesser degree I felt this same sense of powerlessness, that people were buying food and eating food that was beyond my reach and means. When friends and I say we have no money we usually do but simply are looking to spend it elsewhere; those living in extreme poverty literally don't have any money to spend on anything other than the essentials for life.

At lunch I had a tin of spaghetti hoops on toast and even though those around me had a more nutritious lunch I was content with my meal and it was substantial enough to give me some energy for my afternoons work. Lunches this week have actually been fine and aren't too far removed from what I ate whilst being a student and looking to save money wherever I could. Let's just say there have been times where I have eaten less well out of laziness or sheer determination to use up the food I had in the cupboard.


Dinner tonight was much the same as yesterday and the amount of rice I have means I am ensuring I am filled up but the blandness of the food does make it a slight chore to finish. And as the title suggests, snacking is what I am missing most - some sausage rolls and BBQ sauce would go down a treat.

3 more days to go...

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