As I write this, I lie in bed – exhausted, satisfied, and duly stuffed. Exhausted from playing softball in the morning and helping some friends move across town this afternoon. Satisfied and stuffed because tonight was the night of the Italian Dinner. And what a feast it was.
Put on by the graduating class of 2014, this was one of three fundraising dinners this school-year. It’s the closest thing to a restaurant here in Ukarumpa, complete with waiters, hostesses, chefs, and all (the majority of which were made up of 11th grade students).
The Teen Center was decorated in full Italian decor, and a live saxophone played softly in the background. The mood was decidedly Italian (except, perhaps, the lack of wine and waiters saying “Prego, Prego!” every so often).
The menu was a set, four-course meal – minestrone soup for starters, salad after that (“an Olive Garden style salad,” the advertisement read, but my neighbor pointed out that carrots don’t belong in Olive Garden salads, and promptly took hers off), enough lasagna to feed three people, and some tiramisu for dessert. It was quite tasty, all, and I ate every bite of it (including my neighbor’s carrots) until I ran all out of space halfway through the dessert. Here’s our table, having a grand time:
If you squint, you might can see me there at the back right.
One of my students was apparently the hired paparazzi, as she walked about in her waitress outfit taking pictures all the night long. She tried to be subtle about it, but I’m afraid her efforts at doing so were in vain. The sight of a camera-weilding waitress makes it hard to eat your soup without worrying about who might be watching – especially when you know this particular student is on the year-book staff.
gladly, beyond 
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