Living on $2 a Day @ UMW - Tuesday April 3, 2007 (5:15 am)

Night One in the Shanty-town

Last night was long and sleepless. There were at least eight of us who chose to reside in the mock shanty-town, which consisted of one giant tarp and some sleeping bags. I am not really sure that we approximated the conditions we wanted to; however, one of my students (Isaac) did use cardboard boxes. Usually on sleepless nights, like last night, all it takes is some coffee to get me going. So, all night all I could think about is where I was going to get my caffeine. On my way to the office at 4:45 am (my usual wake-up time), I found it on the third floor of Monroe Hall. For weeks now, someone (none of my colleagues actually knows who) has been setting up a bazaar on the tables out in the hall. These items are always free and always unusual: a framed bag of Virginia peanuts (which for some reason I liked and have in my office), a painting of a soccer player (which for some reason one of my students – Catherine – like and has in the Economics office), playing cards, and this morning coffee grounds!

The bag of “Café D Poy” coffee grounds is marked at $35.00. Wow, it must have been good at some time. How do I do this I wondered? I got some paper towels from the bathroom to make a filter, threw in some grounds, and poured my water - that was boiled yesterday and is now room temperature – through the filter…not so good. But, it will have to do.