In the beginning… there were jokes

There is a running joke at my work involving me and any number of my male coworkers. The jokes are if not exactly PC in the American way they are at least inoffensive. This is because the organization is Apparently( I emphasize apparently because it was not apparent to me at all for awhile) a faith-based organization. This actually has no bearing on my work here but is interesting because it explains why the jokes are really pretty harmless. They run along the lines of so-and-so wanting to marry me. That’s pretty much it. There are fake wedding dates and my dowry is discussed at length. Will I need it all at once? hahaha. When I meet your parents? hahaha. As such it took me two weeks to figure out which were the jokes and which were genuine invitations. (Tip: A dead giveaway of a real invitation is being asked to someone’s church) I have had several invitations and I can’t really decide which one I should go to first. Will it be rude to go to one persons and not another’s? People here ask me what religion I am. After listening to the stories of my fellow interns who answered this question I congratulate myself for deciding to lie. After one or two attempts at trying to explain what Quakerism I gave up and am now simply a “saved” person. I had no clue what this meant when I was asked the first time. “Are you saved”? Saved? Saved from what? Oh right! Eternal damnation in the hellfire right… I forgot, yeah sure I’m safe, I mean saved. Yeah that’s me, Saved! Not that there’s anything wrong with devotion, it just tends to throw me when strangers ask if I have accepted the savior the way some people ask how I take me tea. ‘Oh so you’re here for 5 months? Wow, yeah and you stay on the north side of the city you say, ah yes. Very good. Very good. And have you accepted Jesus as your lord and savior? Yes oh good good. Is this enough suger? Ok ok, sawa sawa. Its not as if I were to say “no I’m not religious” as a spontaneous angry mob with torches shows up. It just saves a lot of confusion just saying yes to most anything asked of you. Are you Christian? Yes. Do you enjoy the  here? Uhh yes.  hot today ? Yes.  Julie  Somebodies name  married , right? Sure why not. See! It’s just much easier. It’s at about this time that it dawned on the audience why Julie was always accidentally agreeing to do things she has no knowledge of. Oh well.