It was just a bad week. I broke a plate (you’d think I’d just robbed a bank by the reaction I got), I lit my towel on fire, I dropped a whole pan full of brioche when I tripped up the stairs, and to top it off, I’m sick. This week the chefs were in a particularly bad mood so that translated to more reprimands, yelling, and general insults in the kitchen.

To occupy my mind and prevent myself from quitting, I began singing the song, Take This Job and Shove It by Johnny Paycheck. If you’re an American or a country music fan, you’ve heard it. To entertain myself even further and prevent the tears that were forming at the corners of my eyes, I began singing the song in different genres. Gospel was relatively easy, as was Reggae and Heavy Metal. I’m still working on the dance version and will soon have the hip hop version down pat. But the good news is, I’ve got six weeks behind me with only another four to go. I think I can make it.

To make matters more entertaining, I’m having problems getting mail. My cell phone company turned off my service and my bank threatened to freeze my accounts because mail was being returned. I sent myself several test letters, five to be exact. I’ve only received three of them. God only knows where the other two are. My landlord has no idea why it’s happening and the post office can’t give me any information. It’s times like these when I’m thankful for how easy things are in the States!

Today I went to renew my residency permit at school. Here too I encountered unforeseen problems. I was told that my application to extend my permit until the end of June may be rejected for several reasons. This means I might have to give up my dreams of a pastry internship and leave the country by the end of March. I have a fight ahead of me if I want to stay – something that I wasn’t expecting. So please think good thoughts for me. I could use all the help I can get right now!

I know the road to one’s dream isn’t always smooth and easy, especially when you’re living in another country. But why is it that all the challenges have to come at once? Granted I know I could be facing other more challenging situations like not being able to pay my bills, facing hunger or not having running water. But for some reason when it’s you facing so many challenges, they seem like mountains when in fact they’re molehills. So I’ll be thankful that they’re not more extreme and face each one as it comes. In the meantime, if you want to lend a hand with the R&B version of Take This Job and Shove It, I could use all the help I can get!

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