out of place

Ever feel totally out of place? For example, a few years ago, some friends and i went on a road trip to Chicago. We decided to walk to Navy Pier from our hotel. It didn't look very far. We were wrong. After walking for over 3 hours (and a 3 hrs that we had not planned on walking, mind you), we were tired and hungry. Someone told us there were places to eat in a building not too far from us. We found it, walked in, eager for food. We didn't see any signs for restaurants. We didn't see any people. So now, here we are, walking aimlessly through this building. We walk into a huge common area, filled with men dressed in suits. Then we saw the banner- welcoming everyone to the Neurosurgeon Convention. Needless to say, we felt slightly out of place.

Another time was when Lizzie Huijskens was in Haiti visiting. Three Angels' lawyer, Rolande, runs her own orphanage. They were celebrating their 40th anniversary. I thought it would be a casual get together. Finger foods. Kids running around. People mingling. Lizzie and I decided to stop by this party. The second we pulled up, we knew we were out of place. The only thing casual about it was Lizzie and I. Everyone else was dressed for a black tie event. We could see everyone seated in another room, listening to someone give a speech. Servers were busy getting the fancy tables ready for the dinner. We stood around awkwardly for a few seconds, then someone told us they would go get Rolande for us so we could say hi. We decided not to stick around to say hi to anyone, we quickly replied, "Um, I think we're just going to leave..." as we quickly ran back to the car.

Okay, and final story. The one that spurred this post. Tuesday, John asked me to attend an adoption workshop that the Embassy was hosting. Alright, sure, no problem. My first mistake, was again assuming something in Haiti would be casual. There is no such thing as a casual party or get together. They like fancy parties. This is a fact I know. I blame no one but myself for making such a stupid mistake. I thought it would be a casual get together of people that run orphanages and process adoptions. Casual was the first mistake. Second mistake was who I thought would be there. It was mostly French people with fancy names and fancy job descriptions. There was a Haitian judge that works in the Port au Prince court. The Consul General was there. I'm not even sure who he is or what he does, but it sounds important. The first speaker spoke only French. Finally, a few minutes after he spoke, someone went back and repeated everything he said in English. And from there on out, everything was translated from French to English and English to French. As soon as I realized I was under-dressed, I took a seat in the back corner. I spoke to no one. Until a large man came and sat next to me. He shook my hand and introduced himself as someone with the Embassy. Adding to the fact I was aware I was not dressed appropriate, I had a cold. Not a big deal, I know. But, when you can't breath out of your nose, probably have snot dripping down your face, and have to leave your mouth gapping open so you can breath, there is just something about it that makes you feel even more unattractive. It doesn't matter how nice you actually look, you will just still feel like you look like crap. Now, don't get me wrong. I really don't mind these types of events. If I'm dressed properly, I can pretend to be professional and act like I fit in. However, not dressed properly, I just feel like a kid that is somewhere I don't belong. A little out of place.