My life is a comedy

I forgot to mention one little detail, a plot twist, a change of setting, in my story.

I like to think of my life as an open book, with hundreds of blank pages just waiting for my life story to be written. I want my life story to be an amazing one, full of adventure, excitement, romance, plenty of surprises, the greatest love story of all time, and, of course, comedy. What good is life without a few laughs?

Little did I know what a comedic turn my life would take.

Okay, so when I first decided to come to Ghana and work at a Catholic school, I was told that I could go only if the sisters (nuns) here could find a place for me to stay. There was no room in the convent, but if they could find a place in a safe neighborhood close to the school, they would let me know. A few weeks later, I received an email saying that they had found a place for me to stay, so I could go. Lovely! I unquestioningly went forward with everything, booking a plane ticket and getting a visa. About a week or so before I was to leave, I sent an email asking about my living arrangements, whether I’d have my own apartment or if I had a room with a family or something. I wanted to know how much I should pack.

I received a reply the very next day: You’ll be living in the convent with the sisters.

All I could do was laugh. I sat at the computer, reading and rereading the email, laughing out loud. Me, Kate Deaton, living in a convent? With nuns? I think I might have been angry if the situation hadn’t been so hysterical. I’m being sent away to a nunnery!

My friends all found this turn of events quite hilarious.

One friend almost choked on her iced tea. “You’re living in a convent? When we were teenagers, we always joked behind your back about how funny it would be if you entered a convent!” she said when she had finally finished laughing. The reason why they joked about it was because of all our friends, I was definitely the least likely to become a nun.

“If I remember correctly, aren’t you a quasi-disillusioned Catholic? That makes it even funnier,” another friend said when I told him over the phone.
“The only way this situation could possibly be funnier would be if they put me up in a brothel,” I told him.
“That wouldn’t be good, Kate. If you lived in a brothel, the whore jokes would never end,” he said, laughing. “Who knows, you might end up becoming a nun. If you do, you need to tell me if the stories I’ve read of secret lesbian affairs in convents are true. I won’t judge.”

I think my parents, at least, are happy about my living in with nuns. I’m not.

Although I’m not particularly thrilled about the prospect of living in a convent, I do appreciate the irony. It reminds me, somehow, of a Shakespeare play: Get thee to a nunnery! Well, I wanted my life to be a comedy. I wanted adventure, a change of scenery, interesting plot twists, and new characters in my life story. I’m getting what I wanted, I guess.

Maybe it won’t be that bad. We’ll see.