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I am so not looking forward to my immersion tomorrow.

For those who are not familiar with the term, an “immersion” is a required activity for one of my mandatory Theology classes. The objective is for you to live at a poor area for x days so that you can realize how bad the situation of the poor is and feel like shit for having enough money to live in a comfortable house and attend a decent school. (Okay, that’s a very crass way of putting it, but I’m not in the best of moods right now.)

Before I start sounding like a bratty little Atenean, let me explain something first. I’m a very simple person. I don’t need to be surrounded by plush carpets and satin curtains to feel at home somewhere. Although I do require a decent bathroom with a hot shower, I can still buck up and tolerate bathing in the cold for a short period of time. The smallest things, like a free cup of coffee, is enough to make my day. And while I generally do not like people and go out of my way to avoid them, there are times when I do feel receptive to strangers and allow myself to engage in conversations with those I don’t consider my friends.

With that said, I am dreading my immersion because I shall be staying in a homeless shelter for teenage boys.

Teenage boys.

Look, I don’t care what socio-economic class you’re from. If you’re a teenage boy, that makes you a horny little bastard. If you’re a teenage boy living with other teenage boys with no parents to guide you, that probably makes you a rapist in the making. Okay, maybe I’m being a little harsh here. But when you’re a guy who lives with other guys and you hardly get to go out and meet girls, you’re likely to turn out to be one of two things: horribly undersexed, or gay. I’m betting that most of the boys in the orphanage/homeless shelter will turn out to be like the former than the latter, which is what worries me about my stay there.

I never thought I’d say this, but for once in my life I wish I were ugly. Previous experiences have taught me to be doubly paranoid about being around guys I don’t know or trust. I’m probably going to get a very low grade for the immersion because I highly doubt that I’ll be doing much talking during the whole trip. But fuck. If that does happen, I hope my Theology porfessor realizes that I’m not being a snob to the boys because they’re poor. I’m being a snob to them because they’re boys. Horny goddamn teenage boys.

Before you start accusing me of being sexist, let’s pretend that you’re a 20-year old girl - with a boyfriend - who is about to spend more than 48 hours of her life with homeless teenage boys. What do you do?
a) Act overly friendly to the point where they start thinking that you’re interested in them
b) Wait for them to start the conversation, but maintain a distance when they do

I guess it would be too much to hope for a storm to arrive tomorrow and delay the inevitable. I may as well start packing now. *sigh*