My Scarlet letter

In Peace Corps we are given an almost unlimited supply of condoms. I have more condoms than I know what to do with. When I went off to my site Peace Corps gave me a box of 150 condom and a big fake wooden penis. I was also given a bag of Trojans at a mini-Vac. All of these condoms are still in my house, save for the few that have been used in demonstrations. I keep them in a bag next to my shoes and the big penis.

I also mentioned that I was recently at a conference. At the conference we spent a bit of time teaching about HIV and AIDS. We also had a condom party where we threw condoms about, blew them up, and taught people how to use them correctly.

Well, during the events of the days I wound up with condoms in my pockets. When I came home from the conference I dumped my laundry in the front and washed my clothes. As I cleaned out my pockets I found a stray condom and set it on the ledge.

Let me tell you about the scandal this condom has faced.

First, there was question of who the condom belonged to. There were people living in my house at the time (hey guys!) and they were asking each other in hushed whispers about it. "Whose condom is that?" Okay. Whatever. Eventually I was asked about the condom and I said that it was in fact mine. Whatever, I have condoms. I have 150 of them…  would you like one?

Later, the condom was moved into the house and someone else asked me about it. "Amanda, do you know whose condom that is?" Well yes, yes I do, it's mine.

I also recently found out that the cleaning lady happened across this same one condom on the table. She shook it in the face of another person in the house and was very ashamed of me. The scandal… I have a condom in my house. What else could I be doing. I didn't have condoms all over my house before I came to Peace Corps, but I also didn't feel much different when I brought a bunch into my house here.

I can't even imagine the scandal that would happen if the cleaning lady ever went into my closet.

I think I'm just going to leave that condom wherever it ends up. I actually don't know where it is, because I keep forgetting to hide it away so I can pretend sex doesn't exist and this island doesn't have the highest preteen pregnancy rate.

Thank you Peace Corps, I now wear a Scarlet letter!