Once a year, the hospital where I’m an intern hosts an Employee Appreciate Day, where they basically shut down the cafeteria and offer a free breakfast, lunch, or dinner that’s served up by managers.
This year had a Caribbean theme. They’d set up a bunch of tables and decorated with tropical centerpieces and a fake tiki bar and lounge chairs. There was also music blasting. I kind of felt like I was at a wedding where I didn’t know a lot of people, though that could have been because there were giant centerpieces on the table.
So how was the food? 
For a free lunch, it was okay, but totally not what I’d normally eat (I’m used to having, like, 90% of the plate be green). I ate the yuca and meat and about half the cake, but the empanada just wasn’t speaking to me. I tried to cut it and gave up. There was salad, but I couldn’t eat it because it had almonds. There were also plantain chips, rice & beans, and popsicles, but I just wasn’t up for that many carbs, I guess!
Patients sometimes comment to me about the fact that the hospital serves a lot of unhealthy food. I have to admit, though this lunch was a really nice gesture, it was a perfect illustration. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.
And for the record, in the grand scheme of things, one unhealthy meal in the context of a day is not a huge deal if you balance it out well. Haha you’d better believe I had a ton of veggies at dinner.
