happy anniversary to me and the other wonderful people with whom i started this peace corps journey a year (and one day) ago. i can't believe i've been in dominica so long. it went incredibly quickly and i'm sure it'll go even faster this coming year, or that's what i'm told will happen at least. i feel like i've come a long way. work is finally happening. people are used to me, i'm used to them. life is good.
so in the spirit of reflection, i wanted to kind of think about how i've grown as a person these last 365 days. instead it turned into a random list of highlights and lowlights, which i will share here:
-profusive sweating is a normal part of life
-crazy drunk people no longer scare me
-i'm more bold and assertive (survival skill?)
-being okay with being alone
-being okay in general
-24 books read
-discovering postsecret
-questioning my counseling abilities in cross cultural settings
-creating a website (with some assistance from my dad - check it out here!!)
-writing a $41,000 USD grant
-identifying more strongly with caribbean people than americans
-teaching a 16 year old ex convict the alphabet, letter sounds, and three-letter words
-driving on the left hand side of the road
-no longer trying to get on the bus on the wrong side
-not learning creole as planned
-hardly ever cooking
-pretending i eat healthier than i do
-getting the swine flu
-child spies circling my house daily
-2 cell phones
-waiting
-patience
-laziness
-apathy
-being at least 10 years older or 30 years younger than my friends
-being a minority
-feeling inspired by some amazing people (ex: ma franco)
-philosophical dilemmas (do you steal a loaf of bread or cheese (from me) to feed your starving family?)
-needing to witness and endure human rights violations
-connecting with nature, people
-full moons
-distance
-long distance becoming even longer distance
-skype
-st. martin and barbados
-scuba
-craziness spurred by living alone (ex: talking to myself, crazy dance moves)
-loving living alone
-village feasts
-sunrises
-thanksgiving at my house
-loneliness
-longing
-acceptance
-taking things at face value (trying)
-learning about vegetable oil and biodiesel
-learning to love codfish and sancoach
-sleeping alone
-self-realization
-realizing i'm prone to living in denial
-singing greeting cards
-chocolate chips
-topping up everything
-dependancy
-transportation issues
-PCV friends
-dominican friends
-creole in the park with some girls from my village
-ice cream weekly with michelle
-apples to apples with the boys
-movie nights with amanda and sally
-boiling lake
-new books
-hugs from little kids i see almost every day who act as if they haven't seen me in years
-curious/confused looks from cruise ship tourists when they see me in my village
-tour guides knowing i live here and no longer hustling me to go on a tour
-the juice man
-wavine cyrique
-jungle bay
-the fort young pool
-drinks at ruins
-being resourceful
-reducing my carbon footprint
-living simply and simply living
like i said, random. but overall, though i may complain to some of you sometimes, i am truly happy that i'm doing this. there is no where else i'd rather be.
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