Everyone Needs A Minute...

I am going to take a little break from doing Blogs. I know how much ALL of you enjoy them but you will have to wait a week or so before there is an update. It will make the update even more exciting and better.

Everything is well with me. I am playing volleyball one day a week for about 2ish hours and have been invented to be on the local team which means I will playing games against other villages in Dominica. I am really excited for that. The two other PCVs will be joining me. (Yes we will make up half of the team).

I plan on buying a Goldfish tomorrow. No, he will not replace BL (because I miss him far too much but KNOW he is in safe hands- THANK YOU "Young G's").

I am doing a youth walk this weekend in the north of the Island to raise awareness of literacy and youth involvement on the island.

I ate a Hamburger today and it was GREAT! (It was the first beef I have eaten in about three months).

My school is going GREAT! I am thrilled to start planning a new program in a few weeks (once the kids are done taking exams- they have to take exams to see what Secondary (High School) they can "get into you"). Some Secondary Schools are better then others so you have to take a test to see what one an students gets into. Similar to the ACTs for College.

My "Bigger Readers, Little Listeners" is getting introduced to a new Pre-School next week. It is EXPANDING!

I Drink TOO much local juice because it is that good!

I am going to the local pre-school on Friday to assist the teacher and hang out with the students for "Sports Day."

That is enough random facts!!

Enjoy the moments,
M

See You When I Return...

100th POST!

OoO My Word... This is my 100th Post on my Blog! Crazy! I was thinking about it and how I should have this AMAZING post for my 100th- because you do not want to just have a whatever post on such a FANTASTIC Number! So what better way to Celebrate my 100th Post then by filling it with pictures from the Birthday Party!!

Joys and Pictures 5/24

1. POST SECRET SUNDAY- Favorite Post Secret is above! (I could not decide just on one so I had to pick two)
2. Having a Relaxing Break between Church and the Birthday Party
3. The Vibe of Dominica's Sunday- It is the hardest thing to describe- it is simply a feeling
4. Fresh Pineapple and Paw Paw (Papaya)
5. A SUCESSFUL Birthday Party!
6. Post Secrets for this Sunday being posted on Saturday Night (I Love when that happens)
7. SUNSHINE, SUNSHINE, and MORE SUNSHINE!
8. Smiles, Laughter, and Joy at the Birthday Party!

Joys of 5/23

1. Having a Complete Stranger from the Springs tell us how appreciate he is to have the Peace Corps in Dominica
2. A Free Ride Into Town
3. Making TWO Pizzas and TWO Cakes for the Birthday Party Tomorrow
4. Cleaning my apartment to with the smell of the above goodies in the air
5. Starting Project #1
6. Hanging out with another PCV that has been gone for 10 days
7. When she came she brought me Chocolate Chips for baking- I was SOO EXCITED!
8. Walking down to my old Village and Walking Back Up
9. Seeing my favorite Shop Owner looking a lot better (She is sick)
10. Having another Shop owner tell me how fresh and bright my face is- after walking down to the village in HOTT weather!
11. Talking to my sister on Facebook
12. Success at the Market!
13. BBQ for dinner!
14. Lots of Cookie Dough in my tummy! :o)

Lots of Joys today but No Picture because the 'Picture of the Day' is the cards on the wall that has already been posted!

Let's Take The Morning Off...

Tomorrow (Sunday) is one of the PCV Birthday's so we had a meeting on Friday and decided we should Celebrate her birthday Friday and Saturday. We went out to dinner in town then to another PCV house to eat TOO Many M&M, Reese Peanut Butter Cups (Curiosity of her parents), brownies, and banana bread. Anyways... Saturday we wake up and went to Screws which is a Hot Water Natural Sulfur Springs. See the pictures below. The water appears orange because of the sulfur. It is FANTASTIC because you are in the middle of the rain forest with all of the natural noises and greens around you while you are hanging out relaxing in natural hot water baths. When you are done they serve you fresh fruits. It was FANTASTIC!


-The Girls-




-An over view of the whole place-


-The Sulfur Pools its self-

Project #1- Ongoing...

I have amazing friends and family in my life- that is the truth. I am so fortunate to have these individuals in my life, they make me laugh a little harder, smile for a little longer, and FILL MY PEACE CORPS MAILBOX up with their love. I am grateful for the a number of cards from friends and family I have received. It makes my day. (I wish someone could take picture of me when I go to the post office to pick up my package or see a card in my mail box, to be able to show my true excitement) I was putting the cards into a folder and I decided (stole the ideal from another PCV)- that my walls were too white and I need to put little love on them. So that is what I did(ing)- I am going to hang up all of the cards I have on my guest bedroom wall- to fill the room up with love and to have a visual reminder of all of the amazing individuals that are thinking, caring, and loving me back home. I will keep the pictures of my wall updated every 6 months of so, so everyone can see how the wall is filling up quickly.

Joys and Pictures of 5/21

- The Two Pictures above are my fridge and the decorations. The other picture is of the "Birthday Cake" I made for one of the PCVs for tomorrow. It smelt good and the batter tasted good- I hope it is as good as it smells. It is a white cake (from starch) with melted chocolate bars and milk swirled on top with a little bit of Oreos (Thank You Grandma! -

Joys
1. Again lots of hugs at School
2. Company on my way back to town from school
3. A Little One in My "Big Readers, Little Listeners" program randomly held my hand through the whole story
4. A Nice Walk through the town
5. Free Sample of a Chocolate Croissant (Delicious)
6. A SUNSHINE FILLED DAY!
7. A Nice Little Chat
8. The Smell of a Freshly Backed Cake

Many Hats Today...

Today more then normal I felt I wore many random hats...

1. A Peace Corps Volunteer
2. A Real Estate Agent
3. A Friend
4. A Comfort to my BESTEST
5. A Volleyball Player
6. A Shopper
7. The Reason for someones laughter
8. A Giver of a smile
9. A Receiver of a smile
10. A Sister
11. A "Everything Will Work Out"- even if you are pushing the schedule a little too much
12. A Worrier
13. A Planner
14. A Star Gazer
15. A Frustrated Bus Passenger

JOYS
1. Playing VOLLEYBALL!
2. A Surprise Milky Way Treat!
3. A Ride Down three days this week!! - Time and Money Saved-
4. Online Chatting
5. A Sky full of stars!
6. Talking to my sister Online!
7. A GREAT Power of Attorney (THANK YOU MOM)

- The Picture above is from the Internet. I did not take any pictures today but I wanted a picture of something. I google imaged "Free Spirit" and this is what came up. I found it was interesting way of describing "Free Spirit"-

Picture and Joys of 5/19

This little guy was found on my screen of my window in the INSIDE of my HOUSE! Yes the INSIDE. I was on the phone with one of my friends that calls Dominica home as I screamed- he laughed- and I shut the window in hopes the little guy would find his way out. Naturally he did not, but my landlords nephew came and checked me and I had him get it and put it outside for me.

Joys of the Day
1. Talking to my Mom and Dad!
2. Getting the Lizard to go outside and not in my house
3. My Landlord's nephew helping with the lizard issue
4. Talking to one of my PCV on line
5. The BEAUTIFUL Views of Grand Bay

Joys and Pictures of 5/18

The Picture above is from the BEAUTIFUL village of Grand Bay. It is in the Southeast Part of the Island. I had a Leadership Workshop there and during a break I thought it would be the perfect time to take some photos.

Regarding the comments about the photos from yesterday. Yes, that is my kitchen(where the little girl is holding her Raisin Vanilla Cake) and the area where the kids are holding up donut rings is my "Dining Room" aka where my kitchen table sits and lastly they are coloring in my living room which shares a room with my dining room just on the opposite end. Make sense or are you confused?

Also, I would love to go into the donut business, I think it would be fun and I only burned the top of my finger ONCE- not too bad! I will get your order right away Dad-Please allow 4-6 working weeks (June 1st is a Holiday) and you will have to stop at Meijer and get some Milk because Dominica does not have "Cow Milk"

JOYS for the Day!
1. The beautiful view from Grand Bay
2. ICE CREAM TREAT!
3. SHUTTER FLY Pictures came today!!!! (Now I have 80 pictures of my nearest and dearest to decorate my white walls)
4. Using my friends washer so I can do Laundry the "American" way!
5. The Amazing Breeze that is coming through my house
6. My newest local discover- Cocoa Tea with Flour in it- sounds weird but REALLY good! I made it too thick the first time and it tasted like Hott Rick Chocolate Pudding- YUMMY! Then I added some water to it and it tasted normal again!
7. Two Products Brewing! (I will show pictures when they are completed!)

Joys and Picture of 5/17

1. Making DONUTS for the FIRST time in My Life With My Fav. Little Ones
2. Sleeping In
3. Laid Back Morning
4. Deadlist Catch
5. Eating Dinner in My Fav. Spot just as the sun had set and the clouds were different colors and there was Bob Marley playing in the Background!
6. My Fav. Little Ones Keeping Me Company all afternoon!
7. The Power of Bug Spray Killer- The Flys are no LONGER attacking my house and patio
8. Richard from Texas in the Book "Eat, Pray, Love"

Pictures from this afternoon!

Picture and Joys of 5/16

The picture is the reflection of the Sunset in the glass on the top of my front down

1. Be able to talk and SEE My Mom, My Dad, Austin, and Jennifer
2. SUGAR CANE FUN!
3. Chic-Chatty with a Man in my Village
4. The Ladies at the Shoppe
5. Listening to the Music at the Shoppe While Typing this
6. My Girls coming over tomorrow to make DONUTS!
7. Meeting up with my favorite shopping buddy in Town today for shopping, pizza, and Ice Cream (She LOVES ice cream just as much as I do)

Let The Dishes Pile Up...

... So We Can ALL Have A Photo Shoot With Some Sugar Cane!

As I was making dinner today my landlords daughter yelled down to check me and stated she was getting some Sugar Cane. Well this girl does not turn down anything that is sweet so I asked her if she could get me some. Well this was my first experience with Sugar Cane and it is not the easiest to eat. Basically you have to pull bark back with your teeth and then suck the cane inside of the bark to to get the sweet juices. While taking the photo shoot we found other things to do with the Sugar Cane...


WE EAT IT


WE BREAK IT TO GET MORE JUICES


NINJA SKILLS (Check out the amazing sunset in the background)


I HIT HER OVER THE HEAD WITH IT


MUSIC LESSON

Joys and Pictures of 5/15

1. Visiting TWO of My PCV in the NORTH
2. The WHOLE Afternoon in at the BEACH!
3. Laughs and More Laughs from the Shop Owners Son
4. Amazing Pumpkin Soup that my PCV house
5. The Simply Adventures
6. Having a nice and helpful man come over and get my internet working at my home!

Joys and Picture of 5/14

1.Not making it up the hill to the school without being rushed with hugs and Hellos!
2.A GREAT day at the school
3.Walking to the Washroom and have a little one grab my hand and walk with me
4.A nice cool breeze while reading a book
5.Being Called a Miracle from God
6.Running into my students from the School I work with and them showing where I can find the BEST Passion Fruit Juice
7.Hanging out with my Sweet A.J.
8.A FANSTIC PACKAGE (THANK YOU BETH)- With a SWEET Pillow Case (See Picture Above) and an AMAZING CARD (THANK YOU AUNT PAT)
9.Going and visiting my Sweet Angels from the Village I use to live in
10.I almost forgot- This cutie boy at the Grocery Store I was playing with while his Mom was checking out. We were clapping together and then just broke out to this belly giggle- it was the GREATEST!

Picture of 5/13

Just a picture to describe my BIGGEST joy of the day! My first FULL rainbow I have seen since I have been in Dominica. It was such a rainy morning that day but as I was getting a ride down to town I look over to my left and seen the BEAUTIFUL rainbow over the Caribbean Sea. Naturally, I had to stop before I went to my work site and take some pictures. ENJOY!



A Little Camara Fun

Picture of 5/12

I was driving back into town and it was an extremely cloudy and then I looked up and saw this amazing little hole in all of the clouds. Well, it was pouring down rain so the picture is kind of a combination of the rain on the window, the clouds, and kind of the whole in the cloud where the sun was trying to come out. I thought it came out cool and artsy!

Picture of 5/11

This is the Bunch of Banana on a tree. You may be thinking why is there a blue bag over it while it I was wondering the same thing until I asked. The receiving for the Blue Bag is to form an individual “Green House” effect for each bunch of Bananas. In addition, it helps to keep the bugs, birds, and other animals outside of the Bananas.

Picture of 5/10

This picture is the flower at the bottom of a Banana Bunch on the Tree. I have always found the flower very interesting so I had some free time at a leadership workshop I was at so I foot the picture from all to enjoy. I have not actually 100% it's purpose I will have to ask some Farmers friends to get more information about ti.

Happy Mother's Day!

PostSecret SUNDAY!! (See My Favorite Weekly Post Secret Above). Today is a normal Sunday for me. Sundays in my village are days where individuals visit other family members or friends. It is very low key kind of relaxed day. Even though I have very strong antsy characteristics I am slowly learning to appreciates Sundays in my village and use it as a day to clean a little, bake a little, walk a little, and RELAX a WHOLE lot.

It DOWN POURED as I was walking to and from Church this morning. I am very grateful it is only about a 2 to 3 minute walk for me. Today is a little sunny, a little gloomy, is raining a little, and is filled with a WHOLE lot of FLIES on my front porch for some reason. So I will be spending most of my day sitting and reading “Eat, Pray, Love” and drinking A LOT of Cocoa Tea with the small of FRESH Banana and Plantain bread in the oven. I might try to make some homemade Pumpkin, Dashien (It is a potato/yam veggie), and veggie soap this evening, I will let you know how it turns out.

To all the Mothers and women who may not have “biological” children but are positive role models, care givers, and interact with children in one form or another, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! Because of all of us women, our next generation will be just a little brighter, have role models to follow and examples to live by.

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for showing me how to be a STRONG, BEAUTIFUL, AND CARING LITTLE LADY!

I gave my heart away to...

May 9, 2009

A.J. Let me describe A.J to all of you. A.J stands about 2 feet and 6 inches tall on a good day. He is about a year old and is still working on his talking. He kicks it with some White Kay Swiss shoes (Like Grandpa use to rock out). He has light brown hair in the style of an Afro. He likes his juice and is ready for bed by 8:00PM. He stole my heart yesterday when I was on the way to the BBQ and stopped by the Shoppe before hand. He was playing with his little blue truck (that he gave to me as a gift- but I kindly gave it back when we were done playing). He is a friendly little kid that gave me a big hug and a two fake kisses that his grand-mother told him to give me. Needless to say he is not as cute as my little Boo Bear Austin, but he sure is a Cutie Pie that made my night.

Eat, Pray, Love...

So I am in the process (a slow process) of reading “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert. I am at about Page 40 but it is an amazing Honest book about a Woman that gets a Divorce and then travels to Italy, India, and Indonesia for a year to rediscover herself. It is a very well-known book. Anyways, I was reading this section about how she is explaining how some individuals are simply amazing travels and others like herself are not so amazing travelers but still love to do it. I just wanted to share with all of you a little part of her explanation that really touched home to me and I could relate to what she was sharing:

“ My Shaky sense of direction and geography means. I have explored six continents in my life with only the vaguest idea of where I am at any given time. Aside from my cockeyed internal compass... My face is a transparent transmitter of my every thought. And when I am LOST, which is frequently, I LOOK lost. I have my own set of survival techniques. I am patient. But my one mighty travel talent is that I can make friends with ANYBODY... even the dead”

Joys 5/09

1.Early Morning Market/Shopping Trip
2.TWO Walks that I dedicated to the “Heart Walk” Jennifer, Andrew, Austin, and Mom did
3.Seeing a NEW part of my village
4.Seeing the cutest little boy with the cheesiest smile EVER while going for my second walk!! It was WAY CUTE!!
5.A little BBQ Party in the Village
6.Losing Electricity (Not exactly a Joy or a Frustration but just something that happened around 6:45PM today and was turned back on around 7:15PM)

Joys and Pictures 05/08

1.VOLLEYBALL with two of PCV
2.Getting a new Internet Box that does NOT need a transformers
3.Night Time Market Time
4.Sleepover Party with one of my PCV
5.Eating Dinner with someone else instead of by myself
6.Ice Cream by the Bay Front

Hope this brings a little JOY to YOUR Life..

A Little Story For You....

I was just hanging out in my apartment around 8:00PM and just got off the phone with my Mother. I was making some Cocoa Tea in my kitchen minding my OWN business. When I looked down on my Living Room Floor to only his and my surprise, a cockroach is looking right at me. Well you can only imagine the panic that ran across my body as I let out a little scream (the Cockroach did not move when I screamed- I think he was in shock) and ran to my bedroom to grab my tennis shoe. Luckily the Cockroach was still there when I came running back, I let out another little scream and hit the the Cockroach with ALL of my strength. Needless to say the Cockroach is now in Bug Heaven and did not survive the impact of the hit.

My funny story for the Moment. I hope you enjoyed and it made you laugh because after the fact I was laughing about the whole event.

Joys and Pictures 5/7

Joys of May 7, 2009
1. Wearing first time wore cloths- You think that is not that cool but there is something with wearing cloths for the first time!
2. My Grade Four students telling me, “I Like Your Weave.”
3. Bright and SUNNY day!
4. Lot of Hugs and Smiles during break time from the youngsters!
5. Being able to sit down and work with students one-on-one with what they were struggling with
6. Having an AMAZING best friends that sent me my Horoscope from my FAVORITE magazine and it was on point to my life at the moment!
7. Two Cards! (Thank You Mom and Dad and Aunt Rose/Uncle Greg)
8. Not having to wait for a bus on my way up! (That always makes me happy because sometimes you have to make for a while for the buses to fill up before they will take you up to the village)
9. Another successful day of “Big Readers, Little Listeners”- I even got to read to the little ones!


Normally, I just do Joys but today I am going to do a frustration because it just happened. I just blow out my little box for my Internet because of the difference in Electrical currents. I know more about Volts and Watts then I ever thought possible. It is hard to kept track of it and I plug in the wrong cord to my surge protector and before I knew it, there was a little bit of smoke (very little), and my box for the Internet is DONE. I do not understand why everyone and every country can just run on the same current or make the stuff so you do not need all of these transformers and extra little things in the outlet. I am over it- I feel better now- it really is not that big of a deal- I will just have to get a new one and I am glad it did not harm my computer or cause a fire. Now I can focus back on my Joys!

Also- Referring back to the previous Blog- for those of you who do not know, DMB stands for Dave Mathews Bands.

My Picture of the Day made me smile. It is a picture of the famous KFC in town right next to the fresh market where people are starting to step up for the three days of selling. (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) It is just a unique image of Dominicans living the life they have always lived by selling their fresh fruits and veggies in the Market and then a little piece of America came and brought a KFC.

Joys and Pictures 5/6

Joys of May 6, 2009
1.LOTS of Cocoa Tea in my life today
2.A random phone call from my BESTEST
3.An amazing HONEST mother- THANK YOU
4.Meeting some of the other PCVs for Lunch
5.A little DMB in my life while I am typing up a report for the Peace Corps
6.Project Finished!

The picture was taking by one of my co-workers by my work site. It is just a pretty little view for ALL to see

Joys of 5/5

Ok... So this is round TWO for doing my Joys of May 5, 2009. I was crabby when I first did them because I was hungary and my blood sugar was dropping randomly. (I know a few of you that read this can relate directly and others just know me well enough to know how I get when I have not eaten in a while.) :o) The first ones were weak!

1. An AMAZING Package!! (THANK YOU GRANDMA)
2. Yogurt covered raisans (THANK YOU AGAIN GRANDMA)
3. An AMAZING Best Friend!
4. French Toast, Bananna, and Peanut Butter for Dinner!! (All of my FAVS)
5. The FANASTIC PCV that I am on this Journey with!
6. The Sweet Little Angels that were on the bus today!
7. NOT having to wait for a Bus Today
8. Seeing updated pictures of Austin (THANK YOU Jennifer)
9. Having a NEW Blog Follower

Picture and Joy 05/04

Joys of May 4, 2009
1. Watching the last 30 minutes of “She All That” twice today
2. Spending the WHOLE day at the Beach for MAY DAY!
3. Having one of the other Volunteers that I have not seen about 1.5 weeks meet us at the beach!
4. KFC Popcorn Chicken
5. The simple adventures of the day
6. Not getting car sick on the way up or home from the north of the island
7. Sleeping in freshly clean- freshly aired dried sheets
8. Fresh Papaw (Papaya) that was picked from the tree yesterday

The picture above is from my Grade 4 and Pre-K reading project I have started. “Big Readers, Little Listeners.” The Grade 4 students read to the Pre-K students in small groups for about 30 minutes once a week to help raise the literacy rate.

God Must Be Crying...

I was getting ready to go bed while I was stopped in my foot steps to the sound of a down pour happening outside. Which I fully am aware that this is a sprinkle compared to what I will witness and share with all of you when Hurricane Season enters Dominica. It just makes me think when I was a child and people would say when it it is raining “God Must Be Crying.” Well all I have to say is that is God must be EXTREMLY sad and crying over my village a lot because I think there is a permanent rain cloud over my village. It rains almost every morning and now it is pouring at night. The rain is amazing for all of the crops and vegetation the individuals of Dominica depend on for food and an income.

Joys 05/03

Joys of May 3, 2009
1. Being Late for Church- but Church NEVER starts on time so I was actually early
2. Hanging out with my Host Family all day- I realized today that their home become my home while I was there- the house and atmosphere offers such comfort for me
3. Watching my “Monkey Girls” climb tress to get Mangoes
4. Hanging out with the Kids in my old village ALL afternoon
5. ICE CREAM TREAT!
6. Talking to my Mom on the phone for a moment
7. Sitting next to my favorite little old lady at church today and whenever she goes to grab my hand she always puts it to her cheek
8. Ending the night with Cocoa Tea and Berry Bunch O'Krunch- Dominican version of Captain Crunch Berry Style
9. BEACH Tomorrow!!

Picture and Joys 05/02

Camera FUN



1. SLEEPING IN! (Till 8:30AM)
2. Going on a morning walk while taking some pictures!
3. Making CORNBREAD from SCRATCH (Sidenote- it did not turn out very well- it needs a little butter and honey/syrup- but it was FUN making it!)
4. Another low key kinda no agenda day!
5. Hanging out with a Peace Corps Volunteer all afternoon
6. Going on a second walk for the day!

Joys 05/01

Joys of May 1, 2009
1. Having a no agenda kind of day
2. TWO Cards and ONE Package!!! YaY! for Pink Slips! (Thank You Jennifer (The pictures went right onto the refrigerator- Grandma- Mom and Dad (I look at your magnet every time I open the refrigerator)- What a GREAT Surprise!!!
3. Hanging out with one of my PCV in Town while Shopping, Chatting, and Eating
4. Making COOKIES!! - Even though I cannot get them to taste like when I was in the States
5. A SURPRISE Visitor!!
6. Playing Cards and Go Fish- ABC Style (THANK YOU MOM- The Grade K Students will enjoy it even more then a two adults did)
7. CHEESE BAKE!! - It is a Bake (Deep Fried Roll) with Cheese in the Middle (It is very similar to a grill cheese deep fried roll style :o) )

Picture and Story for 05/01

Happy First day of May!! I am really excited because Monday is a NATIONAL HOLIDAY! It is called “May Day” or “Labor Day” and it is celebrated the first day Monday of May each year. It is a governmental holiday where the town shuts down and individuals go to the beach, relax at their homes, or visit with family.

I was looking through pictures on my computer last night (I find myself doing this often) and I cam across the above picture from the “See you Soon Party.” I was thinking about the picture and how much I miss moments like that. Not the sole moment of hugging my Cousin but those kinds of Hugs. Most of you that read this are friends and family so you get it. I am craving that the most, the simply act of touching and hugging. Don't get me wrong, I am greeted weekly with children running up to me and embracing me with a “Break your Ribs” kind of hug. But they are almost “empty” hugs without that special vibe and connection I feel when I hug someone that is near and dear to me. The picture just made me smile and a little sad all at the same time. It is the embrace of the hug and the feeling of love, sadness, and connection that the picture reminds me of. I want to feel those emotions again.

I am not worried, I will feel those emotions again when I greet someone with a hug because the stronger the connections I make with individuals in Dominica, those hugs will not feel so empty and they will have the positive vibe behind them. Even in these two short months, I am feeling the hugs from current individuals not feel as empty any more. They are getting “fuller” with more connection and positive vibes behind them.

I have expressed my missing of hugs to numerous people, my WHOLE Peace Corps group knows how much I love hugging and if I ask they will embrace me with a hug. (As I am writing this I am laughing out loud and thinking to myself, I am not sure why I am breaking down a hug for the whole world to see).

The beginning experiences of my journey has reassured to me the importance human touch is in my life. It is the simply things you take for gratitude when they are always around. I want to hold a baby, make a little one laugh, I want to feel the power of hug like I use to, I would love to have that comfort again. I will always remember one of the last nights I was in the States, maybe even the last night and I was holding Austin and tickling him. He was just laughing out loud and curling up into a little ball (the way you do when you don't want any one to tickle you anymore), and I was laughing and laughing right a long with him. I hold that memory so near to my soul. Those are the moments that make me laugh and encourage me to rock it out while I am in the Peace Corps. That moments offers me hope that I will find more moments like that with more children and I need to simply embrace and ENJOY those moments in my life.

This journey is about self-discovery as well. I am here to serve other individuals and learn from them as much or more then they have learned from me. I must learn how to find that comfort in myself not from other individuals. If I am not comfortable being by myself and not having my happiness be about other individuals then I will never grow as a person. It will be a long and at time frustrating but extremely rewarding experience at the end of it all. One of my friends stated it the most “I AM my OWN BEST FRIEND”

This is me. A little random and at times. You may have to read between the lines and make it make sense to you.

Miss and Love ALL!
M