Fun adventures and random thoughts

Sometimes I get the antsy feeling of just needing to get out of Haut Limbe. There are days that I haven't left and have visited about 3 or 4 buildings in total. It gets repetitive and draining. Last week Janelle and I went into Cap with a couple friends. Bought some great sandwiches, cold juice with ice, walked along the "boardwalk", and we found some delicious ice cream. On the drive home through Cap we drove past a cinema, we both couldn't believe our eyes. A movie theatre in Cap! I'm beginning to get curious as to what other things we don't know about. It was a good evening being out of town and changing up the routine. We also took some medication to another small clinic we are connected with on Friday and enjoyed a few hours at a beach near by afterwards. These times of escaping seem to be what keep sane sometimes. It is hard to be intentional about taking care of myself here amongst all that is going on, but I'm slowly figuring out how to do that better. The last week and a half I've had my head crammed in my statistics textbook, writing quizzes, and preparing for my final exam. Although this has been such a burden and has taken so much out of me, it's been a good distraction and way to bring me back to some sort of normalcy and familiarity.

Things continue to progress at the clinic. One day at a time. One task at a time. The hospital is really coming along. Most of the bathrooms are finished with tiling and most plumbing. The tiling is about 1/4 to 1/3 done for the rooms/hallways and we are waiting for the next group to arrive on Friday to work on that. The shelves are also finished for now in the depot so the supplies can begin to be organized and stored there. What a journey this has all been. I look forward to seeing how much will be accomplished with this group of 14 coming. What a blessing it is to receive visitors here.

I will have been here 2 months exactly on Thursday and can't even begin to figure out where those months went. So amongst the stress and craziness of this country and culture, I find blessings amidst it all. We are bird/house sitting tonight so will enjoy 24 hour internet, electricity, supper made by us, a shower that's a bit warmer, and ice to put in our drinks! :) It truly is the little things here that make a difference.

In other sad news, the lady that cooks for us (Malene) found out that she has glaucoma. She went to the hospital yesterday and brought us back the news. I'm not sure exactly what that all means and what they all told her but through this I've felt our relationship get stronger. People seem more comfortable around me, can communicate with me and it seems are beginning to see I'm not much different then them (to some very small degree of course...). It's beginning to feel just a little bit more like home here.