Green giving way to burnt orange and deep red. Nature turning to golden brown hues. Breathing crisp air, skin tickled by cool breezes. The crackle of freshly fallen leaves breaking apart underneath boots. Tucking my nose into the folds of a hand-knitted infinity scarf while dashing from the nip in the air into warm spaces….
Category: Peace Corps
Siem Reap, Cambodia
There are two school breaks in Thailand, called bpit terms. One is in mid-October, which I compare to the equivalent of a spring break in the States, and lasts 2-3 weeks. Mid-March through mid-May is the longer summer break. For this bpit term, I went on a adventure with some friends (2 other PCVs and…
Rhythm & Ritual
I groan, turn off my alarm, and open my eyes while I lay snuggled in my sheets. I hear only the morning critters and the whir of my fan for another ten minutes before I finally drag my body out of bed. I do a cursory glance around my house for stray geckos and spiders,…
What do YOU want?
Maybe the lesson here isn’t that straight hair is better than curly hair, but that doing what is right for you, regardless of what others may think, is growth of it’s own.
The Occasional Defeat
Words are a large part of who I am, who we are; the creation and manipulation of them is one critical way we connect and feel understood. To be stripped of them is introducing me to a new realm of vulnerability.
Land of the Free and Home of the Brave
One nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all. Black, Brown, White, Muslim, Atheist, Christian, Disabled, LGBTQ+, Female, Male, etc, etc, etc. All. Out of many, one.
Happy birthday, America. Do better.
Explaining the Inexplicable
But then…a tiny face with a toothy smile will grin at me. Or my host mom will tell me I’m like the daughter she never had. Or a quiet kid will speak a full sentence to me. Or my awesome counterpart will drive out of his way in the middle of the week so I can play volleyball with adults. Or the student volleyball team will triple check that I’m coming to their practice. Or the neighbor who runs a nearby noodle stand will give me a hug at the market. There are a million and one amazing little moments that continue to outweigh the moments of homesickness, and for that, I’ll continue to be grateful.
Where’s the other shoe?
There is a saying in English for when things are going well and you are waiting for something bad to happen. We call that: “waiting for the other shoe to drop.” Can I confess something really ridiculous? I’ve been hesitant to write about site life and the start of school because I’ve been actively waiting…
Solitude
Stillness. The air cool and not yet sun baked. Silence. Wind rustling its way through the trees and the birds singing the world awake. Solitude. The yearning for moments alone. Padding out of bed, without the assistance of an alarm clock, to begin the sacred morning coffee ritual. Each morning this week I have found…
You Never Know
You never know what tomorrow may bring, but I do know that I appreciate you all and I am grateful for each day our time overlaps on this Earth. The best is yet to come.
