Clearly, I've been a bit of a Negative Nancy lately, and I feel like I've had the right to be. A lot of things have been less than ideal here. I'm still working on complications and issues that stress me out and make me wonder why I'm bothering.
But today I'm working hard at bringing back my positivity, so that perhaps I can not only turn my frown upside down, but I can also make my reality brighten a bit. So, I'm going to put out a list of things that have made me smile.
1) I have 3 more Korean students to help out in English here. I didn't realize that I'd find myself in the midst of Koreans while in Rwanda, but all of my students are currently Korean, and I think it's fascinating. Denise and I met these prospective students (probably our age, if not a tad older) at Bourbon Coffee, and we chatted for a while. We had a fun time talking and learning about each other, and one of the guys offered to sometime have us all over and he'd grill up a huge tilapia for dinner. How awesome is that? Huge success.
2) The birds sing lovely songs while I'm riding to work on the motos. Their songs are full of notes and tunes and are not just a few repeated notes, like some birds in the US. They're actually singing a tune, it seems. And I love that the birds here are more than beige and brown - they're yellow and green. Tropical birds. The ones I see in the trees around school are bright yellow with black tops. And there was a bird near my house that was just a fun display of white and black. Oh yeah, and crows here have white breasts.
3) On the way to work via moto, I go by a group of guards. They always smile and wave at me in a pretty excited manner. Even sometimes they say,"Bonjour!"
The construction workers near our school also smile and say hello, only it's, "Muraho!", usually with a chuckle.
4) I'm happy it's not snowing here. I really like not having to wear coats and bundle up as much as I can to not die of hypothermia. And I like that restaurants here are often outside on porches. I really like that. The weather isn't so bad.
5) I'm so, so happy that my boyfriend is the most wonderful and supportive person ever. He's my rock and light. And he has been cheering me up when things look rough, especially lately.
6) I have finally made it to Africa! A life-long goal finally accomplished! Check.
7) I have very good colleagues around whom I really enjoy being.
8) I love hearing about Denise's love life! It's kind of ridiculous, funny, and fascinating at the same time. I get to live through her love life, and be at the same time separated from the stress of dating.
9) Iced chocolate drinks here are absolutely rich and divine.
10) I wish it wasn't so, but I like that they use mayo on most food stuff. Even though it's super bad for me and really fattening, it's kinda tasty.
1 comment:
I like your attitude! Smile!
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