We've had another quiet week here. The Young's are in Sri Lanka, so including myself there are only 5 volunteers on campus. And (if you can wrap your head around it) the government declared another holiday on Tuesday. A bit more quiet time has allowed me to get a lot of "stuff" done and be very productive. However, lately, I have been feeling let down concerning some personal things in my life, so it has been a little trying to not have as tight of a schedule as usual. There have been times in my life when I would make myself be so busy that I didn't have time to think about or address certain things. I never realized I was doing it until a good friend pointed it out to me-and then I realized she was dead on. Keeping busy is a good thing, but I (of course) subconsciously took it to the next level. Because that's just what I do-set ridiculous and mostly un-obtainable standards for myself. As I have grown older, I've gotten a lot better, possible even "over" that, but because I am human and old habits die hard, there are still times when I wish I had more to "hide" behind. But don't worry, I'll be just fine, I'm just expressing and being true to my feelings for a minute. Stupid true feelings. Owning them can be so liberating but burdensome at the same time. However, moral of the story is that everyone feels let down from time to time but you just work through it and carry on.
And carrying on really isn't that bad-in some way I have come to love it because I find that whenever I have to give even a smidgen more thought to any part of my "take one day at a time" or "just keep swimming" mantras, I find that I am instantly more grateful for whatever my current circumstance entails. Like doing morning yoga on a roof in actual, for REAL, India. Or the hilarity of me almost losing my pants (twice mind you) while playing "Run, Run, Run, Fire on the Mountain" with the kids. Or making fresh salsa with lots of fresh cilantro and then eating way more then should ever be eaten by one person, in one sitting. And yes, all three of these thing have happened as of late.
And carrying on really isn't that bad-in some way I have come to love it because I find that whenever I have to give even a smidgen more thought to any part of my "take one day at a time" or "just keep swimming" mantras, I find that I am instantly more grateful for whatever my current circumstance entails. Like doing morning yoga on a roof in actual, for REAL, India. Or the hilarity of me almost losing my pants (twice mind you) while playing "Run, Run, Run, Fire on the Mountain" with the kids. Or making fresh salsa with lots of fresh cilantro and then eating way more then should ever be eaten by one person, in one sitting. And yes, all three of these thing have happened as of late.
BUT here is what I am really excited about: as of this coming Saturday, I get to keep carrying on in Sri Lanka! I have to leave India for a certain amount of time every six months per the terms of my Visa (I know, I have been here for six months already! Crazy right?!?!) and since Sri Lanka is close and very price friendly for stipend paid humanitarian workers, I am heading there. I have some plans for things to do, but for the most part I am just going to be chillin' solo in Sri Lanka! Well solo if you don't count my trusty snorkeling gear and the ocean friends I hope to spend time with. I think that is one of the most double standard things about me. As previously discussed I HATE eating fish, smelling fish, more or less anything that has to do with fish and the senses of smell and taste. However, the sight and interaction (feel?) of/with fish has exactly the opposite affect on me. I LOVE-ABSOLUTELY LOVE-snorkeling, scuba diving, seeing fish, swimming into the middle of them (as long as they are not in a murky lake where I can't see them and they brush against my leg or nibble at my toes--okay the nibbling of my toes when I am not expecting it (such as the fish massage where I could see them and knew what was going on) has never happened, but I have an irrational fear that someday it will) seeing them in a zoo or Sea World, etc. is one of my favorite things ever! I am fully aware this doesn't make much sense, but it's still the way I am. Anyway--here are some pics of the places I hope to see in Sri Lanka. Stay tuned to see if the real pictures are less than, equal to or greater than these. I'm crossing my fingers for greater than.
