Things that make me happy

It's been a rough past few weeks. A lot of that has been due my thus far unsuccessful apartment search, combined with the extra hot weather, combined with the general stress of living in a "developing" country (do we still use that term? it seems rather politically incorrect), combined with 50 million other small annoyances. And, I think part of it is probably the process of culture shock.

I remember very few specifics from any of my college courses, but I do remember talking about culture shock in my cultural anthropology course. I don't exactly remember the approximated time line of it all (sorry to disappoint you, Terry), but there's a middle phase that's referred to as "Negotiation." Here's how one website explains it.

"The initial curiosity and enthusiasm turn into irritation, frustration, anger, and depression. Minor nuisances and inconveniences lead to serious distress."

Yep. That sounds about right.

So, to keep myself from going crazy, I've started making mental notes of things that make me happy. Here are a few items from yesterday's list.

• My own space. Last night I made a tomato, cucumber, and shaved carrot sandwich with homemade hummus, balsamic vinaigrette, and a touch of baby swiss. I flipped on the radio to a Kompa/Zouk station, poured myself a glass of wine, and sat munching away on the rocking chair on the porch overlooking the hubbub on Delmas. It almost felt like I was back in Shaw. The only thing I was missing was a good friend sitting next to me, discussing the ups and downs of life. (R, guess what we might do if you can make it over tonight.)

• Bill Bryson. A fellow MCCer recommended a book called "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. Holy cow. I think the last time I laughed this much reading a book was when I was 7, reading Ameila Bedelia.

• Pierre Esperance. Pierre is the Executive Director of RNDDH. He is well aware of my house-searching frustrations and is not only patient, but even tries to help. He's offered that I can come live with his family. He's offered that I can take 2 weeks off to focus on searching. He's asked all of the staff more than once if any of them know of any apartments near by. Even if his ideas don't always provide solutions, I'm grateful for his efforts and understanding.
  

• Grimèl. In one of my first postings, I mentioned the tendency Haitians have to scream out "BLAN!" whenever they see a white person. Lately though, as I walk down the street, I've been hearing much less "blan" and much more "grimèl." As one striving to fit it with Haitian culture, this makes me immensely happy. Grimèl is the kreyol word for a white-skinned Haitian. I'm not quite sure why random strangers have decided to identify me as a Haitian, but I'm not going to argue.

-L