The question nearly all of you back home have been posing to me in one form or another these past few weeks is: Are you happy?
That's a difficult one to answer. Yes and No?
For example, I was away from my family and friends during the holidays. That didn't make me particularly happy. In fact, if I'm going to be honest, it made me quite sad. However, my two 18 year old neighbors who decided it was horrible that I was away from loved ones on Christmas Eve and that they were going to make sure I was not alone made it a little better. And, I would dare say that dancing in my lakou (courtyard) with a handful of neighbors till 5am was fun; and, for a few minutes I was quite happy.
Another example, I was furious when I got home from the pharmacy and discovered that they had given me 8 band-aids, rather than the 10 I had asked for (and paid for!). However, when I went back the next day and pointed out to the pharmacist that she had missed 2 band-aids and she happily obliged, handing over the remaining 2, I felt rather happy.
On a typical day, though, it really doesn't take anything to swing me back and forth on the pendulum of emotions. I've heard it said that if you don't like the weather in Colorado, just wait 5 minutes. The same could be said of my emotions. I know, I know, those of you who have lived with me are wondering why I'm even bothering to post this. It probably seems a normal state of my existence. But trust me, it's greatly exaggerated.
Fortunately(?), I'm not alone. Talking with a few other North American females, this seems to be the norm. One minute on cloud nine, ready to cancel my flight back to the States. The next, curled in a ball in my room sobbing. I have no idea if this is something North American males experience in Haiti as well (I suppose I could just walk the 10 feet over to Kurt's desk to ask him), nor do I really know if this is the norm for anyone living outside their culture. Though I suspect it's not a phenomenon afflicting solely North American females living in Haiti.
So, in answer to the questions, yes. and no.
-L
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3 comments:
Would it be any easier to answer these questions:
1. Are you more or less happy now, in Haiti, than you were a year or two ago, in DC?
2. Are you glad that you chose to do this?
Life is rarely either good or bad, happy or sad, black or white. But, as Chris used to try to tell me in geometry class as I corrected his homework papers, it is really about the shade of gray. (While I may hold that understanding of life in general, I still think that geometry has right and wrong answers.)
If you need more trite thoughts, let me know, and I will try to provide.
-Andrea
hmm...
1. Happier now than in DC a year or two ago? I would say yes. And no.
2. Am I glad I chose to do this? Yes. Without a doubt.
-L
I love that we've made it into each others blogs in recent weeks - and for good reason. Very thankful to be riding this roller coaster with you. As for how N. American males deal with it - you know my answer - but I guess we should let them speak for themselves.
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