“Being grateful does not mean that everything is necessarily good. It just means that you can accept it as a gift.” — Roy T. Bennett

 I'm a week later than intended with this post, but last Sunday turned out a bit differently than I had expected (more on that below) and I didn't have it in me to sit at the computer and write.  We are approaching the end of the term here and 12/05 will mark 6 months of service for me.  These benchmarks along with thanksgiving, have had me thinking a lot about gratitude.  So today I'd like to share some of the things that I am particularly grateful for. 

The opportunity to work with children and see them succeed.  The past couple of weeks have brought some success stories from school.  The picture at the right is a student who I've been working with during lunchtimes--when I assessed him, his reading was far below grade level.  In our early sessions, I could see that he needed help with both phonemic and phonological awareness.  He's been working on both with me and he has started practicing his reading with a cousin at home!  On the day of this picture, he was able to spell both lion and fish on his own.  If you could see his face, you'd see a big smile--I was so proud of him and he was proud of himself.  

The picture on the left is from a student who I also work with during lunch and during push-ins I work with her on her writing and fine motor skills.  For weeks, we've been working on letter formation--she does things that are common to developing writers like backward "s", "b", and "d".  But usually, these would be corrected by grade 2.  On this particular day, I gave her these words to copy while I was helping some other students.  She brought the sheet over to me and I just yelled with excitement because it was the 1st time that she got all her "s" letters in the right formation!!!!

There continue to be hurdles at work, but I feel like I have a much better sense of things I might try to get over them.  I'm looking forward to making some plans and putting forth some ideas for things I'd like to start doing in term 2.  But for right now, it's all about getting through exams and to the end of term 1.  I am really, really looking forward to break!!  

My Peace Corps Family.  I told someone this past week that my fellow PCVs really have been a lifeline for me.  I should really expand that to my greater Peace Corps family which includes the staff who support us.  A group of us gathered to celebrate thanksgiving last Saturday (Thursday was not a holiday so we were at work).  We had a feast featuring American and Creole food!  We drank wine from paper cups, played Uno, and danced (well, Christian & Alexis danced, LOL).  It was a celebration of friends and I am so glad that we made it happen.  

My health & my physical strength.  I'm thankful for this every day, but on the Sunday following the lovely thanksgiving, I was particularly thankful.  Alexis and I stayed with Christian on Saturday because of how long it takes to get home from that side of the island.  On Sunday morning, Christian said "oh yeah, I forgot that there isn't a bus on Sunday."  Which meant we had to walk over 2 miles to get to the highway--carrying backpacks and grocery bags. Note: If you're thinking "Amie has backpacked way further than 2 miles, why is this a big deal?" I'll say that since we didn't think we'd be trekking, I was wearing my "fun" sneakers and not my "functional" sneakers! Shoes make ALL the difference when you're carrying a load on your back!  After we got that bus, I started questioning my certainty about the bus back into my community.  Some messaging confirmed my fears--no bus into my community on Sunday.  Another note: some of you may remember me saying at some point that I couldn't leave my community on Sundays.  But I've seen buses coming up my road on Sundays so I thought I was ok.  I have now learned that those are all bus drivers using their buses for personal transport.  So this meant that I got dropped off at my gap and then needed to walk the 2.5 miles back home--with the backpack, the grocery bag, and now in the mid-day scorching sun.  It was ROUGH, but I was thankful with every step that I have made my physical health a priority here.  My diet may be less-than-optimum, but I have been running, strength training, walking, and practicing yoga--thank the stars!

The beauty of this place.  I miss the PNW like crazy, but every time I'm outside I marvel at the fact that this is where I live now.  The lush vegetation, the ocean, the sunrises, and sunsets--simply magnificent.  These photos are from a post-work lime this past week.  The grade 2 teachers and I went into town to buy Christmas decor for our classrooms and while there, one teacher had the grand idea to grab some beers and go hang out on the beach and just decompress from the week.  

All of YOU.  Y'all are my lifeline from afar.  Your messages, zooms, and packages mean so much to me.  You make me feel like I am not alone and that you're walking this journey with me.  And for that, I am eternally grateful.  💓💓💓