The Good, the Bad and the Hopeful

And, we're back...

As to be expected, our vacation in the States and our return to Haiti have both been a mixture of Good and Bad. Bad in brief: some difficult family stuff, over-exposure to over-consumption, saying good-bye to friends and family all over again and returning to Port to dead houseplants, a broken toilet, rats in our kitchen, etc. (note: lease is up in 3 weeks and we're in the market for a new apartment. Past house-hunting experiences were not necessarily Good). Here's what has been Good: Family! Camping! Picking blueberries! Eating Indian food! Upon returning to Haiti, it's been Good to get back into our own routine, have time to ourselves, speak Kreyol again, kiss people on the cheek when we see them and be reminded that we really do love it here.

Since sometimes it feels like the Bad outweighs the Good (like, for example, when you're looking for a place to live in Port-Au-Prince), we make a concerted effort to remain Hopeful. Right now we're hopeful that we'll find a great apartment that's within our MCC budget, hopeful that we can continue to stay sane and healthy (emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally) and, as always, hopeful that what we're doing here is contributing to something better.