-We went on an early morning run one day with Jen, or at least tried to... With the mountains and the altitude, we made it maaaybe a mile and a half, and it was absolute torture! If we had tried to run before we signed up for the 10k we might have thought twice... if we can crawl over the finish line in a month I'll be impressed.
-We've been putting our ability to do manual labor to the test, and have been continuing the tree removal work. I'm wishing I had lifted weights even once in my life, would that have been so hard?! I even spent all day yesterday with a machete in my hand, and have the blisters to prove it... never thought I'd be able to say that! It's also more proof of how laid-back everyone is around here: Renae and I were running around the yard by ourselves all day, unsupervised, machete flying, burning the crap out of everything in site, 50 feet from the orphanage. And for some reason we were more scared for ourselves than anyone else was, they just kept laughing at us and saying “burn the big stuff so we don't have to move any more!”
-For some reason I can never help but laugh my head off when we take the city bus somewhere. I've just never experienced something so cramped, hot, uncomfortable, awkward, and pushy. It's every man for themselves and there's no doubt in my mind that if for some reason you fell to the ground you would be trampled to death, even though that would never happen because you are so jam-packed in you can't scratch your own face let alone make it to the floor. I can't explain exactly why I find this so funny, because it actually is pretty awful, it's just such a different idea of personal space (or lack thereof) I can't help but crack up at the ridiculousness. Plus we are always at least a head taller than everyone else on the bus so we get the whole top-of-the-bus-air to ourselves which keeps me from freaking out.
-One thing we are pretty proud of is our up-and-coming cooking abilities. We can only afford the basics, and our oven doesn't work, so we're having to get creative with rice, potatoes, hamburger meat, veggies, and the stove. I know people don't really care to hear about other people's food (especially when facebook pics are included) but I gotta brag for un momento: last night we had onion cheeseburgers minus the bun, fried eggplant, and fried rice with veggies. Might sound like a weird combo but let me tell you... YUM.
-Today we decided we needed to get a little nature time amidst the city life so we bussed on down to La Parque Carolina. It's kinda like central park, with people everywhere and tons of paths and trees and things right in the middle of the city, with huge buildings all around. While there we went to the Jardin Botanical (botanical garden), El Museo de Ciencias Naturales (museum of natural science), and a Vivarium. The flowers were gorgeous and the bugs were freaky. Aaaand Renae was of course in heaven the whole time.
-I also got to go horseback riding with some of the kiddos this morning, they do it for therapy and all loved it. It's fun to be at such a good orphanage, where they do so many different things for the kids. We have still been trying to do pool therapy with the babies as many mornings as possible as well, which is always way too adorable.
The ironic thing is, that as chaotic and exciting and crazy my life is right now, my soul has rarely been so calm, so content, so sure. It's such a good feeling to not have to question if I'm in the right place, or doing the right thing. I know I am. It's something I lost sight of for awhile, and I can't explain how refreshing it is to be able to return to living life with the same conviction and sureness that I used to have. I think post-college-graduation is a weird time for lots of people... it definitely was for me. How do you sift through the infinite possibilities ahead of you and choose just one? How do you be SURE you're making the right decisions, especially when the people around you are making such different ones? Even this summer, as excited as I was to leave, I would have moments of hesitation. What if leaving for a year meant that I would be behind when I returned? That I would have a harder time pursuing another degree or a job? That I would give up meaningful relationships in order to follow my own personal dreams, when it should've been the other way around?
But being here, being able to be a part of these kids' lives, feeling so ALIVE and HAPPY and EXCITED for each and every single day, makes every last trace of that hesitation disappear. I'm so grateful to finally be feeling like I do, and hope it's a feeling that lasts not just the whole 8.5 months, but my whole life long. That'll be the real challenge though, won't it!!! After all, it's impossible not to love life when you have the cutest kids in the world in your arms and the most gorgeous places all around you, waiting to be explored!
XOXOXO,
J. Flynn
P.S. Not to be confused, it's true that as happy as I feel right now, I do have moments of sadness... always when I'm missing my family, friends, or the Miller kids (who are of course included in that whole cutest kids in the world thing as well). Know that I think about all of you often, and send my love your way every single day!
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