Back Home Again

I need to start off by apologizing for not posting more.  Apparently I have a few fans, because I have been getting asked about the lack of posts.  Internet was very slow and unreliable where I was staying in Haiti, so I did not have additional opportunities to log on and blog.  Plus, being a short project week I was busy either with project work or playing with kids:)

So now that I'm back again, I'll just share a few of my reflections. . . Going back to Haiti was great.  Before I left I wasn't sure what my reaction to being there would be.  Of all the places I have travelled, Haiti was not the first place I envisioned making a return visit to.  But I knew I was meant to be there, and I am so glad I went.  I think I was worried that the language barrier would prevent me from connecting with locals in the same way I did in India and Uganda.  And it did to some extent, however, I realized that holding a child's hand is a powerful thing.  Sometimes they just want to be held, and they really don't care what language you speak.  Walking into the playground and having 15 kids hanging off me is like nothing else.  I love it.  And because the locals didn't speak English, I had the opportunity to learn a few phrases of Creole and also play some fancy Charades at times.

This trip also made me realize how much I love what I do.  I had a blast designing composting toilets in Uganda, and I had just as much fun sizing water tanks and septic systems in Haiti.  It is just so much fun!  I really do love water:)

So now coming home is the hard part.  Emotionally, in many ways it would be easier simply just to live in the developing world.  Instead I return home, to tell the story and to advocate for causes I believe in with all that I am.  I was only in Haiti for 1 week.  You might not think coming back would take a lot of adjustment.  But it does.  Today at work, one of my co-workers asked me how the adjustment back was going.  It meant so much that he asked and realized that coming back does take major adjustment.  It is a process and now having done it 3 times before I might know a little bit better what to expect, but also need to remember to be patient with myself and realize that it will take time to process this experience.

I'll leave you with a few of my favourite pictures.  Thank you for your interest in what I do.  This, right here is the heart of who I am.  I love getting to learn and love people from other countries.  They teach me in ways that no one else can.