A Delicate Balance

As Matt leaves to go home tomorrow for a month (Julie will join him in 3 weeks), we thought we might steal a blogpost idea we got from one of our good friends…

Things we love here (most of the time): Super cheap, efficient, and extensive public transportation system; the feeling of community; the abundance of fruit; beaches; laughter; kids playing in the road barefoot; community members hanging out on their porches, in shops, on the road every night; limited TVs; handwashing; time; walking ½ mile to school and being greeted at least a dozen times along the way; hardly anyone has a car; rain; industriousness; machetes; not having to worry about where our next paycheck will come from; not having to worry about being ‘cool’, because you’ll always be just ‘weird’; appreciating what it means to be a minority; the market; never feeling pressured to ‘keep up with the Jones’’; freedom within our work; the time other people have for you; frankness; overcomed challenges; scenery; everybody knowing our name; other PCVs; PCV media and book exchange.

Things we miss from home: Microbrews; quality dairy products; fresh-baked bread; the ability to shut off; yoga classes; coffee shops; hanging out with friends on the weekends; camping; our dogs; visiting family; freedom; anonymity; deep conversations; fitting in; driving; woodstoves; snow; bonfires; hamburgers; playing games; favorite restaurants; garage sales and thrift stores; wide, open spaces; skiing, mushing, hiking, canoeing; local outdoor music festivals, roadtrips; not being harassed; farmer’s markets; volunteerism; gratitude; used book stores; variety; environmental awareness; recycling; good, quality tools; good, quality craftsmanship; mushrooms; nuts; community art and cultural events; autumn; wool socks.

more hammock pics...