I am still here!

I am alive and well and not dead. Since I haven’t posted here in nearly two months I know some of you might have been wondering. I'm still here.

I have been meaning to post for some time but I have been struggling with a few things and anything I posted would mostly have been a discussion about how much I have been working and some of the things that are bringing me down. I didn't think that was particularly interesting. And a blog must be interesting. A blog could have an existential crisis if it weren't interesting as that is part of its core identity. And obviously I have still been working too hard and not sleeping enough since I am not sure if that made any sense.

So before I share about the crap and the discouraging and disheartening stuff that has been happening the past two weeks, lets start with something fun and really happy. I flew home at the beginning of September for two weeks so that I could be part of my best friend’s wedding. It was nothing like the movie. I had made this part of my contract negotiations when I took this position, that I would be able to take the two weeks to go home. Silly me said I would be available via skype and email if necessary, but honestly I assumed it would not be necessary. But that is another story. 

I took a direct flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Toronto – a 16 hour flight. I almost lost my sanity but I was really glad to get home in a total of 23 hours instead of the regular 32-36 hours that you get when you go through Europe and have an 8-12 hour layover. I arrived home at 8am and the Best Friend picked me up at the airport using her Ipad as a sign with my name on it. I don't think anyone has ever met me at the airport with a sign with my name on it before. It was pouring rain and early on a Saturday morning and she was still there and then bought me a coffee. This is the second time that the Best Friend has met me at the airport, the first being when I came home from my exchange trip to France in grade 10.  See why she is the Best Friend?

While I was home I spent time with my family and my friends, although busy schedules made it so I only saw my sister for a total of about 6 hours the entire time I was home. We’ll have to work on that!  I caught up with old friends and cousins I haven’t spent enough time with over the years. I ate salads almost every day and walked around without being pointed at, stared at or asked for money. I also helped plan the ‘wedding shower/bachelorette/fun day spent with the Bride” which was the weekend before the wedding.  This turned out to be a pretty low key day with none of the craziness or shenanigans one might expect, but was a good time just to spend time together and relax. The next weekend was the rehearsal and of course, the Main Event.

The Best Friend and I have been friends almost as long as I can remember, and I know The Groom pretty well too. So I was thrilled that I was able to make it home to be a part of their day. It was beautiful, laid back and fun. It was a good reflection of the two of them and of their relationship. Surprisingly I didn't cry at all during the ceremony, but I suspect this is only because the bride kept it together. If she had started to cry, even a little bit I would have lost it.  The Best Friend’s sister was the MoH and asked me to help her with her speech. It didn’t say everything we wanted it to since we finished it last minute despite all kinds of good intentions. I wanted it to say how much I love her, how much her friendship all these years has meant to me, how much of who I am was shaped by my friendship with her, how proud I am of who she is and how she lives her life, and how incredibly happy I am for her and The Groom. So if our speech didn’t say all that, now I have. That is what a blog is for.

It was really great to be home, even for only a couple of weeks. It was not the most relaxing of ‘vacations’ since I worked almost every day I was home, but it was what I needed to get through the next couple of weeks. I arrived back here in Burundi with some of the worst jetlag in history but mostly refreshed and ready to work. Now I’m back in the land of sun, beaches and a stupid crazy work schedule. I’m sharing my apartment with two new geckos and a millipede that lives on my ceiling (most of the time. I don't like to think about where it is the rest of the time....) and I finally got a lightbulb in my kitchen. It is amazing the difference that makes – it made me temporarily turn into my mom and clean the room from top to bottom! So focusing on the positives, life is pretty good. And since this post is long enough and too happy to be brought down by the Other Stuff, I will leave that for another day.