January Little Victories

I keep a journal and every morning I record something that happened the day before that I consider a "little victory". Something that either made me proud, made me happy, or just something good that can always remind me why I'm doing this. So these are my Little Victories from January:

Today was almost too good for words. I love my friends and the immeasurable amount of kindness everyone here has shown me. Life is good

If you hammock they will come. Pretty sure the whole village could hear the squeals of kids as they swung on my hammock. Joy is such a beautiful thing

Went on a little hike up a mountain to this field with Niny and some friends and planted seeds in the morning. The views were great and the company even better

Today the new batch of vezahs arrived and when MamaZaza was trying to tell me they were coming she was so cute apologizing for using the word vezah to me

My usual mofo Gasy place was packed this morning so I went to a new one and just the way I said "yeah" they said they could tell I already knew Malagasy and we had a really good chat

I was part of the welcoming committee this morning for the new vezahs with Tafita, Menja, Bonefast and Gote. We walked around and showed them the town

I love how whenever I'm looking for one of my friends everyone offers to help and just starts yelling their name. Works every time

I can't get over how good my students are, I don't know how I got so lucky!

Survived getting to, traveling around, and coming back from Tana; that's a big victory in itself

In the evening me and my group of Malagasy friends taught the new volunteers Malagasy. I'd like to think that them seeing me speak Malagasy partially inspired them to learn

Managed to give a 2 hour lesson in one in an attempt to catch my students up from when I was gone

I enjoy teaching. Not everyday is easy and not every lesson goes as planned but I like my kids and I like seeing them learn. I'm thankful for that

Sometimes letting life take you where it may leads to the best kind of moments. A group of little kids that I pass on my way to school everyday always yell vezah so today I stopped to talk to them and next thing I know I'm holding all their hands and going on a little adventure.

Good mofo Gasy in the morning always constitutes a win in my book

I love that my students like me outside of the classroom. They love seeing me at the market and especially when I play soccer or basketball with them and I love that I have the time to do that here.

I appreciate Niny always including me in things every day. Even if at times it feels suffocating I think its better than the alternative of being lonely.

Saying yes even when you're not entirely sure what you're about to do almost always lends itself to a good time.  Today I went to Angela's with Niny, Caramel, and Charlene and learned how to make mango and rotcha jam

I finally mastered the perfect cup of vanilla chai tea- the secret: socolait. And perfect timing on a rainy evening too

Did a song lyrics listening activity with my association students and there's something so beautiful about hearing your students sing Heal the World by Michael Jackson

Today it started down pouring in my 5eme class where no one could hear anything (we have tin roofs). I just looked at the class- they knew and I knew I had no clue what to do next and so we all just started to laugh at the situation (and eventually I did find a way to keep teaching)

The little kids here have my entire heart. I spent the whole afternoon first with my neighborhood goobers then with the kids by the field just tickling and chasing them. Days like today a smile never leaves my face

I was able to buy apples today in Amparafa and I don't know if such a simple type of food has ever brought me so much happiness

Climbing trees, picking fruit, having running races, eating so much rotcha it hurts your stomach. Today was like a day from my childhood and I loved every minute of it

Cooking with friends in the morning, getting my hair braided in the afternoon, playing mother hen to dozens of kids in the evening, I love my little life here

Thanks to my lovely Kibo Krew friends advice on how to cook rice I made my first pot of actually good rice. Still not up to par with Mama Zaza's but I was still proud

It started pouring at the end of class today so I told the kids I was going to wait and they could stay and play an English game if they wanted and it was cool to see how excited they were to stay. Also I walked home barefoot and everyone loved that ha!

My students are hilarious and I love them so much. That's all. That's all I need. My heart is full

After days of straight rain and clouds, today, my laundry day, the sun was shining all day. Score!