Reason for hope and a mosh pit of other thoughts...

usually by the time I sit down for a few minutes to write on this blog, time has flown by as usual, and there are so many thoughts, experiences, memories, feelings that have passed that I feel as though if I open the tap just a little, they will all pour out without much order, and will probably not even make much sense. So is the case today...so I apologize in advance for the lack of continuity in themes, and for the horrible grammar that I am sure will follow. I am going to attempt to get all my thoughts out in the next 20 minutes before the bus leaves....which will only add to the beautiful mess this may be. :-)

okay where to start...first...I celebrated Easter Sunday on a yacht! Sailing south from Dahab to Gobry Bent.  There we went for a few dives about 20-25 meters deep to see God's beautiful handiwork in the coral and fish! It was so amazing! 

But honestly Easter weekend was one of my hardest weekends here so far.  Not just being away from family, and what is familiar, but being surrounded almost 24/7 by Arabic only speaking. Many of the people I traveled with could speak English, but without realizing it after only a few words in English, the whole group would transition back to Arabic (their native tongue of which I know very little-fruits and colors I joke). I was looking for a weekend of relaxing, but instead I incurred a weekend where even what should have been the easiest of conversations were difficult. I wanted a chance to build relationships, instead I found myself feeling very alone on a boat of thirty people. Even when I could understand the conversation occuring, I couldn't contribute to the conversation because of the language barrier. It is very hard for me in these occasions not to just pull away and not try to interact. It is not that these people didn't want me apart of the group, quite the contrary, a number of them would come to have conversations with me one on one to make me feel welcome. But still it was hard. By the end of the weekend I was in tears with frustration at the situation.  I sat down to have a conversation with Sam about it, and he gently reminded me I have only been here a few months and to stop giving myself a hard time about it. He is good at putting things back into perspective for me. I was able to let go of the frustration and enjoy the long bus ride home. I even sang a song in Arabic for the group with the help of one of my new friends. :-)

The day after arriving home I had a long day scheduled at work. Two interviews in different areas of the city and a meeting on campus. It was during the first interview, that the interviewee mentioned one of the greatest struggles of working in development is reminding the staff and yourself that there is a reason for hope. Not to become overwhelmed by the work to be done, or the lack of progress being made, but to remember why you started and celebrate even the small victories.  This coming the day after Easter (the day many people celebrate the greatest reason for hope), and after my long struggle of disappointment with my Arabic, was so encouraging. It is so easy to lose sight of a reason for hope, whether it is in your daily job, development work, homework, life, relationships, etc. 

Okay time to catch the bus, so I will finish this post later tonight :-).