Today I'm Thankful For... #2

It's been kind of a rough week for me, but of course I'm still keeping my list of things to be thankful for, because that's what I want to do in November! (Or all the time? But I'm going to focus on November first, because Thanksgiving!) If you missed the first one, it's here.

November 9: The mayor of my village. I put off telling him news about our latest project, because in my mind, the news wasn't great - the potential funders said the project was too big for them. They could only do up to a certain amount. But I told him in our Monday morning meeting in front of everyone and he just said, okay, no problem, we'll find the rest! Something's better than nothing! Yes, Primar, you are right. There's a good wake-up for being thankful this week - he was excited to hear what I thought was bad news. Also I love him because sometimes he comes in my office to give me a hug and ask how I'm doing, because he misses his daughters who don't live in the village. If he asked to adopt me, I'd probably have to say yes. 

November 10: My mother's day off coincided with my middle-of-the-night freakout, so I'm thankful for that because I got to talk to her and she obviously helped - as much as mothers can from 5,000+ miles away. And also for the Peace Corps doctors, who (after giving me other helpful, actual medical assistance) literally said to #treatyoself, which it turns out I really needed. (If you want to treat yourself to some overpriced, no red cup drama, specialty coffee, I now highly recommend the Creme Brulee at Tucano.) 

November 11: Donuts and iced coffee and conversations with the guy selling them to me. Coming home to clean sheets and the promise of a lit soba.

November 12: UM, my parents have iPhones now so I can text them 24/7, which if you know me, I really have just spent 17 months wishing this could happen. So THAT'S awesome. It was also a BEAUTIFUL day today!

November 13: Catching up with "old friends" over lasagna and a jug of wine. 

November 14: A beautiful day to plant trees, and being a part of a great, big group of PCVs that went outside and planted a bunch of them. (My host mom said she saw us on the news (possibly here!) and then said: "You'll leave, but the trees will grow." How's that for a summary of our Peace Corps service.) Getting to hang out with great friends that you haven't seen in so long that the conversation never stops. Anytime there's zero desire to look at your phone. 

November 15: Brunch with the girls. And the fact that I just wrote, "Brunch with the girls." #poshcorps

Come back next Sunday to read more about what I'm thankful for this month.