A bike and a Juicer

March Three, 2013:

Yesterday, I threw a few things into a shoulder bag and road my not so reliable bike to the beach. The days are not getting any cooler here and I was craving a gust of wind that only the seashore can provide. One thing I wanted to do was write in my journal, a journal that has very few blank pages left. Whenever I write in my journal it is as if my hand cannot print the words fast enough on page. I forget to write things that appear in my mind. But now, I sit here, wondering and wondering what the heck I should write about. What can I write that is okay for the world to see? I am not sure how I feel about this, the fact that at this point in my life I have more to say that I don’t intend on having other people see. Now, I am not saying that this means there are a lot of bad things happening. If you know me even a little bit you know by now that I tend to leave out the bad things. I think it just means that my thoughts are too personal right now.

So, what can I share?

Well, last week I watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. This documentary did two things for me: 1) I now want to buy a juicer and 2) it made me realize how badly I am addicted to coffee. If you need any motivation to up the natural ingredients you put into the only body you get in your life, watch the movie. I probably eat more natural foods than the average person, but it still left me wanting to sprint to the market and buy as many green, red, and orange goods I could carry. Those thoughts lead me to think further. Now, on my list of things to buy for myself during my transition bad into American civilization are two things- a road bike and a juicer. Also, I really thought about what my addictions are. I think I have four- coffee, chocolate, working out, and Chap Stick. It probably is not a fluke that one thing that Peace Corps has not changed about me are my addictions. I found myself wondering why that was. I can imagine my life without many things, and I probably have the courage to try and live without most things, but my life without the things I am addicted to? Well, I am not so sure I am ready to go down that path. So, I will probably never faithfully complete a juice fast like the character in Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead did, but I will buy a juicer.

Tomorrow I am going to bring envelopes full of letters to school with me. These letters are not ordinary letters. At the end of the year last year I had my students write a letter to the future them. I told them that I would not be reading them; I would just keep them tucked in a safe place and return them the following year. Now, after frantically rummaging around my room, I have them all ready to bring to school. I thought I had lost them. Then I thought that they were in the suitcase I had Joe bring back to America. What good would they do me or my students if they were in America? I am happy that question does not have to be answered. I am excited to see their reaction. I feel like Santa Claus and I am not completely sure why, maybe I think the letters are more special than they do. So, tomorrow at school I am going to deliver a present from the past. A present that I trust will spark memories and give my former students the opportunity to think about how they changed, and how they had not changed, for better or for worst.

Thank you Peace Corps.

I was thrilled the other day when I finally made normal looking pancakes.

I was thrilled when I got to use waxed floss.

I was thrilled when my sister left her American toothpaste.

I was thrilled when found a new pair of socks at the bottom of my drawer.

I was thrilled to drink chocolate milk.

A lot thrills me these days.