Stomach bug

      One of the blessings of living here is the amazing people I work with. We joke that it takes a special (crazy) personality to come down here full time, and that’s probably true, but the people I work with are also some of the most compassionate and giving people I have had the pleasure of knowing. They demonstrated that this week when I got a stomach bug.Although it was not anything serious, I was definitely uncomfortable for a couple of days. The people I work with were incredibly kind to me while I was ill, bringing me juice and water, making sure I was eating and generally checking up on me. In the midst of my discomfort, they were a blessing.

            By nature I am both fairly private and stubbornly independent. The thing is, that’s not how things work in Haiti. We do things in community here, and that includes illness. That is humbling for me, since I prefer to act tough and hide in my room by myself when sick or unhappy. Consequently, having people serving me, taking care of me stretches me. On the other hand, living here, learning from a much more communal culture is such a privilege. From the ladies on staff who made me a special Haitian stomach-bug healing juice, to the man who works at our guesthouse going out of his way to ask how I was feeling, I was enveloped in compassion this week. It was humbling, but beautiful.