There are Always Ups and Downs...

I was just...so...tired on Wednesday night that, as I was going to bed early (again), my host mother/sister asked me if I was sad, and the waterworks started. I said it was just too much work! She said that wasn't right; she's hosted a lot of Peace Corps people and most of them don't have enough work and they are doing secondary projects. She is right! We definitely have too much work. This week three friends from home have commented on my adventure, and my comment back has been that so far it doesn't feel like an adventure. That's my reminder that it can, should be and will be an adventure! Here I am in the former Soviet Union, in the developing world, in Western Asia (or Eurasia), in a new country with a lot of history and not a lot of tourists. It's up to me to experience it - and to share it with you!

A good night's sleep and a hot shower and a good breakfast help get every day off to a good start at least, and tired as I am I haven't skipped yoga or meditation (well, I didn't do yoga on the day I flew in or the days of orientation). I know that part of my stress is my computer woe - I'd stopped by the Apple store on Wednesday, somehow knowing they hadn't gotten the display yet, and still managed to feel disappointed when they told me it wasn't in yet. Those little things do make a difference when you're tired - I had also opened my Peace Corps mailbox only to find it empty. When will my New Yorkers come? I've missed three already, and I'd identified it as one of the things I couldn't live without! Maybe I should have had them sent to Edie's and accumulate there.... Maybe I should start that now....

And I came to a somewhat frightening realization this week during the OCSE meeting - we're working on neddy projects. Some of the Small Business Development volunteers in Morocco were assigned to work with artisans, some with cooperatives and some with neddies. These are training centers where young women learn sewing and crocheting skills and make small projects - the classic is the crocheted chicken. Now, mind you, those volunteers who were assigned to work with neddies liked their assignments and their service. But I was glad I had a different assignment. When Rose and I went to Sidi Ifni, we visited the Artisana that was mentioned in Lonely Planet. But we couldn't find any artisans or products. We wandered into one room and there were some sad-looking women knitting. I told Rose that that would make me run screaming into the night, and each month or so after that we would send each other neddy reminders, so we'd be even more thankful we were where we were. Now, there are some nice products on the Homeland Handicrafts web site, and there are some nice products in inventory - beautiful embroidered pillows, for example. But some of the products we were shown in the meeting were - well, I think you get the idea. Some of the skill level is quite good though, and it's up to us and to the people at that meeting to help raise the quality level and the caliber of the product offerings. But when you're tired, it helps to be proud of what you're working on.

We had reason to feel uplifted yesterday. The buyer for the U.S. Embassy commissary had seen some of the Valentine's items and wanted to get some for her shop. We spent the morning packaging, tagging and making an attractive display - and it looked like a nice selection! She came and took multiples of several products. We still have enough for the fair, so we told her not to bring them back for Sunday when she could still sell them on Monday. And we've been working on other aspects of the fair - we'll still be working for a large part of tomorrow and all day Sunday - but after that Wednesday low and the adventure reminder, I feel less tired and more energized. Plus, I am going to the symphony tonight! The Armenian Philharmonic is playing Brahms' Tragic Overture and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 (Eroica), sandwiching the Heroic Ballade by Arno Babajanian.