I Lived

As we headed home from a weekend full of adventures the song I Lived by OneRepublic came on my phone. I’ve never really listened to that song before but in that moment the lyrics felt so true.

I swear I lived. 35 hours of bumpy, sweaty, crowded bus rides but I swear I lived.

Standing underneath a waterfall with the water pelting our backs.

Watching the red sun as it set behind a hill covered in matooke trees with a perfect breeze warming us as we stood in an abandoned quarry.

Crunching down on a handful of freshly roasted coffee beans.

With every broken bone, I swear I lived.

It doesn’t matter that my back was aching by the time we made it back home. It doesn’t matter that we spent more than we could really afford. It doesn’t matter that we used up our vacation days. It doesn’t matter that we might all have parasites from the water (what is medicine for anyways?).

At least we lived.

Photo Time

Hey yooou guys! Todays seems like a good day for some photos, yeah? 

Rachel is a photographer extraordinaire so please excuse the fact that I have so many photos of myself and also give the credit to her for all the epic photos of me that aren't selfies ;). p.s. this post is for you Mom and Dad :) 

 

I'm just gonna jump right in #punintended. The tree-covered island I'm pointing at is Bushara Island, with a circumference of 1.8km it's pretty tiny but just last week we found a path we hadn't walked down yet... so I guess anything is possible.

This is Ananus (sp?). Tour guide extraordinaire and the guy who showed us where to go for the sweet view in photo #1. (Yes, Mom and Dad, feel free to comment on the fact that he's wearing a lifejacket and I'm not :).

I don't know if you can tell but this man is canoeing in a full-on downpour. That, my friends, is skill. I added this photo because we've just entered rainy season and when they say rainy season they ain't 
joking.

Sometimes people don't speak english so all you can do is share a smile. #insertuniversallanguagecliche. This lady really wanted to say hi. It was a stellar moment that Rachel, with her wizarding ways, managed to capture.

This was an impromptu photoshoot... because when there's a camera photos must be taken? It was a pretty stellar and hilarious moment. I'm glad I get to work with people who can always find something to laugh about. Featured from left to right: Anisha, Debra, Divian, Anna, Evas, Fabisi, Moi, and Ephraim.

Picking these made me feel like a flower child. I have decided that we should always have fresh flowers in our house. I mean, really, how often do you get to live in a place with constant access to wildflowers? Wouldn't want to let the opportunity go to waste.

This is a photo of Rach in our kitchen. The yellow accent shelf/counter might be my favorite part of our humble abode. Also pictured: Tea, coffee, and hot chocolate... hot drinks and cold rainy nights lit by candles are pretty normal for us. It's kinda romantic ;)

Last, but not least, this photo brought to you by Sunlight 2-in-1 detergent. Jokes, but that stuff does smell good. Daily life here is pretty chill. Laundry takes awhile but this laundry room is definitely better than any other laundry room I've ever used so I'm not complaining.

I guess that's all folks... thanks for tuning in... I'll be back next week.