Behavioral Patterns

The other day I found an Arabic proverb that I’ve decided I’m gonna try and live by while I’m here- thought I’d share it, however, don’t ask me to recite it just yet. It says, “kul yawm min Hayaatuk SafHa min tarriikhuk”... every day of your life is a page of your history. Broken down even further; you only live one life, so you should enjoy every single day. And at the end, each day’s experiences are what make up your history. I just really like this quote and the whole significance behind it.

This week is coming to an end and I am not complaining. It’s been tiring, challenging and over all mentally exhausting. The constant language lessons are finally starting to catch up and it can be a bit overwhelming at times. It’s funny though, I become so overwhelmed with learning the new language and frustrated with homework that I give up and go hang out with my family. I think there may be some irony thrown in that, but it is what it is. They bring me back to why I’m here.

I’ve come to find different outlets to redirect my frustration. Whether it be doing an hour of yoga (CaitRy, I got some sweet abdominal moves for us), spending time taking pictures, writing, watching a movie, or talking to someone who brings me back to the bigger picture.  Which ever one it seems to be at the time, it’s definitely a necessity here. Back at home I’d make sure I got some serious Caitlin time at least once a week; here I need it once a day. And I’m not embarrassed about that at all.

This Saturday our final sites are announced. I think that when I put this up, it’ll be Saturday, so... today our final site are being announced! This is the place I’ll be living the next two years, N’Shallah (God willing). After we’re told, the following Monday we’re off to visit the site for a week. During this time we’ll get to see what the community looks like, get to meet our new host family, check out the local clinic; basically get a vibe from the community we’ll be working in. So in the next couple of days, I need to learn to be fluent in Tamazight because I’m off on my own. Awesome. Actually, I’m kinda psyched.. this will be my first time out by myself. If I can do this, the rest is easy.

I had a big picture moment a couple minutes ago. After dinner, while I was washing dishes (yes Mom, I do that here), Mohammed came up and gave me the motion for brushing his teeth. So now, we have a nightly routine of brushing our teeth together. Behavior patterns at their best; aka monkey see, monkey do. It made me all warm and fuzzy inside thinking that, even if he did brush his teeth before, he’s now doing it on a regular [nightly] basis with me. And yes, if you hang out with us, we don’t just brush, we act like zombies with foam coming out of our mouths, but that’s not the point. The point is that he’s  brushing his teeth with me. And the goal is, to get him to do it regularly without me.

 (Mohammed, "our" cousin Mariam, and myself)