Navigating life through one of the biggest cities in the world with three small children can be rather stressful at times. Throw in learning a different language and culture, a struggling economy, increased crime, extremely high rates of sexual harassment and abuse (local polls indicated 99.9% of women have experienced and continue to experience sexual harassment and abuse), thick smog that burns the lungs, political instability, an extraordinary amount of time needed for daily tasks (sometimes I wonder if there is actually a local word for 'convenient'. We certainly haven't needed to learn it yet!), weekends that are more intense, complicated and dangerous than weekdays, friends and neighbours facing very real needs with no easy solution..... sometimes it can feel like life is being sucked out of you!
One thing we have learned in the past year and a half is the necessity of regular times to get out of the city in order to rejuvenate and refresh. It brings us a whole new perspective once we have had a chance to breathe a bit and 'fill our tanks'.
Recently Daughter #1 and I had a chance to travel to the southern part of the country to visit our former language teacher who is now teaching there. We had a lot of fun together and enjoyed the slower pace, warmer weather (it might be a tad too hot even for me once summer hits!), green spaces and friendly people. We even had a chance to take a boat to a local village and have tea with a lovely family. The women of the village have begun making various crafts to sell as a means of income generation for their families. It was a wonderful time of refreshment and a great opportunity to see more of this country that we call home.
One thing we have learned in the past year and a half is the necessity of regular times to get out of the city in order to rejuvenate and refresh. It brings us a whole new perspective once we have had a chance to breathe a bit and 'fill our tanks'.
Recently Daughter #1 and I had a chance to travel to the southern part of the country to visit our former language teacher who is now teaching there. We had a lot of fun together and enjoyed the slower pace, warmer weather (it might be a tad too hot even for me once summer hits!), green spaces and friendly people. We even had a chance to take a boat to a local village and have tea with a lovely family. The women of the village have begun making various crafts to sell as a means of income generation for their families. It was a wonderful time of refreshment and a great opportunity to see more of this country that we call home.
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