one year.

I have now been living in Madagascar for over a year, as of March 3rd. There is still over a year left of my Peace Corps service, set to end in May 2012.

My one year anniversary offers a bit of time for reflection. It's gone by both incredibly fast and painfully slow, depending on the day or sometimes the hour. One thing I've learned about this experience is just to hang on through the rollercoaster of ups and downs; even during the worst times here, the smallest pleasure can turn everything around.

Do I like living here now that I'm a little more used to things? Not always, but the feeling of contentment is much higher than it used to be. Do I both dread and live for the feeling of stepping off the plane into the chaos and ease that is America? Constantly, so much so that I do not know which universe I belong in anymore, here or there. Do I think I should speak the Malagasy language better, more thoroughly understand the Malagasy culture, be more accepted and less stared at? Daily. But I have to recognize the accomplishments I've made in these areas or else I will lose my mind.

What I am experiencing increasingly here as my time passes is an acceptance of what I can stand. My patience during unpredictable and frustrating situations grows exponentially. So has a unhealthy level of apathy. Or maybe it's actually more an ability to truly appreciate joy born out of the simple life.

They say year two of Peace Corps service is fun and fast, surreal and fleeting. And so the sojourn continues...