Mom Mamma Mama'

Before moving to Rome, Italy I attended a missionary training program through the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) ReachGlobal. There we were presented with a lot of really valuable training as well as took a lot of time to really get to know ourselves and how we relate to the world, others and God. I wish I could recall all the great information we were given, but alas most has faded with the passing of time. One of the lessons I do recall is that there are 4 stages that everyone experiences when moving cross culturally. We may not all hit each phase at the same time or for the same length of time, but we will all encounter these 4 stages of adjustment; honeymoon, frustration, adjustment, and acceptance. The past few days I knew that I was in the midst of th frustration phase, but even though I knew it I could not shake it. Everything about our new country was annoying to me. The fact that I had just dealt with my second round of stomach issues (i'll spare you the detai...

Honestly I had pretty low expectations for a great birthday this year, seeing as we just arrived a week ago and don't really know anyone but family. However my Bolivian family threw a great celebration for me, San Juan and other family members who are back in town. We had great food and drink and everyone had a fabulous time. That was the night before my birthday. My actual birthday was literally crappy. I woke up to the urge to go to the bathroom and while I made it to the bathroom I sneezed before making it to the pot, and left some evidence of what was to follow in my PJ's. Not fun. As the day went on the shit continued to flow. And while I made it to the toilet most of the time I definitely ruined another pair of PJ's before my mother in law was able to buy me some antidiahrial meds. But the whole day was not a total shit show, between trips to the bathroom my kitchen cart and my couch were moved into our apartment, which was a fantastic birthday gift. The thing is i...