Getting Lost, Being Lost, and Letting Go

Dear Friends and Family,

Hello! I hope that you all have had a very splendid week. I feel like this blog post will be long as I currently have a lot of thoughts running through my head. I might as well get started.

Last weekend on friday afternoon we left for camp!! The camp that we went to was up the linden highway and is called camp Kayouka. When we arrived at camp we discussed the basic ground rules and then had "tea". (Tea + snacks) That night was a low key night for us to get settled in and just mingle with each other. At first I have to admit I was kind of intimidated by the fact that I didn't know very many people. I didn't want to spend all of my time talking with Sarah and Audrey but I also wasn't the one to go out and just start talking to new people. My friend and co-worker Niall was on the trip so he helped to introduce me to a number of people.

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to pray the Angelus and then begin the day with a morning exercise. We took a long walk to the sand pits near the camp, on the way we got a little bit lost. Audrey also got lost with one other person for about fifteen minutes, I guess there was one perk to standing out in the crowd everyone noticed when the "third white girl" went missing. :) Leave it up to Audrey to get lost. The day consisted of learning how to dance, learning about music and its impact on our life, lunch, prayer, and FUN! The evening continued with dinner, games, and some adoration. After adoration we closed of the night with a Bon Fire. There were some fun skits put on by different people including a "Miss World Contest". This competition consisted of only males!! HAHA

Sunday we got up for prayer, had a session on nutrition and then had Mass with Bishop. After Mass we had some free time and then we were on our way back home. My mind was conflicted throughout the entire camp because I was expecting to go into camp and be encourage to grow in my faith. I don't want to say that we didn't take time to pray because we did, however, very few of our sessions were actually on anything faith related. It made it seem more like a camp that prays rather than a camp that is meant to be specifically for Catholic youth.


I met a lot of interesting people at camp which was good. I sometimes get so trapped in the same old routine doing the same thing. It was a very short period of time but I hope that I am able to continue some of the friendship that I made over camp. I have seen someone from camp almost every day since we left just randomly on the street. It made me realize how Georgetown can actually have a small town feel. And well I know if you went to camp your question is: "Who's your camp crush?!" Because well of course when you were little and you went to camp you always had to find a boy to be a camp crush right?! When I was little I remember one of my best friends was CONVINCED she was going to marry her camp crush. Maybe i've grown up a little bit because yes there were cute boys at camp, and I may have had a small crush - but I didn't walk away thinking any of them were going to be my future husband... sigh... maybe next camp :)

Coming back from camp the week quickly became stressful. One of the mini buses that I regularly take was in an accident. Now the accident was because of a blown tire and could happen anywhere in the world, but the bad part about it was that one of my good friends was on the bus. I got a message from a friend saying there was a bus accident and I knew my friend could possibly have been on that bus. The minute I got the message I called my friend from my house and could hear chaos going on, they then told me how they were at the public hospital in a lot of pain and they weren't sure what was going to happen them. Their phone then cut off and I was left stress, confused and upset. Audrey and I called another mutual friend who took us to the hospital. After much waiting we found out our friend had been cleared by the doctors and was put in the ward for monitoring but was going to make it. I didn't sleep well that night, or the next but after a while the stress started to dissipate. I feel like sometimes it takes moments like these in our lives to make us really appreciate people, or even the fact that we are alive. Five people died in the bus accident and many were injured. I thought for a long time whether to write this in my blog or not - but I realized that this was one of the most real experiences I have had since being here. No matter where you are in the world accidents are going to happen, lives are going to be lost because of something that in an ideal world could have been prevent, and we have to remember that we never know when it will be our time to leave this world. Life is precious and fragile - - I read a quote this week that said: “You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” -- This experience has reminded me that I need to tell those that I love how much they really mean to me. :)

I noticed that one person who I regularly see keep saying to me: "Miss you look lost". I realized how observant other people can be and how sometimes we just can't hide how we feel. It was a little bit of sunshine in the few days of frustration when I was reminded that there always people who care. :) Sometimes all it takes is for someone to notice that we are lost - to be found again. I still feel a little lost but things are coming back into place. :) 

Anyway - Graduation was on Wednesday. It was a really good ceremony. I hope to put up pictures on my next blog post. I would like to share about one student who really impressed me. Her name is Naameshwari and when she first came into this school she could barley do her alphabet. When they announced the number one student in her section, child care, it was HER! I was so impressed by her. She would spend all of her time trying to become a better person by really diving into her education. I never once heard her complain about the fact that she had an unfair life, that she wasn't good enough, or that she couldn't do it. She always had a smile on her face and she faced anything we threw at her with a perseverance that helped her accomplish every task. I will miss her dearly - not only for the passion she brought into the classroom but for all the life lessons she taught me. She reminded me weekly to be humble and speak softly. I pray she is able to continue bettering herself in the future - I will truly miss her. I have to let go and just watch now...

Wednesday night after graduation we had the schools prom. It was fun to see everyone dressed up and looking beautiful. I will make sure to put up pictures so that you are able to see. There was plenty of dancing and fun had by all. I was really glad that I was able to share that night with my students as an ending to the year.

The past two days have been laid back at work - finishing reports and setting up lesson plans and such for next year. I have a lot of work to get done this summer in preparation for next year but at least I won't have a class to teach at the same time. I haven't been to the hospital at all really this week because of how busy we have been at school. Next week I will get back into a regular routine - MWF teaching a summer computer course in Sophia (at the training centre) and T Th at the hosiptal doing my typical counseling.

Have a good week - Take one day at a time - Every day is a good day, just some are better than other.

Love,

Ashley Ann