And it all falls down

See, we´re all bipolar.

I´m having an awful week. But the good news is, this is happening a lot less frequently.

I think it all began a few days ago when I came home and my host immediately burst in tears telling me her son almost died in a motorcycle crash. Unconscious, he was assumed dead and people robbed him of his valuables including his phone. Thankfully though, he wasn´t, and is recovering. Being able to walk and talk sounded positive to me, but my host was still frantic. It was crushing to listen to her weep as she reminded me her son is her only child who still visits and takes care of her. This among so many other problems has been a hard personal burden on me - that night she came up to talk to me as she so often does, but it´s always negative. She doesn´t have enough money, she can´t take care of all her animals alone, her family has left her, etc. I´m having a very, very difficult time dealing with all this.

And the next day, I found out someone I know in my community (keep in mind my community is only about 500 people) was beaten. I didn´t know the details but it sounded bad, and it might have been rape. I told PC Ecuador because the situation might have been dangerous for me, and they started investigating the event, including making a call to my host. My host has said a number of times that she´s scared now, though when I first came to site she said it was 100% safe. But after attending a meeting (entirely in Quichua, which I don´t speak) and talking a little more to my host, it seems she may have been assaulted by someone she knew...that it probably means it´s not a danger for me.

I´m not sure if all the stress I´m feeling is manifesting itself in illness, but I had a terrible time sleeping last night and woke up feeling less than ideal. Ojala I don´t get sick - if I do, it will be the fourth time in six months. Not good.

But continuing with randomness, I thought I should mention a couple positive notes:

1. I bought a ticket home to visit my family, 19 December 2011 to 3 January 2012. That´ll be in Cary, Illinois, so see you then!

2. After service, I´m fairly certain I´m going to Nepal, possibly India and China, to do the Annapurna Circuit if it still exists in 2013. I´m learning Nepali...very slowly...so maybe by then I´ll know a few words and phrases comfortably. Anyone want to go?

3. Still thinking.