Day 7: Saturday, May 29th

Prompt for the day: what is the purpose of suffering and how have you responded to suffering on La Vida?

Sometimes I think the purpose of suffering is to inspire appreciation for things that have previously been taken for granted. For example, when I'm dying of itchiness and black fly venom, I'm dreaming of home with no swarms of the little creatures, me laying cozily in my bed with a temperature control right by the door. I know that when I get back, everything will seem SO WONDERFUL. Meals that aren't mush, more anti-itch cream at my disposal, tweezers, oh and maybe running water too. In addition to appreciation, suffering definitely works on your ability to persevere. I've never felt so much discomfort in my entire life as I have this week, and with that comes the realization that yes, I am still alive and yes, my hair is still curly.

I'm actually really grateful that the Sherpas are super obscure and don't tell us everything even though it's driving me crazy. I hope I can move away from my habits of being scheduled and concerned with the time, the next activity, and tomorrow. It's so weird that I've been with these people for about a week now. Everyone and everything else feels so incredibly far away and it's hard for me to remember anything or anyone from school or home. Like it's vaguely familiar to me but it's hard to remember what things feel like. I really do muss home though, especially when I'm feeling quite miserable. But I know that I'll have fond memories of La Vida (I hope) and that I'll wish I could relive some of the moments. I'm not going to miss having a constant, dull ache in my stomach almost all of the time though. Okay, maybe not all the time but I get super hungry about an hour before we eat a meal. I've been carrying the snacks though--quite strategic on my part so I don't have to ask anyone else if they have the snacks during the day (heh heh heh).

Meacham Lake (see previous posts)

Me (obviously) on top of Debar Mountain

Personal notes: Last night was the scariest thunderstorm EVER! Had to pee and couldn't find my headlamp so I peed right outside of our tent while holding onto the side of the tent because it was pitch black and I didn't want to wander off too far and not be able to find my way back. Couscous for breakfast--I'm not really a fan. Hiked Debar today--beautiful weather and view, Amy: "I don't think I've ever felt such utter despair," sometimes I wish everyone liked Harry Potter, sometimes I am puzzled by the homeschooled way of life (stereotyping here a bit), thankfully for me a lot of people didn't want their lunch crackers today so I made out with about 14 crackers (yahoo!).