What I´m thankful for....

• a supportive and loving husband with whom I am very very lucky be able to share this crazy life
• a wonderful mother who accepts my crazy life even though it gives her more gray hairs and anxiety
• 4 very cool sisters who are all people I admire and believe in
• 5 nephews and 4 nieces who are beautiful, intelligent and fun people
• My aunts who send me notes filled with love and praise
• My cousins who offer guidance and encouragement in my work and life
• My in-laws who inspire me to do things that make the world a better place
• My friends who ROCK!!! who are there for me, chat with me over the distance via skype, who send me various necessities of life (tampons! tea! chocolate! Midol! New Yorkers!). Moreover, these friends inspire my work, send $$$ to help support it and give me crucial ideas when I think I`ve exhausted my creativity.
• My fellow Peace Corps volunteers who are some of the most awesome, daring and creative people I have ever met
• Bosses (new and old) who support my work and help me see that I`m not alone in what I am doing and are forgiving when I occasionally slip up.
• Weavers who make awesome hammocks, towels and napkins and are willing to listen to the crazy gringa who thinks that there is a world out there that wants to buy their products - all they need to do is organize and believe.
• a village of 130 families that still wonders why the crazy gringos are here but nevertheless open up their homes to us, offer a plate of goat and rice even when we´ve already eaten and they haven`t, and worry for our safety.
• a beautiful country that I have just begun to explore and still have a year to see (plus whatever time I hang around after Nov. 2008
• a bio huertos (small vegetable gardens) project that is just taking shape with some very enthusiastic women have taken a leap of faith that the gringa is speaking the truth when she says that it really is possible to grown vegetables in the desert when there is very little water available.
• relatively good health, 25 fewer pounds on my body, ability to express myself in two languages, and a mostly positive propects for my life a life free of drama (if you watch Spanish-language telenovelas you´ll know what I mean)
• a year of Peace Corps service completed! One year down, one to go!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I love you and miss you! Come visit!

xoxoxo!! Cyn