Trying to Leave Africa

Here I am at the airport in Addis Ababa. Again. For the third time since I initially tried to get on a flight yesterday morning to Dubai. It was cancelled, and so they put us on a flight for later that night. When we came back the second time, the airport personell told us to go to the wrong gate, and by the time we figured it out, the flight had left. So here we are. Try #3 and I am really itching to go. I pray I will get there safely, even if 24 hours late. I only ever pray on airplanes. There's something about being so helplessly at the mercy of other powers that grips me when I'm sitting at 10,000 meters above ground. That, and a plane crashed this morning in Indonesia leaving only 12 survivors. Inshallah, God willing, we will arrive to Doha safely this evening. Man, it was a bad first day of the year.

Days Like These

I'm sitting on my bed, ochre bed sheets and an Ethiopian cotton blanket warming my toes. Looking out the window you can tell it's cold outside. The air is crisp, the sky is clear, everything looks sharp. Inside, it's completely different. Everything looks hazy, dim, and undefined. Two little lit lamps attempt to make a difference, but they can't compete against the atmosphere. It's days like this when you realize that the world is bigger than you. That its mood envelops you and that you are defined by your surroundings. I like to feel small. Sometimes it's comforing. I like to feel in perspective compared to the world.
Sometimes it's depressing, because I want to feel like my life matters. But when I get humbled by nature like this, it proves that I can only accomplish little compared to the world.
What is it about humans and feeling like they need to change the world? And this sense of urgency...

Motivation

Okay my friends... so tomorrow I hand in all my final papers. Tomorrow, I am officially academically done for 2006. But damn, tomorrow seems like a long long time away. I've still got two papers to finish writing and my brain is screaming "mercy!" Yes, yes. I know. It'll be fine in the end and I will get it done. It always is. But uuugh.
One of my RAs came to me and was complaining about a bad situation. Then she said she shouldn't feel bad about feeling bad. "That's catholic guilt for you." There's always someone out there doing worse than you. But speaking in relative deprivation terms, it still sucks.
Now that I am fully motivated... back to work.

My Second Race

Today, I ran my second 5 K race and finished in under 28:00. I'm proud of myself, because that's a whole minute faster than my last timed run. At the end, I had less to give, which means I ran it well. I guess I didn't achieve my goal of 27:00 minutes, but I also didn't feel like throwing up. :) Now I'm energized, happy, and ready to write my final exams.

Getting Better

Today, I ran 5 kilometers in a little under 28:00. That's a 9 minute mile. I have been able to shave off two whole minutes since I started taking running seriously two and a half weeks ago. I start every time with a higher base, and increase the pace every half mile or so. My favorite part of running is the end, when I let myself go into a full sprint and feel like I have nothing left to give. My goal is to shave off one more minute by the time I run my last race this year. Today, I felt like throwing up at the end. That's when you know you've given it your all.

Going Home

So I'm going home for Christmas! Almost didn't know if I would make it. It is much easier to climb a mountain if you can see the top. At least that's my view on it.
I'm starting to run 5ks regularly now, and starting to speed up a little. It's pretty to go out running, I must say! :-)
Today is my 1 year anniversary with Carter. Don't believe it? Go back to my post on November of last year. It's kind of cute. Things are still going very well... he has become my anchor.
More to come... pause now for work.

My First Race

I just completed my first ever 5 K race in under 29 minutes. I'm pretty proud of myself and I feel like a million bucks. Okay, so that's not a great time, but it's still pretty good considering that four days ago I didn't even know if I could run that long. I tried it on the treadmill and nearly died. But today, I participated in Race for the Cure supporting breast cancer research. It was amazing to not only know that I could do it (complete the race in a good time) but also that I was surrounded by people who came together for a good cause and by women who had survived the disease. At the race, you could pin a sign that said "I'm running in celebration of" or "in memory of" and so I ran it in celebration of my aunt Marina Lancia, who survived her bout with breast cancer a long time ago and is arguable one of the strongest, most inspirational women I know.

This race will not be the last. I'm going to start training to run a 10 K in March. I can do it!