Summer Favorites: Part 4 - The Interns

If you've read my most popular blog "Communication," then you read about the frustrations and failures of this summer. I want my supporters and sponsors to know that this summer hasn't all been terrible. It was definitely worth my time, energy, and finances to spend 9 weeks in the country that has taken over part of my heart.

I will be writing a blog series about each of my favorite things about this summer ...

The Interns

This summer I have worked with 7 other individuals.  As a whole our group couldn't have had any more different personalities.  This had both its ups and downs.  It was good to have a wide range of people because we all brought different strengths and ideas to the table, but it was also a bad thing because of all the differences of opinions, values, thoughts and beliefs, which brought on quite a few arguments.

Even with the disagreements, I couldn't imagine this summer without the 7 other interns.

Shelby: We were probably the most different from each other.  This brought along many arguments and hard feelings very early on.  We eventually learned to see each others differences as more of a good thing and learned to work together more.  Her love for the children shines through everyday whether she's singing a song, teaching a lesson, or just sitting on the floor talking with them.

Emily: She is definitely one of the biggest encouragers that I have every met.  Even when there was tensions in the house, she was the first one to try and smooth things over (definitely annoying at times when you're as stubborn as I am and want to stay angry).  She was our peacemaker of the house.  We are in two totally different places in life, but I never once felt judged or condemned by her.  She's a special soul.

Karissa: She's our "mom" and "mature" one of the group.  When we'd all be heated about a subject, she was our voice of reason - granted I didn't always take that voice of reason to heart.  She was also the calm one.  Her love for the Haitian people and her desire to see the education system thrive in Haiti is very apparent when you first meet her.

Steph: I didn't get to spend alot of time with her because she was only here three weeks, but I couldn't imagine the summer or mobile clinics without her.  She was definitely a key role in the start-up of our clinics.  She's a very smart young woman and is going to be an amazing doctor in a few years!

MC: My Haitian Sister!  We clicked from the very start.  We're both loud, crazy, opinionated, and not afraid to fight for what we believe in.  There's no way I would have had the experience here without her.  In fact, I probably wouldn't have made it through the first couple of weeks without her.  She helped me understand so much more about Haitian culture and gave me an inside scope.

Lara: I'll admit at first I didn't think we were going to get along.  She arrived in Haiti when I was very angry and frustrated about many things and I wasn't really up for forming any new relationships.  Everything quickly changed and she became one of the ones I was the closes too.  There were times when she 'got' me and no one else did.  There were also times when she knew exactly what I was thinking or feeling and helped me see why things were happening or shined a light when I didn't understand someones words or actions.

Charles: Many people talk about someone being their "other half," well he is my "same half!"  Scary, I know!!  We realized early on that we were going to get along very well.  We're so alike on so many things that it's frequently scary.  With so many frustrations this summer, he's the only one I could talk to that completely knew why I was feeling the way I was, mainly because he was feeling the same exact way.  Luckily he was already here when I arrived and he's also leaving after me - I made it through this summer with the help of his crazy self.  We were able to get through situations just because we laughed if off and didn't take alot of things seriously - many times we were the only ones laughing.  We work well together and understand each other in a way that I don't know how to explain.  I definitely became the closes to him this summer.  He's like a brother - we make fun of each other, call each other out, laugh at ridiculous things, but at the end of the day we have each others back!