Back on Kwajalein

  Earth and I are back on Kwajalein and it's really good to be back.  While I think it was really good for us to have some time with Earth's birth family, it was really hard for both of while we stayed in their house.  Believe me, the problem was definitely with us, not with them.

   Their house is a new, well built concrete block house on ocean side.  It was just built this year after the government took the families old compound to expand the elementary school.  It has a bedroom, a bathroom, and a dedicated kitchen area, and electricity in every room. It doesn't have running water but there's a large, new rainwater catchment that provides the family with fresh, clean water.  All that being said, Earth and I weren't used to the heat and humidity, to sleeping on the floor, to the lack of privacy, and to the silence that comes when you can't speak the language.  Earth wouldn't let me out of his sight and didn't want to spend time with his Mama Elizabeth or any of the rest of the family in the house.  He kept asking for D and his siblings and couldn't understand why we couldn't get back on the boat and the plane and go home.
 

  Things are better here on Kwajalein, this little slice of America that's a tiny bit more like home.  Here, people speak English, there are beds, toilets, air conditioning, and food he recognizes.  Here he can swim at the beach, wear his brother's old raincoat and splash in puddles, watch TV, and read books.  Here, I'm able to get through the day without crying.  We're able to have video chats and phone calls with family and feel a little closer to them.

  While a whole bunch has changed since the new contractor took over the island, on the surface, Kwaj is still the little slice of almost paradise that it was when we lived here.  Bikes are still the main mode of transportation,

    the island is still beautiful, and people are still friendly.  With all the changes for Earth and I lately, it's so comforting to me to feel so at home here.  I'm slowly working towards starting a job on Kwajalein and my apartment on Ebeye should be ready soon.  I have a few school options for Earth and D and I are trying to decide what's best for him while we're here.

  I've been reconnecting with old friends and spending real time with Earth.  I hate that being here means that I have to be away from the rest of the family but there are small pockets of joy in our days and those make it easier to keep putting one foot in front of the other.