Ten little fingers, ten little toes, and filling our hearts with love as it overflows <3

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce our beautiful baby boy, Cornelius Giovanni Harrison.

July 2nd, 2022

1:41 pm

6.2 lbs and 17.23 inches

And already showing us that he’s going to do great things in life <3

Sorry for the delayed birthing announcement, it was quite a sudden delivery so we had to think of a baby name. Shoutout to Zach, George William, and Hannington, respectively, for the naming inspiration, and to Mama Amber for putting it all together.

New moms Haleigh and Amber started out the morning by making energy balls, another good idea from the amazing Mrs.— sorry, grandma— Pine. Using our suitcase stash of peanut butter, instant oatmeal, honey, chia seeds, flaxseed, and m&ms, we successfully managed to make a fulfilling and healthy breakfast. New dad Kyrillos took this time to once again try and solve our ongoing wifi problems on the airtel device. Our host Sammy was simultaneously working to load data on our other mobile hotspot. 20 minutes later, we had not one but two working wifi devices…. both of which had stopped working by the time we got home this evening.

After a quick trip to the ATM, we headed to summer gardens for a meeting with the whole VTCA team. We discussed planning for our advanced training next week, scheduling conflicts people had, feedback on our basic training and logistics of our closing ceremony event. During this meeting, we learned a bit about the culture and how the business world works. The concept of “marketing exclusivity” doesn’t really exist here; most companies become sponsors after attending large events with lots of people they can expose their brand to, since it’s much harder to market here also.

We were all a little chaotic today: Kyrillos showered with his glasses on for a “new perspective,” Haleigh dropped a lit match between the stove and counter near the gas pipe (she still hasn’t burned the house down don’t worry), and Amber was just her usual chaotic self. She did, however, beat George William in pool today! He even tried to distract her by telling her Kevin Hart was nearby, but luckily she didn’t fall for it.

We got beans and chapati for dinner (what else is new) since it was on the way home. Also the stars here are so pretty and the sky is usually very clear. Our colleagues can’t believe we can’t see stars at home but we love being able to stargaze and see actual constellations!

We then enjoyed some popcorn and ramen while finishing up the advanced curriculum. The quote of the day is by Amber: “can we play Peru again.” We heard a song called Peru in the van the other night and Amber has been listening to it nonstop since. She also made the important decision that the Ed Sheehan version was better than the rap version.

We get to sleep in tomorrow! And then wake up and practice our advanced curriculum for our 2 pm training time.

Lastly, in honor of us becoming parents, here are our domestic green flags:

Haleigh: constantly cleans up and tidies everything (stress response much??)

Amber: always remembers to turn off the hot water heater, gas, lights, (those parental instincts have already been intact while making sure Haleigh doesn’t burn the house down) and makes the mosquito net fully covers the door (we’re not actually sure this net does anything because there are vents above the net but it makes Amber feel better so we all oblige)

Kyrillos: deals with the wifi (thank goodness because Haleigh and Amber gave up), cooks ramen and knows how to use a tea kettle (Haleigh and Amber could also cook the ramen but Kyrillos offers so why not)