‘…I also know how important it is in life, not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong, to measure yourself at least once, to find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions facing the blind, deaf stone alone with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head’ – Primo Levi, Bear Meat

All week I’ve been reminding myself of this quote as I’ve faced new challenges and situations everyday. Without a dictionary, books or the internet; it’s just been me, alone, with nothing to help me but my hands and my own head.  As it turns out, I don’t need much else. And when I measure what I’m doing now against what I thought I could do before I got here, I realise that I’ve been pretty harsh on myself, and that actually I’m not as useless as I thought.  And that realisation has definitely made me feel strong.