For the past 8 years or so I have watched as my dad prays over the Thanksgiving meal. Tears well in his eyes as he blesses the food, giving thanks for another year and for the friends and family present. As the years pass by, we remember the ones who use to be with us, while we celebrate the love and the life we have with new friends and new additions to the family. The holidays are a bittersweet time.
I love Thanksgiving. I love that it's a day of eating (one of my favorite activities), a day of fellowship, a day of simply enjoying each other. But my favorite part is before we actually start eating the food that we spent hours preparing. I love the part where we gather in a circle and share what we are each thankful for that year. By the end of the sharing, no eye is ever dry.
This year I am thankful for my family. For their joy and compassion, for their kindness and generosity. I am thankful for my friends. For the laughter and the smiles, the fun and for sharing life together. I am thankful for my job. For the honor of helping those who are in so much need as they try to rebuild, reshape and renew their lives in the face of stigma and illness. I am thankful for Nate and for his unwavering loyalty, for his support and love, for his always gently pushing me to be the woman he knows I am meant to be.
There are so many reasons to give thanks. I am glad that we have a holiday that reminds us to pause and to reflect upon those people and things for which we are grateful. May the thanks giving continue in our day to day lives.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
A World Within My World
So two things. First, Nate bought me a guitar for my birthday, so I am checking off #14 on my bucket list as I struggle to learn how to play. Go me! Second, I started my new job and my world has been flipped upside down! Seriously. I am amazed at how sheltered I am from a subculture that exists within my own little bubble of the OC. It's crazy to have been born and raised in a predominately homogeneous culture: white, wealthy, college educated, church-going, OC-bubble living, and then thrown into a job where I am now a minority, where my language is hardly spoken, and where I am totally out of my comfort zone. The timing is oddly coincidental as lately I have been really pressing forward in discovering myself and really taking the time to figure out who I am, what I like, and how I feel about things. It's a strange and uncomfortable place to be if I am completely honest. Like, how did I go 28 years without even knowing this subculture existed? And would it have really made that much difference in who I am if I was aware of it before this week? I don't know.
On a lighter note, I have been attending a lot of weddings lately. No matter how many I go to, I am always humbled by the vows. I think that vowing your love to someone is one of the most beautiful thing we can do as humans. I love watching the groom as he sees his bride walk towards him down the aisle. I love seeing the moms cry (tears of joy or sadness?). I love the children who are dragging their feet as they bear the rings or throw the flowers with bribes of candy and toys within their reach. I love watching the first dance; the moment when the bride and groom can finally relax and enjoy their day. So off we go tomorrow to watch another beautiful wedding. This time we get to be a part of the ceremony as we stand in support and love of the couple.
Another day of love and celebration, of tears and laughter, of dancing and eating! Cheers to Stacey and Phil! =)
On a lighter note, I have been attending a lot of weddings lately. No matter how many I go to, I am always humbled by the vows. I think that vowing your love to someone is one of the most beautiful thing we can do as humans. I love watching the groom as he sees his bride walk towards him down the aisle. I love seeing the moms cry (tears of joy or sadness?). I love the children who are dragging their feet as they bear the rings or throw the flowers with bribes of candy and toys within their reach. I love watching the first dance; the moment when the bride and groom can finally relax and enjoy their day. So off we go tomorrow to watch another beautiful wedding. This time we get to be a part of the ceremony as we stand in support and love of the couple.
Another day of love and celebration, of tears and laughter, of dancing and eating! Cheers to Stacey and Phil! =)
Friday, September 16, 2011
Changing
It's so easy to fall back into the rhythm of mundane life. Wake up, work, exercise, eat dinner, go to bed. Repeat. It's easy to forget about the people around you, to make them as routine as each day. To go months without seeing a good friend, or days without really having a good conversation. But what is life without those friendships, without laughter, without spontaneity? Do we live to work or work to live? How do we break free of this repetitive cycle of sameness? How do we really live life? I have been so challenged by these questions these past few weeks, because for me, it's so much easier to live life on repeat. But I have realized that life on repeat is meaningless. That life with no challenges is boring. That life without love, without deep relationships, is not life at all. And so I will try to break free from this rhythm and start walking to another beat. A beat that is off and strange, that is foreign to my normal. A beat that makes me feel uncomfortable, a beat that challenges me to really live.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Being Home
It's been a month now since I returned home from my time in Peru and I can't believe how much things have changed. It seems that this time in my life is a time full of transitions and sorrow, of excitement and disappointment, a time for self-improvement.
To say that I have been overwhelmed would be an understatement. In the past month I have moved homes, moved jobs, and have been working through the painful process of facing the reality of relationships. I have been challenged in every area of my life. Most days I can say that I feel like I am becoming a better, more independent, stronger woman. That's most days. Those days also exist where I feel like I can't go on, that everything is too much, that I am not as strong as I thought I was. And yet, I take a deep breath and move forward. One step at a time.
Life is a strange thing, isn't it? The things that I thought were a curse turned out to be a blessing, and the things that I thought were going so smoothly have become rough. Nothing is going as planned. None of it has been easy. And yet we must persist.
So what's next? I wish I knew. For now, I just take it one day at a time, one foot in front of the other as I hold on to my friends and family for support.
On the brighter side, I must say it is nice to be home. It is nice to have the comforts of my own bed, to be able to drink tap water, and to throw TP in the toilet. Oh the luxuries!
To say that I have been overwhelmed would be an understatement. In the past month I have moved homes, moved jobs, and have been working through the painful process of facing the reality of relationships. I have been challenged in every area of my life. Most days I can say that I feel like I am becoming a better, more independent, stronger woman. That's most days. Those days also exist where I feel like I can't go on, that everything is too much, that I am not as strong as I thought I was. And yet, I take a deep breath and move forward. One step at a time.
Life is a strange thing, isn't it? The things that I thought were a curse turned out to be a blessing, and the things that I thought were going so smoothly have become rough. Nothing is going as planned. None of it has been easy. And yet we must persist.
So what's next? I wish I knew. For now, I just take it one day at a time, one foot in front of the other as I hold on to my friends and family for support.
On the brighter side, I must say it is nice to be home. It is nice to have the comforts of my own bed, to be able to drink tap water, and to throw TP in the toilet. Oh the luxuries!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Pampas and Iquitos
Let me preface this with, it was not our intention to spend the night in the jungle with a tour guide and his machete.
Having said that, we survived our impromptu jungle adventure and returned safely to Lima with only a few dozen mosquito bites to show for.
My friend/former coworker, Sophia (the Dr. Tran from the great Cambodia escape...) and I spent the first part of her week in Lima listening in on meetings, going to Pampas of San Juan, drinking Starbucks, shopping, and listening to Cuban music at a local bar. We, without much thought, decided that a trip to the jungle was exactly what we needed to break up the week. We also wanted to see what kind of work was being done in Iquitos and used that as our excuse to spend 2 days in the jungle.
Before I start recounting the jungle tour, allow me to quickly explain Pampas. Pampas de San Juan is a shanty town of about 57,000 people. They settled in the outskirts of Lima after being driven out of the highlands by the terrorists years ago. Because there were so many of them, the Peruvian government allowed them to resettle and thus the community of Pampas began. Pampas is divided into 4 sections and each section becomes increasingly poorer as you go further up the hill. Some homes are surprisingly nice while others are hardly standing. Dogs are running wild everywhere, water is shared in communal wells where each family is assigned a time to retrieve their water, and garbage is scattered along all the streets. It's a very interesting community and because of the close proximity of the houses and thus the families living in the houses, the epidemiology of disease is mapped in various studies. So, we started working on a TB project where we are going to place skin tests on about 400 people to determine if the rates of TB infection have decreased over the past 15 years. Pampas is where I spent the remainder of my time in Lima.
Ok, back to the jungle. So, Sophia and I showed up in Iquitos on a Wednesday morning. We made our way to a very disappointing hotel (dirty, small, and expensive) and decided right away that we wanted to go on a single day jungle tour. By 10 am we had canceled our Iquitos hotel room and were getting on a "speed boat" to a jungle lodge 2 hours away (by boat) from Iquitos for an overnight jungle adventure.
We arrived at the jungle lodge, which was actually much nicer than our hotel room in Iquitos, and started our adventure with lunch and a walk through the jungle. With rubber boots and our guide Danny (equipped with a machete), we stared our walk through the dense jungle. Danny painted our faces with red stripes from a seed then created plant crowns to ward off mosquitoes (which didn't keep the mosquitoes away, but did make us look ridiculous). We swung from vines, trudged through muddy rivers, saw monkeys, birds and huge spiders.
The rest of our time was spent in good conversation, dolphin watching, piranha catching, jungle village exploring, and sunrise and bird watching. Yes, there are dolphins in the Amazon River (pink and gray ones!). We went piranha fishing and Danny caught a piranha which we ate it for breakfast (it was delicious!). We woke up at 5:30 am, got in a boat with holes in it, in which Danny and the boat driver had to constantly scoop water out to keep from sinking, and watched the sunrise over the Amazon River. We saw sloths, monkeys, iguanas, tarantulas, and every bird alive in the jungle (turns out Danny is an avid bird watcher and insisted on pointing out, naming and imitating their calls).
Somehow we made it back to Iquitos, had our little meeting with Sophia's old friend who is working in Iquitos, and made it back to Lima by 10 pm. I must admit that the jungle adventure was one of the highlights of my Peru trip. It was beautiful. However, on a side note, in speaking with Sophia's friend, we found out that under the beauty of the jungle is a major drug and sex trafficking industry. The jungle is an ideal spot for drug trafficking due to the inability to detect boats covered by the rain forest. But thankfully (in a way), because of the drug trafficking, the sex trafficking has decreased. The sex trafficking started out as something called "child gifting". The jungle people would "gift" children to other villages if the child's mother was unable to care for the baby. Usually this worked very well and the children were brought up in loving homes. But somewhere between the mother and the village receiving the baby, people began taking the children and trafficking them for sex. It's disgusting and something that should never happen to a child, but according to Sophia's friend (who has lived in Iquitos for 10 years), if you try to interfere with the sex industry, you not only risk your own life but also the lives of those around you.
This has been constantly on my mind since I heard about it and I can't seem to think of a solution or a way to put a stop to the trafficking of children. It's hidden under "child gifting" which in theory is good, and yet there are children being trafficked. But where do we draw the line? Do we risk our lives and the lives of our families and friends to save these children? Do we just ignore it? How do we bring justice to Iquitos?
Thanks again for all your support. Nate joined me in Lima two weeks ago and we are slowly winding down our trip to Cusco and Machu Picchu. Will write more about Cusco, Machu Picchu and the 100th anniversary celebration soon! Thanks for reading!
Having said that, we survived our impromptu jungle adventure and returned safely to Lima with only a few dozen mosquito bites to show for.
My friend/former coworker, Sophia (the Dr. Tran from the great Cambodia escape...) and I spent the first part of her week in Lima listening in on meetings, going to Pampas of San Juan, drinking Starbucks, shopping, and listening to Cuban music at a local bar. We, without much thought, decided that a trip to the jungle was exactly what we needed to break up the week. We also wanted to see what kind of work was being done in Iquitos and used that as our excuse to spend 2 days in the jungle.
Before I start recounting the jungle tour, allow me to quickly explain Pampas. Pampas de San Juan is a shanty town of about 57,000 people. They settled in the outskirts of Lima after being driven out of the highlands by the terrorists years ago. Because there were so many of them, the Peruvian government allowed them to resettle and thus the community of Pampas began. Pampas is divided into 4 sections and each section becomes increasingly poorer as you go further up the hill. Some homes are surprisingly nice while others are hardly standing. Dogs are running wild everywhere, water is shared in communal wells where each family is assigned a time to retrieve their water, and garbage is scattered along all the streets. It's a very interesting community and because of the close proximity of the houses and thus the families living in the houses, the epidemiology of disease is mapped in various studies. So, we started working on a TB project where we are going to place skin tests on about 400 people to determine if the rates of TB infection have decreased over the past 15 years. Pampas is where I spent the remainder of my time in Lima.
Ok, back to the jungle. So, Sophia and I showed up in Iquitos on a Wednesday morning. We made our way to a very disappointing hotel (dirty, small, and expensive) and decided right away that we wanted to go on a single day jungle tour. By 10 am we had canceled our Iquitos hotel room and were getting on a "speed boat" to a jungle lodge 2 hours away (by boat) from Iquitos for an overnight jungle adventure.
We arrived at the jungle lodge, which was actually much nicer than our hotel room in Iquitos, and started our adventure with lunch and a walk through the jungle. With rubber boots and our guide Danny (equipped with a machete), we stared our walk through the dense jungle. Danny painted our faces with red stripes from a seed then created plant crowns to ward off mosquitoes (which didn't keep the mosquitoes away, but did make us look ridiculous). We swung from vines, trudged through muddy rivers, saw monkeys, birds and huge spiders.
The rest of our time was spent in good conversation, dolphin watching, piranha catching, jungle village exploring, and sunrise and bird watching. Yes, there are dolphins in the Amazon River (pink and gray ones!). We went piranha fishing and Danny caught a piranha which we ate it for breakfast (it was delicious!). We woke up at 5:30 am, got in a boat with holes in it, in which Danny and the boat driver had to constantly scoop water out to keep from sinking, and watched the sunrise over the Amazon River. We saw sloths, monkeys, iguanas, tarantulas, and every bird alive in the jungle (turns out Danny is an avid bird watcher and insisted on pointing out, naming and imitating their calls).
Somehow we made it back to Iquitos, had our little meeting with Sophia's old friend who is working in Iquitos, and made it back to Lima by 10 pm. I must admit that the jungle adventure was one of the highlights of my Peru trip. It was beautiful. However, on a side note, in speaking with Sophia's friend, we found out that under the beauty of the jungle is a major drug and sex trafficking industry. The jungle is an ideal spot for drug trafficking due to the inability to detect boats covered by the rain forest. But thankfully (in a way), because of the drug trafficking, the sex trafficking has decreased. The sex trafficking started out as something called "child gifting". The jungle people would "gift" children to other villages if the child's mother was unable to care for the baby. Usually this worked very well and the children were brought up in loving homes. But somewhere between the mother and the village receiving the baby, people began taking the children and trafficking them for sex. It's disgusting and something that should never happen to a child, but according to Sophia's friend (who has lived in Iquitos for 10 years), if you try to interfere with the sex industry, you not only risk your own life but also the lives of those around you.
This has been constantly on my mind since I heard about it and I can't seem to think of a solution or a way to put a stop to the trafficking of children. It's hidden under "child gifting" which in theory is good, and yet there are children being trafficked. But where do we draw the line? Do we risk our lives and the lives of our families and friends to save these children? Do we just ignore it? How do we bring justice to Iquitos?
Thanks again for all your support. Nate joined me in Lima two weeks ago and we are slowly winding down our trip to Cusco and Machu Picchu. Will write more about Cusco, Machu Picchu and the 100th anniversary celebration soon! Thanks for reading!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Sand, Discos and Friends
Hola mis amigos!
Since last time, I have fallen even more in love with Peru! I am now a combi expert and I think I have tried just about all the traditional Peruvian food! I frequent the outdoor market, eating two course meals for 5 soles (about 2 dollars), drinking surtidos (mixed fruit juices), and eating every interesting looking fruit and vegetable in sight! If only I could speak Spanish better, I think I would be like the locals!
My personal life has been a bet hectic lately, super emotional, with a lot of confusion and little clarity. Without going into detail (because who actually wants to hear a sob story?!), I think this minor (or major) bump in my life has put things into perspective. I think that it's good to have a little jolt that makes you realize what is important in life, what relationships are worth pursuing, and what kind of life I would really like to live. I guess what it comes down to is that, like most people, I just want a life full of love and laughter. A life that doesn't take things so seriously but enjoys the simple moments, a life in community with others, a life serving those in need, and a life full of joy.
With that said, I must admit that I have embracing the beauty that Peru has to offer. Last weekend I went to Huacachina, a desert oasis about 5 hours south of Lima. The actual oasis is murky, green, and smells a bit like sewage, but the sand dunes surrounding the oasis are amazing! It felt like I was in Egypt or somewhere, definitely not Peru! I took a dune buggy for a 2 hour excursion around the sand dunes. It was both frightening and exhilarating! I felt like a child, screaming and laughing (mostly at the older Japanese couple in front of me who were giggling like school girls)! The driver stopped 4 times, handed us each a snowboard, and one by one we laid on our bellies, with our arms tucked under us and our feet in the air, and were pushed down huge slopes of sand. It was terrifying! About halfway down each slope, I thought, wow, one bad bump and I might actually die! Luckily there were only a few minor injuries and a lot of sand in the face.
I have also been salsa dancing as often as possible. I was lucky in Huacachina where there were plenty of gay men eager to teach a gringa how to dance salsa. I was tossed from gay man to gay man, each outdoing the other in moving their hips, in dipping, and fancy footwork. Turns out I LOVE Salsa dancing!
I feel like I finally am making friends with the people at the hospital. While the language barrier is still very present, I feel like I am at least understanding them better and am able to laugh with them when they joke. Today we celebrated Father's Day and our friend Danni's birthday. We got very little work done because like any day of celebration, we spent the morning preparing! It's so funny when they sing Happy Birthday because they start out singing in English all slow and boring and then start clapping and singing lively in Spanish. It's fantastic!
Tomorrow my friend Dr. Tran comes to Peru! I am so excited to have a friend to share the city with! First thing on our agenda: Salsa dancing of course!! Nate is coming in a week and then we are off to Cuzco and maybe Arequipas...so much fun ahead!
Thanks for all of your support and love. I miss you all very much and can't wait to be with you again state side! Besitos!
Since last time, I have fallen even more in love with Peru! I am now a combi expert and I think I have tried just about all the traditional Peruvian food! I frequent the outdoor market, eating two course meals for 5 soles (about 2 dollars), drinking surtidos (mixed fruit juices), and eating every interesting looking fruit and vegetable in sight! If only I could speak Spanish better, I think I would be like the locals!
My personal life has been a bet hectic lately, super emotional, with a lot of confusion and little clarity. Without going into detail (because who actually wants to hear a sob story?!), I think this minor (or major) bump in my life has put things into perspective. I think that it's good to have a little jolt that makes you realize what is important in life, what relationships are worth pursuing, and what kind of life I would really like to live. I guess what it comes down to is that, like most people, I just want a life full of love and laughter. A life that doesn't take things so seriously but enjoys the simple moments, a life in community with others, a life serving those in need, and a life full of joy.
With that said, I must admit that I have embracing the beauty that Peru has to offer. Last weekend I went to Huacachina, a desert oasis about 5 hours south of Lima. The actual oasis is murky, green, and smells a bit like sewage, but the sand dunes surrounding the oasis are amazing! It felt like I was in Egypt or somewhere, definitely not Peru! I took a dune buggy for a 2 hour excursion around the sand dunes. It was both frightening and exhilarating! I felt like a child, screaming and laughing (mostly at the older Japanese couple in front of me who were giggling like school girls)! The driver stopped 4 times, handed us each a snowboard, and one by one we laid on our bellies, with our arms tucked under us and our feet in the air, and were pushed down huge slopes of sand. It was terrifying! About halfway down each slope, I thought, wow, one bad bump and I might actually die! Luckily there were only a few minor injuries and a lot of sand in the face.
I have also been salsa dancing as often as possible. I was lucky in Huacachina where there were plenty of gay men eager to teach a gringa how to dance salsa. I was tossed from gay man to gay man, each outdoing the other in moving their hips, in dipping, and fancy footwork. Turns out I LOVE Salsa dancing!
I feel like I finally am making friends with the people at the hospital. While the language barrier is still very present, I feel like I am at least understanding them better and am able to laugh with them when they joke. Today we celebrated Father's Day and our friend Danni's birthday. We got very little work done because like any day of celebration, we spent the morning preparing! It's so funny when they sing Happy Birthday because they start out singing in English all slow and boring and then start clapping and singing lively in Spanish. It's fantastic!
Tomorrow my friend Dr. Tran comes to Peru! I am so excited to have a friend to share the city with! First thing on our agenda: Salsa dancing of course!! Nate is coming in a week and then we are off to Cuzco and maybe Arequipas...so much fun ahead!
Thanks for all of your support and love. I miss you all very much and can't wait to be with you again state side! Besitos!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Curry and Combis
This week has been way more exciting than last week now that I am working at Hospital 2 de Mayo. For now I am just shadowing the nurses working on the Cough Project (a project that measures both of frequency of cough and the bacterial load in a cough as a TB patient progresses through treatment), but hopefully I will start to get to do a little bit more hands-on work. The project actually reminds me a lot of what I am doing in my regular job in the states, but with a lot more paperwork! The project uses incentives like money and food to recruit participants for the study and offers patients free doctor visits, x-rays, sputum collections, and blood draws. It's a pretty good deal for the patient except for the fact that the study requires them to wear a device that captures the frequency of their cough (basically a fanny-pack with a microphone and recording device) 24 hours a day for the first 2 weeks. It is so interesting watching the nurses interact with the patients. They are so kind, so smart and so good at convincing the patients to participate in the study. Nurses in Peru go to nursing school for 5 years and then an additional 2 years if they want to specialize. For the first year out of nursing school it is a requirement for all nurses to work for next to nothing usually in one of the outlying provinces. It's quite the sacrifice to be a nurse and they don't even make that much money! It's so apparent that the nurses are nurses because they love what they do.
Before I get to combis and curry, I just wanted to share one more thing about my experience at Hospital 2 de Mayo. Tuesday was my first day working at the Hospital and we made a trip into the heart of Lima to find a patient. We drove right into the slums of Lima (which are like these tiny houses stacked on top of each other on the hills) to a small clinic. As we were driving down the street filled with dirty children, people selling fruit and vegetables, and piles of garbage, the driver, Jorge, proudly says, "Ah, this Lima! Isn't it beautiful!". I have to admit I was a little surprised by his comment since I had to look away a few times because the sites were so overwhelming. Marilyn, one of the nurses, always says that Jorge is Lima's biggest fan, and all joking aside, I think Jorge really does see the beauty in the slums. I think that Jorge really is proud of his city and despite the enormous amounts of poverty, the filthy streets, the traffic, the trash, I think that he is right, that that is Lima and it is beautiful.
On a lighter note...
I successfully took a combi by myself today! A combi is one of the craziest forms of transportation in Lima. It's a minivan or small bus with a caller who yells the destination as the driver swerves around traffic. You have to wave down the combi (hoping you are waving down the correct one since the signs posted on the combis are never actually where they are really going), then it barely stops in time for you to hop on and hold on tight! It's insane, but somehow I got to the hospital!
And curry! Oh my did we have a feast last night! Some of the guys staying at my hostel decided that they wanted to make curry so they gathered up all the people in the hostel and we had a nice family style meal! It was so nice to have home cooked, familiar, and delicious food! I was so grateful for their culinary skills! It was really nice to sit down, laugh, talk, and enjoy the company of other travelers.
I feel like I am starting to find my place here but still struggling greatly with the language. It's so frustrating to have language as such a barrier. I just hope that I can start to communicate with everyone better and soon! I am feeling less and less lonely and more and more excited to be in such a great city!
Miss you all and thank you for reading...
Before I get to combis and curry, I just wanted to share one more thing about my experience at Hospital 2 de Mayo. Tuesday was my first day working at the Hospital and we made a trip into the heart of Lima to find a patient. We drove right into the slums of Lima (which are like these tiny houses stacked on top of each other on the hills) to a small clinic. As we were driving down the street filled with dirty children, people selling fruit and vegetables, and piles of garbage, the driver, Jorge, proudly says, "Ah, this Lima! Isn't it beautiful!". I have to admit I was a little surprised by his comment since I had to look away a few times because the sites were so overwhelming. Marilyn, one of the nurses, always says that Jorge is Lima's biggest fan, and all joking aside, I think Jorge really does see the beauty in the slums. I think that Jorge really is proud of his city and despite the enormous amounts of poverty, the filthy streets, the traffic, the trash, I think that he is right, that that is Lima and it is beautiful.
On a lighter note...
I successfully took a combi by myself today! A combi is one of the craziest forms of transportation in Lima. It's a minivan or small bus with a caller who yells the destination as the driver swerves around traffic. You have to wave down the combi (hoping you are waving down the correct one since the signs posted on the combis are never actually where they are really going), then it barely stops in time for you to hop on and hold on tight! It's insane, but somehow I got to the hospital!
And curry! Oh my did we have a feast last night! Some of the guys staying at my hostel decided that they wanted to make curry so they gathered up all the people in the hostel and we had a nice family style meal! It was so nice to have home cooked, familiar, and delicious food! I was so grateful for their culinary skills! It was really nice to sit down, laugh, talk, and enjoy the company of other travelers.
I feel like I am starting to find my place here but still struggling greatly with the language. It's so frustrating to have language as such a barrier. I just hope that I can start to communicate with everyone better and soon! I am feeling less and less lonely and more and more excited to be in such a great city!
Miss you all and thank you for reading...
Sunday, May 29, 2011
A Friend for a Day
On Sundays they shut down the main street and encourage the residents to ride bikes. They have bikes for rent on the side of the road and everyone is out biking or roller blading! Great public health campaigning at work right here in Lima! =)
...I felt like I had to give a shout out to public health!
Anyway, I decided to go do some more touristy things today so I went to the local ruins. Literally 2 blocks away from my hostel are ruins from AD 400. The contrast between the new and the old is amazing. The tour was in English and ended up being semi-private with just me and three other girls from the states. It was really interesting to learn about the history of the ruins (basically, it was a ceremonial center for the city back in the day), and the view from the top was beautiful.
I started talking with one of the girls and she too was traveling alone. Actually, she had just finished the Peace Corp in Costa Rica and was on vacation in Peru for the next three weeks. We got to talking and ended up spending the whole day together. It was refreshing and such a blessing to spend the day in conversation with another person, a nice break from my solitude. We spoke about life and about social justice, about our goals and dreams, we shared about our families and friends back home, our travel experiences, her time in Costa Rica. I can't begin to explain how much of a blessing it was to have a friend for a day.
And what a great way to start a new week. Ok. Deep breath, be strong, be brave, and stand firmly for what you believe in. Let's go make a difference in the world...
...I felt like I had to give a shout out to public health!
Anyway, I decided to go do some more touristy things today so I went to the local ruins. Literally 2 blocks away from my hostel are ruins from AD 400. The contrast between the new and the old is amazing. The tour was in English and ended up being semi-private with just me and three other girls from the states. It was really interesting to learn about the history of the ruins (basically, it was a ceremonial center for the city back in the day), and the view from the top was beautiful.
I started talking with one of the girls and she too was traveling alone. Actually, she had just finished the Peace Corp in Costa Rica and was on vacation in Peru for the next three weeks. We got to talking and ended up spending the whole day together. It was refreshing and such a blessing to spend the day in conversation with another person, a nice break from my solitude. We spoke about life and about social justice, about our goals and dreams, we shared about our families and friends back home, our travel experiences, her time in Costa Rica. I can't begin to explain how much of a blessing it was to have a friend for a day.
And what a great way to start a new week. Ok. Deep breath, be strong, be brave, and stand firmly for what you believe in. Let's go make a difference in the world...
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Pictures!!
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My bedroom- I asked for a single bedroom and they gave me my own room with 3 bunk-beds! It works. The beds are like sleeping on rock and there is only a sheet so it's freezing at night (good thing I brought my sleeping bag), and every morning I am woken up by the Combis (a bus/taxi), yelling, "Arequipas, Arequipas!!" But other than that, I have privacy and I am safe. Can't complain too much!
This is Larcomar Mall in Miraflores. It's literally built into the cliffs! It's a really upscale mall with nothing I can afford but it has beautiful (and free) views of the ocean! I spent a lot of my day by the ocean today, enjoying the sounds and people watching.
The view from the mall. Amazing! It reminds me a lot of PCH in Dana Point. There were even some people surfing! It's overcast all winter, but the view is still enjoyable.
Again, the view of the coast of Lima. It's so peaceful. I loved spending my day here!
Parque del Amor (The Park of Love). This is a statue in the middle of the park and it's surrounded by mosaics of different expressions of love. It was beautiful. The park was filled with couples, young and old. I even saw two couples who looked like they were just married (the brides were in their wedding gowns!). Behind the statue is a guy parachuting. For just $55 you too can jump off a cliff with a complete stranger and fly over the ocean!! I watched people jump with these parachutes for at least an hour. It looks terrifying!!
And then there was lunch! I went to this amazing vegetarian restaurant and had a local dish called Lomo Saltado. It is usually made with beef, but because this was a vegetarian restaurant this was made of veggie beef, bell peppers, tomato, onion, and spices over french fries and brown rice. I got fresh pineapple juice to go with it. It was so good! I am drooling just thinking about it...not really, but it really was delicious. The restaurant overlooked Kennedy Park in the middle of Miraflores. I decided that I am going to splurge on lunch on the weekends since Lima is known for it's great food!
And then I found an older version of my car!! They were having a car show in the middle of Miraflores and sure enough, they had a mini cooper!! I was so excited! Nate suggested that I add four more headlights to my car so it can look like it's 1970's version!
And just in case I start missing home too much, I found the local Pinkberry and Starbucks!! Starbucks really is everywhere!
So there you have it, an abbreviated picture version of my day exploring Miraflores! I can't wait to explore more tomorrow! I think I will hit up the local museums and try cerviche!! More to come....
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Pizza and Beer
My week is starting to get better as I have figured out the transportation system here (more like, I figured out how to take the Metropolitano to the University and back to my hostel, which feels like a huge accomplishment!). I have met some people, both at the University and at the hostel, and I moved from a dorm room to a private room (such a great move!).
I have spent the last three days observing people as they work on their projects in the lab (they call it LID). Yesterday and today were more interesting than the first day just because I got to learn about MODS, which is a rapid detection of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis and susceptibility testing (aka, is the TB germ susceptible or resistant to the best two drugs used to treat TB). MODS can test for this as soon as 5 days or at the longest 21 days. It's quite remarkable actually. And was of great interest to me since I work in TB!
Aside from LID, today was the first day that I ventured into Miraflores. I went to the Pizza Street (no joke, it's called Calle de las Pizzas) and got a delicious pepperoni pizza and a beer. So refreshing and it almost felt like I was at home, especially since it's next door to a Starbucks and a Pink Berry!! I met some people on the bus and in my hostel who gave me advice on where to go, where to shop, and what to see, so I am pretty excited to explore more of Miraflores this weekend!! I will try to post some pictures by Sunday!!
Thanks for all your support and love!!
I have spent the last three days observing people as they work on their projects in the lab (they call it LID). Yesterday and today were more interesting than the first day just because I got to learn about MODS, which is a rapid detection of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis and susceptibility testing (aka, is the TB germ susceptible or resistant to the best two drugs used to treat TB). MODS can test for this as soon as 5 days or at the longest 21 days. It's quite remarkable actually. And was of great interest to me since I work in TB!
Aside from LID, today was the first day that I ventured into Miraflores. I went to the Pizza Street (no joke, it's called Calle de las Pizzas) and got a delicious pepperoni pizza and a beer. So refreshing and it almost felt like I was at home, especially since it's next door to a Starbucks and a Pink Berry!! I met some people on the bus and in my hostel who gave me advice on where to go, where to shop, and what to see, so I am pretty excited to explore more of Miraflores this weekend!! I will try to post some pictures by Sunday!!
Thanks for all your support and love!!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Miraflores
The adventure started as soon as I landed in Lima. I found my ride (a very kind man named Amadeo), got in the car and was immediately told to place all of my things as flat as possible on the floor. Apparently, it's very common for thieves to break into cars when they are at lights and to steal everything. Then, in my very broken Spanish, I found out that the place I thought I was going to stay was full and that at 11:00 at night I was going to have to find another place for the night. Bienvenido a Peru! Luckily the hostel that I planned to stay at later in my trip had an open bed, so I got to sleep in a warm, safe place the first night!! I will probably actually stay in this hostel for the duration of my trip since the place where I was suppose to stay seems full through June. But, seriously, you can't beat $8/night with breakfast included!
I went to Universidad Cayatano the next morning where I met with Bob (the doctor in charge of all the projects here) and got to meet a lot of the other students. It was a very long day full of students sharing their research and ideas being bounced back and forth.
Today I went back to the University to the Lab (se llama LID). I got to work with two people who are working on a Chagas research project mainly trying to find better treatment methods for Chagas. Chagas is a parasitic disease in tropical countries, in case you were wondering! My head is spinning with Spanish since I had to listen to Spanish and speak in Spanish from 7am to 1pm today!! I really should have paid more attention in Spanish class!
For as busy as I have been since I arrived, I am so lonely. I think it's probably a bit of culture shock, the fact that I really am alone, and not really understanding everything that is going on around me. It's scary being in a foreign country alone. I thought I was well-traveled and ready for this, but perhaps I am not quite cut out for traveling by myself. Or maybe it really is just a bit of culture shock and maybe things will feel better once I get more acquainted with my surroundings. I don't know. In the meantime I am just counting down the days until Dr. Tran and Nate get here.
I went to Universidad Cayatano the next morning where I met with Bob (the doctor in charge of all the projects here) and got to meet a lot of the other students. It was a very long day full of students sharing their research and ideas being bounced back and forth.
Today I went back to the University to the Lab (se llama LID). I got to work with two people who are working on a Chagas research project mainly trying to find better treatment methods for Chagas. Chagas is a parasitic disease in tropical countries, in case you were wondering! My head is spinning with Spanish since I had to listen to Spanish and speak in Spanish from 7am to 1pm today!! I really should have paid more attention in Spanish class!
For as busy as I have been since I arrived, I am so lonely. I think it's probably a bit of culture shock, the fact that I really am alone, and not really understanding everything that is going on around me. It's scary being in a foreign country alone. I thought I was well-traveled and ready for this, but perhaps I am not quite cut out for traveling by myself. Or maybe it really is just a bit of culture shock and maybe things will feel better once I get more acquainted with my surroundings. I don't know. In the meantime I am just counting down the days until Dr. Tran and Nate get here.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Off to Peru!
It's been a crazy week of turning in my final project, making last minute trips to Target and Marshall's, getting my haircut, freezing and transferring accounts, and saying my, "See you in 7 weeks!" to friends and family. It feels like a whirlwind that is finally settling down as I prepare for my departure on Sunday morning.
I am anxious, excited, and hopeful as I leave Orange County and head to Lima. I have never gone anywhere completely alone, so I am nervous about things like: How do I contact someone if my flight is delayed? Where will I eat? What will I do if _____? I am sure everything will be fine and I am probably worrying way too much, but the anxiety is still present and persistent and will probably persist until I arrive safely in Lima and get settled into a routine.
I am excited because I really need this break from life here in Orange County. I want to spend time alone, reflecting and considering my next steps. I am always around people, so I really want to make an effort to have some "me" time so I can make some sound decisions.
I am hopeful that I will fall in love with Peru. I am hopeful that Peru is a good fit for me and Nate, and I am hopeful that we will act wisely and faithfully in where we decide to go. I want to go with an open mind and heart, ready for whatever is thrown my way.
I am ready and I know that this is where I am supposed to be right now in my life. I was reaffirmed last Sunday as we opened the paper and saw an article on Peru, and then again last night as we passed a Peruvian booth at the Farmer's Market. Lately I have been surrounded by things that are of Peru! It's exciting and reassuring!
Pues, hasta luego mis amigos and mi familia! Nos vemos in 7 semanas! Thank you for all of your love and support!!
I am anxious, excited, and hopeful as I leave Orange County and head to Lima. I have never gone anywhere completely alone, so I am nervous about things like: How do I contact someone if my flight is delayed? Where will I eat? What will I do if _____? I am sure everything will be fine and I am probably worrying way too much, but the anxiety is still present and persistent and will probably persist until I arrive safely in Lima and get settled into a routine.
I am excited because I really need this break from life here in Orange County. I want to spend time alone, reflecting and considering my next steps. I am always around people, so I really want to make an effort to have some "me" time so I can make some sound decisions.
I am hopeful that I will fall in love with Peru. I am hopeful that Peru is a good fit for me and Nate, and I am hopeful that we will act wisely and faithfully in where we decide to go. I want to go with an open mind and heart, ready for whatever is thrown my way.
I am ready and I know that this is where I am supposed to be right now in my life. I was reaffirmed last Sunday as we opened the paper and saw an article on Peru, and then again last night as we passed a Peruvian booth at the Farmer's Market. Lately I have been surrounded by things that are of Peru! It's exciting and reassuring!
Pues, hasta luego mis amigos and mi familia! Nos vemos in 7 semanas! Thank you for all of your love and support!!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Decisions
"This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go."
-Theodore Roethke
"'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight
'Till by turning, turning we come round right."
-Simple Gifts by Anonymous
With the end of school in sight, I am starting to feel the pressure of the major decisions I need to make. It's amazing how when I have to make a huge decision, like what I am going to do for the next few year of my life kind of decision, how more and more options start popping out of nowhere. This is what I do know: I do not want to stay where I am right now. I have truly enjoyed my time at the Health Department, but I know with 100% certainty that my stint there is done.
When Nate and I talk about our dreams for the next few years, none of them include staying in Orange County. So why did this amazing job at ASF open up? Just to confuse me? I have been wanting to work at ASF since my friend Abby started working there a few years ago. It's the kind of job that is so important and exactly along the lines of what I want to do with my life. But it's in Orange County. In Irvine, even. Regardless of the location, I still applied and got an interview. But is that what I really want to do? Or where I am suppose to be for the next few years? Irvine is not a developing country (not even close), but I would still be working with a vulnerable population. And the job sounds perfect.
But what if we fall in love with Peru? What if Peru is exactly where we are suppose to be? Will it be obvious once I arrive? Do we sell all our belongings and give up this comfortable, routine life? And yet this option is my ideal, my dream. But will it be the right place for us to go? And then, if it is the right place, if we do decide to move there, what do we do with Natalie? What do we do with our cars and the things we have worked so hard to acquire? Does giving up it all, really mean just that? When really faced with having to sell all of your belongings to follow God, it's tough. How many people are actually called to do this in life? Why does it have to be me?
Or does it? I can choose ASF. I can choose Irvine. I can choose a difficult, yet rewarding job and not have to give up anything. I feel torn between my options. Overwhelmed.
And then if we do decide to go to Peru, when do we get married? Or do we get married? It is the #1 item listed on my bucket list, but is it the right timing for us? I mean, it feels like the right timing for our lives, but that's before we take into consideration the lives around us. And we are going to need their support in our marriage, I know that much! But with Nate's sister getting married in October, and two of my best friends having babies arriving in November and December, the timing seems off for us to get married, especially since our goal leaving date is in January. So, do we wait? But does waiting mean staying in OC or moving to Peru or just simply waiting on the marriage part? I have no idea.
Everything seems to be pending on the outcome of our Peru trip. I am too anxious and too much of a planner to wait. But maybe waiting is exactly what I need to do.
Just be still and wait.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go."
-Theodore Roethke
"'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight
'Till by turning, turning we come round right."
-Simple Gifts by Anonymous
With the end of school in sight, I am starting to feel the pressure of the major decisions I need to make. It's amazing how when I have to make a huge decision, like what I am going to do for the next few year of my life kind of decision, how more and more options start popping out of nowhere. This is what I do know: I do not want to stay where I am right now. I have truly enjoyed my time at the Health Department, but I know with 100% certainty that my stint there is done.
When Nate and I talk about our dreams for the next few years, none of them include staying in Orange County. So why did this amazing job at ASF open up? Just to confuse me? I have been wanting to work at ASF since my friend Abby started working there a few years ago. It's the kind of job that is so important and exactly along the lines of what I want to do with my life. But it's in Orange County. In Irvine, even. Regardless of the location, I still applied and got an interview. But is that what I really want to do? Or where I am suppose to be for the next few years? Irvine is not a developing country (not even close), but I would still be working with a vulnerable population. And the job sounds perfect.
But what if we fall in love with Peru? What if Peru is exactly where we are suppose to be? Will it be obvious once I arrive? Do we sell all our belongings and give up this comfortable, routine life? And yet this option is my ideal, my dream. But will it be the right place for us to go? And then, if it is the right place, if we do decide to move there, what do we do with Natalie? What do we do with our cars and the things we have worked so hard to acquire? Does giving up it all, really mean just that? When really faced with having to sell all of your belongings to follow God, it's tough. How many people are actually called to do this in life? Why does it have to be me?
Or does it? I can choose ASF. I can choose Irvine. I can choose a difficult, yet rewarding job and not have to give up anything. I feel torn between my options. Overwhelmed.
And then if we do decide to go to Peru, when do we get married? Or do we get married? It is the #1 item listed on my bucket list, but is it the right timing for us? I mean, it feels like the right timing for our lives, but that's before we take into consideration the lives around us. And we are going to need their support in our marriage, I know that much! But with Nate's sister getting married in October, and two of my best friends having babies arriving in November and December, the timing seems off for us to get married, especially since our goal leaving date is in January. So, do we wait? But does waiting mean staying in OC or moving to Peru or just simply waiting on the marriage part? I have no idea.
Everything seems to be pending on the outcome of our Peru trip. I am too anxious and too much of a planner to wait. But maybe waiting is exactly what I need to do.
Just be still and wait.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
What now?
"Bit by intelligible bit, a vocation lets us express our healthiest instincts, our noblest desires... In small things and in large, we can attend to the haunting inner summons of our soul." - Dick Ryan
It will be six years ago this June since I both met Nate and decided that living the comfortable life was not for me. Not sure that those two things actually go hand in hand, but I do know that I have this feeling, this overwhelming desire to never be too comfortable. I mean this in terms of never settling, in always living somewhere that forces me to live outside of my comfort zone. I had this epiphany that summer, this realization that my life was to be spent reaching the unreachable and going to places that many people would never dare travel. I can't explain why I have this feeling, where it comes from, or how I am even going to go about living this realization, I just know it's there and I know that that is the life I need to live. Which brings me to the question, what now? Nate and I are both graduating this summer making it a seemingly perfect time to pack our bags and go. But where to? How do we know that where we are going is the right place to go? Where do we receive that confirmation?
I have been reading Home Tonight by Henri Nouwen. He says, "To live authentically each of us must be aware of our 'within.' We need to become conscious of feeling content, safe, and in the right place, and of feeling lonely, disillusioned, or mildly depressed. In front of turmoil, what do we do? Wise teachers tell us to be very attentive at these moments, to be open to 'signs', feelings, comments, a line in a book, unexpected meetings or events that may move us to consider new directions, to refind balance, and to remain fully alive. Spiritual signs usually have four characteristics: They are simple not complicated, persistent, seemingly impossible, and always about others as well as ourselves."
Now this may sound crazy, and believe it me it feels even crazier, but in our journey of trying to figure out what now, one resounding and persistent place has been constantly finding its way into our lives.
So, Nate and I randomly and at the last minute got invited to a 'baby party', better known as Rosca de Reyes (Three Kings Day, a celebration on January 6 that remembers the arrival of the three kings to the birth of Christ, where you share a pastry in which there are plastic babies hidden in the bread and whoever gets a baby has to prepare a meal for everyone else on Dia de la Candelaria). My friend Dr. Tran is at this party and we got to talking about school and what I was planning to do for my internship. I, in total desperation, said, "I have no idea." And she says, "Why not go to Peru? I have a friend, actually my mentor, who does TB research there and he would love for you to come and help!"
Fast forward to the past month.
I had not heard back from Bob (the TB research guy in Peru) and was starting to freak out. I wanted to know if, 1) I could come to Peru for 6 weeks, and 2) Can Nate come to Peru with me? Just when I had given up and started looking for another internship opportunity, I get a rely from Bob. Not only can we both come to Peru, but he has free housing for us the entire time we are there!
After that, the confirmation we were looking for just started flowing. In the next few days, a lady got transferred into Nate's office at work, she was only going to be there for a few weeks before leaving the company, but Nate started talking to her, and guess where she was from? Peru, of course. And it wasn't more than a week later when Nate and I turned on the TV and started watching An Idiot Abroad (inspiring, right?). But guess where Karl was going that week? Yep, Peru. Coincidence? Perhaps. But get this: we hadn't gone through our mail in probably 3 weeks, so we finally decided that we should probably make sure that there wasn't anything too important in the massive pile. We find a National Geographic magazine with none other than Peru on the cover. And yet, there is more! My friend Ana (a NP from Peru of course) came up to me yesterday and said, "I hear you are going to Peru. Let me give you my cousin's contact information so you have someone to call in case of an emergency and she can show you around the hospitals in Lima." So yeah, maybe I am reading too much into this, but I think we are suppose to go to Peru. Its simple not complicated, persistent, seemingly impossible, and is about others and ourselves.
I am not sure this is where we will end up after graduation, but I am confident that it is exactly where we are suppose to be this summer.
It will be six years ago this June since I both met Nate and decided that living the comfortable life was not for me. Not sure that those two things actually go hand in hand, but I do know that I have this feeling, this overwhelming desire to never be too comfortable. I mean this in terms of never settling, in always living somewhere that forces me to live outside of my comfort zone. I had this epiphany that summer, this realization that my life was to be spent reaching the unreachable and going to places that many people would never dare travel. I can't explain why I have this feeling, where it comes from, or how I am even going to go about living this realization, I just know it's there and I know that that is the life I need to live. Which brings me to the question, what now? Nate and I are both graduating this summer making it a seemingly perfect time to pack our bags and go. But where to? How do we know that where we are going is the right place to go? Where do we receive that confirmation?
I have been reading Home Tonight by Henri Nouwen. He says, "To live authentically each of us must be aware of our 'within.' We need to become conscious of feeling content, safe, and in the right place, and of feeling lonely, disillusioned, or mildly depressed. In front of turmoil, what do we do? Wise teachers tell us to be very attentive at these moments, to be open to 'signs', feelings, comments, a line in a book, unexpected meetings or events that may move us to consider new directions, to refind balance, and to remain fully alive. Spiritual signs usually have four characteristics: They are simple not complicated, persistent, seemingly impossible, and always about others as well as ourselves."
Now this may sound crazy, and believe it me it feels even crazier, but in our journey of trying to figure out what now, one resounding and persistent place has been constantly finding its way into our lives.
So, Nate and I randomly and at the last minute got invited to a 'baby party', better known as Rosca de Reyes (Three Kings Day, a celebration on January 6 that remembers the arrival of the three kings to the birth of Christ, where you share a pastry in which there are plastic babies hidden in the bread and whoever gets a baby has to prepare a meal for everyone else on Dia de la Candelaria). My friend Dr. Tran is at this party and we got to talking about school and what I was planning to do for my internship. I, in total desperation, said, "I have no idea." And she says, "Why not go to Peru? I have a friend, actually my mentor, who does TB research there and he would love for you to come and help!"
Fast forward to the past month.
I had not heard back from Bob (the TB research guy in Peru) and was starting to freak out. I wanted to know if, 1) I could come to Peru for 6 weeks, and 2) Can Nate come to Peru with me? Just when I had given up and started looking for another internship opportunity, I get a rely from Bob. Not only can we both come to Peru, but he has free housing for us the entire time we are there!
After that, the confirmation we were looking for just started flowing. In the next few days, a lady got transferred into Nate's office at work, she was only going to be there for a few weeks before leaving the company, but Nate started talking to her, and guess where she was from? Peru, of course. And it wasn't more than a week later when Nate and I turned on the TV and started watching An Idiot Abroad (inspiring, right?). But guess where Karl was going that week? Yep, Peru. Coincidence? Perhaps. But get this: we hadn't gone through our mail in probably 3 weeks, so we finally decided that we should probably make sure that there wasn't anything too important in the massive pile. We find a National Geographic magazine with none other than Peru on the cover. And yet, there is more! My friend Ana (a NP from Peru of course) came up to me yesterday and said, "I hear you are going to Peru. Let me give you my cousin's contact information so you have someone to call in case of an emergency and she can show you around the hospitals in Lima." So yeah, maybe I am reading too much into this, but I think we are suppose to go to Peru. Its simple not complicated, persistent, seemingly impossible, and is about others and ourselves.
I am not sure this is where we will end up after graduation, but I am confident that it is exactly where we are suppose to be this summer.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Dreaming Big
Pastor Kevin has been talking about dreaming big and starting small. Last week we were challenged to write a list of our life goals, our bucket list if you will. He said something to the effect of, your life is as exciting as your bucket list. If your list is boring and dull, then you will be bored with your life. In dreaming big it's ok to put things that seem too big to accomplish on that list. So I have been thinking about what to put on my list. Some are practical, some seem too big, some are just things I want to do. And what better way to start my blog than with my list of life goals. So here it goes:
1) Get married (I know, but it really is number one on my list, I really want to get married)
2) Adopt or foster children (but this can wait for another 7 years or so, timing really is everything)
3) Work for a NGO in a developing country (maybe even start a NGO because why not? I can dream big!)
4) Learn to speak Spanish fluently
5) Live in Europe for a year
6) Work for WHO or World Vision
7) Skydive
8) Learn how to drive a Vespa or motorcycle
9) Travel to every continent (still left: Africa, Antarctica, Australia; the A's)
10) Buy a house
11) Live on the East Coast (New York, DC, Boston...any of those will do)
12) Go to culinary school
13) Take art classes (drawing, painting and pottery)
14) Learn how to play guitar
That's all I can think of right now. Looking over this list, it actually feels too small. I mean, I feel like I should be able to dream bigger; this list is almost too do-able. I am so comfortable dreaming in reachable goals that it really is beyond my normal capacity to dream as big as I think Kevin wants us to dream. I need to dig deeper, reach higher, try harder to dream bigger.
On a side note:
I have been interviewing people for my MPH project, and something that one of the women said really stuck with me. She said to really figure out why you are doing what you are doing. What are your reasons, what are your intentions? What was the original reason that you went into nursing? What is reason that you go back day after day and take care of patients? Find that reason, find that first desire and live for that.
Actually, maybe that's not a side note. Maybe that's exactly what this bucket list is all about: finding that first desire, finding that passion and creating goals that are wild and free and larger than you can possibly imagine. If only I could start dreaming with that freedom again. If only it were that simple to break out of this type A personality that only allows me to live within rigid borders so I can dream big.
1) Get married (I know, but it really is number one on my list, I really want to get married)
2) Adopt or foster children (but this can wait for another 7 years or so, timing really is everything)
3) Work for a NGO in a developing country (maybe even start a NGO because why not? I can dream big!)
4) Learn to speak Spanish fluently
5) Live in Europe for a year
6) Work for WHO or World Vision
7) Skydive
8) Learn how to drive a Vespa or motorcycle
9) Travel to every continent (still left: Africa, Antarctica, Australia; the A's)
10) Buy a house
11) Live on the East Coast (New York, DC, Boston...any of those will do)
12) Go to culinary school
13) Take art classes (drawing, painting and pottery)
14) Learn how to play guitar
That's all I can think of right now. Looking over this list, it actually feels too small. I mean, I feel like I should be able to dream bigger; this list is almost too do-able. I am so comfortable dreaming in reachable goals that it really is beyond my normal capacity to dream as big as I think Kevin wants us to dream. I need to dig deeper, reach higher, try harder to dream bigger.
On a side note:
I have been interviewing people for my MPH project, and something that one of the women said really stuck with me. She said to really figure out why you are doing what you are doing. What are your reasons, what are your intentions? What was the original reason that you went into nursing? What is reason that you go back day after day and take care of patients? Find that reason, find that first desire and live for that.
Actually, maybe that's not a side note. Maybe that's exactly what this bucket list is all about: finding that first desire, finding that passion and creating goals that are wild and free and larger than you can possibly imagine. If only I could start dreaming with that freedom again. If only it were that simple to break out of this type A personality that only allows me to live within rigid borders so I can dream big.
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