Friday, March 14, 2014

Officially 6 months in SPAIN!

      Six months ago I finished the 15 hour travel journey from California to Madrid, Spain. I stepped off the plane, collected my 2 pieces of luggage, caught a taxi and had two days to explore before orientation. Arriving at my hostel in the heart of bustling Madrid, I waited in the lounge with wifi for about an hour until my room was available. Messaged friends and family that I had arrived safely and sent out a few snap chat updates. I met some girls from Dublin who were hungover laying on the couches. They had to check out of their rooms and had all day before they made the trek back to the airport. I took a quick turn about the city with some of them who got burritos (funny enough!) and started to crash. Jet lag and plane sleep was starting to catch up to me. Found the hostel again and  headed upstairs to shower and passed out for 4 hours.
     Feeling fresh and ready explore I got ready and plopped myself on a chair near the check in desk connecting with the internet. A lovely Australian girl named Tracey was sitting next to and before you knew it we were gabbin away and off to find a place for dinner together! We had a blast! Found a place near the center for Sol (the central metro stop in Madrid) and stayed for 3 hours. She was on her tail end of a 7 week backpacking trip across Europe. She was supposed to end in Germany for Oktoberfest but her visa was going to expire just before..:(  Begrudgingly she made a change of plans and was going to travel a bit in the U.S. On her last night here she wanted to hit an ice bar near Sol so after dinner we skipped off to hang out in a freezer.
    On our way home we met another guy from Brasil in our hostel that was on his way to do the Camino de Santiago! We became snap chat friends and I got to see some of the pilgrimage housing along the Camino! I said good by to Tracey and still stay in touch with her, maybe I'll go to Australia one day and give her a ring. The next day I went on a walking tour of the city and had a blast! The history and culture crash course was fascinating and seeing everything on foot on a beautifully hot and sunny day was enchanting. (Not to mention the tour guide was a BABE.) I face booked a girl that I had been in touch with through Facebook and we met up at the Prado Museum to meet other auxiliaries. I met Michaela, Tyson, Jimmy and Roland so fun! We got into the Prado for free (everyday 6-8pm) and mostly just joked around for a bit then found a German Brewery. Each one of them had some type of Spanish major and had also started to learn Portuguese as well. Their Spanish levels were impressive and I was instantly envious. They were all in a separate program that was through the Communidad de Madrid but you needed to know some spanish to go through the application process. My program is also through the Communidad but it is like a mommy- and holds your hand, helping the participants through each process.
          The following day, I had orientation and Michaela helped me lug my bags to the hotel. I checked in and had a week long orientation with seminars and meals included….Found my apartment shortly after and the rest is history! Madrid started with a bang and never sleeps!! There are always things to do, see, eat, experience here in this thriving city. I live near the biggest Train Station in Madrid, which is quite convenient for weekend excursions and my daily trip to AlcalĂ  de Henares.


Wednesday, September 4, 2013

       
                       Ready for SPAIN!!!!???
          We'll see! One week from tomorrow I fly out of LAX for the very anticipated spanish journey to Spain.
 more weddings galore!!:))




  Megan and Garrett Richardson
  October 2012




 Carli and Caleb Bryce 
June 23rd, 2013

Monday, February 25, 2013

ITCHY FEET

Wanderlust is a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world.

                                                =
                                              
                                              ME

I've been going crazyyy. Knowing that I would've been in Spain for nine months if I had gotten into the CIEE program ( last may) doesn't help much. I'm just waiting till I can travel/live somewhere new next! I wanna go see/taste/experience/touch/smell culture and diversity. There's plenty of that in San Diego and I try to seek out new ways to find that and try new things but I wanna be enveloped in a culture where I don't have to be actively seeking new things but be emerged in it.  
There's too much in this world to experience to live too long in one place!!

Saturday, January 26, 2013

humility


Yoga has been such a huge part of my life these past few months. I started training with core power yoga for teacher training which is an 8 week long 200 hour training and now I am in the extension program for 4 weeks. 
Yoga literally means the union of the mind and the body. Starting with breath to engage the lungs and igniting the entire body, yoga helps one become more mindful.
Intentional.
thoughtful.
precise.
connect.
appreciate.
What do these pictures have in common?
The first one -2 downward facing dog poses-adho mukha svanasana and 3 legged dog and two elephants...haha mostly just because i like that one.

but also..connection.
There's a type of mindful, caring connection that takes place in a yoga class. The instructor leads class through a wonderful experience encouraging growth, and motivating each person to dig deep within themselves to find out what needs to be excavated. Adjusting students in class with intentional placement and focusing on where that particular student may need more help.
Yoga is a humbling practice where honesty and humility are essential. Once embracing those areas of weakness and vulnerability, one can learn how to fully love and accept oneself. 
Exposing insecurities, fears and doubts on the mat helps the practitioner transition to expose those areas off the mat. Feeling susceptible to new things and breaking up old routines allows one to experience life with fresh eyes everyday. Not one class is the same, not one series. Every body is different and every day is different. Yoga helps me to have self control and intentionality. 
Jesus is intentional and opening myself up to hearing his voice is exactly what I need. 
I need patience. I need to calm my mind. When just out of college and in a transitional stage of life yoga is the best way to go. God has placed me in a great place to experience growth and cherish moments of difficulty and learning. 
humility.