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Para Hoy-For Today (Life In Mexico)
“Pará hoy”? the avocado seller asks. I nod. Yes, today. I have no life beyond today. -Tony Cohan Perhaps the greatest thing that I learned on my trip to Mexico, on that Mexican time was that there is only today. Perhaps that is why tears welled up in my eyes when I was airlifted back into a life that seems all too often to take me out of the present and into some future. Future plans, future moments….I really don’t want any of it. In Mexico, when you ask a restaurant if they will have a reservation for you, the answer is maybe. Always maybe. After all, you never knew…
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Lost In Translation-How My Spanglish Almost Caused Me To Starve To Death
We must all eat to live; some more urgently than others. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am easy-going, upbeat, and positive UNLESS I am hungry. When my blood sugar gets low, I don’t manage very well. The world seems to tilt on its axis, my stomach starts to feel like it’s eating itself, and I lose all sense of balance and equilibrium. Especially with my mood. While, I try to learn the basic phrases in the language of the places that I travel to, I am learning that one of those basic phrases needs to be, “I need food now!!!” I really should know this by now.…
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Where I Found Happiness In Belize (It Wasn’t Where You Might Think!)
I admit, I was searching for happiness when I booked my plane ticket to Belize. You see, I spend most of my time in Portland, OR where in the winter, the only sun we see is the picture of the one on the Weather Channel. It was March, and I absolutely couldn’t handle another day of rain. So, I booked a ticket leaving for Belize three weeks later. I was feeling blue, and I thought the sun, the sand, and the sea would bring me some much-needed happiness. And yes, while the beauty there did make me feel happier, the true joy that I discovered was the people themselves. The…
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The Punishment and The Reward: How My Illegal Entry Into Cuba Changed Me
Yes, I did. I went to Cuba illegally. I had the urge to see it before things changed too much, before it got too modernized. And so it was, that my best friend, Ingrid, and I decided that we would make a little side trip from the Dominican Republic and go see this incredible place for ourselves. We had a little trepidation, but entered the country without too much of a glitch. I had read about how hard it was for Cubans to get basic necessities such as dental floss, so we came armed with an entire suitcase of floss, toys for the children, and medicine that I had…
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The Girl And The Island-One Girl’s View of Koh Lipe
(written by the girl while swinging in her hammock exactly 19 steps from the ocean) There once was a girl, and she loved many things, but Islands were probably at the top of the list. This girl spent many years always searching for the perfect one, and she managed to discover many beautiful islands, each one so different from the last. One day, she heard about an island. It’s name was Koh Lipe (Leepay) and she knew with all of her being that she had to go there. She thought about the place for many months and soon realized that it would not be an easy journey to arrive. She…
