Whereever You Go There You Are- Up Close and Personal

I left the Washington, DC area close to a year and a half ago. I left specifically with the goal of figuring out who I am and what my purpose is in life. I was doing pretty well, I had a wonderful job, owned my own home, owned a SUV, had a wonderful family but something felt missing. I met some wonderful men and yet I was still single at 35. I knew it was time to figure out what was going on and what I could do differently. As I traveled, I have been blessed to meet some wonderful people. Little did I know how fun, yet how difficult this journey would be. I believe one can do this journey while home or while traveling. For me I knew I needed to travel. The difficulty came in the fact that I could not escape myself. At home I could. I had so many distractions, three jobs, tons of friends, so much to do to keep me away from myself. At first, I found myself doing the same thing, keeping busy with the people I met. Yes, I stayed in Ashrams and yoga parks where I would meditate everyday, but still I kept myself busy. I have been blessed to see India and now S. America. At the same time blessed to now focus on myself. I really had to start with being honest with myself. I have always been one to always have a smile on my face and not really share my down moments with others or really even with myself. It is really difficult to be honest with oneself. This is what I had to start doing. To really look at myself and notice when I am being self-centered, lazy, or even undisciplined. It is easier to blame things on other. Now I can´t do that, I really have to take a look in the mirror. All though I left home alone and said I will travel alone, I was always traveling with someone whether is was for a few days to seven months. While in Colombia, I met a woman who invited me into her home and did a Maya calendar reading for me. She told me I need to be alone. She didn´t say anything new. I have known this for years. The last seven months I have been traveling with a wonderful person whom I love dearly. We became the best of friends, although it was a difficult journey. We were really good at calling each other on our stuff, which of course led to arguments, but I am thankful because he was a good enough friend to always be honest with me whether I wanted to hear it or not and vice versa. I truly believe God brought us together to help each other grow, and learn while being supportive. Now it is time for me to be alone and learn to love being with me. Learning how to build a relationship with myself. I have begun to share with myself. Every morning and night before I sleep I speak with myself. I am my confidant. I share my innermost secrets, my fears, my joys and my sorrows. I ask myself "am I being honest with myself?" I am the only person who will always be there for me. I am the only person I can truly trust. Sai Baba says "The distance between God and you is the same distance between you and yourself". How true this is. God is within all of us, so as I build a stronger relationship with myself I too am building a stronger relationship with God. The same is true that as I pray and meditate and build my stronger connection to God, I am growing closer to myself. I am taking everything that I have discovered about myself while traveling throughout India, S. America, and from David and the other friends that I have met along the way and am taking a deep look within. I have always admired people who have this inner sense of serenity and peace and now people are commenting on how calm and serene I appear. People have commented on how courageous I am to travel alone around the world. It wasn´t until now, that I began to feel confident and more and more at peace with myself. Maybe that is what is showing. I hope to continue to grow in my relationship with God and myself. I laughed and cried so many nights. This has been a tough journey. I now know that I made it more difficult than it had to be. It is all about the attitude in which you take things. You can choose to complain and be miserable or you can accept the way things happen and know that God is in control and everything happens for a reason whether we see it or not. Not only do we have to accept what is, but we must also be open to seeing why God chose for this to happen, whether we like it or not. True spirituality comes from how many crosses we can bear with the right attitude. I am thankful for everything I have found on this journey whether I liked it or not. Now I am traveling solo and loving every minute of it. See "Greatest Love of All" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYzlVDlE72w

Childlike in Nature

I remember being at a Darshan in Kerala, India listening to Amma speak about being childlike in nature. She said one should not be childish, but childlike. We should always smile, love life, have enthusiasm about learning, being gentle and vulnerable. I have heard or read from other great teachers who spoke of this childlike nature, but what that truly meant never sunk in. It wasnt until this morning during my daily meditation that it hit me. I thought back to yesterday, my first day teaching the kids of the Favelas (projects). I remembered how great I felt when I walked into the room and the kids ran to hug me. They were all so loving. They had this zest to learn and to show me what they already knew. While counting they would jump ahead. They asked so many questions. When I had to erase the board they would jump to volunteer to do it. These kids were so helpful and thoughtful. They gave of themselves without any expectations. I thought to myself, if this can make me feel so good, imagine if I was this way with others. What would the world be like if we could openly give of ourselves without any expectations in return? What if, we could be enthusiastic in our quest to learn about ourselves, to learn about God, to learn about other cultures? What would it be like if we could love all and trust in life? These are children who live on the streets, have parents in jail, and/or dont know when they will have there next meal, but yet they are sharing a piece of cake with me and just so giving and loving. This is the way I could be. It doesnt take much. Like Nike says Just Do It. So from now I strive to be childlike in nature. Not worrying about how others should be, just focusing on how I should be and naturally sharing this love I have found. I have received far more from these kids than I could ever give them. The gift of learning how to love, share, give openly, trust, vulnerability, laugh at yourself because in the end nothing is that serious, and the zest for wisdom. Thank you!

More pieces to the puzzle in Colombia

The plan was to go to Colombia, for a Vision Quest, but I found out that I was unable to attend because I had to work for a year with the group to know everyone and for them to know me, before I could undergo a serious journey. With this sad news I wondered where to go next or what to do. My only reason for going to Colombia was for the vision quest. So I pondered on whether to return to Argentina or Peru. But then I met this lovely couple Juan Carlos and Natalia, whom were from Colombia. They told David and I about some wonderful spiritual places and a retreat center named Oceano in Colombia. Natalia also told us that her mom lives outside of Sopo and we would be welcomed to stay with her for a few days. So David and I looked online and found Oceano, they were having a "Living From the Heart" four day retreat beginning Dec. 26. The website also said that people are allowed to stay in their monastery. They also offered reiki, biodanza, yoga, and meditation to name a few. So, David and I decided to go. This looked like the next step in my journey. We left Ecuador by bus within a few days. Most of the roads were closed due to severe rain. To get to Oceano, which is in Filandia, you have to travel through mountains. Huge rocks tumble down in the rain and the scare of landslides had everything closed. So Pasto was the only place we could go too. So we went to Pasto and hoped the roads would open by Dec 25. As luck would have it, it did. Meanwhile the morning of the 25th (Christmas) David and I went to visit Laguna LaCoche. It was a huge beautiful lake. The day was clear, the sun shined bright and there was a light breeze in the air. We enjoyed a walk, some meditating and just sitting by the lake. We then enjoyed a Christmas dinner and quickly had to head to the bus terminal to catch our overnight bus into Pereira. Once in Pereira we caught a "combi(small van that is a cross of a taxi and bus)" into Filandia. The workshop was perfect in that it was a continuation of the work I was doing in Ecuador. Living from the heart, speaking my truth always, and speaking or acting from love. We danced, did meditations, guided imagery, yoga, tai chi and several other workshops. It re-inspired my love for dance. The difficulty in attending a retreat solely in Spanish is that I could probably understand about 75%. The best part were the people there. They were all so loving. We had three people invite us into their home to stay. We only had time to stay with two. The first was in Pereira. We stayed with our new friend Enrique (Kike) at his beautiful home in Viterbo, just outside of Pereira. For New Year's Eve we spent time at his mother's home in Pereira with the rest of his family. We ate a wonderful meal and danced all night. We were able to have such a relaxing time there. Kike took us to a Temascal in La Florida, and I was able to do reiki on his sister and cousin. After a week and half we left for Rocio's house in Santa Rosa. It was nice and relaxing there as well. Rocio and her friend Natalia did Maya calendar readings for both of us. It was very interesting. The readings were quite accurate. Here David and I realized we were each other's challenge. His destiny symbol was the same as my what to work on symbol and my destiny symbol was his what he needs to work on symbol. We were told I have learn how to be silent and listen from him and he needs to learn how to be inquistive and speak out more like me. On an ego level we clash, but on a higher conscious level we compliment each other. Now we know why we don't see eye to eye at times. It has been a long and difficult journey with the two of us, but David helps me to see when my ego is taking control, he forces me to face my fears, challenges me often, makes me speak my truth, and supports me one hundred percent. I know that I too challenge him, I also help him see when his ego is taking control, I help him to see things from another perspective, help him to grow and support him. The universe knew what it was doing when it brought us togehter. It was really nice to stay at Rocio’s and be around strong women. Her 86 year old mother took us on a walk on their huge farm and even gave me her walking stick when climbing up the mountain. Yes, I felt ashamed. Rocio took us to two thermal baths which were absolutely amazing. San Vicente was more natural and beautiful than Santa Rosa, but both were wonderful. It was a sad day when we had to leave for Bogota. Rocio and Kike took us to the bus terminal and waited for the bus to pull off and as it did we waved goodbye. It was amazing how we connected so quickly. They really felt like family. Bogota was a pit stop for me to get my Brazilian Visa. While waiting for the visa to arrive, we went to Sopo and Villa de Leyva. We stayed at Natalia’s moms house in Sopo. While in Ecuador Natalia said we were welcome to stay at her mom’s home, but we have to bring her chocolate and so we did. Beatriz, Natalia’s mom welcomed us with open arms. She had a beautiful home with a tennis court and son who had drums, guitar, and all the instruments you need for a rock band. It was nice to play a little of tennis and percussion. Beatriz was quite special, she did a numerology reading for us, which was also quite accurate. Colombia was a time for me to find more pieces to the puzzle of who I am and what my purpose is in this life. After the numerology reading, Beatriz decided to balance my chakras, and open my palms to do healing work. She also did an opening so I can see aura’s. All I need to do now is practice seeing aura’s. Once the visa was ready we went to Santa Marta. Stayed in Taganga and Tayrona Park for a few days. Tayrona Park is the most beautiful place that I have been to so far in my year of traveling. This is South America’s best kept secret. It had a beautiful clean beach the color of teal, a forest area to go hiking, and another strenuous trail to hike to the ruins of El Pueblito. Strenuous but a must do! After all of this beauty and learning we flew to Leticia, the Amazon side of Colombia. I remember walking up to the cabin we were to stay for a few days and the man that greeted us was drunk and had green powder flying out of his mouth when speaking . My first thought was “we need to find another place to stay”. He opened the gate, then told us to wait while he get the owner. The owner than came and apologized saying that it was the worker’s birthday, which is why he was drunk. While there we ate at the same restaurant everyday and every time we would ask do you have breakfast or lunch and they would say no. Once we ask do you have eggs and bread, they say yes. Then I would say so you have breakfast, then they would say but we have no meat. Same for lunch or dinner, they would say no, because they did not have meat, but they always had rice, salad, and or eggs. It wasn’t like we had any other choices so we ate the same thing everyday. But it was nice to sit and speak with all the indigenous people who stopped at the restaurant. The owner was very nice and caring, by the third day when we went for breakfast and yet again she said no she didn’t have and again we asked if she had eggs but this time she said aren’t you tired of eating eggs everyday? So thoughtful of her, so she cooked the eggs differently this time. We were able to visit the Maloka, which is the place they have town meetings, or ceremonies. They also have indigenous guards to protect the indigenous. They take turns walking around with the stick. We also met the local shamans, a husband and wife team. The woman definitely seemed to be more intuitive, but both strong in their healing. They gave me avocado leaf tea to drink to clean my urinary tract. I guess it worked. They were my age and really interesting to get to know. The indigenous people in that community refer to the Colombians as Colonials. At least the ones we were around saw the Colombians as foreigners. Very interesting. We then boarded the boat for a three day boat ride into Brazil, in which I slept in a hammock the entire time. Boy was I glad to get off that boat. I am truly thankful for Colombia. It helped me continue the work of being in the heart and acting from love. It helped me to see that I am to be of service in this world and that I am to heal people with truth, love, my smile, and through art. Now I just need to put all of this together.

From Peru to Ecuador

Little did I know that a simple email would change my life. So my three months visa was coming to an end in Argentina and I needed to decide where to go. I was talking to my friend Katherine, whom I met at the Eco Yoga Farm about traveling to Bolivia together. Than I received an email from my friend, Patricia. Patricia is the most loving and sweet woman ever. We worked together at the Crisis Center. She is from Peru and wrote that she would be coming to Peru to spend time with her family and would love for me to join her. I decided to head to Peru and meet up with Katherine later. So I took the 3 day bus to head into Lima. It was a long, but nice ride. I guess after 3 days you really get to know people who are around you. By the end of the trip many of us exchanged email addresses and I was invited to visit them while in Peru. I arrived to the home of Patricia´s family and what a wonderful family she had. They treated me like I was there daughter. Very loving, caring and fun. Despite the language barrier we got along very well and was able to work together smoothly. Her parents and sisters did not speak English, but her brothers did. I spoke a little Spanish at the time. It was nice spending time, sharing, cooking with, and learning about Peru from the Rosales´. I got to meditate and share reiki with her family. We also enjoyed Salsa dancing and traveling throughout the country. We went to beautiful Caraz, which had had breathtaking mountains and hiking. We went to the magical energetic center of the country, Macchu Picchu. Enjoyed Pachamancha, food cooked under the ground with vocanic rocks. Most of all we laughed, shared, learned, and loved each other. It was nice after traveling for 6 months on my own to now be with a loving family that I could call my own. I continue to keep in touch with my new family who welcomes me whenever I return to Lima. We went to Cusco for a five day trip, but whilst in Cusco I had the feeling of needing to stay. It was difficult because I traveled with my family and was enjoying my time there so I had thoughts of going back to Lima with them and just returning to Cusco later but something inside me said I had to stay then. So as hard as it was I said my goodbyes while they returned to Lima and I stayed in Cusco by myself. I didn´t know where I would go or what I would do but I had the feeling I needed to stay. As we traveled I learned about a medicine plant, San Pedro. Patricia and I had spoke to a Shaman at the Shaman Shop, in Cusco. He was recommended by someone at the Hospedaje we were staying at. We spoke to him about the ceremonies, but after having a Coca leaf reading by him I was sure about doing a ceremony with him. I still wasn´t sure if I wanted to try San Pedro. I remembered about the Casa de La Gringa, a guy from my Hostal in Buenos Aires recommended. So I went there and later decided to do the San Pedro. (You can read more about this in my last blog, San Pedro) This changed the course of my trip. Now my three month visa was ending again and I needed to leave Peru. I ended up staying in Cusco for almost 2 months. A 5 day trip turned into a 2 month self work intense retreat. I knew I needed a mental break after doing work with S.P. and constantly speaking of what I need to change with my friend, David. At the same time I received an email that another friend, Susanna, from home was returning to Ecuador to live. Susanna and I met at Won Buddhist temple. Another wonderful lady I have been blessed to meet. So I decided to head North and go to the beaches in North Peru and Southern Ecuador then head to Quito to meet Susanna. I asked David to join me. I thought he might enjoy a break as well at the beach. So, he decided the join me. We first headed to Trujillo. Stayed in a little beach town just outside of Trujillo. It was beautiful and comfortable. Almost no tourists there, so it was nice and quiet. It was too cold to swim but we were able to enjoy walks on the beach and touring the city. We visited the pyramids, Huaca de Sol, and Huaca de Luna. Then we headed to Mancora. Mancora was just as beautiful but a little more crowded. It was more sunny here so we were able to enjoy swimming and watching all the surfers. They had regular and kite surfing. This was the first time I had heard of kite surfing so it was nice to see the people on the surfboard being driven by a huge kite. I wanted to learn, but it was a 3 day course for over $200. I felt like that money could be more wisely used for food and shelter. We first stayed in a nice Hostal a little further down the beach and then later decided to spend a tiny bit more to have a hotel on the beach. So we left Angeles Hotel to head to Pink Parrot. Pink Parrot was beautiful. They had the beach chairs that we could lay out on and read, relax, or just people watch. From here David decided to travel with me to Ecuador. We stopped in Guayaquil for a night then went to Montañita beach. There we were blessed to meet Maider. We happened to be walking to look for a Hostel to stay and saw here place. She is also a Reiki Practitioner. So we stopped and spoke to her for about 2 hours. She told us of a Ayahuasca ceremony that her and Jorge would be having. I was excited and at the same time scared. I have always heard that Ayahuasca was stronger than San Pedro and it really makes you face your fears. The plant is a medicine and works on what you need. It forces you to see yourself. So now I am on a working vacation. We were able to enjoy Montañita. It was much like Mancora. At the same time do more work. We both decided to do the ceremony which meant we would have to stay for at least a week there. It was a wonderful ceremony. They had everyone roll sacred pure tobacco in paper, while putting our intention of what we want to work on inside. Everything was done with intention and purpose. We then had to sniff tobacco water to clear our third eye and prepare us for the ceremony. After we smoked the tobacco while praying. After shared a prayer we then drank the sacred plant. Of course, it was not a pleasant taste, but who says medicine should be pleasant. People have different experiences on the medicine. Some people see their deepest fears, some see the beauty of life, I saw an angel give me something. I couldn´t see what it was for some reason, but I was given something. I asked what it was and was told when I was ready I will know what it was. I can´t wait to find out, and am doing the work I need to be ready. After a few hours we then went into the Temascal (sweat lodge). We had to crawl in and at the end crawl to the door then stand to walk out. This is because the Temascal is the womb of the earth and symbolizes a rebirthing. The whole experience can not be beautifully described by me in words right now. Maider told us of a place to go in Agua Blanca and Peguche. She also told me about a few ceremonies and a vision quest. So we went to Agua Blanca and enjoyed a limpieza. A cleaning with plants. We also enjoyed bathing in the sulfur lake. We decided we would go visit Peguche when we go to Quito since it was just outside of Quito. En route to Quito we stopped in Canoa to visit yet another beach town. This was smaller than Trujillo and we had to take a bus, than boat to get there. The boat ride was nice and Canoa was a nice little town to visit. We made it to Quito just in time to go to the All Soul´s ceremony that Maider told us about. I invited Susanna to go. She was skeptical because we would drink Ayahuasca and she like most people who do not know what it is assumes that it is a drug. I include myself in that. When I first heard of Ayahuasca and San Pedro I thought they were like drugs and that they alter your mind. But they don´t. Susanna decided to join us and was thankful she did. We lit the sacred tobacco said our prayers and drank. This was a sacred fire and dance ceremony so we later danced. We danced and sang for hours and drank more. The energy felt amazing. We all felt connected to everyone and to this beautiful earth of ours. I could let go of any fears and just be. Not worry about anything or anyone. My true self was free to just be. We could dance away any fears or anxieties or anything holding us back. They had the women together and then the men together. We would skip in a line then break the line and free dance. I could hear the sacred drumming in the background and I felt connected to the music. I could feel the happiness in my heart and life in my body. Susanna felt the same. She loved every moment of it. David as well was able to let go and get in touch with dancing. We all felt thankful for this experience. Then we had a wonderful week staying and sharing with Susanna. We learned more about Ecuador and enjoyed wonderful Ecuadorian food. We were able to do some sight seeing at La Ronda and throughout the city. While in Quito it was nice to meet up with Suzanne, my friend from the eco yoga park in Argentina. We were able to catch up and spend some time together. Then we headed to Peguche. We met Geovanny and Maike. Geovanny is a Shaman and Maike does Reiki. We told them how we met Maider and Jorge and that they referred us there. We didn´t do a ceremony there but spoke to them about the Vision Quest. They really spoke of the beauty of it in Columbia. A vision quest is a 4 day meditation around sacred fire in the forest, where you don´t eat or drink for the whole time. Here you work on growing spiritually and finding your life´s direction. Then you begin to work on apprenticing to be a medicine person. You must commit to doing the 7,9, and 13 day vision quest after the first one. They are all a year apart. So this is a big commitment that I will soon undergo. They have 2 in S. America during January. One in Ecuador and one in Columbia. Since my 3 months is almost ending and it would be nice to see Columbia I am deciding to do it there. As for now, we left Quito, went to Tena, the jungle and am now at Vrindavan, another Eco Yoga Park outside of Baños. It has been beautiful chanting again, meditating by the river, doing yoga, and doing volunteer work to help the community. We took a break to visit Baños yesterday and today to see the active volcano and finally blog. So, I left Argentina not knowing that I would learn of San Pedro and Ayahuasca and meet such wonderful people along the way. My biggest lesson in all of this is to always speak from the heart and have every action come from love or from the heart.

San Pedro

While in Argentina, I spoke to people of my plans of going to Peru. I had a few people tell me of must go to places and must do things. Amongst them was San Pedro. What is this San Pedro? I have never heard of it. I brushed it off saying I am not going to do it. It sounds like you are not in control of your body when you take it. I like to be in control of my body. I enter into Peru and while on a tour in Caraz, the guide spoke of San Pedro (S.P). She discussed how the The Priests (Inca Period) would take S.P to cleanse themselves before rituals and how S.P was a healer and teacher. So I became fascinated. But she also spoke of the cleansing process, which is vomiting. Although fascinated I did not like the idea of vomiting. So my first month in Peru, I spent time in Lima thinking about this, discussing it with the friends from Peru as well as some friends that I met in Argentina who did it. I still was not convinced. But then I arrived in Cusco, decided to read online about San Pedro. Now, I learn of S.P and Ayahuasca. S.P is a plant and Ayahuasca is a vine. They are both teachers and healers. Ayahuasca mostly used in the jungle and S.P on the coastal region. Ayahuasca sounded pretty intense. It is said that you face your fears and learn from past hurts and disappointments. You also have vision to help guide you. S.P is more gentle and helps you to connect with nature. In speaking to several “guides”, and shamans I was told if I was to do it to begin with S.P since it is more gentle. I also felt the need to connect more with nature. Yes, I was also scared of the intensity of Ayahuasca. Still not convinced that I would try S.P. I went to Casa de la Gringa. I remembered that one of the recommendations I was given for S.P while in Argentina was to work with Lesley from Casa de la Gringa. So I went there. Lesley was in England for 3 weeks doing ceremonies there. I felt warm and comfortable in her Casa and saw her reiki certificates. The staff there were so wonderful and told me about the S.P ceremonies and gave me the guest book to look through. I read through and saw so many amazing stories of how S.P has helped and transformed people. I said if I am going to to do S.P I will do it with Lesley. The other thing I heard was that you have to do it with someone you feel comfortable with and truly trust. I felt both. The day came to do the ceremony. I had fasted the morning of and could only eat light vegetarian meals the day prior. Surprisingly, I wasn't hungry. A little nervous but ready. The night before I set my intention of what I wanted to work on and was ready. That morning 11 of us sat in Lesley's garden outside of the Temple of the Moon. She said a prayer, silently said a prayer and asked that my intentions be worked on. I set two intentions:1. To help me understand why I can not commit in relationships, to allow me to work so that I can enter into a loving relationship; 2. To show me what is needed so that I can become a better healer/therapist. Than I drank. The S.P was thick and disgusting. Well, not too disgusting, but not a pleasant taste. I could feel the fear inside of me, not knowing what to expect. After about 30 minutes, I began to feel nauseous and anxious. I sprinkled some Florida water onto the palms of my hands to be re-centered. I looked around the garden and marveled at the beautiful flowers, plants and huge stones. I had the urge to move and walk around, lots of nervous energy. So I moved to go sit alone on a big rock. Sat there for a few minutes, than walked a bit, than sat again, shifted in my seat. Got up moved around some more, nausea set in again. This time I vomited. The cleansing began. I looked to identify what I was releasing. I was releasing the fear I had. I got up, decided to write in my journal, but couldn't so I put the journal down and stood. A man approached. He hadn't done the S.P that day, but was staying at the house and did S.P on previous occasions. His name, that I found out later that night, was David. He asked me if I was ok. I thought to myself, “do I look ok”?, but smiled and said yes. He then said he overheard me saying that I do reiki and if I can send him some energy. He reached out his hand to me. I put my hand on the top of his and thought to myself. “I don't know this guy, why does he want my energy. Well I need to protect myself and not give him all my energy”, He begins to say to me that I am very guarded. I am not trusting in relationships and I need to make myself more vulnerable. He began telling things about myself in relationships and that I need to cry. I was amazed at how intuitive and correct he was. “Who is this man? How does he know these things about me?” Then he asked if he could give me a hug. At this point I let down my guard and said yes. We hugged and he said he feels family stuff. Then said he feels my father. I was like whoa, because as soon as he said that I could feel the presence of my father. I knew his spirit was there with us. My father than began to speak to me through David. David became a medium. My father, through David, was able to impart wisdom and advice to me regarding relationships. I began to cry and slobber all of this stranger. Still not knowing his name. I had never experienced anything like this in my life. This was an amazing gift. In speaking with David, he too had never experienced anything like that. He had never been a medium before. Later David and I walked up to the Temple of the Moon and walked up the mountain. We spoke more of the message that I received and what I can do about it. This is why so many people have said if you have the opportunity to experience S.P you should. As for the second part of my intention, David has continued to help me grow as a healer and as a person. We continue to be friends and have begun to travel together for some time. Everyday we meditate or speak about life and healing. This will have to be another blog since this one if devoted for S.P. :-). All I have to say now is thank you San Pedro. I am thankful that God has given me the opportunity to travel, to learn from new cultures and people, and to grow emotionally, mentally, and physically!

Beauty

So I woke up this morning, wanting to sleep in. I thought to myself “I don't have anywhere to be, I don't have to go to work, why do I need to wake up” But nonetheless I did. I got up made breakfast, took a shower, than headed out the house. I live about 35 minutes from the center of town and usually walk there instead of taking taxi or bus. Why not walk, I am never in a rush. So as I walked today, I got to think a lot. A lot about life and beauty. I decided to shave my head bald while I was in India. It was one of the most freeing things I have ever done. In India, I got a lot of comments from day one. People would rub on my head and say how beautiful it was. In Argentina, I had my head licked so many times and even had a woman from Brazil tell me how courageous and beautiful I was. She said that no woman in Brazil would ever shave there head. She admired my courageousness. Now in Peru, I am called “Mamacita Linda” all the time. So why as women do we put so much money into our hair and makeup? I have even had people ask me what do I use on my skin and say that my skin is glowing. I tell them that I do not have a skin care regimen. I use whatever cheap soap I can buy at the time. Before traveling I had a separate soap that I used for my face, but now I use the same soap for everything. Now, I that I don't spend money on hair care or facial products, I get the most compliments. So do we really need to spend all this money for beauty? Or is it about being happy and stress-free? There were days in Argentina that I felt down, because the woman there are gorgeous and have the best clothes and shoes. All of my beautiful clothes and shoes were back home and I didn't have the money to go buy a new wardrobe nor would that make sense since I am backpacking and can't carry a lot of things. I wanted to go out and buy makeup and at least one pair of sexy boots. But I didn't and I am glad, because I was able to learn that beauty is within. It has nothing to do with how much money we spend on clothes, makeup, facial products, or hair products. As women it is vital to love yourself as you are and not buy into marketing companies trying to sell all these products just to make money. Love our natural beauty.

Bait and Switch

So after Lujan we headed to Buenos Aires. The first night I stayed at Frankie's house. Argentina was celebrating there bicentennial all week long, so I arrived at a perfect time. Frankie and I went downtown to meet Laura, Paress, and Martin at a chinese restaurant. The food was ok. I was eying the fried chicken on their plate, but unfortunately the buffet was all out of the chicken. So we all finished up dinner and the walked to 9 de Julio for the festivities. There was a band playing and everyone was free and just having a great time. The music was really nice and the energy was vibrant. We jumped up and down and danced. It was really great, felt like being at a carnival. When it came time to leave we had to catch the bus. In Argentina you have to hold out your hand to signal the bus to stop. Now the bus driver decides whether he wants to stop or not. Of course with it being so late and their being many people on line the bus drivers were deciding not to stop. So we had to decide whether to walk to her place or walk to another bus stop. We decided on walking to another bus stop that was closer to her house and would have less people, figuring the odds would be better to catch a bus. So after 2 hours of walking and trying to catch a bus we finally reached her home. It was a great way to learn the city and see how the buses operate. The next day we went to recoleta's market, which was a cute little market. It has lots of nice trinkets and arts and crafts for sale. After recoleta's market we met Sergio at dinner so he could pick me up. I met Sergio in India. He is a slightly older man who was going to the same Guru that I was going to in Thiruvannamalai. In meeting him, I told him I was going to travel through S. America and he said when I come to Argentina I can stay with him. I thought this to be a nice gesture. He never seemed interested in me and he seemed to be quite spiritual. So we finish eating than I head to his house. When we first get there he says, the extra room is messy would you like to sleep in my room, so I say, no, that is ok, I don't mind a messy room. I will just sleep in the extra room. He tells me to hold on while he tidy's up the room, so I wait. Let me step back for a minute. While in General Rodriquez I found out my ATM card expired, so I had no access to money. I only had 75 pesos until I could get my new card. So I go into the room and settle in to sleep. Things began to move fast with Sergio trying to hit on me and making not so subtle comments on how beautiful I was. So I tell Frankie about this, but her sister came into town and she didn't have any extra room for me. So I decide to hang in there hoping my card will get there soon and I knew my friends George, Suzanne, Katherine, Paress, and Laura would be coming back to B.A so we would all stay at a hostel together. I just stayed out of the house as much as possible. Again, this was during the bicentennial so one night I left to go to the celebrations at 9 de Julio. I had a great time. I was supposed to meet another friend, Sandra, whom I met at the Eco Yoga Park, but it was too crowded and without me having a phone and her phone not working we never met up. I took the Subte (subway) from Sergio's house, but when it was time for me to go back to his home the Subte was closed. I did not know the bus route and spoke very little Spanish. I tried to find a locutorio to call him and find the bus route, but all was closed. I said I guess I will just stay out until 5 am when the Subte reopens. I began to remember the time when I was in Paris with my friends Chris and Ralph, we would go out to a club then hang outside the subway waiting for it to open. So I go to a cafe called La Madeleine and sit next to two women. They were darker toned so I felt like I could blend in with them. I tried to explain to them in the little Spanish that I speak that I didn't know how to get home. They were really nice. They didn't speak any English but were funny. I asked them where they worked and the one girl said here and the other began to laugh. I said, you work here? That was odd to me, because the people in the restaurant didn't seem to know them. So we stayed until the restaurant closed, then they offered to help me find the bus route. So they were asking people for me. At one point a man came up and asked if the three of us were sisters and if he could have the three of us. The other girl that laughed earlier said this is our work. I was like oh, I am hanging with 2 prostitutes. On one hand I felt good that I could be picked up with a bald head and loose casual clothes. Imagine if I was dressed up. Also, honored that I could look like there sisters because they were gorgeous. I shook my head saying no, I am not working and just lost, they are helping me out. So the guy pulls out his guide book and tells me what bus to take home. I go to the bus stop and wait and wait. I start talking to this couple who were waiting for an hour prior to me coming. Turns out they lived near me, so they say we are going to walk to see if an alternative bus is working. So I walk with them to the next bus stop. There a guy who saw me with the two ladies try to pick me up. He asks if I was with them. I say no, they were helping me find out what bus to take. So after a few awkward minutes with this guy the bus comes and this guy grabs me to kiss me and the couple I was with interfered. The guy pulled me onto the bus. I was like this is crazy. So the couple was very nice and walked me home when I got off the bus, then walked to there home. I have found the people in Argentina to be very helpful. Sergio begins to get worst and says that nothing in life is for free. I didn't have access to money so he was buying food, but I was cooking and making sure to clean the house to earn my keep. Then he asked me why I keep rejecting him. I said I really need to get out of here. This was the day before I was to meet up with George, Suzanne and Katherine at the hostel. So I packed my stuff and left. I went to Recoleta to meet Frankie, I asked her if I could hang out at her house for a little so I could use the internet to look up some places. She basically said no, because she wasn't going to be home and her sister Ghessycka who was in town had work to do in the house. It is interesting in that when you need someone it turns out that the ones you think would help you don't and the ones you expect the least from will help you. These were people who are related to one of my closest friends back at home and I had met them in DC and when I was in a tough spot they wouldn't help me out. So, I decide to go to the Hostel and it turns out they accepted US money. I gave them my last $10, good thing I had that on me. I was able to relax for that night. The next day my crew came and I was staying in the same room as George and Suzanne, so George paid for the room. George who I only just met at the Park offered to give me money until I can get my card. And while in Lujan, Katherine gave me some money to hold me over until B.A. These are people that I barely new and they were helping me more than people I thought I knew. That is how life is I guess. I have learned to not have expectations. I didn't want to call home to worry my family and I really wanted to make this work on my own. So Sergio and Frankie did a bait and switch on me basically. I still wish them well, but now know who my friends are. I thank them for helping me learn how strong and resourceful I am as well as a valuable life lesson. Now, I am at the Bait Hostel and I ask if they are looking for help and I find out they need a cleaning person. So I offer to clean in exchange for the price of staying at the Hostel. The staff at Bait were awesome. They were like family to me. They did not know how much they helped me out in my time of need. Now, here I am cleaning at a Hostel, barely speaking Spanish. When I looked back I had to laugh because in the US a lot of the people who clean are Latino and don't speak much English. So here I am in S. America cleaning and barely speaking the Spanish. I must say though the cleaning was very meditative for me. It helped to keep me grounded and focused on the here and now. Everyday I cleaned it was like a purging of my unwanted layers. It was like peeling away the mandarin layers to get to my sweetness. I loved every moment of it. I also loved cleaning because I got to be around the staff all the time. There was Melvin, what can I say about Melvin. He is from California, went to B.A and never left. He was the go to guy for everything. Boy could he cook. I had to get help from him with my cooking. He knew where all the good parties were. Any day of the week that someone wanted to go out, all they had to do was ask Melvin where to go and he knew the best spots. He became my big brother, whenever I or anyone needed advice they could count on Melvin for it. I will always thank Melvin for my Thursday nights at Club 69 and Saturday nights at Levitar. Those are the two clubs where I had my head licked so many times, how could I ever forget them. They are both walking distance from Bait. Club 69 is a club where they have drag queens dancing on stage and guys break dancing. It is mostly electronic and dance music. They also have a second room that is a little more laid back, which plays dub music. It was so much fun. I definitely recommend it to anyone. Then there is Levitar that has 2 rooms, they play hip hop and rap in 1 room and dance in the other. That was a nice chill out spot. Then there was Nico. Nico had the best hair ever! I would always rub on his head to feel the softness. It got to the point that every time he came to work and saw me he would put his head down so that I could rub on it. He was so funny. He is from B.A. and had the best accent. I loved the way he said “Shut it up” when trying to tell you to shut up. He is a musical genius. He plays the guitar and was able to come up with the notes for “Private Party” by India Arie just by listening to it. He is currently on the road traveling through Europe with his band. I am sure they are having a blast. One night some of Nico's friends came to the Hostel and they did not know what they were in for. It happened to be during the time that George, Suzanne, Katherine, Paress, and Laura were all at Bait with me. This is the crew from the Eco Yoga Park. We had already been partying that night. We drank beer in the Hostel went to a Jazz club called, Theolonis, had more drinks then went back to the Hostel and finished the rest of their beer. One of Nico's friends ended up getting his chest hair shaved and there was a kissing contest. Crazy night. I had to go to bed earlier since I had to work the next morning, but I heard some crazy stories. There was also Adam. Adam was from England. I loved his accent as well. He was a tall good looking Brit. Didn't interact too much because of his shift and he left to return home. There was also Pablo. Pablo was the Asado cook. On Tuesday nights we had the Asado's. All you can eat meat and all you can drink wine. It was the best. Pablo did the grill and Melvin made the potato salad, which was delicious. Getting hungry now thinking about it. Most of the crew left me and Katherine behind. Katherine and I really bonded and found a Sai Baba center to go to for meditation and yoga. That was nice. We really needed to add that into the mix of all the partying that happens in B.A. I got to teach and attune Reiki to Katherine and Paress. That was really nice to work with them and watch them grow spiritually. It was really good for me as well. Nice practice in teaching and attuning Reiki. It was truly a blessing to watch Katherine mature during the 2 months that I knew her. I felt like she was my little sister. All the advice I gave her, felt like I was talking to the younger me. She really did remind me a lot of myself. After 3-4 weeks at Bait Hostel, Katherine and I decided to do Couch Surfing so that we could save some money and have a different scenery. I really wanted to stay with a local family and practice my Spanish and see what it was like to be local. She stayed with a guy named Frederico who was close to Bait and I stayed with Nahuel, who lived in Puerto Madero. P.M. is a beautiful and rich area. His family was very nice and welcoming. I have to thank Jenn Rose for introducing me to Nahuel on CS. His family welcomed me with open arms. Things flowed so well that I ended up staying there for 2 weeks. I did Reiki on Nahuel's mom, cooked for the family and enjoyed late night walking the dog with his mom. I practiced my Spanish and they practiced their English. It was a lot of fun. For father's day the family came over and I ended showing them all my pictures from India. I felt like part of the family. Katherine met me in P.M and we walked around the park and lake. It was really beautiful their. After my two weeks in P.M, I returned to Bait. Then we met Andy, who came from FL. Andy, Katherine, and I walked to a museum one day, but somehow got lost on our way back so ended up having to take a taxi. That was a nice adventure. Andy is a teacher back at home and was traveling to Argentina and S. Africa for his vacation. Andy was a lot of fun. He is the kind of guy that knows a little something about everything. I was supposed to leave with Katherine to go to Bolivia, but then my friend, Patricia from home emailed that she is going to Peru so I decided to go to Peru instead. Katherine left for Bolivia and I had a week left before I would head to Peru. I had to give notice and wait for Bait to find a cleaning person. In that week I met Minna and Amy. Amy was from England, but is teaching English in Thailand. Minna is from the states. Most people I met in Argentina were from England or USA. It was nice hanging out with Minna and Amy. One night we went to see Nico's friends perform at a bar and that was a lot of fun. The crowd was really into it. Everyone was singing and jumping up and down. The band was amazing, full of energy. I can only imagine how they are doing in Europe. I also met Abdul at Bait Hostel. He was really cool. He is an AA guy from the states. He was there to learn Spanish. I ended up CS with him as well for 3 days. He really welcomed me into his apartment and we had some great talks. I borrowed his book “On Writing” by Stephen King and met his friends Brianna, also AA from the states, and Patrick, from Africa. Patrick taught me how to make an Avocado salad that is to die for. Brianna wants to travel with me some, so we will see what happens. She is back at home now waiting for the weather to warm up before coming back to S.America. We talked about going to Brazil for Carnival. Hope it happens. Speaking of AA, I actually met quite a few. At a club called Sugar, I met Arielle, while on line for the bathrooms. She started talking to me. She is another AA from the states in Argentina studying Black Latinos. Very exciting school work. I also met Ruby and Erin while at La Bomba on a Monday night. La Bomba is the drumming group that plays on Mondays. They were on vacation. So I got to meet several AA from the states in Argentina. Go figure. For a second I couldn't remember if I was home or in another country. Part of traveling is meeting so many wonderful people that you would not otherwise meet at home. I can't wait to return to Bait. For now I am enjoying Peru.