Living Pura Vida

Yours truly has dropped back into the world again (the cyber world that is), back from traveling in the world, but hopefully of course only for a short time. This time I am reflecting on almost four months in the Costa Rica. So many people asked me if I was going to blog, post pictures, or email while I was there and unfortunately I knew this time I wasn’t going to have the time or the resources to make any of that possible. So I’ve decided to give you the short of it now, solo un poquito. As many of you know, I took a position as a Summer Program Leader in Costa Rica with Rustic Pathways this summer. Basically I was a guide and a counselor for students coming down to Costa Rica to travel on the Rustic Pathways programs. After many Tuesday bungee jumps, nutty energizers, cloud forest hikes, and 3:30 wake up calls for students heading to the airport, I now have some time to reflect on the “pura vida” lifestyle.

I cannot tell you how many times this summer I had a Tico (Costa Rican, we are gringos, they are ticos) tell me to “tranquila.” Calm down, relax, don’t worry. I love the word now, but in those moments I just wanted to turn around and shout, “You tranquilize yourself!” So much for being “tranquila.” That is one of the many/possibly THE most beautiful part of Costa Rica (and CR is a beautiful place): the relaxed, easygoing energy and mentality of the Ticos. When I got home yesterday, I went to Whole Foods (my place of zen here) and everyone seemed so stressed out; it was stressing me out. I just wanted to shrink up and transport myself back to where I had just come from.

This is one of those things and one of those times in my life when I want to fight like hell to keep, grasp, hold on forever to the new mentality I have and to the things I learned in Costa Rica. I am not going to lie though, like every other time I come back, I find it so hard to incorporate things from other cultures because of the heaviness of our own. Because of Costa Rica, I am going to stand here (or sit) and try not to take life so seriously, to enjoy each and every moment, to truly live in the moment, appreciate the beautiful people, friends, family, and places. Pura Vida. Pure Life. I going to do my best to not sweat the small stuff, do my best all the time and when my best isn’t enough, I am going to try (key word try) to accept that and move on. Boy, I can think of so many clichés for all of these things. That’s the difference in the U.S. we have saying, quotes, etc. that can try to dictate our lives, but the Costa Ricans just live this way. How was lunch? Pura Vida! How is it going? Todo Bien, Pura Vida! So next time you ask, I am going to slap on that smile, feel blessed to have what I have and tell you “Pura Vida!”

Live Outside the Box

When I was 16 I created my very first “30 before 30” list; essentially a list that was simply the top 30+ (I had a few more than 30) things I wanted to do or accomplish before I turned 30. Just a few days ago I was inspired to pull it up and take a look again. Looking through it, I realize that I am doing all right. I have completed quite a few such as skydiving, graduating from college, going to a professional basketball game, riding and elephant, and volunteering abroad for two weeks (I think I exceeded that by a few months). After looking at the list, I also realized that in 8 years I had changed a lot. A large number of the things on that list I was no longer interested in doing, for example I really do not want to throw a huge gala, how did I even come up with that? No thank you to seeing a fashion show in Paris; I am just not into it anymore. My value, passions, and interests have just simply changed. Who would have ever thought the “princess” would prefer backpacking and less material goods? I guess I am getting back to my roots as an explorer and adventurer. I am a little closer to that girl who would ride her bike right over a diamond-back rattlesnake and not think twice about it. Closer… So anyways as you might have guessed, I decided to make a new list. This time however, instead of being a list of just 30 things I would accomplish before I was 30 years old, it became more of a life list. One that currently exceeds 50 items and I don’t think I will ever be finished updating, adding, changing, and checking off items. For those who know me, of course, understand this and probably know that I also have a running list of countries and places I need to visit in my lifetime. (Just so you are all aware, if I never get to complete my list, I would hope it would be completed by a loved one who understands its importance to me, plus its sick!) It is important that I note that I also understand the importance of not just living my life within the guidelines of a piece of paper, but also to sometimes go with the flow and let life just happen. Some of the most fascinating things I have done, my most memorable experiences, are those I never could have ever possibly planned. I never would have thought “hmmm, I need to experience a European Gay Pride Parade”, but now I will never forget the energy, the sights, the sounds, etc. that came with catching it in Madrid by accident when I was merely looking for a nice cup of coffee. Think what you want to think, scoff and turn your nose up if you must, but I would certainly add it to your list right now. There is absolutely nothing like it. So I challenge you to create a list to drive you to do the things you will otherwise never get to, but also try to live outside the box (or the cubicle). Seek adventure; push yourself outside your comfort zone. Fail, pick yourself back up and soar to new heights. Some ideas from my list (I’m not giving them all away; you can come up with your own: • Complete the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain on foot • Learn how to fly an airplane • Take a cooking course • Buy and protect land in a beautiful place • Learn how to salsa • Take a train all the way across Russia to Mongolia • Study human ecology. I would love to hear your ideas, write me and let me know what is top on your bucket list!

The TOMS Follow Up

The Habatat Art Gallery and Coffee Company...Thanks guys for hosting!

In an effort to invoke some sense of caring and compassion and connect with like-minded individuals, I hosted a TOMS Style Your Sole event. In a short three week time period, I found a venue, rallied up some artists and musicians and attempted to spread the word about my very interesting event. While I learn more about TOMS everyday I still didn’t realize how much they really have going on across the nation and around the world. It is inspiring to see a company that is able to bring together so many different people to support their cause.

My shoes! I am so excited!

Friday night, the day before the event, I came down with a cold and spent most of Saturday in bed so that I could attend the festivities that evening. Since I had left a few last minute errands until Saturday, I had to call in my troops, my brother, Pope, and my boyfriend, Jeremy. They stepped up and saved my event for me and for that I am eternally grateful.

Gabriella DiPace - Look out for her album...she's recording in January!

I believe due to the event we sold approximately 20-25 pairs of shoes, which for me was great. I really had no expectations, it was my first event, so I was happy to see anyone show up. I really thought it might just be the owners of the Habatat Coffee Company and me.  I think the musicians, Haley Locke and Gabriella DiPace, brought in a good amount of people (everyone loves some good music) and our small article in the Notables section of the Palm Beach Post helped some too. Knowing what I know now, I am sure that having the owner of Primo Comfort Shoes (retailer of TOMS) present at the event would have helped us sell more shoes, but unfortunately we were stood up. He did however give us $15 off to anyone who stopped by his shop down the street that night. So in an effort to make the best out of a bad situation as we could, we made the announcement and my brother ran back and forth the three blocks purchasing shoes for attendees. Thanks Pope! 

Eduardo Mendieta hard at work on some TOMS, check out the awesome green and orange ones!

The artists did an amazing job and I will share with you some pictures of the event and of their creations below. Eduardo Mendieta is a local artist who donated his time to work on the shoes, which was very much appreciated. He recommended that next time we collect donations for a cause at the same time; I haven’t figured out exactly how to make it work because TOMS is a cause, while also being a company and I don’t want to confuse two causes. Maybe having complimentary causes is the answer. Andrea, the other artist, responded to a post on Craigslist seeking artists and was an amazing help, even taking home shoes that were not completed at the event and getting them back to me at a later time. She has told me that she would love to be involved again if we do another event. For this I am so thankful I found her!

Andrea getting into her artwork! 

All and all I connected with some interesting people, including a guy involved in his TOMS club up at FSU (which apparently was ranked one of the best TOMS clubs in the country) who saw the article in the paper, plus I got some great feedback. So thank you to all who came and supported us! Despite being sick I had a great night!

She's got her TOMS on, yes, they make them that small!

My soon-to-be stepsister, Isa's, TOMS, complements of Andrea!

 

Students Taking Action

I don't know how I missed it. I guess it did come out during high school, which were my pre-saving the world days. Lately I have been reading books that lead to me to other books, which lead me to other more amazing books. This was no exception. Out of curiosity, I picked up the book "Twitter for Good" by Claire Diaz-Ortiz mainly because the subtitle read "Change the World One Tweet at a Time." Up until probably a month ago I disdained the idea of Twitter (really I just didn't understand all aspects of it); who really cares what some celebrity ate for breakfast? I certainly did not need up to the minute updates on what all my friends. Always one for being proven wrong (true half of the time, I can be pretty headstrong too), I read the book cover to cover, initiated my Twitter account, and attempted to find my voice. I'm still working on it; it is a challenge for me to Tweet every day or every other day, but I can try harder. Side note: how is anyone supposed to keep up with blog posting (especially when they are mini novels for each post), Tweeting, Facebooking, Linking In...the list continues and function in a real life.

So back to the point, my Twitter book kept referencing this non-proft called Room to Read that they did some work with and used to test their Promoted Tweets for Good program. Intrigued by a non-profit by that name I did some further research to find it was a pretty amazing organization and even better the Founder and CEO, John Wood, had written a book called "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World." Two minutes later I had the book on hold under my name at my local library to be picked up that afternoon.

Joining the line of 4 or 5 books I already had lined up to read (the library might take away my library card, thank goodness I just got a Kindle), I had sort of forgotten about it until a few days ago when it was finally its turn to be read. After just the first chapter I was hooked. Everything he was saying, I understood; he was speaking my language. When you are an alien like I am that can be a rarity. In fact, some of the same discussions I had just recently referenced in a blog showed up in the book. I especially understand all the stories of the people he has met traveling and the impact they have on him.

I have faces burned into my brain from every country in the world of people that in some capacity have managed to affect my life. He talks about a boy named Vu he met in Vietnam and his tenacity, audacity, and any other word ending in -city about learning, education, responsibility for himself and his family that is just awe-inspiring. For me, Vu's face was replaced with the Nepali boy, Shiva, I met in India who worked at the hotel I was staying in. Every morning after we returned from hours of trainings, I would sit in the lobby with a coffee, some toast, fruit, and a banana milkshake (he had my breakfast order memorized), my journal and a book, while Shiva would tell me all about his journey to India from Nepal, his family that was still there and how he was working in India to send money back to them. He would give me travel advice for while I was in India and if I ever got the chance to go to Nepal (it is on my list). His eyes would just light up when I came in the room because he knew he got to practice his English (he already spoke his local Nepali language and Hindi) and share his stories about his homeland. One day when we were headed to the markets of Old Delhi, we asked Shiva to come along and act as our tour guide to which he agreed. He had worked all morning serving people in the hotel, came out to the markets as a tour guide with us during his afternoon off, and returned just in time to start work again. He was the nicest, sweetest, most appreciative person I have ever met. These are the reasons that we travel, it is so we may have these amazing interactions with fascinating people as we go. They really make you see the good in the world.

Anyways, so back to the book (I am getting off on a lot of random tangents this morning). I carry it everywhere in hopes someone will ask me about it, just like I wear one Nike Red lace and one regular lace because people will ask me why I have mismatched laces and I can tell them about the "Lace Up To Save Lives" program and product (RED). I am loving the story, the mix of business and entrepreneurship with international development, which is exactly what I am interested in. From what I have learned Room to Read's programs focus on girl's education, building schools and school libraries. They started out generating most of their capital from individual donors funding individual projects, which most impressive, supplementing with a few grants, the rare unrestricted sort, to cover the overhead costs. This was when they were working primarily in Nepal, Vietnam, and Cambodia; however, now they have a few more partners and are working in ten countries throughout Africa and Asia, including my beloved South Africa!

As you all know I could drone on and on, or you could, if your interested, check out the book Leaving Microsoft to Change the World and/or the organization's website Room to Read. I am primarily writing this as a call to arms. I saw this video below through Twitter and it asks each person to pass it on to five people, so I am passing it along to ten, my ten subscribers and maybe more who will randomly come across my page. Individually and together we can make a difference and we will change the world!


http://youtu.be/ZNnc61JDJmQ

Making a (Simple) Difference

Everyday I wake up with this incessant need to make a difference. What does that even mean? Whether I am aiming to change the world or to tie some little boy's shoe, I can make a difference today and everyday. Today I performed at RAK (Random Act of Kindness) for an elderly gentleman as I helped him pick up his dropped mail and retrieve his package from the holding box labeled "one" all the way at the bottom of the mailboxes.  Knowing absolutely nothing about this man other than he is a few years my senior and finds it difficult to bend down and get back up with my speed and agility, all I can hope is that he passed it on. By that I mean I hope he RAKs someone else. Wouldn't it be ammmaaaazzzing if all we did each day was RAK each other? The world would certainly be a better place for it. Could it possibly be annoying, everyone always trying to help you do something, potentially causing counter productivity for some? So did I make a difference in his life, probably not, but maybe I made his day; at least one could hope.

The first time I came into contact with this idea of being RAKed or RAKing someone was on Semester at Sea. There were a few discussions about it that I had heard of here and there, but it wasn't until I was finally RAKed that I really understood what it was all about. I was having a stressful or difficult day (I know, hard to believe on a floating ship that travels around the world) and when I returned to my room I found an envelope tape to my door. Concerned and disconnected, I opened the envelope to find a tea bag and a note from my friend, Liz. The note said "Enjoy this tea and pass the RAK on!" I couldn't believe it, here I was wallowing in my own sadfest and someone remembered that I liked tea, that I had commented that I would love to try that kind of tea, and was thinking about me enough to drop some by and simply make my day. My whole attitude changed from that moment on. Simple, simple tea bag made my day. You know I returned the favor to Liz by sharing another interesting tea I had acquired on my travels and I also try to pass it on to others.

Sometimes it really is the simple things in life that make your day; someone opening a door for you when your arms are full, a sincere smile, or a note that says "hey, how's your day going?" My day yesterday was made when I got into a conversation with a chatty, little 4-year-old with a big personality about some Dorothy-inspired red glittery shoes. Most 4-year-olds are shy and they will barely leave their mother to come color with me in silence. Not this precious angel, she just chatted away about the shoes and her shoe size and I talked to her about her brother and her mother. Midway through our intense discussion, I was informed that this beautiful little girl speaks not one language, not two languages, but three. She was trilingual in English, Turkish, and French at the age of 4 and well aware of her abilities. Amazing. Talk about jealousy; what I would give to of grown up speaking multiple languages.

So maybe I wasn't RAKed by this little girl, but she did manage to make my day and make a simple difference in my attitude for the day. A simple little conversation about red glittery ballet flats and I was feeling good and somewhat inspired. Stupid, maybe, simple, absolutely, perfect, you know it!

Make it your goal today to RAK someone. Smile and tell someone you like their top, give some change to the person in front of you in line that cannot find it, buy someone a coffee, start a conversation about anything, help someone who is clearly struggling, and have absolutely no desire for them to return the favor; that's what it is all about. You really can change someone's minute, hour, day, month, life with a simple little unexpected gesture.

The Concept of Giving

Heading into the holiday season (tomorrow being Thanksgiving) I have decided that I can do more to help others; we can all do more. As we gear up for Black Friday and start thinking about our Christmas/Hanukah wish lists, why not think about someone else, or how our gifts can help someone. Isn’t that the idea of the holidays; aren’t they supposed to be about GIVING?

This year give thanks for being as lucky as we all are to have grown up in beautiful homes with beautiful families around us, supporting our every move. Then think before you buy and figure out how you can give a gift that helps that child that wasn’t as lucky or blessed as we all got to be.

For a couple of days know I have known that I was going to write this blog, but just this morning I learned about a new organization doing what I attempt to do with my small following, but on a much larger scale. www.dtj.com or Discover the Journey attempts to educate people about real issues, real problems, and real situations that exist around the world; problems that need real solutions. I came across an initiative they are running called “i am child” (shared it on my new twitter account and on my facebook page), which lists 7 categories of children in the world and the situations that are their lives. It discusses the displaced children, the enslaved children, the orphaned children, the child soldiers, the girl children in the developing world, the street children, and the impoverished children.

See the video here. http://vimeo.com/7226498

There are so many great causes out there and sometimes when I am preoccupying myself with one (fistulas) I can forget about many more (I am only human). We need to forget the outta sight, outta mind idea and bring this to the forefront of our consciousness.

Yesterday I was teaching a class on entrepreneurship at a local middle school and we were working on an activity where the students were given a situation and they had try to come up with a “big idea” to deal with that issue, ranging from homelessness to the lack of access to food and resources. One of the girls, in all innocence and complete lack of knowledge, said to me, “well isn’t it their own fault for being too far away from cities and the resources they need?” To which I replied, “No, some people are simply born into a world that looks much different from the one we live in. Most of the time these people cannot fathom what a city looks like, what having water coming through a tap in their house would be like.”

Just because someone is born in Haiti, or Cambodia, or Senegal does not make him or her any less human; it does not make them any less a person than someone born into privilege in a developed country. I am not better than them because I was born into a comfortable house and family that was able to send me to good school and provide me with water, food, and clothing. These people are not uneducated because they choose to be, they never had access to school and books or were forbidden to learn, they are not living in squalor because they enjoy that type of lifestyle; they have no other choice. We need to remember this idea, each and everyday. What have I done that I get to deserve to live in comfortable house that I don’t even have to pay rent for because my mom is just that amazing. Nothing, I was born this way and it is my mission to help those that were not as lucky as I was.

As we move into the holiday season, keep that in mind. You can donate in someone’s name as a gift (Grassroot Soccer), you can purchase a gift that gives again (like TOMS, and FEED), you can help out a charity by buying a t-shirt or jewelry from them (i.e. Falling Whistles and charity:water), or you can volunteer your time at the homeless shelter, with Habitat for Humanity, or a food kitchen. Think outside the box this holiday season, literally, and give…