Mission: Give Rease a Hug

So, lately I have been missing hugs. I am always missing my friends, but Skype, emails, Facebook, this blog, etc. help me keep in touch with them. However, I am really, really missing hugs. So many of my friends give such satisfying hugs and sometimes after a really good Skype conversation, email, song I hear or whatever it may be, I just want to hug them. After posting on Facebook about this, my friend Jason (who gives excellent hugs, I might add) and I came up with the Give Rease a Hug Mission.

Pretend this is me.

Originally, I wanted there to be a Rease bear that would travel between people, each person would hug this bear and transfer as much love as possible into it. After it had absorbed hugs from as many friends as it can, it would be sent to me here and I would hug it and feel all kinds of love. However, that could get expensive with shipping, so I came up with this instead:

You must hug a stuffed animal or something of significance and take a picture of it. This is the budget version that saves you postage and trouble. Really, getting a photo album of you hugging things would make me just as happy as getting a bear.

I attempted something like this before with snow angels and I was pleased that I received 8 photos of snow angels made in my honor. Now I would like an album of hugs. Can you make that happen, please? I want to get all the love at once, so if you want to be involved, contact Jason. I love this game and it sounds like fun. I promise to send photo or perhaps video reactions to the final result.

Happy hugging!

Fitness Challenge #2- 50% Finished

Screen shot of my workout calendar. 50% complete!

As I mentioned in my final update in the 30 Day Shred and Yoga challenge, I started a new fitness challenge immediately after completing the first. This one is more intense. I didn't update last week but I wanted to do a quick post now to let you all know I am officially 50% through and I have not missed a single workout.

I don't have access to a printer so I had to forgo the stickers this time. Instead, I am using clip-art of gold stars to mark my progress. The calendar does not mention that I have to do yoga every night, but I still do. It also refers to workout numbers, as there is a separate workout reference sheet. (I told you it was more intense!)

I'll be honest, I'm not as enthused about this challenge as I should be. I don't have all the fitness equipment I wish I did nor do I have access to a treadmill, which would be very helpful. I'd really like to re-train for a half marathon but I really need a treadmill to get my pace back in check. After running on a treadmill for a while I could feel out my pace when running outside. I think I need to re-calibrate it, so to speak. I'm also kind of irritated with the whole fitness thing right now. Usually, working out is a nice escape from a worried mind, but it has not been working for me lately. I'm finding it harder and harder to force myself to keep up with this even when I'm not getting everything I want out of it. 

I think my lack of enthusiasm is disheartening, but at least my stubbornness keeps me on track. That's the beauty of the fitness challenge- I really hate failing. I don't say I am going to do something unless I plan to do it, so the challenge continues. 

Any suggestions for keeping motivation alive? Or stories of challenges of your own?

In case you want to read about the past Fitness Challenge

30 Day Fitness Challenge

Fitness Challenge: End of Week 1

Fitness Challenge: End of Week 2

Fitness Challenge: End of Week 3

Fitness Challenge: End of Week 4

The Problem with being "Exotic"

What is it with the whole idea of being "exotic" that people find so fascinating and attractive? No one wants to be found interesting or attractive just because of their ethnicity. Of course, that kind of stuff can play into it, but it shouldn't be the sole reason for anything.

I'm tan. Get over it. 

I am from a small suburb where most people wear SPF 50 if they plan to be in the sun for more than 30 minutes. Seeing as I tan easily, never burn and happen to have super dark eyes and hair, I tend to stand out. Of course, America is a melting pot, so people do not usually assume I am too different. However, a lot of people wonder about my ethnicity. I'll tell you right now- I'm 1/4 Japanese, 1/16th Native American and the rest is the typical American mess of European lineage. My strange Japanese and Native American mix really just means I have high cheek bones, slightly different eyes and dark hair. I could be a wide array of ethnicities. This is the problem.

Guys have a thing for "exotic" girls. During high school, I went mostly unnoticed. Not like weird girl with the stained hoodie unnoticed but, you know, just a girl. However, more than once, a guy found out I was part Asian and immediately found me more attractive. I get it, Asian girls are hot, I'm not here to argue about that, but I'm the first to (sadly) admit that I do not look Asian. I lost the awesome slanty eyes around age 10 or so. So please tell me, why does the mere fact, not physical evidence of my Asian decent result in a couple extra notches on the hot meter?

I now live in Argentina and thanks to my ethnicity mix, I blend in incredibly well. No one would suspect that I am anything from Argentine just by looking at me. In fact, because I learned my Spanish in this country, I can often speak without anyone knowing. It is usually not until further into a conversation that anyone will find out that I am actually American. I cannot tell you how annoying their change in demeanor is. Guys suddenly find me fascinating, ever so beautiful and, let's face it, a sweet trophy.

I'm proud of where I was born and where my parents were born. However, being foreign makes it difficult to see who is sincere and who isn't. It was much easier in the States but being here, I am a gringa and people love gringas. Not just guys and not just for dating. Everyone wants to practice their English and I am the perfect person to use. I'm glad to help, but I hate feeling like I am everyone's conversation partner.

Has anyone else ever felt like being "exotic" has resulted in extra, unwanted attention?

Knowing When to Say Goodbye

It was this time last year that I decided to move to Buenos Aires. Of course, it took me months to plan the move and actually leave, but I did it. I heard this song the other day and I felt like I could really relate to the lyrics:

I'm bored of this town, bored of this scene, bored of these people, yeah.
I'm an expert at pretending that everything is OK,
But I'm just a kid and it seems as if I've signed my life away.
I need to get out and see what the rest of the world is about.
This town ain't big enough for the one of me, I'm making a move.

My mom and cousin Jodi- 1/2 of the family I have in STL

The thing is, as much as I appreciate St. Louis as a city, the only reason I started seeing it as the place I wanted to end up was because of my ex and his family. I loved him and that family so much that I knew that no matter where I went in the country or the world, I'd want to come home to them. I'm not ashamed to say that and I definitely don't think there is anything wrong with that. St. Louis is a great place to live, especially if you have a family to stay for, but I don't anymore. Of course that's sad, but it is also liberating.  

Being away from St. Louis allows me to see my city for what it is. A place full of free activities, amazing parks, excellent food, open mic nights and the St. Louis Blues. I will always be proud to say I am from St. Louis, but I have no intention of living there ever again. 

Ryan (3) and I on my last day at St. Cecilia's

St. Louis simply wasn't enough for me anymore. I don't want it to sound like I hated St. Louis, the people or even my life there. In fact, it wasn't like that at all. I went to college in St. Louis and adored it. I will forever be a proud Webster graduate. I freed myself of terrible office life and landed a dream job as a bilingual preschool teacher and translator for an amazing school right out of college.  To this day I would still say it was the best job I have ever had. My time at St. Cecilia School is something I am so grateful for and I will never forget it. It was truly incredible to be able to wake up every day and always want to go to work. Those preschoolers needed me and I needed them back. I know I wouldn't have made it through all the miserable stuff I was dealing with this time last year without them. I felt so lucky to be a part of my students' lives. I also loved the community of the teachers. I adored being the youngest teacher and feeling both new and respected. Quitting that job was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. So, why did I do it?

As a teacher, you watch kids grow up. You tell them they can be anything. If they love Miley Cyrus (as so many of them did), you tell them that they can be as famous as her. If they love to draw, you tell them that they can be an artist. Children and Spanish are two of my greatest passions, so in some ways, I was living the dream. However, as you grow older, you realize that you may have more than one dream that needs to be realized. I had dreamt of moving abroad, speaking Spanish every day and taking on a whole new social and professional challenge. In the past, I had settled for trips abroad so I could stay based in St. Louis, but it was time to let go. 

I wanted to to earn a college degree.  I earned two.

I wanted to see another country. I saw 4. 

I wanted to get a job that used at least one of my degrees. I got to use them both. 

I wanted my job to feel like a honor. Nothing is a greater honor than to be a part of the life and development of such amazing children. 

Fishbowl Margaritas on Cherokee Street

No one could say I had failed. However, for me, success is continual. If I stayed, I'd never know if I could have done more. I had to show my kids that being drastic and dreaming big pays off. That is why I dedicated a half marathon run to them before I said my goodbyes. That is why I left a city, a job and memories that I loved so much. I had other dreams to conquer, and I still do. I miss St. Louis all the time. I miss my friends, college days, Cherokee street Mexican food and runs in Forest Park. I freaking miss the City Museum and it kills me to think my kids might forget who I am. But you have to know when to say goodbye, not matter how much it hurts. You have to know when you have accomplished all you set out to and when it is time for a new challenge. 

I need to get out and see what the rest of the world is about.
This town ain't big enough for the one of me, I'm making a move.

What bittersweet goodbyes have you been through?

Fitness Challenge Update: End of Week 4

I'm a little late on this update, but I thought I should let you all know the first month long challenge is complete and it was a complete success!

4 weeks straight. Nailed it.

Six days a week, 1 workout video and 1 yoga workout for 1 month straight. I did not miss a single one.
I am significantly stronger and super proud of Emily and myself.

I work out a lot and I am pretty good at keeping myself motivated, but I can honestly say that there were days I forced myself to get up and work out or take the time to do yoga before bed just so I wouldn't fail at this challenge. I knew that, in the short term, it only resulted in a sticker. I knew that I could tell Emily I skipped a workout and she wouldn't be mad at me, she would just tell me to do better tomorrow. However, I never wanted to do that. I didn't want to face Emily, my blog, or myself because I knew it would mean I chose to fail.

For that reason, Emily and I have started yet another Fitness Challenge. We didn't even take a day off, it started on Monday. This challenge is significantly more difficult. It is so complicated that I had to have several talks with my brother, Ben, who is a personal trainer. Together, he and I designed the next challenge. He provided me with 5 different circuit training work outs. I added in all 3 levels of the 30 Day Shred and running. I made a workout reference sheet and a corresponding calendar that lists 2 workouts a day. We never do the same workouts two days in a row. It is intense. Yoga is also still a  required portion, for recovery and relaxation.

I'm two days in and sore. However, I feel really, really good about this. Wish us luck for our next endeavor and keep up with the updates!