Observation and Random Thoughts

- DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME NOW?! Why is it that people (ahem, Americans) seem to think that if they just talk louder to someone who speaks another language that they will suddenly understand them? NO ENTIENDO ESO PARA NADA (I was talking louder, did you understand me?). Again, the ugly american is alive and kickin'. I just came back to my computer after intervening in a ridiculous episode of two American girls asking WHERE TO FIND AN ATM...TO PUT MY CARD IN AND GET MONEY. The sad thing for the rest of us who try hard is that everyone looks to us for answers. This happened in my favorite café, Marks, and all of the servers looked to me -- that American who speaks castellano and is always here -- to explain why these girls were tan estupidas.

-The easy out generation. I stumbled into a conversation about marriage today when leaving school. The consensus was that everyone wanted the benefits of marriage, but without the lifelong commitment. One girl actually said, "I want to be able to have the benefits of a couple, but in case the road gets rough I want to be able to walk away." I understand not being forced to stay in a marriage for an eternity if you are truly unhappy, but walking away just because things are hard seems so lazy. What ever happened to, "if it's not worth fighting for, it's not worth keeping?" I raised this point and I was automatically the "romantic" and the "unrealistic." Why is everyone so critical of those on the other side of the fence? If you want to get married, someone thinks you're crazy and love sick. If you don't want to get married, someone thinks you have trust issues. Shut up everyone and leave everyone to what makes them happy. I wish nothing but the best for my friends who are getting married and I give nothing but support to my friends who never want to get married in their life.

-On being happy. The recent death of my friend has really had me thinking. Though I am rather sad, there was something I realized when thinking about Alex and the sad fact that she died so young...that girl had no regrets. Alex loved volleyball so she played in college. When she graduated, Alex wanted to coach and train and help develop younger girls' passion for the game. In order to coach, Alex needed to be a teacher...english it was. Alex wanted to get more into the fitness side of sports and fitness modeling...off to California where she successfully began modeling, training others, and competing in fitness competitions. Alex wasn't scared of the uphill fight to get what she wanted. She embraced it and tried to share her experiences to help others. At this point in my life when I'm deciding what's really important to me and what things I actually want to do for me I hope I an always muster up the strength to follow my heart.

-Right place at the right time. As I am here by myself in another country thinking about life and the balancing act that it can be, life seems to throw the right people in my path at the right time (of course I talk to everyone who crosses my path so it's a little easier to let such people in or recognize them when they arrive). On Monday, I met a 22 year old named Tristan in Mark's. We shared my mac computer charger as there was only one plug available. Yesterday we happened to be here at the same time again and decided to go out to dinner. We talked about inspirations and how we ended up where we are and where we think we're going. Our conversation eventually led to the topic of a talk he once gave to fellow students...his "Just say 'yes'" talk. To sum it up...when an opportunity comes up to invite people you just met out for drinks, to join a friend on a random road trip, or to take an internship in something you don't know a whole lot about just say yes. Ryan has taught me a lot about that in the time that I have been with him. I have taken a bus to Belize for fun and I started writing for the school paper because Ryan said, "Vanessa, why not?" Looking back, there hasn't been any one of those times that I have regretted or that didn't become something important to me. SO...I've decided that "just say 'yes'" will be my mantra for the two months I have left here.