Making the impossible, possible!

As many of you know, I've had a lot of time to be sitting around thinking of what to do next with my life, and make some sort of decision about what that actually is going to look like without pressure!

You would think that processing something like this would be easy when you feel like you have all the time in the world, but honestly it feels like a bad item on a "to-do" list. So... naturually I have put it off of the "I'm really thinking about this seriously" today list, and have continued to just mull over it while doing other fun activities.

I decided recently it was about time to actually put some thought into it. How do you really think about something that seems so distant, and so demanding, and so time consuming. I dream of big things, and then think it's nearly impossible to get there. However, I decided today that nothing is impossible. I just traveled Latin America for a year, and didn't think that possible in a lifetime, so why would I give up that now?

So here we have it. These are major goals that I want to see happen one day, and they WILL happen one day. Thanks to my Aunt Patti she said today Mandi I am stating a goal to you because I want it to happen, and it will happen. So I told her that I wanted to do the same thing... So here you have it.

She told me that to state my goal, is not just a mere statement. It's a powerful driving force that pushes us to achieve those things that seem impossible. To make the impossible, possible! So don't state I HOPE or I WANT...but state as if it has already happened...Let's try it out...

I AM A PERSAL TRAINER BEGINNING JANUARY 2011.
I AM A FITNESS PROFESSIONAL WITH AN EMPHASIS ON NUTRITION AND PERSONAL TRAINING - HOLISTIC FITNESS IS MY ULTIMATE "I AM".

With that being said, you can best believe that I will be doing all possible things to get to this in the next 2 months. I have a lot to do, and I will have to push hard. Now to figure out how that works into a job....a real job, as some might say... that will be the question. But I am and WILL NOT settle for anything but my dreams. The only thing that may have to come between me and my dream, is a step to get there - like making money - so I will have to think that too, however these are the things I will be, I want to be, and truly AM at heart!

WOW joins the Gym Club!

I was at the gym this morning, and I've been doing this new workout thing, and I take a book to remind me what's next so that I can keep my heartrate up. Anyway, I have it sitting to the side so it's not in anyone's way, and so I kind of have my own workout station. (sorry need to give you a bit of background first). Mid workout I need the lat machine.....and this old dude is just sitting at the lat machine reading his newspaper. Aren't there better places to just be sitting or reading your paper? I don't know like on a bike or home or something wher eyou're not in the way! haha! Then of course I had to ask him to move, that was kind of weird, but oh well. So then this other guy comes up to me right then (not sure why his timing was so spot on) and asked me - oh it looks like you follow a book routine, right? So I was polite and said yes. (Now let me tell you about this man - he had been sitting on the row machine for probably 20 minutes while I'm pretty much running around the gym to different stations, jump roping, etc... and then all of the sudden he has to stop me mid workout to ask me that one question when he could clearly see that i had a book with me!). Anyway, he started to have a conversation, and how do you tell someone politely, hey man I'm trying to workout here and keep my heartrate up can you shut up please? HAHA. So then he kept talking while I was just doing my thing, and he said ..."yeah, I spend 20 mins here, 20 mins there and then 20 minutes over there." I was thinking - yeah I can see the awesome workout you're getting in when you stand and talk to people, and then just sit at a machine for 20 minutes. So why are you here again? Good thing people can't read my mind! He litterally was sitting at the row machine for 20 minutes before he said something to me. I think I saw him do ONE set!Oh I nearly forgot he was texting the whole time while sitting there! What's he worlking out, his thumbs! Leave the stupid cell in the car! I couldn't believe it, it made me laugh when he was trying to brag, like I hadn't noticed him RIGHT in front of me! Oh man people crack me up at the gym! Ah back to the American I have to show you how awesome I am routine. Why am I back again?

It's about time...

So I really am going to get ready to start blogging about my trip. I will try to take it one day. one picture at a time....so watch out next week I should post a few fun stories! Hopefully Chris can help me!!!

¨Watch out, there is a giant F*ing hole to your right¨

That was a quote by my tour guide, Javier, on my mineral mine tour today. I nearly fell in the hole because it was pretty funny to hear some guy that spoke mostly spanish, yell that behind him!

The mine tour today was interesting. It was SUPER depressing, and actually one of those things that I was interested in because my grandpa used to work in the mines in PA when he was younger. Now I really want to hear those stories again, I feel like I might appreciate all the hard work he did to make it to where he is today - much more than when I was about 8 years old hearing the stories!

The miners work in some very tight spots, with very littel oxygen. I couldn´t believe that Bagilla, a local miner of Potosi, works 24 hours on Fridays so he can make enough money for his family of 7 kids! He has two of his kids working in the mine with him, one 14 and the other 20. He is currently 40 years old, and has been in the mine since he was 13! I couldn´t belive that he has been working there for so long. They have short lives, and he is probably only expcted to live another 20 years max, so it´s hard to hear those stories.

These kinds of stories are the ones that are making the silver, gold, and other mineral type compositions that you use everyday. These lives are the ones being risked to make that pretty earring that you are wearing. Tough to see this, and hard to know that they are not treated very well here! They hardly see any of the money from it. They might make 500 bolivianos (about $75 USD) each month! The ¨leaders¨sometimes make up to 1500 bolivianos (that is closer to $200 USD) a month!

Just something to think about. Say a prayer for these guys and their families if you think of it! They work hard for you!!

Worlds Worst Surfer

I was so excited about surfing today! I can´t even tell you! After learning to surf in San Jan Del Sur, Nicoragua I was pumped about trying it again...until I actually got in the water. The bottom was not a nice sandy beach like before, it was filled with rocks. The nice waves that were in Nicaragua were not so nice in Peru! Can I tell you that I was so tired from swimming out into the ocean over these huge waves that I pretty much didn´t have it in me to even try to stand up on a wave! I need to do more push-ups! Despite not being able to surf, I still had fun. Chris had to give me a few pep talks to make sure I went back out in the water. I was not having fun some of the time because I was so frustrated, but you know what I changed my attitude and had a good time seeing the underside of the water! Good thing the water wasn´t too salty! Anyway, I got pummeled by a lot of waves, now I am sore, tired, and reday for bed. Can´t wait to see what I feel like tomorrow.

Maybe that is why God had me grow up in CO, he knew that I wouldn´t master surfing. Oh well, I will keep trying and having fun, but I don´t think that I will be in any pictures in surf magazines! Well...maybe the what not to do section!

Drooler!

Last night was a long night on my first Peruvian overnight cama-bus. Yes, they say cama (bed) bus, because they say the seats transform into beds. I would say it´s more like a semi-cama seat. Actually it doesn´t even recline as much as a good ol´lazy-boy, so I hardly consider it comfortable; however, I did manage to sleep for the last 12 hours on the first bus, and then continued my slumber on another bus for 3 hours. I made it to Huanchanco, Peru today. It´s a lovely rundown beach town (reminds me a lot of North Myrtle Beach), and just got settled. I took another 3 hour nap today, you would think that I would be over the whole sleeping gig after so many hours. I guess I was drooling, Chris told me I drooled everywhere! The bus ride was not that spectacular this time...minus the lady that told us the wrong thing.

We were on the chase again for the bus. The lady that bought and reserved out bus tickets from Chachapoyas told us that the bus left at 8p, and when we arrived at 745 guess what...the bus left at 730p! Great! I love that we were told the wrong time, but the good news is that the people in the office felt bad for us, so they called the bus and they made it stop. We took a taxi for 5 soles to catch the bus, and actually made it! I couldn´t believe it! I was so happy that we didn´t have to spend another night in Chacha, and the bus waited outside of town. It didn´t make it very far in 15 minutes, so I didn´t feel too bad, but I did feel bad enough when the guy yelled at us and told us we should have known. I didn´t feel like arguing, so I just let him yell and said sorry. I don´t think that he would have believed me when I told him the lady told us the wrong time! I think that is why they felt bad, they knew they told us the wrong time, but then again I looked at the ticket that was given to me and the time said 730 - hardly ledgable, but nonetheless it was an adventure with the taxi driver chasing the bus down so we would make our destination. I´m glad it stopped when we got there, and then we were able to relax until someone was in our seats! We just sat in some other seats, but 1 hour later we were told to move to our seats, so there was a reshuffle of a few seats on the bus since people were sittin gin the wrong ones! All in all, it turned out okay. Minus the fact that our bus experience to/in Peru so far has been more than interesting! I hope that this is not a sign!

Tomorrow I will surf and ride in a reed boat through the breaks! Should be interesting. I hope I can help make a boat, that would be really cool!!!

Ecuador to Peru: Part 2 - Gun to My Head

The bus... yes this was your average bus, with average seats. It was a great upgrade from the actual chicken buses that I was used to in Central America! You know it was nice to have a small child on the bus that spoke better spanish than me, and when talking to me he spoke a million miles an hour! Yes, that is good for the self-esteem! I love that I speak like a 2 year old! (Katy, Jenn, Becky, Kirsten...all you mom´s out there... your children could probably speak better spanish than me!). Anyway, my little amigo and I had a great time chatting for about 5 minutes, and then I wanted to read. I can only take so much when I have to concentrate really hard on what he´s saying....slow down and I´ll talk to you more, but he didn´t understand that concept.

I decided to just read, but before that I jumpped out of the bus and saw this man pushing a yogurt machine through the park. Yes, a frozen yogurt machine! I was so excited that I could hardly breathe. I didn´t know what kind of icecream it was going to be, but I honestly didn´t care. I wanted something cold and yummy in my tummy! So I went up to him and it was coco y chicle. Gum and coco icecream, sounds interesting. I´ll take two! No I didn´t have them both, but it was tempting! I really wanted to steal Chris´because it was that good. I didn´t think that I could find icecream that I loved as much at Baskin Robin´s Choc & Peanut Butter Icecream, but this is a close second favorite. I hope I enjoyed it because I surely will never have that soft serve deliciousness ever again! (I am an icecream conosour, so you better believe that I know good icecream! I mean I did work for an frozen yogurt shop throughout all high school!)

Anyway, about 15 minutes after the bus was headed out again to our final destination of the day, Zumba. (Which if you read part 1 you know why we only made it 7 hours instead of 10!) I was sitting on the bus reading, decided that was going to pass the next few hours (the book I was reading was really good, so I was quite excited about it anyway), next thing I know I have a gun to my head. Yes, I was ignoring the small child so I could read, he disappeared and returned with a gun. At first I didn´t know if it was real or not. It was black and next to my head, so I could only see with my periferial vision. Next thing I hear him say is ¨bang¨ (but in spanish of course). Then I heard a click! Great...so this kid is violent, has a gun, and just pointed it at my head and pulled the trigger. Good thing it was PLASTIC! But then again, he decided to show me how it worked after I started to give him attention again. Yep, he showed me where the plastic pellet bullets go, and continued to tell me that he knows how to take apart guns, and that he knows how to load them too. So...who is this kids mom? Seriously, plastic guns are cool with cops and robbers, and cowboys and indians, but when it comes to actually shotting someone ganster style for fun, I think that I have to draw the line there! Come on already - seriously??? So I could have died this day for the plastic gun!

....

Landed in Zumba, and it was about your most basic town. Actually I´m not even sure what they eat here. We had some ¨typical¨food, but other than that there were no snacks or anything for the next 12 to 15 hour day in the bus, taxi, and tricycle...so I don´t know what I´m going to do! We didn´t know what to eat for breakfast either, they didn´t really have anything, couldn´t even find a basic banana! Hmmm...

Anyway, apart from the room smelling like poop (I think that the drains were backed up or something gross), there was TV and we were able to watch the US win it´s World Cup game! That was exciting. However, I slept through most it because I was exhausted! I woke up, thanks to Chris, for the final goal! Go USA!!

Until tomorrow.... I am not excited about an early morning and a cold shower!