January/February - Joining, Focus, Jelly, Friendships
Joining - The coolest thing about living in different countries is really having the time to experience different cultures. Two weeks in one place is just not enough because you spend so much time trying to find your way around and seeing as much as possible, you often don't have time to relax into the lifestyle. Based on my experiences living in Chile I can see that Chilean's love to be around people. Their families tend to be large and spend lots of time together. I always see people, friends, and families hanging out in the parks, at restaurants, or simply on the street. There is also a large culture of people selling things on the street that is very interesting to me. You can find anything from jewelry, fruit, avocado, cards, cell phone cases, clothes, and coloring books. How do all of these people have time everyday to find products and then try to get people walking by to purchase things from their blanket of goodies?
Focus - It feels so great to be done with schooling after twenty years, but I find myself wondering what I should be doing with my time. I no longer have homework, tests, and papers to write by a certain date and time. Now I only have my own deadlines. What will bring me the same satisfaction as getting a grade back or passing that paper in at the last minute. I now wake up every morning thinking about what I will feel good about doing with my day. Go for a run, play on the computer, watch television, read a book, make delicious food, get back into things I used to do like skating or climbing, arts and crafts??? Only time will tell I guess.
Jelly - Some may use "Jelly" as slang for "Jealous." Although, for many years I was jealous of people who got to travel and go places in life, I now realize that we shouldn't be jealous of others because we can make our dreams come true if we really put our mind to it. I know it was a risk to leave my known world behind, but every new experience brings with it new memories to last forever. So whatever your dream is, work towards making it come true and don't be jealous of others.
Friendships - The craziest thing about living in a place for only one night or five months is the friendships you make. They may not be the lasting friendships you have from your younger years, your time in school, or your first professional friends, but each friendship comes with experiences and memories that will affect our lives in any way.
