So, here I am. I've settled into a strange sort of routine these days, where I find that I wake up, wander into the kitchen, and spend 5-10 minutes slicing and squeezing limes, measuring maple syrup and cayenne pepper, and carefully pouring water from an enormous 6 L jug into my 1 L water bottle.
The cleanse is... interesting. Day 1 was okay (most likely because I didn't have work), but Day 2 was brutal. I had terrible headaches and completely lacked energy, so that evening I listened to my body and made a small cup of pasta with some grilled chicken. The next morning (Day 3), I ate a bowl of plain Cheerios (since milk is hard to digest) throughout the morning, which made me feel much better. During the day I ate some melba toast and then a cup of corn (off the cob) for dinner. I figured that I would continue this modified version of the cleanse for the rest of the days, and that hopefully it would be almost as effective.
Today (Day 4) I have not had any cravings at all! I've been drinking my mixture all day-- no cereal, no melba toast, no nothing-- and as of right now (almost 6pm), I'm not hungry! When I began the cleanse, my goal was to complete five days... because tomorrow is Day 5, I'm thinking I will probably continue and push through complete eight whole days, ending on Sunday. I've already gone through two and a half bottles of syrup (each bottle is about 8 oz) and 12 of my 30 limes. Originally I had planned for ten days, but I don't want to spend my last week in Costa Rica drinking this mixture-- especially since June 4 is my birthday!
In other news, my countdown to return home is now down to 11 days-- and I can't wait to be home. I've already begun packing-- which, for anyone who knows me, is a miraculous feat. Usually I wait until, oh, 7 hours before I'm supposed to leave to start packing. :) As always, thanks for reading, and for those of you in the USA.... see you soon!
5.28.2008
5.25.2008
Lemonade Cleanse (Day 1)
Although my writing in this blog has been kind of sporadic, it's still a blog, and now that I actually have something to blog about (for the next 10 days at least), I'm going to treat you to the play-by-play of how it goes.
As some of you know, today I am beginning Stanley Burrough's "Master Cleanse," which you can do for anywhere from 10 to 40 days. I will be sticking to 10 days. Well, I'm going to shoot for 5 days, and then if I make it that far, I'll go for the gold and do the full 10. I actually only have 14 days left in Costa Rica, and I am spending most of them on this cleanse. However, the other four days include my birthday, graduation (and the subsequent fancy dinner), and my last night in town. Plus, the past few weeks have included some gastrointestinal problems for me, so this cleanse-- which cleans out your intestinal system-- seemed like a logical solution. One of my coworkers completed it and she looks and feels fabulous. Her skin was practically glowing and she had more energy than she had had in weeks. Now, let's see if my experience is the same.
For those of you who don't know, the lemonade cleanse includes drinking liters and liters of the same mixture everyday. Its ingredients are 1) juice, fresh squeezed, from limes or lemons, 2) pure maple syrup, Grade B or C, that has not been processed, 3) a pinch of cayenne pepper, and 4) pure spring water. I just mixed up my first batch and I am sitting here drinking it, and I have to say, it's pretty tasty. You also include a 1-L saltwater flush every day, where you drink a liter of spring water with sea salt dissolved in it to clean out your system. Needless to say, I'll be doing the saltwater flush in the evenings in the privacy of my own home. The way the lemonade cleanse works is by cleaning your system of toxins. The maple syrup provides calories for you to survive, the cayenne pepper stems hunger, and the lemon (in my case, lime) juice does the cleaning, I suppose. In conjunction with the salt water. It's about 1pm now, so I'm going to go about my day as normal (shower, getting a pedicure, doing some laundry if the rain ever lets up) and I'll check back in this evening or tomorrow with an update on how it's going.
Up, up, and away!
As some of you know, today I am beginning Stanley Burrough's "Master Cleanse," which you can do for anywhere from 10 to 40 days. I will be sticking to 10 days. Well, I'm going to shoot for 5 days, and then if I make it that far, I'll go for the gold and do the full 10. I actually only have 14 days left in Costa Rica, and I am spending most of them on this cleanse. However, the other four days include my birthday, graduation (and the subsequent fancy dinner), and my last night in town. Plus, the past few weeks have included some gastrointestinal problems for me, so this cleanse-- which cleans out your intestinal system-- seemed like a logical solution. One of my coworkers completed it and she looks and feels fabulous. Her skin was practically glowing and she had more energy than she had had in weeks. Now, let's see if my experience is the same.
For those of you who don't know, the lemonade cleanse includes drinking liters and liters of the same mixture everyday. Its ingredients are 1) juice, fresh squeezed, from limes or lemons, 2) pure maple syrup, Grade B or C, that has not been processed, 3) a pinch of cayenne pepper, and 4) pure spring water. I just mixed up my first batch and I am sitting here drinking it, and I have to say, it's pretty tasty. You also include a 1-L saltwater flush every day, where you drink a liter of spring water with sea salt dissolved in it to clean out your system. Needless to say, I'll be doing the saltwater flush in the evenings in the privacy of my own home. The way the lemonade cleanse works is by cleaning your system of toxins. The maple syrup provides calories for you to survive, the cayenne pepper stems hunger, and the lemon (in my case, lime) juice does the cleaning, I suppose. In conjunction with the salt water. It's about 1pm now, so I'm going to go about my day as normal (shower, getting a pedicure, doing some laundry if the rain ever lets up) and I'll check back in this evening or tomorrow with an update on how it's going.
Up, up, and away!
5.12.2008
Courage
I'll be the first person to admit that I love the show American Gladiators. I started watching out of mild curiosity (as well as faint throwback memories to the show's original run in my childhood), but I soon discovered that it is addictive. Very addictive.
Tonight's episode was a little different. I normal wouldn't blog about TV (I'm one of those people who used to claim that I didn't watch TV at all), but this was incredible. There was a competitor on American Gladiators with one leg, John Siciliano (pictured above). Talk about an amazing story-- this man's mother died when he was nine years old. If that wasn't misfortune enough, this college soccer player was on his way to lunch with friends at the age of 21, when they were struck by a drunk driver. It was because of this accident that his leg had to be amputated. As the doctors broke the news, he told his family: "Don't worry. I'll never give up."
Watching him on AG was extraordinary... particularly doing the final challenge, which is an unbelievably difficult obstacle course. Even though he was far behind, even though his prosthetic got stuck climbing the rope net and made it almost impossible to negotiate the rope tightwalk... he kept going. Doggedly, long after his opponent had completed the course, he kept going. It was almost like watching the Olympics. Something about his incredible determination to finish-- and he did finish-- it was inspiring. The phrase "triumph of the human spirit" has become cliché, but I can think of no better words to describe this man and what I saw tonight.
What an inspiration!
5.02.2008
beauty // beauté // belleza
"Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in..."
"It's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment..."
Sometimes I, too am struck by the utter beauty of the world... an incredible sunset over the ocean, a song so poignant or so real it makes my heart break (And the four right chords can make me cry...), tearful reunions, human relations, the realization of my own mortality and that of the people I am close to... sometimes the beauty of life is so much that it is overwhelming. I feel a need to stop it as it wells up inside me, when I don't think that my heart can stand the pressure. Lately-- and I mean in the past week-- when I think about leaving Costa Rica, my heart feels that kind of pressure. It is as though all the emotion I feel about this country, my return home, my leaving part of myself behind-- it's too much. My heart starts to swell and tears come to my eyes and I'm forced to think of something else, of something different, before my heart breaks entirely. It is not, however, because of sadness. It's something much deeper, something in the fiber of my being that seems to transcend levels of emotion like happines or sadness or even fear.
"The beauty of the world has two edges, one of laughter, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder." -Virginia Woolf-
This has been one of the most difficult and challenging years I have ever had, but I also feel as though I know myself now. I know more clearly the kind of person I am, and the kind of person I want to be. Isn't that a beautiful thing as well, to know yourself? The difficulty-- and this has always been the difficulty for me-- will be remembering that knowledge when I am taken out of yet another comfort zone and thrust into a now-unfamiliar situation. When I first went to college, when I moved to France... soon after arrival, I had a tendency to "lose myself." That is to say, I was so overwhelmed that I kind of lost my sense of self, my identity... and while this can be a good, healthy change, it can also be quite scary, or at least disconcerting. When I moved here, it was a different feeling. I was somewhat overwhelmed, yes, but I knew I could handle it? These are very difficult emotions to articulate. I trust that those of you who know me (or who have been thrust into similar new situations) will have some notion of what I mean. Most importantly, I feel like I know myself now. This has been a year of self-reflection in a strange place, a sort of Narnia or Never Never Land where regular rules don't seem to apply and time moves at a different pace.
"Beauty is unbearable, drives us to despair, offering us for a minute the glimpse of an eternity that we should like to stretch out over the whole of time." -Albert Camus-
I feel as though I am on the edge of a grand precipice, with no idea of what lays before me other than an imminent, bittersweet departure. Beyond that, the way is cloudy. I cannot wait to be back home, to see my family, my friends, to be once again settled well inside my comfort zone. And what of Costa Rica? This whole year, everything that has happened... in the grand scheme of history, of the world, this year that has changed me and challenged me and scared me and shocked me... isn't even a blip on the radar. Life is ephemeral. And doesn't beauty flee fastest of all? Flowers wilt, people grow old, the sun sets, much of poetry and music and art is forgotten. This is reason to appreciate it all the more. Costa Rica has been a strange, occasionally terrible place for me, but it has been above all a beautiful place. Now, where to?
And the wheels just keep on turning
The drummers begin to drum
I don't know which way I'm going
I don't know which way I've come...
"It's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment..."
Sometimes I, too am struck by the utter beauty of the world... an incredible sunset over the ocean, a song so poignant or so real it makes my heart break (And the four right chords can make me cry...), tearful reunions, human relations, the realization of my own mortality and that of the people I am close to... sometimes the beauty of life is so much that it is overwhelming. I feel a need to stop it as it wells up inside me, when I don't think that my heart can stand the pressure. Lately-- and I mean in the past week-- when I think about leaving Costa Rica, my heart feels that kind of pressure. It is as though all the emotion I feel about this country, my return home, my leaving part of myself behind-- it's too much. My heart starts to swell and tears come to my eyes and I'm forced to think of something else, of something different, before my heart breaks entirely. It is not, however, because of sadness. It's something much deeper, something in the fiber of my being that seems to transcend levels of emotion like happines or sadness or even fear.
"The beauty of the world has two edges, one of laughter, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder." -Virginia Woolf-
This has been one of the most difficult and challenging years I have ever had, but I also feel as though I know myself now. I know more clearly the kind of person I am, and the kind of person I want to be. Isn't that a beautiful thing as well, to know yourself? The difficulty-- and this has always been the difficulty for me-- will be remembering that knowledge when I am taken out of yet another comfort zone and thrust into a now-unfamiliar situation. When I first went to college, when I moved to France... soon after arrival, I had a tendency to "lose myself." That is to say, I was so overwhelmed that I kind of lost my sense of self, my identity... and while this can be a good, healthy change, it can also be quite scary, or at least disconcerting. When I moved here, it was a different feeling. I was somewhat overwhelmed, yes, but I knew I could handle it? These are very difficult emotions to articulate. I trust that those of you who know me (or who have been thrust into similar new situations) will have some notion of what I mean. Most importantly, I feel like I know myself now. This has been a year of self-reflection in a strange place, a sort of Narnia or Never Never Land where regular rules don't seem to apply and time moves at a different pace.
"Beauty is unbearable, drives us to despair, offering us for a minute the glimpse of an eternity that we should like to stretch out over the whole of time." -Albert Camus-
I feel as though I am on the edge of a grand precipice, with no idea of what lays before me other than an imminent, bittersweet departure. Beyond that, the way is cloudy. I cannot wait to be back home, to see my family, my friends, to be once again settled well inside my comfort zone. And what of Costa Rica? This whole year, everything that has happened... in the grand scheme of history, of the world, this year that has changed me and challenged me and scared me and shocked me... isn't even a blip on the radar. Life is ephemeral. And doesn't beauty flee fastest of all? Flowers wilt, people grow old, the sun sets, much of poetry and music and art is forgotten. This is reason to appreciate it all the more. Costa Rica has been a strange, occasionally terrible place for me, but it has been above all a beautiful place. Now, where to?
And the wheels just keep on turning
The drummers begin to drum
I don't know which way I'm going
I don't know which way I've come...
2.20.2008
How Times Change
How was there ever a time in my life when I didn't like:
1) Guacamole
2) Cottage cheese
3) Fresh tomatoes
4) Sauteed mushrooms
5) Iced coffee
6) Shrimp
1) Guacamole
2) Cottage cheese
3) Fresh tomatoes
4) Sauteed mushrooms
5) Iced coffee
6) Shrimp
11.02.2007
Gratitude, a few weeks early
First off, I want to say thank you to everyone who wished me well after my most recent post... I was certainly not feeling my best, and your comments and e-mails really brightened my week. :)
That being said, I've been feeling much better lately about life in Costa Rica. The library is just about done with its move to the new space, and I could not be happier about work. I am finally forging what I feel are great friendships here, and recently I have felt more and more just how lucky I have been in my life. Lots of warm fuzzies, to say the least.
My whole life, I have been blessed with the best parents imaginable. Supportive, loving, funny, brilliant... basically, there aren't enough words in the English language (or French, or Spanish) to describe how incredible my Mom and Dad are. If you've met them, you know this is the case. If not, well, hopefully someday you will have the opportunity. :) The more life experiences I have, the more I marvel at how absolutely selfless and amazing they have been, and the more I strive to emulate them in all that I do. To say the least, my parents are my heroes.
Okay, minorly sappy moment over. Other than my fantastic parents, life is great. Halloween was this past Wednesday, and included an amazing trick-or-treat Halloween party at school, full of kids ages 5-12 running amok in costumes ranging from adorable to scary. Later in the night, I chose to go out with several of my girlfriends, and I was pleased when two of our good friends (a married couple) won the Tamarindo Halloween Party Costume Contest. Their costume? Wet t-shirt contest entrant and judge.... only Dustin (the 6'+, macho husband) played the role of contestant, and Kim (the 5', petite, demure wife) was the judge. Hilarious costumes, and they hammed it up, much to the delight of the packed bar Pasatiempo where the party took place. This was the first time I have been in a place other than work and felt almost overwhelmed by gringos-- but it wasn't a bad thing! Laura and I were delighted by the live band, who played hits like "Sympathy for the Devil" (!!!) and "Play That Funky Music, White Boy" -- that one was for you, Mom! Despite some ups and downs, it was a pretty good celebration of one of my favorite holidays. I'll post pictures from the students' darling costumes later this week.
Maybe it's because Thanksgiving is coming soon, but I have been feeling extremely thankful the past few days. For my parents, for my amazing friends, for all the great opportunities which I have had. Education, travel, love, friendship, and unique experiences-- just to name a few. I am such a lucky girl, and I really like when I step back and realize that fact. It's easy for all these great aspects of my life to fade when I'm feeling physically miserable (as in the last post), but a week of antibiotics and anti-histamines can do wonders. November is shaping up to be a pretty wonderful month, and I have so much for which to be thankful.
Peace be with you.
That being said, I've been feeling much better lately about life in Costa Rica. The library is just about done with its move to the new space, and I could not be happier about work. I am finally forging what I feel are great friendships here, and recently I have felt more and more just how lucky I have been in my life. Lots of warm fuzzies, to say the least.
My whole life, I have been blessed with the best parents imaginable. Supportive, loving, funny, brilliant... basically, there aren't enough words in the English language (or French, or Spanish) to describe how incredible my Mom and Dad are. If you've met them, you know this is the case. If not, well, hopefully someday you will have the opportunity. :) The more life experiences I have, the more I marvel at how absolutely selfless and amazing they have been, and the more I strive to emulate them in all that I do. To say the least, my parents are my heroes.
Okay, minorly sappy moment over. Other than my fantastic parents, life is great. Halloween was this past Wednesday, and included an amazing trick-or-treat Halloween party at school, full of kids ages 5-12 running amok in costumes ranging from adorable to scary. Later in the night, I chose to go out with several of my girlfriends, and I was pleased when two of our good friends (a married couple) won the Tamarindo Halloween Party Costume Contest. Their costume? Wet t-shirt contest entrant and judge.... only Dustin (the 6'+, macho husband) played the role of contestant, and Kim (the 5', petite, demure wife) was the judge. Hilarious costumes, and they hammed it up, much to the delight of the packed bar Pasatiempo where the party took place. This was the first time I have been in a place other than work and felt almost overwhelmed by gringos-- but it wasn't a bad thing! Laura and I were delighted by the live band, who played hits like "Sympathy for the Devil" (!!!) and "Play That Funky Music, White Boy" -- that one was for you, Mom! Despite some ups and downs, it was a pretty good celebration of one of my favorite holidays. I'll post pictures from the students' darling costumes later this week.
Maybe it's because Thanksgiving is coming soon, but I have been feeling extremely thankful the past few days. For my parents, for my amazing friends, for all the great opportunities which I have had. Education, travel, love, friendship, and unique experiences-- just to name a few. I am such a lucky girl, and I really like when I step back and realize that fact. It's easy for all these great aspects of my life to fade when I'm feeling physically miserable (as in the last post), but a week of antibiotics and anti-histamines can do wonders. November is shaping up to be a pretty wonderful month, and I have so much for which to be thankful.
Peace be with you.
10.26.2007
This country is trying to kill us!
Okay. So over the past nearly three months, people have been getting sick off and on. This is inevitable in a dormitory environment... there are lots of germs floating around and people are living in close quarters.
However, recently, it seems that circumstances have definitely taken a turn for the worse. First, one of the day students has a horrible case of chiggers (I might have mentioned this before) that covers her entire body. Her wounds scabbed over but some are bleeding and she is now in San Jose (the capital) seeking treatment at a hospital. A few dorm students have infected insect bites as well; one was awakened last night to a scorpion in her bed, stinging her. Don't get me wrong, I still love Costa Rica, but now the health problems have reached me.
After having a sore throat for a few days, I ventured to the doctor where I was poked, prodded, and examined. When I arrived, my legs had several small red dots that looked like mosquito bites (though some were smaller), but the doctor didn't seem concerned. Instead, he was more worried, and for good reason. A) I have strep throat. Great. This resulted in a ~$60 expenditure on antibiotics at the pharmacy. B) I have some sort of infection in my ear. It may be bacterial, it may be fungal (GROSS), but overall I am not allowed to get in water again without earplugs for some time. Great. So those two things suck, but both seem treatable, and antibiotics make life way better.
However, I spent my evening tonight dining and playing a board game with my coworkers. In their air-conditioned, closed house. And at the end of the night, the 50-some "bites" on my legs have expanded exponentially. They now reach all the way up my legs and they are occurring in much greater quantities. Great. It now appears that I have either an allergic reaction or a rash. Or some kind of pox (I'm hoping not that last one). So I will be returning to the doctor tomorrow and begging that they look at it. If it isn't better by Monday, I swear I'm booking a flight to the United States for our Thanksgiving break. I must see a real doctor about this nonsense, and soon! Thankfully I chose the international coverage insurance. I love Costa Rica, but given all my suffering and that of my fellow students/employees (to wit: the aforementioned maladies, as well as dengue fever, an intestinal infection, a terrible burn, a broken arm, an ATV accident, and a back scratched up by barbed wire), I think that this country may just be trying to get rid of all us foreigners in whatever way it can
Cross your fingers for my health to return!
However, recently, it seems that circumstances have definitely taken a turn for the worse. First, one of the day students has a horrible case of chiggers (I might have mentioned this before) that covers her entire body. Her wounds scabbed over but some are bleeding and she is now in San Jose (the capital) seeking treatment at a hospital. A few dorm students have infected insect bites as well; one was awakened last night to a scorpion in her bed, stinging her. Don't get me wrong, I still love Costa Rica, but now the health problems have reached me.
After having a sore throat for a few days, I ventured to the doctor where I was poked, prodded, and examined. When I arrived, my legs had several small red dots that looked like mosquito bites (though some were smaller), but the doctor didn't seem concerned. Instead, he was more worried, and for good reason. A) I have strep throat. Great. This resulted in a ~$60 expenditure on antibiotics at the pharmacy. B) I have some sort of infection in my ear. It may be bacterial, it may be fungal (GROSS), but overall I am not allowed to get in water again without earplugs for some time. Great. So those two things suck, but both seem treatable, and antibiotics make life way better.
However, I spent my evening tonight dining and playing a board game with my coworkers. In their air-conditioned, closed house. And at the end of the night, the 50-some "bites" on my legs have expanded exponentially. They now reach all the way up my legs and they are occurring in much greater quantities. Great. It now appears that I have either an allergic reaction or a rash. Or some kind of pox (I'm hoping not that last one). So I will be returning to the doctor tomorrow and begging that they look at it. If it isn't better by Monday, I swear I'm booking a flight to the United States for our Thanksgiving break. I must see a real doctor about this nonsense, and soon! Thankfully I chose the international coverage insurance. I love Costa Rica, but given all my suffering and that of my fellow students/employees (to wit: the aforementioned maladies, as well as dengue fever, an intestinal infection, a terrible burn, a broken arm, an ATV accident, and a back scratched up by barbed wire), I think that this country may just be trying to get rid of all us foreigners in whatever way it can
Cross your fingers for my health to return!
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