Pintar sin miedo

Pintar sin miedo. Rire sin miedo. Trabajar sin miedo. Se divertir sin miedo. Vivir sin miedo...


I forget how many wonderful things happen on Global Voice exchanges. Among them so far in only three days:

• a beautiful welcoming ceremony-assembly at the middle school where we are working, including an arrangment for vocals, guitar and keyboards of ''Imagine'' that made me bawl my eyes out. There's something about that song that is so universally hopeful and powerful, and for a band of Mexican middle school students to perform it in honor of our 'intercambio' was just so emotionally supercharging that I was overflowing with emotion. I think they thought that something was really wrong with me because I probably looked like my favorite puppy just died of some horrible disease.
• relationships among kids who don't speak the same language, and the realization that verbal communication is a tiny part of how we understand each other
• gaining confidence in my horribly broken but nevertheless optimistic and tenacious Spanish
• time to read books. New concept.
• teaching a French class with a Canadian in Mexico. 'Nough said
• beautiful sunsets with palm trees silhouetted in black against yellow, orange and pink
• new ideas
• an appreciation for home and everything there, most of all what I have spent the last six months doing with my life. This is the first time in all my travels that I have a deep-rooted longing for home. It's actually a little painful. I miss my girls and my coaches and my cat. For the first time, I feel like I've done something right and am doing what I want to do with my life!

More to come, hasta pronto!