Tag: travel

3 weeks to Europe!

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, travel

Here is what needs to be done by 3 weeks out from a big trip:

Set up your bill pay so you don’t miss any bills while away. If you will be in a different time zone you might miss a deadline and really you don’t want to be thinking about your bills while you are on vacation.

Go online or head to the post office and put a hold on your mail for the time you will be away. You don’t want to come home to an overflowing mailbox and wonder if anything was stolen or blew away in the wind. On this same note as a friend or neighbor to stop by a week and make sure nothing has been delivered by mistake and pick up any packages.

If you need foreign currency and have not yet ordered it get to your bank ASAP.

Plan for any kind of motion, sea, plan, train sickness and anything else. I just placed my order for non-drowsy Dramamine and pressure point bracelets, sickness is not going to ruin my vacation! I will also be getting a small bottle of Advil and maybe something for anti-nausea. If you have any prescriptions make sure you will have enough, if not head to the pharmacy and tell them you need an extra month because you are heading out of town.

Think about your diet, are you gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, lactose intolerant, in training? Will the food you need be readily and inexpensively available to you? If not think about bring some food bars just in case.

Is your itinerary all set and planned? If not get to planning, you are running out of time.

Do you have any pets? If so how are they being cared for while you are gone? Do you have enough food stocked up?

Do you have a plan of how you are going to contact love ones to let them know you are safe periodically? Does someone have your travel itinerary in the event of an emergency?

4 weeks to Europe!!!

by Ariana Peters, posted in travel

4 weeks to international travel, here is what you should have done:

-Notify all banks and credit cards when and where you will be traveling. The last thing you want is to be overseas and have your account frozen due to unknown charges.

-Order any last minutes things online. Even if you have amazon prime you never know if that one thing you want isn’t on prime or something gets lost in the mail.

-Pre-packing/travel checklist. Time to make a list and check it twice, how many outfits do you need? Toiletries? Documents? Vaccines (this should have been done earlier)? Also if you need any Visa’s for your travel make sure you have received them and they are in order?

-Triple check any and all deposits or last minute due bills are paid and ready to go. Don’t want to show up and find out you didn’t pay for that excursion.

-Research and buy anything upfront that you can. (this week I am buying my skip the line pass for Vatican City) The last thing you want is to waste your time standing in a 5 hour line.

-Check for deals. Groupon is international! Like I am buying above check and see if there are any skip the line deals or fast pass kind of things. Usually these do not cost much extra and are soooo worth it. Also verify the language of your tours, don’t want to get stuck listening to Spanish or German if you don’t know the language.

Ariana’s travel tips

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, training, travel

 

  1. plan, plan, plan- I know some people like to fly by the seat of their pants and that is great but in some cases you need to plan. If you are not on a budget then you might have a little more room to play with this but if you are on a budget, as I always am, planning is your best friend. Also if you only have a limited amount of time planning ahead can save you hours of wasted time standing in line.
  2. research- Groupon is international if you didn’t know. For most places if you do a little research you can find inexpensive skip the line passes, semi-guided tours, activities and so much more at reduced costs and it definitely saves you on those hours in line.
    1. planning and research also help you squeeze in as much as possible in a short time period. For example we are packing Venice into a day and a half then on our last day in Venice which would have been a 3/4 day anyways we are instead taking the train and spending a few hours each in Verona, Florence and Pisa before laying our heads down in our AirBnB accommodations in Rome.
  3. Think outside the box when it comes to lodging- you don’t have to stay in a nice hotel to feel luxurious when traveling. If you once again research you can find nice places for a lot less expensive. I have stayed in some seriously nice hostels and and used AirBnB several times when I have travelled. If you are traveling with friends AirBnB is a great choice. We have accommodations in the heart of Venice, Rome and Barcelona through AirBnB that are less than $150/night,  whole apartment in each place, split the cost between everyone and you are looking at $20-30/night for each person in a nice place. and having and entire apartment means you have a kitchen so you can hit the market and make a few meals to save some money. You are still eating locally!!!
  4. Do a few things that aren’t overrun by tourists- on my first morning in Venice after some coffee and a pastry I plan on walking the opposite direction of the crowds and will continue to do this. That is how I will explore Venice, going the opposite direction of the crowds (obviously do a little research on places you should avoid and use common sense, if you turn down a street and it feels sketchy, backtrack quickly).
  5. Safety!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!- Be safe, research the places you are going, know the areas to avoid, know the laws and customs. Pay attention to the dress code. If something or someone doesn’t feel right get out of that situation and place ASAP. Think before you act. If you are alone, don’t get so drunk that you are impaired. That movie TAKEN with Liam Neeson is a fun thriller but it is also real, people are kidnapped and murdered every day, enjoy your vacation but be smart and be aware.
  6. common sense should see you through-if you wouldn’t do it at home don’t do it abroad. Again take 10 minutes and learn about the place that your are going, I would sunbath topless in Ibiza, I would cover all tattoos and most skin in the middle east, different place different experience.
  7. Check in. Give someone at least a vague itinerary of where you will be and when you will be there and when you will be home so someone will know if you don’t arrive. Try and check in at least ever 72 hours (I tend to check in at least once every 24 hours) you can find a free or very cheap internet café almost anywhere. And most cell phones have international coverage if you check. It will cost me $.55 every day to send 1 text message to my mom and get one back from her both acknowledging we know I am alive. $.55/day is not much to ensure piece of mind.
  8. Be a dork. Take selfies and make stupid faces and journal and take videos. Who cares what the people around you think, in 5, 10, 15 years you are going to be so glad you can look back on those memories.
  9. Be respectful. It may not be your culture, religion or favorite food but it is theirs. You wouldn’t want someone to bad mouth your way of life so don’t do that to anyone else. You don’t have to believe in it or even accept it but don’t be mean about it. Step to the side, quietly leave the church, discreetly bow out of the ceremony, say thank you and try the tiniest bite you can manage.
  10. lastly HAVE FUN!!!!! You may never be back, you may never experience something like this again so drink it all in. Take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way and truly live this experience.

Adventure Tour in Costa Rica

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle

After our 2 weeks of volunteering we headed back toward San Jose to a little suburb of it called Heredia, here we met up with several other volunteer groups to form a large adventure group of, I would guess 50. Another overnight in a hostel then in the morning our group boarded a bus. Our first day was mostly traveling, we stopped at a souvenir type place then headed to the Pacific coast.

I was pretty good at keeping a journal throughout my trip.

First day of sightseeing and exploring.

Our 2nd day was a free day in Samara Beach, we explored the small town and went on a small hike and just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. I had what still remains to be the best pizza I have ever had (at least in my head, I could be way over playing it in my mind, maybe I was just starved for pizza hahaha) It was so fresh and delicious and I love pineapple on my pizza and in case you didn’t know, Costa Rica is like the pineapple capitol so it was AMAZING!!! We swam in the bathwater warm ocean and layed out on the beach.

The 3rd day we got up early and went sea kayaking out to a small island. I hadn’t been kayaking in a long time and never on the ocean so I was not sure how this was going to turn out……..apparently I get a little seasick. I was fine in the beginning then it started getting a little choppy and I started feeling it. I started yelling out military like commands to my partner so we rowed in unison and rowed fast to get me to the shore of the island, LEFT! RIGHT! LEFT! RIGHT! LEFT! RIGHT! When we got to the island we all hung out for a few hours, had fresh cut pineapple, of course, and just explored. There were A LOT of lizards on the island. After the return trip, where I pushed my partner just has hard, we all jumped in the back of this crazy truck, standing up, and were driven back to our hostel over crazy bumpy roads where we all wondered if we were going to fall out. Later that day we had a 2 hour surf lesson, yep born and raised in southern California and I surfed for the first time in Costa Rica hahaha. It was really fun, but man is it a workout! No wonder surfers are in such good shape.

Major dork moment.

Day 4 was another mostly travel day, we went from Samara beach to Rincon de la Vieja

Day 5 was a horseback ride, tubing and a mud spa. All great things, but at this point I had been going, going, going for almost 4 weeks, I needed a break. I had a headache and was exhausted so I gave my days adventure to someone who hadn’t purchased the extra adventure stuff and stayed home and read and took a nap all while enjoying the peace and quiet of a nearly empty tropical mini resort. I don’t for a day regret that decision.

Day 6 was travel and adventure, we went from Rincon de la Vieja to the Volcano Arenal area where we stayed for 2 nights in an eco hostel. After our arrival we took a 2 hour hike into the forest past steam vents and boiling mud puddles to a clearing with a beautiful pool of water and an awesome waterfall. We all (well everyone who wanted to) took turns jumping off the rocks into the pool below. At the end of the long hike we came to this volcanic hot springs that was incredible! Right next to the hot spring pool, which was already in the middle of the amazing beautiful rain forest and totally deserted except for our group, was a rushing river with rapids. It was perfect.

See the volcano smoking?

Day 7 today was an adrenaline day. We went to an adventure park. The day consisted of 10 zip lines, some hiking and repelling next to a waterfall. It was pretty amazing. There is nothing like zip lining over the treetops of the rainforest. We also learned about an indigenous tribe called the “Maleku” That was interesting but truthfully dull after all the adrenaline. At the end of the day we went to another hot springs this time a resort though, very commercialized but still cool. There were 10 different pools starting at the top with the hottest water and only being about 6 inches deep all the way down to the bottom which was just luke warm bath water and the size of a pool.

The first step is the most difficult

Then it is smooth sailing

Day 8 Travel day from the Volcano Arenal area to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica

Day 9 Gandoca Manzanillo wildlife refuge. This place was pretty cool it was an eco reserve. Our hostel rooms had thatch roofing and tent-like siding with wood floors. But inside they had four-poster beds with mosquito netting draped over it and  hot tub in the rooms! When you left each room there was a switch at the bottom that you could put your room key in and you turned off all the electricity to the room to save electric waste while you were gone. There were howler monkeys all around which was really cool. We went on a hike in the morning and had the afternoon to just relax. And I got to relax in the Caribbean ocean! We also took a boat ride to a little island village that we got to explore in the late afternoon.


Day 10 was a relaxing morning then we were given the option to go scuba diving if we wanted. For a mere $60 we could scuba dive in the ocean, I remember the cost very well because I had to call my mom on a phone card to send me more money because I was running low on funds and still had almost 2 weeks left. This seemed like such a great opportunity though, scuba diving in the ocean for $60! I was in! We watched an informational video then they loaded us in a car and drove to the beach were we strapped in and wadded into the water. We got to scuba dive for an hour or 2 and it was pretty cool, I would definitely do it again.

We stopped along the way for swimming and jumping off rocks. Yep, that is me mid-air.

Day 11 Gandoca Manzanillo wildlife refuge to the Rio Pacuare. White water rafting!!!! This was awesome!! We drove to the river in the morning and were on the river by the afternoon. This river was class 3 and 4 rapids so it was a workout hahahaha. After a few hours of rafting we arrived at another eco hostel in the jungle, though where the other hostel was eco-luxurious, this was eco-basic hahaha. It was just wood bunk beds in a room…..with bugs and spiders. Thankfully small spiders. The hostel provided us with dinner but the dining room was overrun with a fire ant migration, these things bit and stung, most of us opted to eat standing up in a corner, a few of us made quick dashes across the floor to the tables. I made the dash and survived with only being bitten/stung by 2 ants.  The next morning we got up early and it was back to the river for another day of rafting. In the afternoon we boarded the bus tired and happy and headed back to Heredia where the adventure tour would end.

Day 12 Heredia. Everyone had arrived back from their various adventure tours and was set about to take care of last minute business before leaving for home or other adventures. It was a day of saying goodbye, getting packed, exploring Heredia for the last time, or in my and one other girls case getting a new needed vaccine to travel to Peru the next day. Getting a vaccine is a simple enough process until you don’t really know what vaccine you are getting hahaha. This girl, Laura and I, were herded off with our adventure tour guide to a Costa Rican version of Rite Aid/Health department and stood in a white room while a nurse who spoke no English gave us a shot. This is one of those moments where you just have to trust people. But I didn’t get Yellow fever and I still have an official card in Spanish saying I am vaccinated for another few years hahaha.

Thus was the end of our adventure tour, the next day I was off to Peru to start a whole new adventure. Stay tuned next month for that adventure and so much more!!!!

 

*It has been 7 years since I took this trip (wow time has flown) everything I have written happened but the order might be slightly out of sequence as I tried to remember it all.

 

Europe prep

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, training, travel

Holy Guacamole!!!! I leave for Europe in about 7 weeks! That snuck up quickly. Europe prep is in full swing over here, we have one day were we take the train 4 different times (we are cramming in everything we can) so we just bought our train tickets for that day so that we don’t need to worry about navigating ticket counters or worrying about currency when we are on a strict time table, a gondola ride has been booked and paid for for Venice, a coliseum tour has been booked and paid for for Rome. We are prepaying what we can so we don’t have to worry as much about spending money when we are over there.

That is my quick Europe update now lets talk about normal things.

July is over!! I got some good mileage in (good for me at least hahaha) my goal for next month is 46 miles!

Got my juicing in though I switched it up, morning juice was green

and afternoon was orange-ish

 

Artemis enjoyed another bone I bought her at the beach

I made 2 new running calendar things for me to keep track of my running as I want to start really building up my miles.

 

the first one is super simple to see me month mileage progress and keep me honest, a quick something to look at, like an at-a-glance thing

the 2nd one is a bit more in depth to really dive into each run and analyze the week. I want to get used to doing this so next year I can buy a running training journal thing and know I will actually keep up with it so I don’t waste the money.

And i found this to put on my wall to remind me to stretch

Volunteering in Costa Rica

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle

Spanish lessons ended and the next day I had to meet up with all the incoming people who hadn’t done the Spanish lessons. The Spanish lessons and the meet-up place were in San Jose, Costa Rica. I don’t remember if I took a cab or if my host mom dropped me off where I had to meet everyone but I know I made it there hahaha!

I met up with the other nine people I would be volunteering with, including our guide. We stayed in a hostel that night and boarded a bus early the next morning to head up into the mountains, our destination was San Cristobel Norte.

When we got there we played a few ice breaker games and were introduced to our host families.

Thankfully one of the nine other people was going to by my roommate so I would not be alone this time. We hopped in the back of our host dads truck (which we were told the next day was a big no-no, whoops) and headed up to our home sweet home for the next 2 weeks……to say that it was different than what I was used to is an understatement, it wasn’t horrible or anything it was just not what I was used to but it was cozy and my host family was very welcoming. We hung out with our host family that night and went to bed early, or tried to go to bed early, we had to meet the group at 7am the next morning.

We were there to build the town a new water tower. The water tower was up a pretty good hill, that got very muddy whenever it rained……..it was summer in Costa Rica, it pretty much rained everyday at some point. What we started with was just a hole in the side of a mountain, it had been leveled out already by the towns people in preparation. We laid out grids then got everything to make concrete, we had a cement like mix but also added rocks and water to it and mixed it all up and poured wheel barrel after wheel barrel until it was a big cement slab. Thankfully we had oxen pulling an ox cart to haul the heavy materials up the hill for us……………yep you read that right, we worked with an oxen! It was pretty awesome!

In just over a week we went from an empty hillside to poured concrete, rebar reinforcement and rebar legs to hold the tank up, then we had to wait for an inspector to approve the next step.

Since we didn’t want to waste our time there just waiting we painted some desks in their school, repainted their boys and girls football (soccer) locker rooms and started paving a road.

Each morning out host mama would make us breakfast: usually eggs, tortillas and GalloPinto (rice and beans, don’t ask me why it was gallo pinto when I thought arroz meant rice) and fresh cheese! We also had black coffee with sugar, they do not have cream for your coffee over there.

My host family

Our host mama would bring us lunch every day, I was full vegetarian at the time so it was always a guess what I would get. Gallo pinto was part of EVERY meal, strangely I never really tired of it. One time when we were going for an afternoon hike I got a butter and cheese sandwich………I could only stomach about half of that before I had to say no way and dig into an odwalla bar I had packed from home.

Hiking

After lunch it was back to work for a few hours then in the afternoon we would stop for coffee and snacks at the various people of the towns homes. What we did at night depended on the day, some times we would play soccer with the local kids until the sun went down or would have little gatherings in the town. One family had an area in their backyard with a wood stove and a pretty big room. In two weeks we must have had at least 4 party type nights. We danced and cook and ate. There was a woman in town with the peace corps, we hung out with her a little bit. Some nights we would head home earlier than other nights due to exhaustion. Overall it was an amazing, sometimes very trying, but wonderful experience.

Milking a cow

Two things I distinctly remember that were difficult but definitely made me a better person:

HUGE spiders. I am afraid of spiders so this was very hard for me, especially when almost every night 2 giant spiders would show up on the walls of the room I was staying in at my host families house. We are talking the size of my hand. I would flip out a bit, my host family would tease me but kill the spiders and kick them out the doors!!!!!!! That is how big they were you can’t flush them down the toilet or anything like that, you just kick them out in the yard…….. It certainly helped me deal with small spiders a lot better hahahaha.

Our room

The other one was cold showers. I grew up in middle class America, I have never really not been able to take a hot shower. Our host family had this thing on their showerhead that was supposed to heat the water but it either didn’t work or work for about 10 seconds. Now I am been camping and am no stranger to a quick rinse off with cold water but when you have been laying concrete in the mud all day or paining or paving a road all with summer bugs nesting in your hair, you want a proper shower. I would turn the water on, rise off, get my hair wet, then turn the water off while I shampooed and scrubbed the dirt off, then the water would go back on, rinse everything off, turn the water off and repeat with conditioner. I also had to detangle my hair every time I washed it because the humidity was wreaking havoc on my hair.

When I got back to the states to my aunts house I hadn’t had a proper shower in over a week and my hair was a crazy mess. I jumped in a hot shower and stayed in there forever, detangling my hair and taking care of it………..my forever shower that I would have been like an hour was 20 minutes. My idea of a long shower had totally changed.

The ox cart parade happened while we were there. The designs were amazing

And that was my two weeks of volunteering in Costa Rica.

Question and answer

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, training

Howdy!!!

Yesterday morning I went to a Bikram Yoga class with my roommate for the first time in…..idk probably 3ish years. OMG was it brutal!!!!!!!!! I remember going when I was in good shape and loved it and thought it was not easy but I didn’t usually feel like I was going to die. I had to sit down several times and felt nauseous through the entire second half of the class, but I will get better!!!

I went home and ate everything in site, took a shower then laid down and ended up napping for about 20 minutes before getting ready for work.

I love the concept of taking a nap but I always wake up feeling groggy and with a slight headache and it takes me FOREVER to fully wake up. But other people swear by mid-day naps, this got me thinking about the things people swear by and thought I would do a little question and answer session. I am going to answer some question and ask that you comment your answers as well!

Here we go:

Naps: for or against?

I am for them but not sure they are for me

Coffee or tea?

Oddly both. I will generally take coffee over tea most days but as I get older my stomach doesn’t always handle coffee as well.

Starbucks or independent?

Both but I heavily favor Starbucks. Because they are corporate they are very consistent, I know what I am going to get every time. I like some independent coffee places but most of the time they are not strong enough for me and therefore not worth the calories of the frothy drinks I get.

Your favorite color?

Some people have their favorite color play a HUGE part in their life, mine plays a moderate part in my life, its is green, pretty much all shades found in nature.

Running: people tend to either love it or hate it

Of course I love it, I just hate having to get back in shape.

Books: take em or leave em?

TAKE EM! 100% take up for me, I am a total book lover. As I get older though I am now going to book binge periods, like I wont read for 4-5 months then I will devour 5 books in 3 days. Though I am trying to fix that by making a book club with my friends on Facebook. We are reading 1 book a month. I have 3 days to finish June’s book and I am on chapter 2. But I can do it! hahaha.

What is your phobia?

Arachnophobia for sure, I hate spiders, they skeeve me out, but I am much better than I used to be. If push comes to shove I am usually kill one if there is no one else to do it and if it is small enough and on the other side of the room I will generally just leave it alone.

I also have trypophobia, which is a fear of holes, sounds super weird but Google trypophobia and tell me some of those pictures don’t make your skin crawl, also this phobia is not recognized as a true phobia in the scientific community. This is one I am definitely working on because in the medical field I am going to see all kinds of gross things and I cannot run away from them.

Favorite food?

Pizza hands down,  very close second is Mexican food.

Hot or cold weather?

Generally I would take cold over hot because I can always put more layers on, you can only take so much off when it is hot. I do get to a point though where I have been in the cold too long and am sick of it.

Ideal vacation?

Truthfully my ideal vacation is a little cottage on the beach, like an East coast, Oregon/Washington coast kind of beach, sweater weather. Going for walks/runs in the misty morning air, and lounging in the house the rest of the day with books and movies and a fire going. Having pizza and floor picnics, afternoon naps. Just super relaxing. For a whole week.

Hilariously, though this is my ideal vacation, it is also the vacation I have never taken. My vacations tend to be go, go, go. The closest I got was 2 days at my bf’s family beach house last November.

I can’t wait to read your answers!!! And if you have any other questions feel free to ask!

 

Tidbits from the week

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, school/studying, training

Hello from California!!!!! I love when I get to come down and visit my friends and family! My goal is generally to come down at least once a year.

Here is my food from the week:

Remember I am on vacation so cut me a little slack lol. 

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Frozen mashed potatoes, restaurant cheeseburger w/fries, Starbucks tall non-fat, no-whip extra shot caramel frappachino, and for dinner a shot of vodka and a buffalo chicken salad. 

Thursday

Turkey burger at TGIFridays with a side salad after my friends graduation. 

Friday

Starbucks tall non-fat, no-whip extra shot caramel frappachino and an egg white, cheese and turkey bacon breakfast sandwich. 

2 cheese enchiladas w/rice and beans, chips and salsa, and 2 mimosas!

1.5 strawberry margaritas, half a TGIFridays chicken quesadilla and half of their pretzel and cheese 

Today was bad day lol. 

In non-food news:

Went for a little 3 mile run walk with the roommate Sunday night.

 I finished my first ever bottle of red wine and LOVED it! I didn’t open the bottle on Sunday though lol I had a glass each night with dinner for a few nights. But more about wine later…….

Monday was my last full school day of this quarter!!!! So excited!!!!!

Tuesday I went for a short treadmill run

I wanted to run longer but my back was killing me. 

Wednesday we had a cleaner come which I am so happy about!!! And i flew to California!!!

Thursday was my best friend Nicole graduation! I am so proud of her!

After graduation we all went out to dinner. 

Friday morning I met my oldest friend for coffee before she had to go to work. We have known each other since we were 2!

After that I went to lunch and hung out with my friend Chanelle

This morning I slept in a bit and this afternoon/evening I have a banquet for my graduate friend!!

Spanish Lessons in Costa Rica

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, school/studying

I was going through old photos on my computer and realized I started this blog after my adventure in Costa Rica so I thought I would share some of the photos and stories. It will help me get pumped for my Europe trip!!! (as if I actually need help to get pumped to go to Europe hahahaha)

Back story:

If you have read the about me section you know my dad died when I was 20 and it rocked my world. When I was getting back on track and starting to do well in school again, I was in a class and someone came in and did a quick presentation about a student volunteer organization called ISV, International Student Volunteers. This presentation was enthusiastic and awesome and I said to myself, yep I am so doing that. I was 22. I went to their website and looked around and chose Costa Rica, mostly because their adventure tour sounded the best at the time.

I tend to do things to the extreme, remember when I walked into the wilderness by myself after quitting my job to try and thru-hike the PCT? LOL. In keeping with that I signed up for 1 week of Spanish lessons, 2 weeks of volunteer work, a 2 week adventure tour, and 1 week hiking the Andes to Machu Picchu. Here is what happened:

I had never traveled internationally alone, or even really nationally alone. I had driven from Nevada to California a few times by myself but that was it, so while I was with a group, they were all strangers to me and ISV had made it very clear that we were adults, if we did anything wrong we were on our own.

The adventure:

I got to LAX about 5+ hours before my flight took off, this was before everyone could check in 24 hours ahead on their phones and the internet. Some of the other people who were traveling from other places said they would get to the airport early so I thought I could join them and get to talk to some of them ahead of time. Checking it that early meant I got bumped up to first class!!! To date that is my first and only time in first class hahaha!

When we landed there was no guide to meet us we just headed to the front to look for our host families. I got into a car by myself with a complete stranger in a foreign country…..she knew my name so it had to be her right? Thankfully all turned out well.

I had my own little room and was given a key.


My host family said I was free to come and go as I please. Thankfully I was only a few blocks from the school where I would be studying because I walked to and fro each day by myself.

I had no Spanish knowledge so I was in the very basic class……it was so boring hahahahaha! We had Spanish lessons in the morning then were free to do as we pleased in the afternoon and evenings. They had dance classes everyday that I went to and thoroughly enjoyed. I remember that my dance partner was there learning Spanish because he wanted to be a doctor with doctors without boarders.


One day we also had a cooking lesson, or more a cooking demonstration. Best part was that we got samples!!!

 

Here was my beginners class with out teacher


We were a bunch of misfits hahahaha!!!

We went on a few outings that were guided by the school. Usually lunch around town or to look at something historical.

 

One night I also went out with a bunch of people from the school to a local bar/dance club. It was fun but part of picking myself back up after my dad died meant that I had completely stopped drinking until I could get myself under control so going to a bar with people who just wanted to get drunk was not the best idea, I was bored and miserable the whole night. I wasn’t ready to be able to have sober fun in a setting like that.

When we graduated we all got little certificates saying we had learned for a week hahahaha


This week was my first time ever staying with a non-family member or friend by myself, first time using an international phone card, first time using an internet café, first time using my passport to get into a bar, first time navigating a foreign city by myself, first time trying to really communicate with people who spoke a language I didn’t, first great adventure as an adult.

I had had one big international trip before this, I went to South Korea with my family when I was in the 5th grade, it was wonderful but this was 100% different, doing something on your own as an adult is very liberating and you learn so much about yourself. I am so excited for Europe!!!!

I’ll tell you more next month!!

Monday Motivation**June 5, 2017

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, school/studying, training

Good morning!!!!!!!!

 

(Image from google)

Holy cow it is already the last week of classes in my spring quarter!! That went fast, probably because I was super busy but I was happy so that is all that matters.

Workout goals-3-4 workouts. I am going to have to work to fit it all in. I have my last day of classes and need to start cramming for finals as well as a trip this week so its going to be busy, busy, busy. But if I am smart about it and keep the amount of crap I eat on the trip to a minimum I should be able to pull it all off. Wish me luck and I’ll keep you posted!

What are your plans this week?