Returning to My Native Land
As you learned in my post Where Are You From?, I was born in Costa Rica but I never lived there. My dad worked for the airlines in New York and was commissioned to open the sales offices in Lisbon and Madrid as part of his promotion. My mom, a native of Costa Rica, decided to wait out her pregnancy in her country before venturing out to Europe to set up a new home. My first passport picture was of me at six weeks old in my mom’s arms. As a family, we visited Costa Rica occasionally. For some unknown [...]
Where are you from?
“Where are you from?” People would ask me as they could not quite place me or my accent. “I am an international citizen.” This answer would either elicit further questioning or a confused look as they walked away. My answer was accurate. By the age of eighteen, I had lived in six different countries on five continents. Our trek around the world was a direct consequence of my father’s job. Every few years, he was transferred to a different location and, of course, my mom, sisters and I followed him wherever he went. My journey in this world began in [...]
“Your Special Place” on Retreat
Going on retreat assumes leaving your life behind. You’ll experience an exotic location and meet new people. Maybe you’ll be eating a different cuisine and engaging in activities you thought you’d never have the courage to do. It’s definitely not home. The things mentioned above are what make a retreat both exciting and daunting. In the end, you are still you and there needs to be a certain amount of grounding for you to be present and get the most out of your retreat. When I was packing to go on retreat, a friend of mine once suggested that [...]
