Larry and I had a great weekend despite the rain. We walked a lot, we talked a lot. And in our talking I realized that I am really good at extending grace and forgiveness to everyone except myself. Without really even realizing it, I was really getting pretty harsh with my self and feeling some pretty big disappointment in my self: I’m not picking up Spanish as quickly as I think I should. I am not getting to the gym as often as I thought I would. I am not shopping/cooking at home as much as I normally do and thought I would here. I’m not seeing as much of the sights in this city as I thought I would. I’m not sparking up spontaneous conversations with strangers and no bluebirds are alighting upon my shoulders. Seriously, I was beating myself up without even really noticing it. It was just second nature of the silent inner voice. But once I started talking with Larry and hearing what was coming out of my mouth, I started to recognize the disparity with the standards I hold for myself versus others. As we continued to talk, I felt kinder towards myself, and felt an acceptance that I’ve only been here two weeks. Just two weeks. Fourteen days. Why on earth would I think that I could be fully integrated and immersed in just two weeks in a brand new continent / country / language? I mean, really.

The theory of our nomading seems simple enough. But it’s a little messy and sometimes a little soft in the day to day details. We are not exactly on vacation travel, but neither are we ‘home.’ There are so many things to learn, places to visit, foods to try, but somehow we have to figure out how to see and do and taste them in between the day to day living and learning and choring. We love food and drink and travel and culture. But we also need to eat right, eat clean, exercise regularly, sleep well, and work and study hard. I don’t know that we’ve mastered any of it yet, but we are having a good time learning as we go. And if the pants are starting to feel a little snug by the end of this trip, then so be it. It will have been worth it to be introduced to provoleta, choripan, and parilla.