Lessons from Home

Home has been wonderful! I came with 3 objectives:
1)Helping my friend and making a plan (The hardest things in life are the most worthy)
2)Family and friends (Family is just about everything to me. I miss you all!)
3)Re-focusing: heart, mind, and soul. (being away from everything you know makes you change and grow, I want to be sure who I am now still holds to my core ideals and morals)

As I set out to achieve these goals in my grand total of 10 DAYS in California, this is what I did--and learned as I went along:

Stream swimming: Mom, Kelsey, the dog, and I went for a quick dip after hiking in the hills near our home.

"The worst thing is to do a job you don't love. The most important thing in life is to love what you do. If you don't love it, don't do it." --Grandma (Margarita)

Carousel: Kelsey and I went to this carousel and had a great time!

Like Grandma says, "Never ask yourself 'WHY did I do this?!' or 'Why DIDN'T I do this?!' Live your life with no regrets."


After riding a zebra, an ostrich, a pig, and a deer, Kelsey and I were supposed to take the hot air balloon for a ride. Silly winds were too strong and we can come back another date.

"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities" -Dumbledore

Brother and sister. Who IS the oldest?
"Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice, and we welcome 'nerves' or any other shibboleth that will cloak our personal desire." -A Room with a View by E.M. Forster


My cousin's 3 month old baby is cute enough to make anyone want to have their own! Don't worry, this isn't a subtle hint that I'm next--I'm still light years behind.
"Who you are is God's gift to you; who you become is your gift to God"

Our family has about 6 August birthdays, I think they secretly planned this to cut down on party costs ;)
"The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude" -William James


Pupusas are the BEST food in the world! Grandma's pupusas are the best, of course, and they're getting international acclaim.
"Never be ashamed. Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle... you only know a good wine if you have first tasted a bad one." -Brida by Paulo Coelho.


Packing has become an art: this is my 3rd time going from California to Africa; the first time I took 30lbs. The second may have been just a carry. This time I've weighed almost EXACTLY 50lbs for my check-in, and my carry-ons are full enough to clothe me and my friends for a few weeks.

"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Theresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein." -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.