EAT PRAY LOVE

I just finished reading EAT PRAY LOVE by Elizabeth Gilbert, and it's possibly the best book I've ever read. It's one of the most inspiring, beautifully written, and funny books I've ever come across. This book influenced me to not settle and to keep reaching for things in my life that I want. It's one of the reasons why I'm in Chile right now. For those of you who haven't read it, I suggest you immediately go to the book store and buy it! Below is one of my favorite passages:

"I keep remembering one of my Guru’s teachings about happiness. She says that people universally ten to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you’re fortunate enough. But that’s not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don’t, you will leak away your innate contentment. It’s easy enough to pray when you’re in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments."

Pensamientos para ser feliz

To the right, a picture of La Campana National Park. We took a short hike around and then went to a hostería (it's like an activity center with a restaurant, pool, etc. You can host parties there and stuff.) and had an amazing lunch and swam in their pool. All in all a really good day! Next week we are taking surf lessons. I am a bit nervous but I love the water so hopefully it will be fun. Tomorrow I am going to join the local gym. After hiking today, I realized I need to get in better shape if I'm going to hike Maccu Picchu with Brittni. Speaking of Brittni...

Brittni lent me a book called "Pensamientos para ser feliz" (in English, is "Thoughts for being happy"). I wanted to share a few of my favorites here.

-No debo juzgar a nadie; todos tienen el derecho de ser como son y de pensar como lo hacen. Debo tratar de conocer a personas. Antes de juzgar, cuántas sorpresas me voy a llevar.

-I shouldn't judge anyone; everyone has the right to be how they are and to think how they do. I should try to get to know people. Without judging, so many surprises will be brought to me.

-El tiempo y el lugar donde vivo pueden ser perfectos, si yo así lo decido. Si es necesario un cambio, estoy preparada para hacerlo, todo depende de mi; sé que es por mi bien.

-The time and place where I live can be perfect, if I decide it to be that way. If a change is necessary, I am prepared to do it, everything depends on me; I know that it's for the best.

-Hoy comienzo trabajando mentalmente para mi, sabiendo que tengo todo el poder en mis propios pensamientos para que mi vida sea una experiencia maravillosa.

-Today I begin working mentally for myself, knowing that I have all the power in my own thoughts so that my life will be a marvelous experience.

¡Disfrútatelos!

Valpo

Yesterday we went to Valpo to see Pablo Neruda's house. Valpo is about a 10 minute bus ride from Viña. Valpo is one of those unique cities that is unlike anything else I've ever seen. The town is made up of "cerros", or hills. Each cerro has a different name, and there are "acensores" or cable-cars that take you up the cerros. We took a bus up to "La Sebastiana", Neruda's house, and walked through the house and the grounds. The architecture was amazing! I would like to have a house like that someday. It had an unbelievable view of Valpo. You could see the entire city and the ocean. Look at my pictures at www.picasaweb.com/demo0043 if you want to see more!

I'll leave you with a poem by Neruda:

Los niños aprenden lo que viven

Si los niños viven con crítica
Aprenden a condenar.

Si los niños viven con hostilidad
Aprenden a vivir luchando.

Si los niños viven el ridículo
Aprenden a ser tímidos.

Si los niños viven con vergüenza
Aprenden a sentirse culpables.

Si los niños viven con tolerancia
Aprenden a ser pacientes.

Si los niños viven con estímulo
Aprenden a confiar.

Si los niños viven con alabanza
Aprenden a apreciar.

Si los niños viven con honradez
Aprenden la justicia.

Si los niños viven con seguridad
Aprenden a tener fe.

Si los niños viven con aprobación
Aprenden autoestima.

Si los niños viven con aceptación y amistad
Aprenden a hallar amor en el mundo.

Children Learn What they Live

If children live with criticism
They learn to condemn

If children live with hostility
They learn to live fighting

If children live with ridicule
They learn to be timid

If children live with shame
They learn to feel guilty

If children live with tolerance
They learn to be patient

If children live with stimuli
They learn to trust

If children live with praise
They learn to appreciate

If children live with honesty
They learn justice

If children live with security
They learn to have faith

If children live with approval
They learn self-esteem

If children live with acceptance and friendship
They learn to find love for the whole world

¿Qué?

I feel like that's the only word in my Spanish vocabulary right now -- ¿Qué? That and "No entiendo". The people here are so hard to understand. I'm not used to their accent and they use words I've never heard of to describe simple things. A bus is not an 'autobus', it's a 'micro'. An avocado is not an 'aguacate', it's a 'palta'. I'm starting Spanish classes tomorrow, so I think that will help a lot. I just can't believe I've been speaking Spanish for 9 years and I still can't figure out what people are saying! More updates on my trip to come. Guarda este dicho en tu memoría: "Del dicho al hecho hay un largo trecho". Que razón.