Reflections and Gratitude, 2013

As I packed up my backpack tonight in anticipation of my departure to India this weekend, I stopped for a few seconds to take in the present moment. The smell of the worn backpack, the crispness of the new journal, the checklist of chicken scratch beside me. It was just nearly 1 year ago that I stuffed the same pack before departing on a yet-to-be-determined length of stay in South America. As the year comes to a close I can't help but reflect on what amazing experiences 2013 has brought me and I really just wanted to write some thoughts here to express my gratitude for the last 12 months of my life.

I am grateful to experience Christmas in Buenos Aires, to take in the gritty, yet absurdly picturesque streets of the city, to sip fine wine and eat delicious food. To travel on to the beaches of Uruguay and soak in the sun, to meet the dawn of the new year after an epic fiesta. To wander through Patagonia and take in some of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. To challenge myself physically trekking through mountains and glaciers and reward myself with new friends and memorable times. To find a new home in Santiago. To begin to teach yoga. To work and play and live in a foreign city and country, yet not feel strange and alone. To make lifelong friends and learn a new language. To find new adventures in Ecuador, surfing the coast, exploring the bustling capital city, rafting through rapids, hiking for hours on end and blissfully taking in the heat of the sun on horseback. To drift north to Colombia sharing travel experiences with new and old friends, sleeping in hammocks, dancing on the beach until sunrise, hiking through remote jungle and coastline and taking in the history of one of the most beautiful capital cities I have seen. To return to the United States and slip back into the warmth of family and friends. To experience the summer coast to coast in the US. To celebrate momentous occasions. To challenge myself to figure out what's next. To make the move to Austin. To start a new job. To begin a new chapter. What a ride......

If 2014 brings me even half as much joy as this past year, I will consider myself a lucky girl. Happy New Year to my family and friends around the world. More experiences to share after I return from India.

Cheers!
Cara

My bags are packed…I'm (kind of) ready to go...

What a whirlwind few months it has been. Just as I had started to find a groove in the great city of Austin, Texas, I was swept up in changes again as I headed back to Chicago to pack up for the next journey ahead. It was truly bittersweet to leave Austin. Aside from the warm weather and the fun I was having living with my sister, I completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training with the most special group of people and wonderful teacher. It was certainly a life-changing experience and one that I know will lead to life-long friends and a different sense of self as I take the intro to yoga studies I have learned on to the next chapter.

Although it felt a little like my time in Austin was cut short, I believe I will return and each time I feel apprehensive to move on to something unknown, I continually come back to a quote I heard at a speaking engagement a couple of years ago: "comfort and change will never coexist."   Now, I don't believe that one should constantly be running away from life, but rather continually put forth challenges and new opportunities that allow you to seize every moment. So, that's what I am going to do.

My next journey begins (tomorrow) with a one-way ticket to the Southern Hemisphere. I plan to be based in Santiago, Chile (employment and volunteer opportunities tbd), but first a little vacation over the holidays with some friends in Buenos Aires and Punta del Este, followed by some personal time backpacking through Patagonia. I've chosen Chile for a variety of reasons including the economic and political stability of the country as well as the opportunities that exist in areas I'm interested in, I am eager to keep everyone abreast of what the future holds for me there.

With the changes in my life and the changes of the season (we are entering a new age after all) I'm feeling a bit of organized chaos... But such is life and I am excited to enter into the Aquarian age and the new year with a new adventure and new perspective.

I'll be continuing the blog updates along the way so stay tuned for what becomes.  To all my family and friends around the world, wishing you a healthy and happy holiday season and sending love and joy as we enter 2013.

Un Beso Grande,
Cara

Couch Surfing in the U.S.A

So it's officially been just over 2 months since I permanently came back to US soil, and yet I still have managed to be in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Toronto and Austin, Texas in that time. I guess once a traveler, always a traveler and I certainly can't sit still for too long. The only bad part of this ongoing nomadic lifestyle…I don't really have an answer when people ask me where I live.

In Chicago, I'm lucky enough to have my mom with our house where the majority of my "things" still reside, and I even have my high school bedroom relatively in tact! Although, not sure how proud it is for parents to have their late-20's daughters moving back home, not to mention it isn't exactly why I decided to venture out on this adventure in the first place….so I moved on.

In New York, I was working with my old PR team on some projects. This was great to get back a taste of the corporate life, realize it might not be for me right now, but still get to see some of my favorite people in the world. My cousin and her fiance were gracious enough to host me on their pullout sofa during this time. I am so thankful for family, who I can also call friends, who will open their doors to a homeless post-backpacker and even provide a bed and closet on top of that! But that couldn't last forever...

So after New York, I came to Austin, Texas, where my sister has currently taken up a new life, and where I happily moved my computer, books and a suitcase into her den complete with the pull-out sofa from my NYC apartment. Here is where I'll call home for the next few months as I obtain my TESL certification, complete my 200 hour Yoga Alliance teacher training certification, work on my personal digital strategy consulting expertise and try and study for the GRE test in November.

All of these projects and ideas leading up to…what exactly? I haven't quite figured it all out, but I have decided to return to South America (Santiago, Chile to be exact) in December. For how long? I bought a one-way ticket, so we'll see where the Chilean winds blows...Perhaps I will find a place to call my home soon enough.