"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”

Perspective. What is a perspective? To put it simply, it's, "the state of one's ideas, the facts known to one, etc" But, how do we then gain perspective? I believe we are who we are for a reason- we are who we are from past experiences. They build us who we are as people and give us a perspective on our life in which we may have not known before. Being here, this whole experience, is about perspective. I have been thinking about it a lot lately and this is how it came about:



I was talking to one of my best friends and he told me that one of his friends came home after having a bad day. This friend works with kids and the kids weren't listening, being rude, etc. My response: tell him one of my kids died today and shut up.  Heavy, right? Well, think about it- yes, some days are harder than others, but in perspective, I'm sure they could be a lot worse. A child dying is the hardest thing to hear, but it's a reality. It's a hard reality to grasp. 

I have hard days, days where I'm just done and need it to be over, and I am 100% guilty of it. But how do I change this? How do I put this into perspective? Here, kids die, people are sick, and the overall living condition is poor. It's a 3rd world country, but that doesn't take away from the richness of the culture. People literally have nothing, but they are always willing to offer something, from a cup of coffee, to the simple words of, "God Bless You". It's as simple as that. Put it into perspective, change the outlook, go back to home base and really think about your roots. It's not about material things, but rather the gestures and action one makes, such as inviting them for a cup of coffee, "God Bless You", or even a simple smile. 

Kristen and I were talking about this the other night, things here are just not real. Not real meaning, we are two american girls, from suburbia Minnesota on this adventure, but an adventure to us is reality to many. For example, walking to Batey Nuevo (right outside NPH walls) and seeing kids run around naked, men working for hours in sugar cane fields for minimum wage, pigs and goats tied to a tree, it's just unreal. Unreal to me how these people live, get up every day with a big smile on their face, and make the best of it. They do what they need to to live, and if that means a smile, then that's everything. Kristen and I then continued to talk about how it's going to be when we return. It's just not going to be the same, ever. And I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but I do know, the perspective of hearing about someone having a bad day because the kids were tough won't be as big of a deal when a kid dies. Here, you have to feel out the feeling and I get that. And I'm not going to tell a person that my day was worse than yours, no. A bad day is a bad day, but it's what you make of it. 

Lance Armstrong once said, "I take nothing for granted. I now only have good days, or great days." The emotions here are extreme because it's a completely different perspective on life for me.  It's about making that 'bad' day into a good day and turning the good day into a great day. Perspective. Because in the end, it could be a hell of a lot worse.  

Yohan & Esteban

Dance off at the Batey 

  Get it Martín

Early morning races! 

People do mistake us for twins. Thoughts? 

Girl's night