The Day My World Was Shaken Pt 1: Believe in People

Ah….the day was world was shaken. This topic has several parts….I’m not sure just how many yet…so, from now on I will refer to this as TDMWWS…..and you will eventually know all about it.

TDMWWS was such a slap in the face….kick in the stomach….a world filled with heartbreak. Why??  Because it all came down to believing in the wrong person. For a full year! My own darn fault….I’ll come back to that later…

Literally, the next day, I received more disheartening news that also involved believing in the wrong person. I knew in my gut, what I had needed to do, but my head had told me to believe in a friend that needed help. Well, I was really let down. And that was it. For 2-3 days, I’d had it with humanity. Very dramatic, I know, but that’s exactly how I felt. Done with everyone. Done. So done.

But then…..I had a life-changing experience. Yes, “life-changing.”…..and that is called Pueblo Ingles…..I will refer to this as PI. PI is an English-intensive program that lasts one week. There is a group of Spaniards and a group of native English speakers…otherwise know as “Anglos.” There is an equal amount of people in both groups. The program generally takes place in a small village somewhere in Spain. The program I was in was in a precious little pueblo called La Alberca.

Now, TDMWWS occurred just 1 day before I was scheduled to go on this PI thing. And quite frankly, the LAST thing I wanted to do was get on a frickin bus for 5 hours with a bunch of people I didn’t know and have to socialize. I was angry. I was depressed. And I hated everyone. BUT, my wise self knew better….I knew I had to go. Plus I had reserved my spot months ago and knew that cancelling last minute would be a crappy thing to do to the program. And, I have a very good friend, the one who told me about this program and who has done it 7 times, who was NOT going to let me back out and made sure I got on that bus (thank you Martin!). And thank goodness I did.

I cannot explain this program. It’s just something I would recommend to anybody and everybody. The slogan of PI is “more than just English.” And that’s all I can say. 70 of us spent about 12 hours a day together (or more when we went out late night), 7 days a week, and we all became so close. Like a family. It was this crazy bonding experience I’ve never experienced before. And for whatever reason…maybe it was from the comfort in strangers, the fresh mountain air, or the wine, but we all opened up to eachother about everything. Complete trust. And I truly was in the presence of 69 beautiful human beings. We laughed, we cried, we danced, we ate, we drank….. The gifts I received from them are indescribable.

I have seen several of them since the program….and I have plans on seeing a few more in the next couple of weeks. Solid new friendships have been made. People are always going to let you down….that’s life. But humanity is not a lost cause….there is in fact good reason to believe in people. And I much rather believe and love and be let down from time to time, then to have a closed heart and be dead. It can be tough….but with the right people, it’s so damn worth it.

Cheers to believing.

~ws

Re-Invented

Hey everyone….welcome…and to some of you, welcome back. I’m sort of re-inventing this blog. No more videos. It’s now a literary only blog…..well maybe with photos at times. My posts are still inspired by what it is that makes a good life. Again, these are only my opinions. You don’t have to agree…you don’t have to like my ideas….you can even think I’m completely nuts. It’s your life afterall.

But sometimes, when one is really inspired, or has their world “shaken” a bit, they may feel compelled to share. Share the wealth? Hopefully. Life is crazy and fun and beautiful and hard and exhausting and so many other things. But we’re all in this together. ...

So if I can connect with just one of you out there….then that is everything.

And if not, that's okay, and at least I was able to ramble.

The universe loves its balance…and it will bring us gifts that elevate our spirits to levels beyond comprehension, almost at the same time it will “gift” us with what we perceive to be absolute bullshit. Excuse my French.

That “perception” is a tricky thing.

So thank you for reading, and please know your comments are always welcome.

Cheers to a good life,

~ws

The Bullfight (To My Vegetarian Friends Please Don't Read and Love Me Anyway)

Disclaimer: I did not have my wonderful camera with me…the one that has video and gives me nice photos—this was a spontaneous trip (the best kind)—so I apologize for the crappy phone photos ahead of time.

So just moments after I got off the plane from Portugal and still at the airport, my friend Diego informs me he has a “superplan” for us that day…..but he wasn’t sure if it would be my “cup of tea” (his English is perfect and he knows more English slang than I do). He will explain the details over lunch….

A bullfight in his cousin’s town, about an hour and half outside of Madrid…..oye. I went to a bullfight in France several years ago and I remember strongly disliking it. But hey I’m still on spring break! And an authentic experience with the locals is what I thrive on…so why not? I’m always up for an adventure.

This small town is situated in Avila, which is stunning. Rocky mountains, streams, waterfalls, the greenery…wow. But this isn’t about nature right now….the bullfight.

So we get to the Plaza de Toro (arena/stadium) and there’s a bit of a what appears to me as a “tailgating” scene happening. Great. Sunshine, lots of people, so we have some cocktails outside in the crowd. So far so good. Then we go inside as it’s time to start.

Why this small town of 8,000 has so many attractive people living in it I have no idea. First I thought they were visitors from a big city….no, most of them are local. And many were here at the bullfight. As well as some famous bullfighter who was sitting near us with his very pretty trophy wife. I thought I was back in Beverly Hills.

So the first matador (bullfighter) comes into the arena on a horse. Beautiful….so graceful. I love horses. Oh right….the bull. And the whole killing thing that was about to happen…..so as it turns out, this first matador was the “worst” one (after sitting through this whole damn thing he did get the lowest score---if you can use the word “score?”—I’ll get back to that later). And he deserved it. And a smack in the face. And a kick in the ass. When he went in for the final kill, he positioned his sword incorrectly, because what happened next was one of the worse things I have ever seen. I felt like I was watching a horror movie. Oh the blood. Blood started gushing…GUSHING…out of the bull’s nose, spraying everywhere….in the air, all over the wall the bull was stumbling against. It was absolutely horrifying. I gasped and let out a small noise and looked away. I had my sunglasses on thank goodness, as I started to cry and had to do everything in my power not to completely break down. But I wanted to sob. As I was with Diego, Diego’s cousin, her husband, and a few more people…and as the “foreigner” these very nice people were quite attentive to my well-being….was I a having a good time, was I enjoying myself, etc….This was tricky. Those that know me well know that I have no problems voicing my opinion. What in the world do I say???? I don’t want to be disrespectful. But yet I want to be me. I was invited, they paid for my ticket (and these events aren’t cheap), and I don’t want to offend anyone. So I politely say, “It’s a very interesting experience, and I didn’t like the way the first bull was killed.” Translation (excuse my French): “I fucking hate this, I have to sit through the murder of 5 more fucking bulls!!?? I want to get the hell out of here, you people are all sick!” But alas, I refrained.

Thankfully the first killing was the worst. But that will be my last bullfight I ever attend. It was interesting. The way the judges decide on the matador’s performance….does he get one ear, two ears, two ears AND the tail?? Or nothing? The way the people stand up waving their white handkerchiefs in excitement after each fight, trying to convince the judges to give the matador at least one of the bull’s body parts. The beautiful clothing of each matador. I did see a famous one….Cayetano. His father was a famous bullfighter that died in a fight. And Cayetano also happens to be an Armani model. All of the women LOVE him. He’s handsome but I don't understand all of the hype…but I also haven’t seen him in his underwear….

Post bullfight. Now this made everything worthwhile! This UNDOUBTEDLY has been one of the best experiences I’ve had in Spain thus far. Boy do these small towns know how to party. We end up in the very old Spanish restaurant….pretty small place. Bull heads all over the walls (see above), and pictures of matadors and bullfights everywhere. NO I CAN’T ESCAPE IT! We order a couple of plates of food to share (I will forever live my life the Spanish way with tapas/pinchos/sharing of plates—frickin love it). The food was incredible! Fresh and delicious. Okay I can forgive the interior designer now. This small place was already fairly full of people, but as the night went on it became packed. The young hot people I saw earlier started coming in, the old people that were already there were still there, and then there was everyone in between. This was awesome to see. Such a mix of people in one place! So of course this made for very interesting conversation with the various people I talked to…in my poor Spanish. And as it got later, the music got louder. Until it was a full-on dance party. What??? Modern music, 22 year-olds dancing next to 82 year-olds….Where the hell am I???? Never have I seen or experienced anything like this…not to this degree. I danced my ass off. And had the time of my life. A big thank you to my friend Diego. Truly an experience that I will never forget.

But the thing is…..these damn bullfights are what create this kind of culture. The party. The whole small town coming together for a good time…..as you can imagine, this leaves me perplexed and confused. They need to modify these fights…..like not kill or torture these bulls. Why not leave it as an art…like it is the first 2 mins before they put any daggers into this poor animal (insert debate starting now with a Spanish person)? The way the matador moves with the bull and red blanket (whatever it’s called) is actually quite beautiful. So quit while you’re ahead! Leave it at that…..if Spain bans bullfighting (as Catalunya already has as of recently…but they’re not really Spain anyways) these kind of parties will also die out. Keep the bullfights just don’t kill the bulls. Easy. And the parties shall go on.....

I did it...I finally moved to Spain!

Hola everyone,

Well roughly 10 years in the making, I finally got the courage to up and move to Spain. Madrid baby! What a city...what a culture....absolutely loving it. But I'm not on vacation!! This is now my new home. And this has been an interesting adjustment....

A. I don't speak Spanish

B. I need to find a job (not very easy for Americans to do this...the right way ;) )

C. But I'm in Spain so all I want to do is try different foods and drink cafe con leche and vino!

But alas, need to create the usual "day to day" for myself here...find a job, learn the language, and continue my career as a travel show host....AND enjoy food, coffee, and wine....balance.

So here's a glimpse into my first couple of weeks in Madrid. This consisted of a lot of walking...need to learn my new city!...and while doing this, dropping off my resume to as many bars in the tourist zone as possible (since I'm just starting to learn Spanish and can get away with speaking English at such places). I figured a bartending job would be best...have my days to work on my other projects, can meet cool people, and can still practice my Spanish....

Two weeks in....still no luck....well, I can only do so much in a day......I put the effort in every day, and of course, reward myself with some Spanish cafe/cerveceria action. Tapas? Yes please. Cafe con leche? Si si. Vino? Do you really need to ask? But another challenge I've faced in this city...which one to choose??!

Salud :)

The Ol' Paella Flock

Yeah I know...5 months of not blogging...ludicrous. Don't worry I'll make it up to you. Can we move on now?

ESPANA!! This crazy gringo (half Latina gringo) has decided to get the hell out of LA for a while and move to Madrid. In 3 weeks. I believe they call it "trece semanas". In 3 weeks I will be crossing the ocean making my journey into the new world that will encompass me.

Do I speak Spanish??? Nope. I'm learning....Rosetta don't fail me! And my slang book teaches me how to say "yeah i chain-smoke like a whore in the slammer" (si, fumo uno tras otro como puta encarcelada) which I'm hoping helps me get by....

So here's the deal. I've been wanting to live in Spain for nearly 10 years. It's always been on the brain. I got serious about it a few years ago until that crazy dentist I was dating talked me out of it (it's a good thing he's an ex)....and alas, the desire is back and badder than ever. So??? One of my biggest beliefs about living the good life is NO REGRETS...and quite frankly, I would never talk to myself again if I didn't explore this desire....so here I am. F**k it...I'll be ok.

I took a trip to Spain a couple of months ago, and it was as if the road was effortlessly cleared for me....go to Spain! was everywhere....the people I met and the opportunity that came in such a short amount of time. It was an avalanche. I now have friends there that already feel close, a place to live, and strong will to help me find a job. What the hell kind of job will I do over there when I don't speak Spanish? Bartend at an Irish pub of course. People speak English at Irish Pubs...plus I know how to say "Andate a cantar tus pavadas a la ramera que te parlo!" (Go try your bullshit on the hooker that spawned you), so I should be able to hold my own just fine in a foreign country.

Yes I'm freaking out. But I'm also very excited. I don't know what will happen in Spain. I might hate it. I might never move back to the US. Sure the unknown is scary...but that unknown also gets me so high. That's living. You may not know the reasons for doing something...you just know you need to do it....so....bye bye LA and hello Madrid.

Most likely this is going to be quite an adventure. There are so many directions this can go in...so you should stay tuned. Why no video today??? Because. I'm planning on filming a boat-load in Spain...and my little Sony just isn't cutting it. On top of my "Spain to-do" list is to get a new camera (HD woohoo!) so just hang on...patience is a virtue.

Thanks for sticking with me....you don't need to hold my hand, but it feels good that you're here...because I have no idea what the hell is going to happen once I get to Spain....

Oh and please help me out...11 followers??? I'm a little embarrassed....it's time to get a serious following....so please feel free to tell your homies to follow me and my crazy ways....thanks guys.

~your wanderer

Creating Opportunities for thy Self!

As some of you may or may not know, I'm living in LA pursuing a career as a tv host--ultimately I would love to help create, produce, and host my own travel show!!! Sounds like a dream job, I know.....but I'm determined to make this my reality.

Now it's not easy. You constantly have to work, practice, study, work, practice, study some more....while "networking"---La La Land can be a crazy place, and often there are people who say a lot, but don't do a lot---false hopes and promises. Luckily, I don't let this get me down! I accept it as it is, keep on plugging away, and don't wait around hoping to be discovered. Got to be proactive! I run around with my camera, as my own camerawoman because it is a lot of fun!---and it's practice.

So here is a little hosting demo reel I put together......this is for you Travel Channel.

To creating our own opportunities--cheers to a good life!

~ws

What the Heck is Bonnaroo????

Good friends, good music, and one hell of a good time!!---this is Bonnaroo in a nutshell. Situated on a 700 acre farm (yep that's right), this music festival hosts over 150 bands, and nearly 80,000 people come together to enjoy these festivities.

Year after year I am so fortunate to meet up with a core group of friends, some whom I only see for this occasion, and every year I make a handful of new friends. Undoubtedly one of the greatest highlights of my year! And what made this year extra magical, aside from a couple of incredible people I met, is that my parents made the trip down---how cool are they???

Good friends, good music, AND family....??? Truly life is sweet :)

And cheers to that friends,

~ws