The pursuit of happiness

Lately things have been a bit rough. I'm not exactly sure how to describe what I'm feeling, but I have been in a bit of a slump. I'm missing my friends in Buenos Aires. Living with a family is good, but it's so hard to feel like everyone is talking around me or to me but I have no idea what they are saying. Lately I've also felt like my learning has plateaued and my English my actually be getting worse. YIKES. In addition I really miss preparing my own food...especially since my FAVORITE holiday is rapidly approaching and I will not be spending it with my family or friends this year. Finally, there is also something generally a bit gloomy about Lima...I think the cloudy and short days are causing seasonal affective disorder :)

Anyways, the point of all this is that I've been in a funk. Sometimes that happens and I'm learning to accept it, and then figure out how the heck to get rid of it! I'm trying to be more proactive about finding things to improve my outlook on Lima and my life here. I finally pulled my sleepy bum out of bed yesterday morning and went for a run before school. It was short and slow, but it was great to just get outside and move. I'm also spending more time with some of the other ladies at school and girlfriends are great treatment for de-funktifying. Last night I was laying in bed, unable to sleep and I started remembering all the things that make me happy. I thought of my incredible teammates and friends at Cal and all of our crazy and weird experiences. I thought of my incredible family and how thankful I am for our relationships. I remembered some of my strangest injuries and all the times I have ended up in the Emergency Room for various reasons. I thought about my sisters and our many many many years of adventuring. I remembered my wild and crazy running extravaganzas. My first marathon when I was relatively certain I could not finish and some incredible woman gave me sour cream and onion pringles at mile 16 and the crunchy salty goodness propelled me to the next aid station and eventually to another runner with whom I laughed all the way to the finish. Both my relay teams were incredible and gave me enough laughs, songs and moons to last a lifetime (van 2, pod 2 forever!). I thought about the last six miles of my ultramarathon when I had to verbally remind myself to breathe, move my feet and just keep going...and how much I wanted a bloody mary at the finish. I thought about Anmol and how much fun we've had together...discovering new foods, new places and new ways to shorten the incredible distance between the east and west coast and how excited I am to live in the same zip code. I listened to Taylor Swift and thought about how much I laughed at summer camp and how I'll never hear a TS song without remembering Lizzi, Sarah W, Megan and Hannah. I thought about a lot of things!!!

After several minutes of reminiscing I found myself smiling and even laughing as I laid in my bed (under my pink and purple Hannah Montana blankets). Sometimes life is funky, but I am so thankful for all the memories I have to remind me that even when things seem rough, I have SO SO SO much to be thankful for. Thank you thank you thank you to all the people who've helped create my wrinkle lines from laughing so much. I love you all and I can't wait to see you soon. In the mean time, I'm in Lima, learning to make the most of it. LOVE YOU ALL!