"If you never try, you'll never know just what you're worth." Chris Martin

lunes, 27 de octubre de 2014

The Proud Big Sister of a Soon-To-Be Newly Grad, or the joy of having siblings.

Everybody Should Have a Sibling.

It does not really matter if it is a he or a she. Siblings are the best invention God ever created: it doesn't really matter if it is a he, or a she: one, or a bunch, nor if you are the older, or he younger, or the one in between. siblings keep you company, teach you since the very beginning about learning to share, to love, to interact with others, and the intricacies of playing, falling and getting back up, working in group to reach an objective, facing adversities of any kind, and finally, since they have known you since the beginning of your existence or somewhere around, they, as it is commonly said, do understand how your very particular family works, and for that simple but powerful reason they will be the life-long best friends you never got the chance to choose but you were gifted with (sadly, this doesn't happen for everybody, but it SHOULD). I am lucky I got 2, one sister and one brother.

My brother and my sister are two amazing "personajes" [Spanish for characters]. They are both good samples of what being  Colombian means: They are good kids, smart, thoughtful, hard workers, laid back, helpful, positive, and honest. They are good friends, and stick by their beliefs. They both are straight up, and reliable; and the best is that they are mine. Of course they are not perfect (as it may seem I want to sell them out) - nobody is, but these two are the best part of my life. They light my day up with a smile, or a kind word, and they sure know how to turn a storm into lots of fun. Thanks to them I am who I am, and where I am. I am so grateful to and for them. I feel extremely selfish writing this, for it looks like I love them because of me and what they do for me, but it is not like that. I am proud of them, because of what they are, and because of their achievements. I am proud of the way they face life and go forward! And yes, they make me feel happy and whole.

Today my little baby sister, who happens to be a brand new economist, defended her final research work. Soon she is gonna be graduating from college, where we both had quite an interesting time, all and all. She was brave enough and had such a strong will, so she went for it: A thesis! She got it right! she did her best, she put all of herself in this project (not only in the Economics field, but doing research and writing afull lenght final paper) and carried it out finely, all by herself!

 Here´s to Juli! SHE IS A FINE ECONOMIST NOW!
Dear sissy: Go and make it shine!

jueves, 16 de octubre de 2014

A Winter Blues

Tonight I am gonna make some justice to last winter.

It was freezing cold, most of the time (pretty much bellow 0°C for at least two months), and it beat me. So, I complained a lot about the cold, about the several layers I had to wear, even about the beautiful snow! I hit rock bottom and got homesick! 
But the truth is that I am a fan of winter! I actually enjoy a lot the cold, and I don't mind the layers. I love sweaters, hats, gloves and scarves. What is more, and to be trustful, I do not get to have snow often, specially in Colombia, and SNOW is definitely something amazing to watch, absolutely worth being freezing cold and all bundled up. 

My first winter in the USA was lovely. I arrived to NYC before New Year's Eve / 2012. It was cold, but somehow I was ready for it - even when I had never experienced such low temperatures. I was in love with the immaculate, gorgeous, crunchy, white snow. I loved to feel it on my hands and face, and to see it all tangled in my hair. I was dazzled by watching it fall and cover everything around with that thick, fluffy, white blanket. Although it was frosty, I was warm and cozy in my coat, and my gloves and hat were so comfy. What is more, I went outside everyday, drove everywhere, walked around a little, and a lot, and took a lot of pictures without any complains. 

Then, Spring, Summer, and Fall came and passed by... And here it was, the cold again. Oh, and how cold!
Watching the days get shorter was kind of sad, after the novelty of interminable days with sun light till 9 pm (absolutely fun and long) in summer. Then, all of a sudden, I had to get boots, coat, scarf, hat and gloves.  The temperature dropped and it was pretty much the same as when I first landed in this land of yours and mine, but I did mind it this time. I was not expecting it to happen so quickly (my wrong, of course), since it is the most natural thing to happen every year, and it was just the beginning of December/13.

So, it got bitter colder. For the very first time I was dealing with -5F° (around -20°C) in my whole life! And I remembered the guy who issued my visa a year before, saying "Colorado is one of the coldest states in the US, you better be prepared for that" instead of  "your visa has been approved". Thanks for the advise, though.

Then, I moved to NY state. and it was coldER, windiER, and MORE humid. I was definitely wearing more layers than during my first winter, and still, I felt my face freezing, and my fingers getting stiff.
First, it snowed twice a week for around three weeks; so as soon as the snow started to melt away, more snow came to the rescue, heaven forbid we run out of snow! After that, it stopped snowing for a while, but the snow, which piled up high enough for me to sink to my knees, turned into ice as the temperature stayed  around the 20s F°. ICE! we had the same ICE-SNOW for about a month on our lawns! A Month! It took for ever to melt, and that does not help the dis-coordinated like me at all! 

And to top it all, the sky was always grey. Grey, cloudy, and foggy, and some random rain, yeah, why not. frozen water for the dead trees and grass! 

However, now that it is over, and my time is running short in here, I reckon it may have been the last winter for me for a while. It may, or it may not. I cross my fingers and hope for me to have another chance to freeze my cheeks and the tip of my nose up! 


When  I got to Scarsdale I said I was bored, I did not fancy to go out because there was nothing to do. I did a lot of complaining, and wished for Spring to come ASAP. I wished for the snow to melt away, and I blamed the cold for my loneliness and sadness. I had gotten the winter blues!

Today, a beautiful, sunny, hot and sticky day in post-Summer time, I remembered all the fun I had in winter. I liked it today, but it was so good to remember that during the bitter cold winter I made the fun, crazy, good friends I have now.  I did a lot of ice skating, snowball fights, sliding, and all the snow I had been missing before coming to the States. In spite of the icy snow and the cold, I was able to move around, walk (properly dresses, wearing layers and all the stuff) and  that is how I got to know the place I am living (apparently not that well, for I still get a little lost sometimes), I actually got to build a snowman for the very first time, got to see NYC all Christmas-y and white;  I had a lot of hot cocoa and marshmallows, coffee, tea, cookies, great food from different places around the world, and even did some traveling. Besides, as a plus, I did never slide while driving on the snow, which did happen last year in Colorful Colorado and was not pleasant at all.  

The layers were not that fun. There was too much stuff, and I felt heavy and puffy all the time, but oh, well. It was just what I had always said I wanted. I am actually glad Last winter was that hard and long. I did not see it before, but I do now. I really had a good time! It is just once a year, and it lasts just four months, and if you do not seize it, you miss it. That is it.