Fordpride

Saturday is the two week mark of being home. I know I have so many things to write about in regards to Petrolina and Brazil and all the many beautiful and wonderful and hilarious stories from my time there, but tonight I want to get out some of the more raw feelings I've had since returning. Every time I've gone abroad for any extended amount of time, I come back disheveled.  The adjustment upon returning is always more difficult than the adjustment when leaving, and I'm only now starting to understand myself enough to acknowledge the feelings I'm having and why I might be having them. The 2014-2015 school year was one of the tougher years I've ever had, with insecurities and realizations hitting me harder than I was expecting, and knocking me down more than I wanted to admit.  It made me question myself in ways I never anticipated, forced me to prove myself in less than ideal situations, and ultimately led me to say goodbye to students I love with my w...

So we've just finished our first week of working with our Brazilian students and let me just say: It's been so amazing. I mean, how could it go wrong when 10 of your students show up at the airport wearing homemade tshirts that spell out "WELCOME CINDY"?!?  Turns out they walked to and from the airport, in the middle of a Saturday, in the hot sun, to greet me.  It seriously made my heart pitter-patter more than it has in a long time and I thought to myself, "If I ever, for one second, ever feel unloved or sad in my life, I just need to remember this moment".  Because what a hello.  There were so many hugs (and some tears of joy) that I felt like I was going somewhere I'd already been.  I have felt such a lack of adjustment here because I felt like I just walked into a place my heart already knew, because of the people I've been preparing to meet.  It was magical. Since then, my week has just continued to remind me of the power of human kindn...

Welp I've been in country for a whole 3 days now which means I know everything about this place already. jk. But there are some interesting observations I've made that I will share with you all.  I know some of you will know some of these already, but maybe some of you won't.  Also, I just want to write them down so deal with it.  I was actually pretty prepared with most of these, but they will be documented nonetheless. 1. Toilet paper.  They don't throw it down the toilet.  There is a trash can next to the toilet where you throw discarded and used TP.  It sounds weird but it actually hasn't phased me much at all.  It's just a different place to put it. 2. Sinks.  They don't really believe in touching food when eating it, so they do everything they can to avoid it.  They use forks and knives for pizza, wax paper or napkins to hold their hamburgers, and they have public sinks for people to use in restaurants.  These sink...

Hey guys. It's me.  Cindy.  #fordpride I just really feel bad about being such a neglectful blogger.  I hope this isn't what my parenting is like.   However, I am recommitting myself.  I want to really document the realness of this experience. What experience, you ask? I'm going to Brazil for a couple months.  I am really pumped about this for many reasons, but mostly I think it'll be good for my soul.  And for my blog.  Because you all know how traveling makes my heart pump and also the words flow out of my mouth.  I'm sure there will be many stories that make me laugh and also many experiences that make me cry.  My goal is to share them all.  I want to really make this experience something great. So please just harass me to blog.  Make me do it.  Because it'll be good.  I mean, I'm only in Miami and I'm only a few hours out of Denver, but moves have already been made.  Life is already ...

I've been thinking about donuts for like the last 5 days straight.   I just really wanted one. So, finally, after going to the gym last night, I made my way to get some donuts.  That makes sense. I had found this donut shop that stayed open decently late for a donut shop and made my way.  It's in maybe a sketchier part of town, but I was not alarmed. The guy working the counter was an older gentleman, with longer, white hair and gaps between his teeth.  We had a pleasant conversation where he told me he worked for donuts.  I guess that's better than money? But really, I respect that.  Anyways, he mentioned there were some fresh donuts in the back and I told him to surprise me with a few.  Which he did, and then he threw in a bear claw for free.   I think I found the love of my life.  With a side of donuts.

I went to my very first vegan restaurant a couple weeks ago. It mostly happened because my friend wanted something somewhat 'healthy' and I figured the local Dairy Queen wouldn't qualify.  It was his birthday, after all, so I pulled up Yelp to try to find something that wouldn't taste like dirt. The place I found had rave reviews.  I was sold: the citizens of Yelp made me feel secure. But boy oh boy, did I lose my trust in humanity that day. Walking into the restaurant felt foreign to me...the walls were too clean, the employees too hipster.  Yet, I continued on.  The man at the front was very helpful when I told him I was new to this and that I needed some suggestions.  He mentioned a few things but quickly added, "But seriously. Everything is so good here".  I picked one of the specials-one of the dishes he said by name.  He had a pretty killer beard, so I wanted to believe him. Moments later, our meal arrived.  During the w...

Today. I decided on my way to work this morning that I would go to one of my favorite little trails after school.  To celebrate both summer and autumn.  And to savor the days of warm weather without any chance of snow.  Because snow will soon come. Just moments into the trail, I make eye contact. I break only to look around and find two other deer, all three of them intently staring at me.   It was on. We stared.  I walked, they jumped, we stared. And in that moment, during our intense staring contest, I did what any normal human would do: I started to dance. I mean, my reasoning was that they obviously wanted a show.  So my headphones were in and my groove was coming out. The deer just kept staring (like most humans) and I'm sure they were trying to figure out if I was going to strike or strike a pose.  In the end, I was the one who ended up losing interest, and continued my evening. But then, ins...