Mondo Beyondo

Ideas pile up in my head like leaves cornered by the wind. Proyects come and go, some see the light of day, and some stay buried in my mind. I know what I want, yet I still have to find the way to get there.

I read this the other day and it moved something inside me: "It is never too late to be what you might have been." It was the beginning of a renewal, a blank page to fill with all the colors of my dreams.

I have joined Mondo Beyondo to help me with the first steps. I am happily embracing what I am.

My new website, and all the ideas I wrote about back in January are coming along. I will be ready to bring them to life soon.

All my love to all of you, my listeners, my friends.

What it is

It is beautiful at the moment, a mild, sunny, blue skies kind of beautiful.

It is interesting, reading "The Lost Symbol" and learning about things hiding in plain sight.

It is colorful, participating in 365 Days in Color, opening my eyes and really looking.

It is intelligent, listening to The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe.

It is busy, starting my new art class, complete with a companion blog.

It is fun, learning how to play tennis, and applying myself to something different.

It is creative, the series of drawings I am making inspired by my surroundings.

It is informative, travel guides I write for ItalyItalia.

It is lovely, baking with Nicolas, and watching favorite old movies.

It is wonderful, having good friends for a visit.

It is exciting, that my "sis" has asked me to be her son's Godmother!

This is what it is.

Some things I have learned lately (a list of sorts)

Even after three straight days of rain the sun will come out and shine on you.


When your butcher tells you "brutto ma buono" (ugly but good) referring to the cut of meat you are buying, you better listen because you will cook the best Arrosto di Vitello (Veal roast) ever!

There are treasures to be found everywhere. My latest? this beautiful Alessi fruit holder which I found at the second hand store for a fraction of its price! It was new and in its original box!


You can laugh yourself silly after cooking disasters, or so I have been taught by Julia Powell of the now famous Julie & Julia. A fun read for foodies and bloggers alike.

Running with friends is the best therapy one can have.

Listening to good music while browsing Flickr and choosing favorites is the ultimate creative buster.

My dog dreams of running.

Lots of things, little time...

I am sorry I have neglected my readers -all three of you- but this training for a marathon, on top of all my other previous commitments is leaving me with no time for the things I like. I love the running, and I love my running partners, but I am exhausted!!! If I did not know better I would think that I am pregnant... lots of food finding its way to my mouth, and I am sleeping more and deeper than ever before. Well, in keeping with the theme, I guess my due date is May 30th (Marathon day! Yeah!)

Just a little update from my screen to yours:

Reading Middlesex, I am actually glad I am done with the Twilight saga, it was fun while it lasted.

Listening to Marta Gomez and loving her voice and personality.

Growing flowers in my balcony.

Enjoying the view.

#9 Run a half marathon in Italy

Remember the list? I get to cross a big one off the list: running a half marathon in Italy!


Back in January when I wrote my list, a half marathon was a safe item to accomplish as I have been running one a year for the last three years. What I did not know then, was that Heidi, my running partner, had set herself the challenge to run a full marathon this year. So yes, I am trilled that we ran a beautiful race, that the weather was gorgeous, and that I had great company (my husband Fernando ran it too), but this race was only the half-way mark! We are training to run a full marathon in May! What about that? I think I should give me extra-points!


We ran the Lago Maggiore Half, which is a beautiful run if I ever saw one. We started in Stresa, the charming town on the shore of the lake, with a gorgeous view of the borromean islands, and the snow covered mountains in the background. The sun was shining, and the wind took a day off for us. Fernando is a faster runner than we are, so we did not run together, but Heidi and I kept a good pace for 12 kilometers. I had to slow down a little as I was not feeling one hundred percent well, but I finished the race!


It is a wonderful life.

Drama Queen!

One of the great things about taking a ceramic class is that I have made some very creative friends. One of them, Laura, belongs to a drama group in town. She invited me to participate on the play that they were working at the time. I was elated, as I love theater ( I was a very active member of my college´s drama group) and could see no better way to spend some winter nights than rehearsing with some crazy Italians.


The play is more a "happening" than an actual play, with a series of scenes united by a common tread. Some of the scenes include dancing, singing, reading or playing music; all of them refer to the "other," or the foreign one. Several people, like me, were invited to participate as foreign guests; we were to bring something of our culture to the play. In the beginning I had imagined some Colombian dancing, but without a partner the idea did not go far.


Yesterday was our premiere. I participated in a group dance, and I read from a text by Gabriel García Márquez in Spanish, alternating with an Italian reading it in Italian. In another scene (all the foreigners) came together with their Italian hosts and did a performance, which ended the play. We had a decent crowd at the Apollonio, the main theatre in Varese, and everything went smoothly. There was a fantastic energy in the room, young and old, Italian or stranieri, we all enjoyed the experience. We will do it again soon.

Dreamland

Some days I look out my window, and I just cannot believe all the beauty around me.

Reading How to be an Explorer of the World by Keri Smith.
Blown away by Slumdog Millionaire.
Listening to Santana, as Nicolas is trying to learn Samba Pa Ti, my favorite song of all time.
Listening to Bruce Springsteen's song for The Wrestler.
Checking things of my list.

What an amazing world.

42 things I will like to do before I turn 43

Inspired by the amazing Andrea and her love of lists, I have decided to make my own list.

These are things that I love to do, or that I wish I could do, or that I dream to do. This list is like a sketch of the year to come; it will change, and morphe, and deconstruct itself.

I am screaming my wishes into the wind, and by doing so, I am.


1. Finish "the painting" for Fernando. BTW the picture above is his.
2. Teach Nicolas some YO-YO tricks.
3. Read a Jane Austen book.
4. Send a handmade postcard a month. (If you want to be in the receiving end of this project, leave a comment on this post.)
5. Visit il Giardino dei Tarocchi, the monumental project by artist Niki de Saint Phalle in Tuscany.
6. Bake bread.
7. Surprise Fernando.
8. Handprint some pillow covers -inspired by the fantastic Lena Corwin and her book Printing by Hand.
9. Run a half marathon in Italy.
10. Print my "good" photos, on good paper, frame them and hang them.
11. Frame my friends' artwork, so we can enjoy it.
12. Read an unlikely book.
13. Wordpress my blog!!!
14. Make gnocci from scratch.
15. Go to Morocco.
16. Make another stop motion movie with Nicolas.
17. Plant sunflowers.
18. Write the storyline for a child's book.
19. Sketch daily.
20. Learn how to take pictures ttv.
21. Cook with Nicolas once a week.
22. Use Rosetta Stone to learn french.
23. Take another ceramics class.
24. Cook melcocha with Fernando and Nicolas.
25. Go hiking near Monte Rosa.
26. Cook rabbit.
27. Organize my music library.
28. Cronicle a day in our life with pictures.
29. Organize my art lessons in a notebook.
30. Dance often with my boys.
31. Watch La Dolce Vita
32. Learn how to knit.
33. Go to La Scala.
34. Grow a herb garden.
35. Give Yoga a try, once more.
36. Declutter.
37. Reconnect with friends.
38. Perfect my mojito recipe.
39. Solve the bathroom window "problem."
40. Teach Nicolas about his ancesters.
41. Cook pulpo a la Gallega (Galician octopus.)
42. Visit ROME.

Happy Birthday to me!

Look at my snow inspired cake! Beautiful, isn't it? Colombians (from Bogotá) will recognize this cake, known all over the city as a milky-way cake from Tortas y tartas Angelita.

I am proud to say that ours is very close to the original: tasty, moist, with arequipe in the middle, and those gorgeous chocolate curls on top!

You are welcome to stop by and have a taste. I love birthdays!

Ten things: Happiness and thanks.

1. Mom, Nick, Fer, friends

2. Sunshine in my face

3. Paint or clay in my hands and clothes

4. Airports, suitcases, maps

5. Waking up dreams lingering in my mind

6. Mocha (my dog) running alongside me

7. frost shinning on grass

8. Wine and the conversations that ensue

9. Books and time spent between their pages

10. Silence

If only this skill could get me a high paying job!

The diagnostic is in. My friend Marcello, a linguist, tells me that I am suffering from Temporary Aphasia Paradigmatic! What about that? I am special that way, yes I am...

It all started a little over three weeks ago, as I noticed that I was not only not fluid in Italian, but neither was I in English or Spanish anymore. I tried to explain it as a confusion of my aging brain, which could only take a new word if I forgot two old ones. I was kidding when I said that, but it ends up being an accurate description of what is happening to me.

I know I am not making any sense so far, but please do not blame me, blame my mush of a brain for it. I think all will make more sense if I give you some examples of my recurrent, embarrassing mistakes. Like the other day I was telling a friend that we took the train back and I said that we took the plane back. train = plane. Or the other night I was telling my husband that I have gone to the butcher (carnicero in Spanish) and I said jardinero (gardener). carnicero = jardinero. I frequently open the floor and not the door. I also go around talking about my bed as a refrigerator, or my bag as a hat... People, this is not funny! Stop laughing right now!

I was talking to my friend Debbie about it, and her husband Marcello told me that this is a disfunction that occurs to multilingual speakers in times of stress- you can blame the USCIS (U. S. Citizen and Immigration Services)- and it is usually a temporary condition. I went on the internet to find more about this, but most of the information I found is for the real aphasia, the kind suffered by stroke victims or people who had severe brain injuries.

It is really interesting to dive into the world of words and communication from another point of view. I discovered for example that the words that I am mixing up are actually related. Words are archived in the brain in files of related words. Paradigmatic relation is associative, and clusters signs together in the mind, producing sets: sat, mat, cat, bat, for example, or thought, think, thinking, thinker. Sets always involve a similarity, but difference is a prerequisite, otherwise none of the items would be distinguishable from one another: this would result in there being a single item, which could not constitute a set on its own. From Wikipedia's Course in General Linguistics

In my multilevel search of all things linguistic I found this poem, and I found it so beautiful that I am leaving you with it:

--Good-bye, sir.
--Where to?
--Madness.
--Which madness?
--Any madness, for I have turned into words.

Mahmoud Darwish

In case you didn't know...

The nice folks from expat interviews asked me to answer some questions for their site. This is a handy resource for people thinking about moving to another country. Here you can find real answer to practical questions, as well as personal blogs by expats all over the world.

My regular visitors know a lot about me, but if you are curious, you can find more about what I think here.

What is your line?

The wonderful Becca has a new site for Write on Wednesday. This is a great place to share ideas about writing, the creative process, and the motivations behind our words. I am very excited about this forum, and I think I will participate often.

Today, there was no Cucina di Nicola, as this week is the last week of school, and I have been playing chauffeur to all the social events leading to the last day of Nicolas' school: TOMORROW! He is graduating from elementary school, and moving into scuola media, a big change for all of us.

In lieu of my usual recipe, I am going to try an answer Becca's questions:

Have you found your line yet? Do you think you have one? How do you go about expressing it?

The answers to these questions lay hidden in a corner of my mind. I have always been creative, and when I was young I would dream of becoming a writer. Back then, I wanted to write children's books, stories full of surprising characters, colors, and made-up universes. I wrote my first short story for a national contest when I was 10. I was very surprised when I did not win!!! -Can you say self-confident?

I kept on writing, sometimes in a diary, sometimes in random pieces of paper, sometimes I did not. I do not claim to be a writer, as I have not the focus, nor the talent; but since I became a blogger, I have become motivated by the creative process again.

So, what is my line? I have started a short story that focuses on a woman my age, facing a mid-life crisis of sorts, looking at her past for answers to her future. The short answer is that I write about me, what I know, what I am, what I would like to be. It might not be worth publishing but it sure is therapeutic! I love to sit at the computer, open my secret file, and just write away. I do not stop to think about my so-called public, as I do not expect these words to see the light of day anytime soon. This is liberating.

I have also written about my country, my hometown, my family. These are all extensions of me. I guess I am still getting to know me, and in doing so, I just write and rewrite my history.

I have found my line, and I am happy about this. I write what I know, I write to know.

I might be the last one

This flickr meme is doing the rounds, and it is so much fun that I couldn't stop myself from doing it. I have seen it at many of my favorite places, first at Michelle's, then at Erin's, and last at Joanne's. I may have missed some others, but these are great examples, so go take a peek!

The meme works like this:

• Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search.
• Using only the first page, pick an image.
• Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into mosaic maker.



QUESTIONS
1. What is your first name? Beatriz
2. What is your favorite food? Arepa con queso
3. What high school did you go to? Sagrado Corazón de Jesús
4. What is your favorite color? moss green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? George Clooney
6. Favorite drink? Mojito
7. Dream vacation? India
8. Favorite dessert? Apple pie
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Artist
10. What do you love most in life? My son
11. One word to describe you. Colorful
12. Your Flickr name. BeatryFer

From the other side of the Atlantic

I made it! I am in the States! I am surprised by all the things that were once familiar and that today seem foreign to me. It starts with all the little details, the smiling clerk at immigration (gasp!), the organized line of people waiting to be helped in the air conditioned room, and the paper liner in the airport's restroom. It all continues with the big: the size of my portion of fries, the parking spaces (and for that matter, the parking lots), and the people around me.

I see everything anew, and I am waking up to flavors, and faces and the familiarity of a language I know well. I am perplexed at the availability of things, the open hours, the prices! I find it a little overwhelming, in a very positive way!

I have watched TV looking for old favorites, I have eaten a hamburger (SOOOO good!) and Thai, and I have plans for Mexican today. I have browsed through books and magazines for hours at a time, and I have been to the mall for what seemed to be months! And this is just one day of my week!

I am not in California, but in Atlanta, where we have family. The only problem is that our family is not here, so I am boarding at their house, and using their car, but I am by myself. I have some friends in the area, and I am seeing them, but the majority of the time it is just me.

Just me, standing at the border between the known and the forgotten. Again.

Tag you are it!

I have been tagged for a Six Word Memoir by Bee in Italy, and as of 04/15 by Curiosity Killer too. This meme reminded me of a great post that I saw at Bleeding Espresso, and I quote:

SMITH Magazine, self-described as “a home for storytelling,” challenged readers to write six-word memoirs inspired by Ernest Hemingway, who, when asked to write a six-word novel, came up with “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

I liked this idea of using just six words to sum a life, and I had to write my own:

Talk with accent, think without one

I suggest you visit Michelle at Bleeding Espresso for other fantastic memoirs. Going back to the original tag from my friend Debbie,the rules are:

1. Write your own six-word memoir (In this case, six independent words.)
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.


My words are:

Impulsive

Assertive

Romantic

Creative

Strong

Fun

I will leave this open to anyone who wants to play along.

What is your six word memoir?

Fearless

There is a big, ugly monster lurking in the shadows of our minds, its name is fear, and its job is to stop us from trying something new, from breaking the pattern, from tasting the sour along with the sweet.
I learned early in life that living in the moment is all you can do, that I had no control of what happens ahead. I am alive because I was spared. I know what a wonderful gift it is to take chances, to choose the road less traveled, to walk into a dark room, to look down a precipice.
Yet, I sometimes find myself holding my breath, feeling a hole in my stomach, dreading...
Roller-coasters, needles, lightning, roaches, make me feel weak, helpless, little. I cannot help myself, it is a feeling that starts small, almost unnoticeable, and suddenly it has traveled all the way to the top of my head, clouding my judgement, making me afraid.
Fright is primal, it is unavoidable, it is real. It is not easy to get over it, but one must try. I ride roller-coasters and I scream at the top of my lungs all the while. It feels good to face the beast head to head.
It is too beautiful a world to not join in its thrills.

I love

When I saw Anno's list, I was moved and inspired. Here is my (heavily edited) list of the things I love.

I love waking up to a new day. The smell of coffee. Snow covered mountains outside my window. Good morning kisses. My husband's whistling and my boy's messed up hair.
I love rainy days. Watching raindrops dance through breath-fogged windows. Drinking a hot cup of coffee. Wearing my favorite sweater. Listening to the water find its way down the roof.
I love a good party. Salsa dancing with my friends. Singing loud enough to wake up the neighbors. Listening to Cumbia drums beating in sync with my heart.
I love talking to my friends. Laughing out loud. Sharing a good meal. Crying together.
I love a trip, near or far. Airports, suitcases, and maps. Leaving what I know to find something new, if even for a day. Being a foreigner, having an accent.
I love languages. Rolling Rs, guttural Hs, sliding Ss. The origin of words and their meaning.
I love the smell of the places I know and love. Bogota, mountains and smog. Popayan, wood and rain. California, sun and smoke. Italy, coffee and wine.
I love Museums and churches. Great silent spaces. Art filled walls.
I love running with my dog, breathing harder with each step, and getting to the end. Morning light, fresh air, and purple flowers on green fields.
I love beautiful things, color, texture, and the imperfections of a handmade object. Eames chairs. Bicycles. Gaudi's architecture . A cinquecento.
I love solitude, silence, and the night sky.
I love getting letters, e-mails, and surprise phone calls. Friends, old and new. People, life's characters, imperfect beings.
I love creativity. Everyday makers, The barista, the baker, and the florist. Artists, writers, and teachers.
I love hugs and holding hands. Sharing a glass of good wine with my husband, talking and listening. Waiting for the night.
I love my mother's voice and our conversations about nothing and everything. I love the town where she lives and where I grew up, white houses, old street lamps, roofs extending over sidewalks, green windows and church bells.
I love jumping in the water in the ocean because it is frightening and beautiful. Watching a campfire, feeling its heat close to my skin, and carrying its smell in my clothes.
I love writing, drawing, painting, starting something new. Cooking with my boy, talking while flavors mix. Reading a good book, finishing it, thinking about it for days afterwards.
I love to be surprised by the things I do not know. A word, a recipe, a story. Learning, living, and making mistakes.
I love looking at my reflection in the mirror and recognizing the woman that looks back at me.

Running

Spring is here, the weather is beautiful, and my excuses have gone with the cold. I am officially back to running and happy to be back. There is nothing like a run to make you feel good about yourself and the wonderful gift that is your body. I like being outside with my friend and my dog, breathing fresh air, feeling the rush of blood, talking about nothing and everything.
You might remember that I want to run a marathon before I turn 50; I still have a good 9 years before my time is up. Of course I am not training for a marathon NOW, but I will like to train for a half marathon this summer.


I have run 2 half marathons, and I loved doing so. The first time around I signed up with a running club to learn how to train, how to stretch, what to eat, what to wear, etc. It was a great experience, I was so new to the world of running that I felt successful just by finishing those 13 miles. Needless to say, my time was not great. By the second time, I was a member of a running club (miss you guys!) and I was so lucky to have a group of inspiring, strong women to run with. I learned so much from them, their character and passion showing on every step of our runs together. I became a better person and a better runner because of them. I ran my second half in 2:05:00 -which is a time I am proud to post.
When we moved to Italy I was in really good shape, I felt younger and stronger than when I was in my thirties. I tried to stay on top of my routine, but many things got in the way. I also tried to star a running club within the expat community without much luck. I am happy that my friend Pien runs, we go to the trail near our houses twice a week and it is always a gift.
The whole purpose of this post is to write down (for everyone to see) my renewed commitment to running. I have even added a little widget to my sidebar that keeps track of my miles and my time. It is official now, I am on my way to Bogota's half marathon on July 27. Just 2,640 mt (8,661.4 ft)over sea level, a minor detail!

Meme

I have been tagged by my new blog-friend Jo of Frutto della Passione for a meme. This is quite an interesting way to get to know other bloggers and for you to know some facts about me. The rules for this meme are:

-Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
-Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
-Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names and links to their blogs.
-Tell them that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I met my husband while rock-climbing. I was the lead and he was my belayer (the one that kept me secure.) Fitting, isn't it?
2. I organize my cutlery and my kitchen knives by size. Freaky, anal, call it whatever you want, but I like order in my kitchen.
3. I always read magazines from back to front.
4. I have been to the top of the Ritacuba Blanco 5,330m (17,487'). # 46 on the list of 50 Most Prominent Peaks on Earth.
5. My favorite movie is Pulp Fiction. Love it or hate it, there is no middle ground here.
6. I am double-jointed, my thumb can fold backwards at a 90 degree angle. (pictures upon request!)
7. Some of my work is in the graphics collection of Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

I'm tagging my friend, neighbor, and new blogger Bee in Italy. Artist extraordinaire Amaretto Girl. Food Goddess Paola. Ultimate Blog Party pals Kristen and Curiosity Killer. Anyone else who will like to do this meme.