VolunTourism 2011 Part 1

Exactly 2 months ago from today, I have been back from my 3 months of VolunTourism abroad. An experience I will forever treasure and will always take with me wherever I go.

The Idea

During the Summer of 2010, after listening to the audiobook of Eat, Pray, Love for the 10^th time and watching Julia Robert in the movie playing Elizabeth Gilbert. I told myself I want to do that too. Of course, I know that it is not financially responsible for me to take one year off like the character in the book. However, I said, three months! Yes, I can do 3 months. I can save up enough money to travel for 3 months and still pay my mortgage.

The next step was to take the semester off from teaching at the university. So that’s what I did, talked to my department head of pediatrics and asked her if I can be given the Spring 2011 off. She told me that “yes’, I can have the semester off because of the budget cuts in California, our university CSULB was also affected. Wow! After hearing that from her, I just knew that it was meant for me to take this trip. It felt like the Universe was conspiring to support me to make my dream come true.

Now that I had been given the time off, I had an idea – VolunTourism, combining my 3 month trip with visiting the beautiful places in Europe and Asia , at the same time do some volunteering. This idea was something that resonates with me. I did not want to just travel and see these places, I wanted to make a difference.

Here we go !! Operation: VolunTourism with me, myself and I !!! J

The Planning

I decided that February will be a good time to start my trip. My first trip was Los Angeles to Madrid to Paris to Venice to Rome then back to Los Angeles. Total airfare price for my trip to Europe was $965.50. I know that it was going be cold during that time in Europe but I did not care, I was just grateful that I can visit 4 cities for less than $1000.

I decided to come back to California for 2 weeks after a month in Europe to repack from winter clothes to spring/summer. It was also my sister Kim’s birthday around that time so it worked out perfect.

For my second and third months, it was going to be Los Angeles to Tokyo to Seoul to Jeju Island to Manila to Bali then back to Los Angeles. Total airfare for this part of my trip was $ 1481.50. Wow! So happy to get this great deal. Thanks to my “sale genie”!!!

The next part of the planning was accommodation. I knew that for me to have enough money to last me for 3 months, that I may need to stay in hostels in Europe. I had mixed emotions about staying at a hostel. I was not that comfortable sharing a room with total strangers but not wiling to pay $100 per night to stay in a hotel. Then a very strange idea was suggested by my sister’s friend, Krystle – Couchsurf. When I heard her say it, I thought she was out of her mind. What?! You want me to stay in a stranger’s home and sleep in their couch for free. That is one crazy idea. And told her, thanks for the suggestion but I am not going to that.

I was just about 3 months away from my trip to Europe and still without any place to stay. So that night, I decided to check out Krystle’s out of my box idea and signed up for couchsurfing.org. I was very cautious with my first requests, and were mostly to women and to married couples. Also, thanks to Facebook because after my requests were accepted, we used Facebook as our way to check that neither one of us was crazy psychopath killers. So during my 3 month trip, I couchsurfed 75% of the time. I couchsurfed in Madrid, Paris, Tokyo, Seoul and Bali. As a side note, I highly recommend couchsurfing to everyone especially to those traveling alone.

To make this VolunTourism happen, I had to contact many non-profit organizations that will be willing to let me volunteer for 2 weeks in the countries I planned to visit. After several rejection emails, I was so happy to get accepted to volunteer at Fundacion Tomillo in Madrid. Muchas Gracias Ana Artacho. And still continued to write emails for places to volunteer in Seoul and Bali but still with no luck, then it was time for me to leave for Madrid.

The Journey

Month 1 : Madrid, Paris, Venice and Rome February 1 to March 1, 2011

The day that I was waiting for was finally here. Today is the beginning of a whole new adventure of traveling alone. My bag was packed with about 25 pieces of clothing, and basic essentials like flashlight, swiss knife, vitamins, charger, adapter and snacks.

I arrived in MADRID, Spain on a Wednesday morning, called the wonderful couple I was going to couchsurf with – Karla and Chema. Took the metro train to their place from the airport for 1 Euro. When I got to their apartment, it was so nice to feel so welcome. Contrary to the word couchsurfing, I did not stay in a couch but instead stayed in my own room with a bed. They even gave me my own set of keys so I can leave and come as I please. I stayed with them for 16 days.

I enjoyed my stay in Madrid where it was sunny during most of my time there but was very cold, it helped that some of the Tagalog/Filipino words were similar to Spanish, and that I had black hair and almost similar skin color as the Spaniards so I just blended in. I got to meet a few couchsurfers especially Danielle and Esteban, we went Salsa dancing and watched Real Madrid futbol. Most of the days, I went around the city alone and actually liked it. I got to visit museums, plazas, theater and even went on a date with myself on Valentine’s day to watch Flamenco dance. I also went and took the train and did a day trip to Toledo.

While I was in Madrid, three days a week, I get to volunteer at Fundacion Tomillo, whose mission is to work for the development of the person and the social integration of the individuals and the most vulnerable groups. It was a great experience to teach English to students from ages 10 to 27. These were the days that I look forward to because I get to be with these students and honestly, I think I was learning more Spanish from them than they were learning English from me.

Things I will always remember about Madrid: museums, plazas, Jamon de Serrano , Churros con Chocolate, Cocido Madrileno, metro train and Wi-Fi in their buses. Muchas Gracias Madrid.

I was a little nervous to go to my next destination: PARIS, France. Mainly for the reason that I do not speak or understand French and the only French I know is French fries. Even if I had my French pocket book with me, I seem to have a difficult time pronouncing French – there were so many silent letters that confuses me. I was very tense when I got into the metro train. I kept looking at the map and paid a lot of attention to the name of every train stop because I could not understand what was being said on the overhead speaker. I just did not want to miss my stop.

I would describe Paris as romantic, very classy, elegant, and of course expensive. Since I was just there for 5 days, I did touristy activities: visited the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Moulin Rouge, Basilica of Sacred Heart , Notre Dame, and Latin Quarter. I also couchsurfed while I was there - 2 nights with Vicki who lives close to the famous Champs Elysees and one night with Vi-Georges.

Things I will always remember about Paris – Eiffel Tower at night, seeing the real Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo da Vinci, the delicious and pretty macaroons. Au Revoir Paris !!!

The next destination is VENICE, Italy. This place is full of tourist everywhere and the streets were so narrow that I felt like I was in a maze. During my stay here I stayed in a hostel where I met nice and beautiful roommates - Tariana from Brazil, Zoe from Malaysia and Australian. On one afternoon, I also got to meet Daniela, a couchsurfer and I walked around Venice. It was nice to have a local show around Venice, it was like having my own personal tour guide.

I like the beautiful gandolas along the canals, many churches especially Basillica of San Marco, the shops of beautiful clothes, masks, glass, vases. But most especially the delicious , carbo-loaded pizza, pasta and gelato. I had at least 1 new flavor of gelato per day even when the temperature was 4 C / 39 F. Because of all the carbohydrates I had, I ended up needing to get myself a new pair of jeans with garter, not with zipper because I did not want to take chances in case I would gain a few more pounds since I still have to go to Rome and I heard they also have really good pasta, pizza and gelato over there.

The last stop of my first month of VolunTourism was ROME, Italy. Time flew so fast and it was the last 5 days of my trip. I couchsurfed for 1 night with Alessandra and her son. She prepared a 3 course meal - bruschetta, pasta and meat dish. I was so impress and grateful that not only am I staying there for free , she was also feeding me. I am a total stranger to her but welcomed me as a guest. My 3 other nights I stayed in a hostel. This hostel experience was new and different for me because the room I am staying was co-ed. The 2 other times I stayed in the hostels during this month in Europe I stayed in an all-female rooms, but this time with guys. I stayed in the room with 3 other women and 2 men, the experience was good and there was no weird feeling or awkwardness.

I was raised Catholic so going to Vatican City to see the Pope Benedict was on my “Must – Do” list. On the last Sunday in February, my roommates and I left our hostel at 6 AM and headed to the Vatican City to see the Pope and visit Musei Vaticani, St . Peter Cathedral, Sistene Chapel. Then at 12 noon, I got a glimpse of Pope Benedict as he spoke from his room facing St. Peter Square. This experience of seeing the Pope was a very emotional moment because I remembered my grandmother Esting who was a devoted Catholic and I know she would have loved to see the Pope in Vatican City but never got the chance when she was still alive.

As I entered each church in Italy, I said my 3 wishes because it was a Filipino tradition that each time you enter a church for the very first time you should make a wish and your wish will come true.

The architecture in Rome was amazing. There were so much history in each building, statue that each one seemed like each one was saying a story about either love, happiness, fear, defeat, triumph. I got to see the Colleseum, Fontana De Trevi, Piazza Navona.

As my first month of VolunTourism has come to a close. With all my heart and soul – I am very grateful for the lessons and the safe journey.

Muchas Gracias!!! Merci Beaucoup !!! Grazie Mille !!!

- Kaye

First Day in Bali, Indonesia

The last month of my VolunTourism jouney. My last stop is Bali, Indonesia. This part of my journey is different from my trip to Europe in Feb and my trip to South Korea in March/April because during those months, i had a plan but this time I decided to be spontaneous.

I arrived in Bali today (April 16, 2011) I would say my trip did not start smoothly. There were a few things that have already gone "wrong" since I got since I got here in Bali. First, i did not have US$25 to pay for my 1 month Indonesian tourist visa. All I had were Korean Won and Japanese Yen. Fortunately, a Balinese airport worker holding a paper with my name who was waiting for me at the gate as we de-boarded the plane, loaned me $25. I paid him 300,000 indonesian Rupia, he did not have change so my tourist visa ended up to be $34 ($1 = 8666 rupia today).

Travel Tip #1 = Make sureyou have US$25 to pay your Indonesian tourist visa good only for 1 month. Better yet have US$100 with you at all times when traveling abroad in case you need to pay for something.

I was picked up at the airport by a Indonesian couchsurfer, Donnie. And he drove me to another couchsurfer's, Yvonne C.'s apartment.

Travel Tip#2 : For transportation, it is best to be picked up by someone that lives in the area to avoid getting scammed by some taxi drivers. You can go to couchsurfing.org to get to know local people and if they are available then maybe they can pick you up. If you do not know anyone, you can use the airport taxi but it can cost more than a other taxi. If you want to save some mobey you can waitat the airport arrival curb and stop the light blue taxi (Bali taxi). Be sure that they put down the meter to prevent getting charged more.

Travel Tip #3 : To save money when traveling especially for accomodations, you can stay at a couchsurfer's place. To know more about couchsurfing. Go tocouchsurfing.org.

I walked around the neighborhood and saw that the most common mode of transportation is motorbike or scooter. They are a lot of motorbikes so I had to be careful not to be run over because they are driving so fast and with no regard for pedestrians. I continued to walk around because I needed to buy a SIM card for my cellphone and do some grocery shopping.

Travel Tip #4 - Get SIM card to save money on calls and text messaging. You can get XL or Simpati brand for 6,000 - 7,000 Rupia ($0.69 - $0.80 - it's less than $1)

As I continued to walk around, I found an internet shop. This is good for me because I wanted to make sure to update my family and friends that I am doing well here in Bali. There's no WiFi at Yvonne's place and there's no free WiFi around tge neighborhood except for internet shop.

Travel Tip #5 - To use the internet it cost 5,000 Rupia($0.58) per hour. If you just need WiFi access and you have your own computer device like laptop or Iphone it is cheaper 5,000 Rupia ($0.58$ for 2 hours.

I emailed a few coichsurfers in Denpasar, Bali and gave them my cellphone number and told them that I would love to hang out with them while I am here in Bali. An hour later, I got a text inviting me to go watch a movie, The King's Speech, at Bali Galleria with a few couchsurfers - Benny, Dwi, Vika and Han. I am so happy because it's my first night and I am already making friends with the locals. Bali Galleria is about 10 kilometers away and I don't have a car or scooter to get there, so my best option is to call for a motorbike taxi. There are no taxis that yoi can just stop on the street. They will either pick you up usong an airconditioned taxi or just a motorbike.

Travel Tip #6 - Call motorbike taxi to pick you up where you are staying at and brings you to your destination for 20,000 Rupia ($2.30). Make sure to call 1 hour before your planned departure time because it sometimes take that long for them to get to you.

The movie theater's in Bali is not that clean. There were stains on the seats and theater smelled like a mix of sweat and spices. But it is tolerable if you do not expect a theater like the Arclight in Los Angeles. Dwi told me that this is the only theater that shows the most recent foreign films. What she meant by recent is any movie released about 4-5 months ago in the US. That's quite a long time since US films are shown in Philippine theaters as early as 2 weeks after they are released in US especially if they are big films.
The movie ticker cost 30,000 Rupia ($3.46)

After the movie, they took me to a local indonesian restaurant. We had some satay, rice wrapped in banana leaves, water and Jasmine Tea in a "softdrink" bottle. The satay are good but the sauce is not as peanutbuttery as Iam used to having in California. It is medium thick dark colored sauce, a little bit salty and sweet. It cost me only 19,000 Rupia ($2.19).

Travel Tip #7 - Tipping is not mandatory but of course, always appreciated.

This was my first day. Thank you Dear God for guiding me and making me safe :)!!!

- Kaye


Sent from my iPhone

Futbol

I have heard that Europeans love and are passionate about Futbol or more commonly known as Soccer in the States. So I made sure I get to see this in person and watch a live game.

On February 6, Sunday i went with new friends - Danielle, Esteban , Val, .... who I've met through couchsurfing, we went to see a Futbol game - Real Madrid vs Sociedad Madrid at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. This stadium's capacity is more than 84,000 and this was where the 1992 World Cup was held.

As I was at the metro train, there were a lot of people especially guys speaking different languages - French, Italian, Spanish. I may not understand all the things that they were saying but I knew it had something to do with Futbol. As soon as the metro train stopped at Santiago Bernabeu station, these guys rushed out of the train and run up the 3 flights of stairs because the game was about to start in 10 minutes. It was like seeing 5 year old boys going wild after opening his gift on Christmas day. These guys were on a mission and want to be there when the game starts. They are very loyal to their team, since they were young their fathers and grandfathers have already influenced them on the team they should cheer for.

The 7 of us ( 5 from US and 2 from Spain) decided to get the cheapest ticket - €35 / $ 48. The 5 of us from the States just wanted to experience a live game in Madrid. The stadium was almost filled up to full capacity, by the looks of it I think there were about 80,000 people there that night because only a very small part of the "nose-bleed"/ cheapest section had empty seats, everywhere else completely full.

The game was good. I don't know much about Futbol / soccer, all I know the guys kicking the ball around towards the goal. For me, The best part of watching the game was not the teams scoring a goal. It was watching the audience's reactions. From raising their arms up when the team scored or if they disagreed with the play. There were people blowing their horns - it was very loud since I was sitting next to an 8 y/o boy who just liked blowing that horn to cheers his team. Most of the time the whole crowd especially if their team scored will jump off their feet, clap and cheer. During the game they are very serious, all eyes focused on the game. It was definitely a great to see on how much they love Futbol. As the game ended Real Madrid = 4 and Real Sociedad = 1.

GGGOOOOLLLL !!!!!
- Kaye

Getting To Know Madrid

I have been here in Madrid for 3 days and I am enjoying my stay in this city. Let me share with you a few things that i have seen, tasted and experienced on my first few days in a foreign country where I speak poco Espanol (a little bit of Spanish) just enough to get by.

Here are what I know of Madrid so far......

Greeting: A hi! or hola, smile, nod or some kind of acknowledgement when meeting someone on the street is very rare. They usually walk by you with a serious face and avoid eye contact. However, kissing on both cheeks when getting introduce to someone or if you are already friends this is the way you say hi! and goodbye each time you hang out.

I consider myself a hugger but kissing on both cheeks, especially with the guys that is something I need to get used to. Besos!

Food: The most unique food I've had so far is the Jamon, a salty thinly sliced piece of meat on bread like the croissant or bocadillo, special bread hard of the outside but soft of the inside like the Lee's sandwiches bread I am familiar with in Orange County, or the Jamon can be eaten by itself. The price of Jamon varies depending on the quality. The cheapest one is 1€ two slices of Jamon Serrano on a bocadillo or croissant. The most expensive I've seen is 139€ per kilo. I have not tasted that yet but I plan to treat myself before I leave. The Jamon before they are sliced are huge big legs hanging. It was definitely a new thing for me.

Here in Madrid they love their sweets. The few times I have eaten in a restaurant, I see a lot of people ordering coffee and poured with thick sweet cream. I tried the chocolate milk, it was too thick I thought I ordered chocolate mouse. I asked for hot water too dilute the drink or else I may end up using my spoon to drink the chocolate milk. I also know that they love their sweets because all the people in the restaurant have a dessert either a cake, tiramisu or flan. Even at McDonalds they have an extensive menu of coffee and desserts in a separate counter from where you order the regular food items. Their dessert menu include tiramisu, donut, muffin and cheesecake. As the McDonald slogan says " I'm lovin'it".

Fashion: It's winter time right now but tt has been sunny since I got here 3 days ago. During the early morning and at night the temperature can drop to 4 degrees Celcius (39 F) but during midday it can go up to 15 C (60 F). Because it'S chilly almost all the women are wearing knee high boots, skinny jeans, long shirt and wool jacket. The women are confident of themselves, some don't really care if they are more overweight but still dresses like the skinny gals. The older women are often have their makeuo on, well dressed and their long fur or wool coats. And some of these women are just walking on the park. Most men are also fashionable. I've seen them in suits especially the older men some and they are just walking on the park. I see most men wearing scarves of different colors and some not just plqin but stripes, checkered or another design. I do not see this too often in Los Angeles either because it is not cold enough or that the guys are not courageous enough to wear these scarves because they are scared people may think they are gay. But here in Madrid this is normal and I like it because real men wear colorful scarves when they are cold. I even saw men wearing sparkling gold and silver sneakers. Overall,their sense of style is really good here, or maybe it's a law that wearing low waist baggy pants, yoga/ workout outfit in public is a crime (hahaha)

Activities: Walking around town is a great way to see beautiful parks and architecture in Madrid especially in this great sunny weather that we've had. I have gone to 3 museums so far and all for gratis / free ! First, I went to Museo de la Ciudad -The City Museum (free entrance everyday) where they featured miniature buildings of the city, miniature layout of the city, miniature types of transportation and different pictures featuring the city. Second, I visited Museo de la Biblioteca Nacional - The National Library Museum (free entrance everyday) where I saw a wide range of books from different genre like cook books, religious books and comic books being preserve. They did not allow photographs to be taken. The third museum I have visited is Museo Nacional del Prado - The Prado Museum (Free entrance everyday between 6 pm to 8 pm Tues to Sat, 5 pm to 8 pm on Sundays). This is my favorite so far, it reminded me of The Getty Museum is Los Angeles. Many amazing paintings and sculpture in 4 floors. Besides museums, I get to do other activties here in Madrid. I went salsa dancing with Danielle, a couch surfer too but now works in Madrid teaching English to 4Th grader and other fellow couchsurfers. It was really fun, we got in for free using a special promo card plus a free drink. I got to taste Pina Colada from a bottle like those Coke bottles. It was good. The Spanish people can dance even the guys can shake their hips better than I can. In this club there people of different ages and there were no guys standing on the sideline because they were on the dance floor. It was a great night of dancing. Another new experience for me is watching "The King's Speech" American movie dubbed entirely in Spanish with no English subtitles for 8€. I probably understood 25% of what was said but because of the great acting I think I got it.

I am very grateful for my host couple, Chema and Karla who have been so nice and very accomodating to me.

I would recommend visiting Madrid :)

Gracias,

Kaye

Madrid: My First Impression

After 13 hour flight I finally arrive in Madrid, Spain. it was sunny with blue skies however, still cold 40-50 F. it is clean here in Madrid. Reminded me of Singapore.

Here's how my first day went.

Took the Metro Train (Subway) from airport to the closest Metro Station of Karla and Chema for €1 then short bus ride from Metro station to the bus stop close to their apartment for another €1. Total cost €2 for a 12 miles distance. The metro staion in clean unlike the one in New York. So far, people here are not very friendly like the customs officer did not say anything to me , he just looked at my passport and stamped it, and too many people say hi or hello -typical behavior of people living in cities. However,they are very helpful - a guy directed me to the right metro train when he saw me going the wrong way I needed help with carrying my luggage because there's a 5 steps of stairs and a guy with dreadlocks approached me and volunteered to help.
Travel tip #1 - Buy the 10 trip pass - €9.30 +€1 airport tax = €+10.30

I am staying with Chema & Karla, great couple I am staying with. I found them online through couchsurfing.com. And thank God for facebook ,this was what we both used as a background check to make sure we are good normal people.

Travel Tip #2 - To save money on accomodation and have an adventurous spirit. Try couchsurfing.com -a website with directory of people all over the world willing to have you sleep in their couch or spare bed for Free for 1-2 night. if staying longer you may need to pay depending on the agreement of both parties.

I have heard from a lot of people who traveled to Europe that food is expensive. So I made sure to find places where I can save money. I went to a local big supermarket - CouroFour. prices are reasonable. I got banana ,tangerines, milk , water, bread 3 strawberry yogurt , 2 caramel yogurt, 4 fruit yogurt = €9.30. I ate at a local restaurant -combo plate of chicken french fries lettuce and tomatoes + bottle water €5.

Travel tip #3 - Shop where the locals shop. Eat where the locals eat. It will save you some money.

I am traveling alone so staying connected and letting my family and frinds that I am doing good is important. I have an Iphone and I do not want to have any roaming charges. To do this , I placed my phone on airplane mode and turned Wi-Fi on. the Madrid airport does not have Wi-Fi,but the Mall has a free one. Kindle with Wi-Fi is good too because it is lighter but bigger than Iphone. Having an unlock cell phone is good and you can buy a European SIM card.

Travel tip #4 - Bring an unlock phone and buy a SIM card for € 9.You need to bring your passport when buying SIM card or else they will not sell you one. Do not buy SIM card at the airport it's expensive.

I enjoyed walking around. There are many people walking around too. I saw many older people even some with canes still very active and moving around.

Travel tip #5 - Always bring passport with you because sometimes police do random checks and asks for identification to check legal status. This reminded me of Arizona new law.

Gracias,
Kaye

Not a Snowboarding Mistake … It’s A Lesson !!

Its been fifty eight days since I dislocated my right elbow on the slopes of Mountain High, Ca from snowboarding. I am so happy to say that my arm is about 80-90% healed. With the injury and the healing process I learned a few things about who I am and how I see life.

I am so grateful that I have been healthy and have not ever been hospitalized ever before up until Nov 28, 2010 when I had the injury. It was different to be on the other side since I am a nurse, and part of my job is taking care of the patients.

Injury

I started snowboarding during the 2009-2010 winter season. I really enjoyed and have so much fun snowboarding. So when the opportunity to snowboard with our friends visiting from the Philippines, Cha-Cha and VJ during Thanksgiving weekend, I said YES!!! I am so excited, it will be my first snowboarding trip this 2010-2011 season.

On my fourth run down the intermediate slope in Mountain High. I was so happy and proud of my self because it was a clean, cool run and I did not even fall the entire time. As I have reached the end of the slope, near the lifts and was about to remove my board, then I lost my balance , fell and extended my right arm backwards – OUCH !!! I knew I was in trouble when I moved my shoulder and then the lower part of my arm was just there tangling. I had to grab my right arm with my left hand to support it. OMG!!! That’s when I knew I was in trouble.

I was there screaming “Help me. I am hurt!” many times for about 5 minutes but felt like forever but no one came. Finally, I saw a couple learning how to snowboard were just a few yards away and told them help me I am hurt. They called for help and finally the medical staff of the resort came.

My sister, Kim, was taking my pictures as I was boarding down the mountain and was not sure if I was hurt when she saw me fall. She was my great support during this time. Drove for 1.5 hours to take me to a hospital near our house, St. Joseph Hospital.

I looked at the injury as a another way to look within , know myself better and learn the lessons.

Lesson One ; Be in the Moment

In my life, I often find myself planning for the future – whether it’s next volunteer project, lesson plan, trip, family party, friends get together, networking event etc… I just keep planning , planning, planning for what’s next rather than paying attention to what’s going on NOW!

I know that I had the injury, not because I fell. I have fallen so many times before. But because, I was looking at the lifts and already thinking about my next run. So when I fell, I did what anyone falling should not do – I extended my arm to stop the fall, instead of folding my arms infront of me, because I was not in the moment.

Oprah Winfrey once said “ Get God’s message in a whisper before He gets you in the scream”. I did not listen to God’s constant whisper “ Kaye! Be in the now. Enjoy this moment. Be here Now!” God spoke to me in a scream – a dislocated right elbow. Now, God got my 100% full attention to be in the now.

Lesson Two: Be an Excellent Receiver

I practice my life believing in the saying “ It’s better to give than to receive”. I always want to be the one giving so for me to ask for support and receive – it was a hard pill to swallow, harder than the 2 Vicodin pills I had to take to help with the pain.

I am so grateful, I have a great family especially my 2 sisters, Karen and Kim who took care of me especially when I cannot move my right arm because it was on a splint. But they also have a crazy sense of humor. At the ER, they were there with me , taking my pictures while being in pain so they can post it on facebook. Then they keep saying “ Kaye is hurts?” ( a Filipino inside joke coz some Filipinos say “Is hurts” rather than “It hurts”)

It was a humbling experience for me because during the 4 days after the injury, I had to ask Karen and Kim to help me with simple things – changing clothes, getting ready to take a shower to make sure my cast/splint on my right arm do not get wet, carrying stuff . I finally had to be vulnerable and open with them taking care of me when most of the time I make sure they are alright.

Another good thing, I got excused from doing my assigned weekly household chores - they did it all for me. For entire 3 weeks. Yahoo!

I also learned to appreciate my body, my health and not to take holding a fork, brushing teeth,writing or shaking a hand for granted.

Lesson Three: Get Up and Keep Going

In life we fall both literally and metaphorically speaking. Rather than staying down there, shake it off then get up.

This time, instead of getting back up fast and pretend nothing happened, I took my time down there to look at life from a new perspective, to look within and enjoy what’s it’s like to be down there. Then slowly, inch by inch I got back up and looked at what are the lessons , now I am back up again – excited to be in the moment and enjoy life.

I told myself, I was going to be back to snowboarding as soon as I can. And 48 days after I faced my fear and went back snowboarding in Snow Valley, Ca on January 16, 2011 !!!

In life, there are really no mistakes, only lessons !!!

Being in the NOW,

- Kaye ;)

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