Trust yourself

Hello my faithful readers:

I’ve been here in Roatan for exactly two weeks now and it feels like so much longer. The word to describe how I’ve felt in the last day has been languorous…it’s impossible not to relax when you’re semi-disconnected from the real world. Even the sun poisoning and the resulting hives I’ve been dealing with have decided to chill out (but only a little bit, since I still have them).

It’s not as if I’m not working while I’m here in Roatan, as we’ve actually done quite a bit of working on our respective plans for our project. I’m responsible for the marketing plan and we’ll deliver the full plan for review to our project advisor on Tuesday. But even with all of the work we’re putting in – Roatan has such a relaxed vibe that I’m enjoying sort of just going with the flow of things.

One of the things that I’ve had the time to think about a little bit more is the whole – “I’m- graduating-from-my-MBA-program-soon-and-I-haven’t-really-scratched-the-surface-of- job-hunting-at-all-issue.” Alas, the beaches of Roatan make me want to become a beach bum and travel the world in search of endless paradise. Would that be such a terrible thing?

Coming into the MBA program was my opportunity to learn more about the world. I’ve done that, and I’ll continue to do it as much I can, but I realize that in some ways one year was not remotely enough time. Learning is, in my opinion, a continuous process and I’ll cycle through being the student or the teacher (as determined by the situation).

The one major lesson for me this past year was that as an outside observer –it’s easy to think the grass is greener on the other side. Sometimes that other side of the fence has weeds or infestations of bugs that you couldn’t see from your side of the fence though. Yes – it’s an old lesson, but I’m hard-headed and I needed to learn this particular one on a much grander scale.

But I’m happy to have learned this lesson again, because looking at things from my neighbor’s side of the fence gave me much needed perspective on my life. I’ve discovered some things about myself that I have to improve in order to become a better me, as well as some things that are working well for me.

The one thing I’m working out for myself now is what balance means to me. I’ve always heard that life should be balanced, but what exactly does that mean? It’s something that I’ve thought a lot about lately and I’m still thinking about it now. In the past I’ve focused almost solely on my career. I recognize now that yes, my career is important to me, but there are other things in life. I’d like to spend a little more time focusing on those ‘other things’ in life now.

It’s time to write some new goals for myself, because the year has led me to a place that I didn’t expect initially. I had a plan before I arrived in Belgium, but I’m not quite the same woman I was a year ago. I'm a little more mature, a lot softer and I recognize now that the old plan won’t work for me anymore.

Here’s a quote I read today that resonates with me:

Trust yourself. Create the kind of life you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into the flames of achievement. -- Foster C. McClellan

I’ll start with this – trusting myself to do what’s right for me. Then I’ll work on creating the kind of life I’ll be happy with (for the rest of my life). That’s most important for me now – a happy life.

As always thanks for stopping by to read my blog. I appreciate all the comments and support you give me.

Mwuah,

Georgia Peach

I'm an adventurous woman now

Hello my faithful readers:

This weekend I became an “adventurous woman” as my friend Javiera called me. If you know me well, then you know that I don’t do so well with heights. You’re talking to a girl who is more than a little frightened of going on a down escalator. So the fact that I actually got up the nerve to zip-line across the Honduran jungle is a pretty big deal.

The experience zip-lining or “canopy” as it is called here on Roatan, was the beginning of my birthday weekend celebration. The trip was organized as a treat for some of the more well-behaved kids from the tutoring program for SOL. Once I relaxed a little bit (about halfway through) I had an amazing time and just enjoyed the view from up in the air. For me zipping through the air was rather peaceful once I forgot that I was terrified of heights. Seeing the happy expressions on about 12 of the SOL kids after getting through the course was rewarding as well – they truly inspired me to face my fears.

After my morning of the canopy tour – we ended the night by going out for dinner and drinks in the West End section of the island – the part of town where we generally hang out most when we want to grab drinks or dinner. We went to local Balleda stand for dinner where I had a tasty pollo (chicken) one. Then we headed to Sundowners Bar (refreshing frozen margaritas), Mayan Lounge (vodka 2 for 1 special & the much needed ice-cold air-conditioning), then to the Blue Marlin (delicious brownie with vanilla ice-cream). After the Blue Marlin most of the group was tired from such a long day and we made a relatively early night of it and I was home and safely tucked into bed by 11 PM.

On my actual birthday I woke up super early again (it’s hard to sleep here past 6:30 AM because it’s so sunny and hot by then). Our power went out around 7 AM so I went outside to cool off at the docks. We’d decided that we would do a day-trip to West Bay (the area on Roatan where most of the resorts are located). After a 5-10 minute water taxi ride from West End we arrived to a strip of resorts and lots of beach. We walked the strip enjoying the cool water lapping at our feet. Then we had a lunch then headed back here to Sandy Bay. It was a relaxing day for me and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate my 32 years on this earth.

Mwuah,

A Broad

Something to think about

Hello my faithful readers:

I’ve been here in Roatan, Honduras for exactly one week. In the meantime I’ve started to take note of my surroundings…Roatan has more Americans here than on the little island of Manhattan. I kid, but it has been strange to hear so many American accents since I’ve arrived. From what I’ve observed, many of the people who own businesses here (bars, resorts, restaurants and dive shops) are expatriates. I haven’t talked to many of the American expats yet, but I am curious about what motivates them to move here to the Honduras. Life here isn’t as convenient or easy as you’d find in most of the developed, western world.

Earlier this week we went to the neighborhood (Sandy Bay) where most of the kids who are helped by the School of Life (SOL) International Foundation live. It was an unsettling experience for me because the neighborhood was a mix of fancy resorts, nice beachfront homes and the homes of where the kids live. Some of the homes where the kids lived were in such stages of disrepair that they didn’t even look inhabitable to my untrained eyes; all of this was across the street from a luxury resort. Many of the other neighborhoods here (e.g. Coxen Hole) have similar tough living conditions.

I knew that Honduras is the second poorest country in America, but visiting has affected me more than I expected it would. It makes me realize that even my most humble living conditions were more like luxury homes in comparison to the homes of most of the kids who participate in SOL.

The things I’ve taken for granted-- potable drinking water, hot showers, food, shoes and education are all things that are not readily available for the kids that actively participate in the program. This is something that isn’t as easy to ignore when you’re not faced with it on a daily basis. I remember having this same uncomfortable feeling when I was in China earlier this year. How do you reconcile whining about not having the money to splurge for your next pair of the newest, hottest shoes when some kids don’t have any to wear?

The thing that gave me a little hope was seeing the kids have a good time at the SOL Recreation program, despite whatever they were facing at home. Five nights a week from 5-8 PM, the kids can come to the courts (an old unused basketball court that a local resort allows SOL to use) and play. SOL provides them with the space and a few basic pieces of equipment and crafts (e.g. balls, skates, books, construction paper, markers) to keep them from getting into trouble – gangs and drugs are a big problem here.

The most shocking thing was the number of two-year olds who walked into the courts on their own. I just couldn’t imagine as a parent allowing my two-year old to walk the streets by themselves especially at night. In fact throughout the whole evening we only saw one parent come to the courts with her four-year old son.

On the evening that we visited the courts there were about 35-40 kids participating. I saw kids playing fierce games of futbol (soccer) or basketball, drawing pictures and even rollerblading. That evening there was a great deal of ingenuity and perseverance from the kids using the rollerblades; all of them were using just one skate because of skill or simple availability of skates. It was a funny sight, but the kids were fearless and having a ball doing tricks on their self made obstacle courses. It was a humbling experience for me to see that this one little program seemed to give them an escape- a few hours for them just to have a good time.

My hope is that through our efforts we can recommend practical ways for SOL to implement more structure and procedures to the folks at SOL so that they can continue to help as many of the kids as they can. There is so much need here that it’s hard even with an MBA to decide what advice is relevant for the current situation. Resources – financial and human are severely limited for SOL. It’s tough to find suitable volunteers who are willing to spend the time it takes to keep the programs going for more than a month or two at a time.

If you’re looking for ways to make a difference – consider volunteering or donating to a worthy organization. To make a donation or find out about the opportunities to help SOL, click here.

In transit

Hello my faithful readers:

Wow – I can’t believe that I’m sitting here typing this blog from my apartment in Roatan, Honduras. Life has changed a great deal for me over the past year – in fact at this time last year I was preparing to give notice to my job to embark on what has turned out to be the experience of a lifetime for me – pursuing my MBA at Vlerick in Belgium.

I’m here in the Honduras for one of my last projects as a Vlerick MBA student with my team of four other students (Chris, Javiera, Jess and Julio). We’re here to help School of Life (SOL) Foundation to put together a fundraising plan. SOL is a foundation, based here on Roatan to help children in the Sandy Bay community who are at risk youth – risk of drugs, gangs and dropping out of school.

I arrived in the Honduras on Thursday afternoon following a long travel, which involved me taking the train from Belgium on Tuesday afternoon to London. From London I flew to NYC where I had a few hours to try to get into the city from JFK, do a little shopping and take care of my much needed manicure-pedicure at my spot on 7^th Ave and near 34^th Street.

I also caught up with one of my best friends Olin when I was in NYC but only for about an hour and a half at his Spanish Harlem apartment. I wish we’d had the time to catch up a little longer, but I had a flight to catch, so I headed back downtown to wait for the train to Newark, NJ where I had a hotel room for the night. The New Jersey Transit trains to the Newark Airport where I was catching my hotel shuttle were delayed; after a 2+ hour wait at Penn Station, it was almost 3 AM by the time I made it to my hotel.

The next morning I was up bright and early to prep for my flight to Houston, TX where I had a short stay with one of my other best friends Gigi. I also got to meet my godsons (her twin boys) for the very first time since their birth a little over a year ago. It was great to see Gigi in mommy mode and to see the boys in action. They were adorable and although I couldn’t imagine myself raising twins, Gigi was in her element and you could see that she’d spent a lot of time creating an environment focused on their comfort and enjoyment.

I didn’t get to see much of Houston because of some of the most torrential rains I’ve ever seen. I made a mental note that I should NEVER visit that city during Hurricane season. That’s why I consider it a miracle that all of my flights in and out of Houston were on time.

Our apartments are located right off of a lovely beach and the views are amazing. Our apartment complex is lush with vegetation with lots of beautiful trees and bushes. I’ve also seen lots of hummingbirds, crabs and fishes since I’ve arrived. I don’t mind that we don’t have hot running water because to be quite honest the cold showers I take are a relief from the heat. I love it here, despite all of the creepy crawly bugs and flying bugs, an unavoidable part of life here in the Honduras, which have taken a liking to biting me (and the rest of the team).

My favorite thing to do so far is to sit at the beach or at the top of our pier and stare out at the ocean. My access to internet is limited and I don’t have a mobile phone here with me so far Roatan has been a great place to get a little thinking and reflecting done. Before I arrived I thought I would be freaked out by not having constant connection to the internet, but when you’re disconnected from the rest of the world it’s s relaxing and it gives me time to think about the future without the distractions I would normally have. I’m also getting a lot of reading for pleasure in, something I haven’t done much this past year because things were just too busy.

We’ll get started working on our project full throttle tomorrow. But for now we have the rest of this weekend to enjoy getting acquainted to Roatan and all of the pleasures it has to offer. It’s very laid-back and the team is a lot of fun. Let the good times roll!