Where did last week go?

Chilling in our "garden" after yoga on Sunday.

I swear I have no idea where it went. I've been busy, but not overwhelmed. A lot has happened and I'm still taking it all in.

I started my Spanish lessons last week, and fortunately I placed into a Pre-Intermediate class -- not too shabby. My Spanish is getting better and better, and the more opportunities I have to speak it the better I get (duh). My first day of class was just me, some other girl with horrible pronunciation and our teacher. Seriously, her pronunciation made my head hurt ("Buenaaasss diaaaasss"). Fortunately, it was her last day, so the next few classes have pretty much been just a conversation between me and my teacher (with her correcting me every few words -- my tenses suck). Kind of nice.

I also started (and completed) my Level 1 Reiki training. Gabriela and I are studying under Niki, our housemate and Reiki Master and the attunements (a process that permanently opens and connects me to Universal Energy on all levels -- emotional, physical, mental and psychic) have been unlocking some pretty deep stuff. Last night, after our final attunement for Level 1, I finally started the grieving process for my father (who passed away in March -- and our relationship was anything but smooth sailing). Can't wait to see what Level 2 brings up...

We've also been cooking a lot in the house. It started last weekend -- we have yoga in the courtyard of our house every Sunday morning and Gabriela and I decided we'd make a big pot of soup to share with the guests. It turned out awesome (a vegetable/quinoa concoction with no real recipe) and so we did it again this weekend (this time a lentils-based soup). And throughout the week we made at least 4 dinners. Now, I should have prefaced all this with a description of our kitchen. We have no fridge, no oven, no microwave. All we have is a two-burner, match-light propane stove. I honestly couldn't ask for anything more -- it's amazing what we've created on that stove top (apple bread pudding, stir fry, eggplant/tomato/quinoa stew, and last night we made crepes!). Ok, so maybe it would be nice to have an oven for a little less-complicated baking, but I think we'll make do.


Crepes cooking in our little kitchen


The various toppings...

Yesterday was the Incan New Year and El Dia de Pachamama (Mother Earth Day). There were festivities all over town (and the booming fireworks haven't let up all week) but they get a little crazy, so I avoided the crowds and thanked Mother Earth privately. Just lying on the ground connects you to this land like nothing else and giving thanks becomes easy.