Returning to Amsterdam had been on my mom’s mind for a while. She didn’t get to enjoy the city when we visited in December 2017, because she injured her knee a few days before that trip. We flew out to Amsterdam only for her to remain in the hotel for the better part of the…
Category: General
How to Stay Motivated in Your Language Learning Journey
The second quarter of 2023 has just begun, and it’s a good time to take a look at your language learning journey. If your first reaction is an embarrassed side-eye look, then it means you haven’t practiced your target language in a while. You’re probably thinking, “Oh, that. Yeah… I’ll get back into it later.”…
¿Y si todo sale bien?
I genuinely wanted to stay with the company I was with for a long time. I wanted to save a year’s worth of expenses in my emergency fund. I wanted to invest $15k-$20k a year in my retirement accounts. I genuinely wanted stability, financial stability, for a long time even if it meant staying at…
The Flying Soles Paint London Red: An Unforgettable Trip – Part Deux
Bang! Bang! “I’m living in absolute hell,” I think as I cover my face and ears with the extra pillow. It’s 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, and I could have sworn that no one, I mean no one, would be up at this hour making any type of noise. The construction in the apartment two floors…
The Flying Soles Paint London Red: An Unforgettable Trip
“You can use mine. I packed two adapters,” I said to Curtis. I opened my purse to find my adapter was missing and, more importantly, my phone was missing. “Fuck! I left my phone charging on the train,” I exclaimed. We were in a London cab on our way to our AirBnB when I realized…
¿Cuál es su lengua materna?
Yo me crié hablando dos idiomas. En la escuela aprendí el inglés. En casa aprendí el español. Las caricaturas las veía en inglés y los programas que le gustaban a mi mamá como Cristina o Sábado Gigante en español. Para mí, los dos idiomas hacen parte de mi identidad. Cargan el mismo peso y nunca…
Why It’s Important to Check in on Your Goals, And a Look at My Progress
We’re thirty days into the new year, and it’s time you and I do a quick check-in on our goal(s). If you haven’t set a goal yet, write down one-two things you’d really like to accomplish this year and check out my piece A Guide to Setting Goals: SMART Goals vs Winging It to determine…
What to Expect When You Travel in 2023
Ahh… Air travel. A luxury once enjoyed only by the rich is now enjoyed by just about everyone and almost everything. Commercial air travel has come a long way since its first flight in May 1908. The Golden Age of travel in the 1950s and 1960s, with its “lavish silver-service meals and fine wines” and…
How to Take Back Control of Your Time with Digital Minimalism
In 2021, I made the decision to delete my Facebook account with no warning. I didn’t deactivate my account, I deleted my account. I removed the app on my iphone, and that was that. I was done, cold turkey-style. Did anyone notice my absence? Only one person reached out to me to ask if I…
Tips to Teach Yourself a New Language in 2023
Learning a new language is not easy, but it’s not hard or impossible either. It’s just like learning any other skill: You have to put in the time and effort on a consistent basis to achieve success. Today’s technological innovations have made it easier than ever to teach yourself a foreign language. There are a…