To New Beginnings

Chuc Mung Nam Moi! Chinese and Vietnamese New Year’s. I can’t believe how fast time flies. Where did 2011 go? Normally each year, I write a blog looking back on my experiences of that year. I haven’t been able to do so yet mostly because I’ve been trying to let my hands, wrists and elbows heal. It seems typing and computer usage exacerbates symptoms and therefore I’ve been trying to avoid using the computer altogether. I’m actually composing this using voice recognition software called Dragon NaturallySpeaking which I bought off group on for $40 instead of $100. It works pretty well but it doesn’t always get everything correct. If I speak slowly and enunciate very well it gets almost everything however if I speak at my normal pace, tone, and volume, there are mistakes.

2011… I can’t believe the year has passed by already. I began it by first moving home from San Diego after graduation. The month-long stay at home was almost unbearable before my excursion to Mexico. On January 13 of 2011 I embarked on a journey to Cuernavaca, Mexico for an intensive Spanish program despite all the news of the dangers of all the drug cartels and the violence. For the first time I did not have the comfort of going with a group or a predetermined program through my university. I actually found this program through the Internet two years before while I was studying abroad in Singapore. My thought process was at the time that because of neural plasticity, it would have been a really big shame if I never got to a conversational level of Spanish. Language really is more easily acquired the younger we are and I knew that if I wanted to acquire this thing  more easily and more efficiently I would have to acquire  it as soon as possible.

That was when I found the program in Cuernavaca, Mexico at Universidad Internacional. I enrolled for a semester at this Mexican University while doing a homestay with a Mexican family. I stayed with a family for one month before my friend and I got our own apartment and lived like locals in Mexico. This was one of the most challenging abroad experiences that I have ever had and also one of the most rewarding. I got to immerse myself in the culture and the language and during my time there I have reached a nearly fluency of the language. I had some pretty interesting times there for example losing my wallet my first week there, hearing a nearby shootout, learning how to surf in Puerto Escondido -one of the world renowned surf destinations, climbing up old archaeological sites of the indigenous people that lived there hundreds and thousands of years before, swimming in blue and sparkling waterfalls, walking through old jungle ruins like Indiana Jones, observing ritual sacrifice of live chickens in one of the indigenous villages, visiting tiny little pueblos in the middle of nowhere by invitation of Mexican friends that I met their who graciously let me stay with their families, and so much more.

Coming back to the states in May was a very difficult thing to do because I knew I needed to begin my adult life. After the recuperation stage I began my hunt for a job. At the same time I enrolled into summer classes, beginning hip-hop and also health class. This was a really difficult time because after years and years of independence and freedom I now had to live under the roof of my parents once more. I also got to hang out with friends that I had not hung out with a very long time which was a plus. I also finally was able to get into dance which is an amazing form of exercise because it’s so fun.

Right as my classes ended I got a job offer for G. It seemed almost too good to be true and I thanked the fates of the world for aligning in such a way where I could get a job with such impeccable timing. I felt like the luckiest guy alive. Working at G was an amazing experience. The culture is nothing like anything you’d find anywhere else. It was a good dose of the real world when I quickly realized was that work could be complicated. In a way it was a study abroad experience itself. I was exploring a new culture and a new lifestyle. Unfortunately however, I began getting pains in my hands, my wrists, and my elbows. Who knew that these pains were the beginning symptoms of carpal tunnel? After getting to the point where these pains were waking me up in the middle of the night and also when my weekends would just be filled with this nagging neuropathy, I decided that in the interest of health it would be best if I left. It’s unfortunate that entry-level work is filled with such tedious grunt work. Even if I took time off to heal the manner of work would have still been the same, thereby only recreating the problem once again. It was one of the hardest decisions of my life but after careful consideration I knew it was for the best. An amazing year filled with adventures, new experiences, and new cultures ended on a rather somber and morose note. The year flew by and I can hardly believe that it is already 2012. I feel a little disappointed that this potential easy path has been blocked off for me, however I see it as a way of narrowing down my choices of what I want to do.I hope for a fast recovery. 

Growing up is not easy however I’m ready to charge at this behemoth that we call the real-life and kick its ass. 

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