Home Sweet Home

Hello World!!! ….It has been about a month since my last post. As always, this month has been filled with some amazing stories and adventures….(not including “the first few days”). For this reason, I will be breaking up this post into two parts. First, I’ll discuss my trip home and the first few days in America.

The Trip Home

Wow!!! The things I do (or have to do) to save money. I’ll just start by saying that it took me 29 hours in total to get from my home in Madrid to my home in Illinois. I’m pretty sure you could fly around the world in that amount of time. After all, my flight to China last May only took 14 hours. So what happened? Well first, I had to catch a low budget flight (again, trying to save money) from Madrid to Dublin, Ireland. In Dublin, there is an airline that will let you fly to Chicago for as low as $200 (maybe cheaper). Unfortunately, the flight only leaves early in the morning, or later in the evening. I couldn’t get to Dublin until midnight. Therefore, I was forced to deal with an 11 hour layover at the airport! Shortly after arriving in Dublin, my first mission was to get my bags and find somewhere to crash. I made my way to the eating area where I saw about a hundred people sprawled out on the couches and chairs in a deep slumber. All the good spots were taken! After walking around the eating area for about an hour looking for a place to sleep, I decided to settle down right behind one of the coffee stands. (Was I really sleeping behind a coffee stand LOL!!!). The floor was quite hard…but hey, I was exhausted. I took a few t-shirts out of my bag to make a pillow. Then, I arranged my bags so that no one could take them without me waking up. In less than 10 minutes out was out like a light in the middle of the airport aisle. It looked like a bum village LOL…. I woke up about 5 hours later with pain in my hip from sleeping on the hard tile floor only to realize I had another 5 hours left in the airport. To make a long story short, I wasted the rest of my time watching movies until my next flight…

The flight from Dublin to Chicago wasn’t bad at all, except for one small thing. We got about an hour into the flight when the pilot announced that there was trouble with the AC….So we needed to go back to Dublin. My immediate reaction was to be upset. “Why can’t I just be home!!!!” I thought. However, after thinking a bit more about the problem, I decided that I’d rather have all problems be fixed rather than taking a nose dive into the Atlantic! I realized that the pilot could have just been down playing the true problem so that he doesn’t incite panic in the passengers. We ended up being stuck on the plane for 2 hours while they fixed the… “AC”… problem. Seven hours later I had landed in Chicago! I was looking forward to the clear skies and the warmth of the sun….But as I exited the plane it was gloomy…and cold, in June? Hahaha…Oh well, I was still happy to be home.


First Few Days

So what were my first few days like at home?... Ok so by now I know you are expecting some wild and crazy story that usually comes along with my blog entries. Unfortunately, this time you may be slightly disappointed LOL. To be completely honest, over the first few days at home I did absolutely NOTHING LOL. While in Spain, I had made all of these plans about what I’d do when I returned home…and I did not complete a single one. The perfect picture that could describe my first few days at home would be of some lazy guy lying on the couch watching TV in his boxers…with a bag of chips and a remote LOL. At first I felt bad about my laziness. However, it only took about 24 hours (or 24 seconds) to rationalize why I couldn’t compel myself to do anything productive. Here goes….Within a span of 4 months I had:

• Successfully battled the flu (twice) with no medicine
• Nearly went hungry trying to pinch pennies
• Skipped lunch for 2 weeks straight (ate ham sandwiches for the rest)
• Had to think about everything I said before I said it (second language)
• Worked 2 jobs
• 6 day going away party (which all lasted til about 6am)
• Taught English to children (which sometimes turned into a battle)
• Experienced a 29 hour trip to return to America
• No need to continue right LOL

After rationalizing my laziness in this way, I didn’t feel so bad about the bag of Doritos and the remote control being glued to my hands LOL. It was time for some good ‘ol reeeelaxation! (Plus, I think something was telling me to rest my mind before I battled through an intense 2 weeks at the Yale Pre-MBA Leadership Program, but that’s another story).

The greatest part about coming home was that I could return to my comfort zone. As much as I talk about getting “outside of the box”, your time away makes the return that much better. After 2 days of being a serious couch potato, I decided to go pick up a pizza that my little brother ordered for the family dinner (so American LOL). This was my first exposure to the American environment in 4 months. As I got out of the car to get the pizza, I was shocked to hear everyone around me speaking English. Weird right! I had become so used to hearing Spanish, and then only hearing English when it was translated in my head. But now…information was going directly to my brain without taking a pit-stop at the translation station LOL. Moments later, I caught myself listening to someone’s conversation as we waited for our food. Now this is something that I had become accustomed to doing in Spain because I was trying to see if I could understand what they were saying. But now, I had no excuse. I had to snap out of my trance quickly before people thought I was eavesdropping on their conversation! LOL Sorry….it was just weird to hear something that felt so natural.

Another exciting experience I had was when I went to the T-Mobile store to get my phone turned on. As you know, the United States has a huge population of Spanish speakers. For 22 years of my life, I was never able to understand a bit of what they were saying. This had become a normal thing to me. The Spanish speakers would converse, and I would ignore the conversation because I had no clue what was being said. As I walked into the T-Mobile store to reactivate my phone, I noticed that there were other people being served. At this point it didn’t occur to me who was being served. It wasn’t until I heard the familiar sound of Español did my ears perk up. Clear as day I heard, “I would like to see the Blackberry… No the black one” At that point my eyes lit up, I could hear exactly what they were saying. After 22 years of being in the dark, I clearly understood the conversation. Now obviously this is something I could do while I was in Spain, but it was an entirely different feeling when applied to my home environment. Ok Ok Ok….I know all of this sounds a little corny…BUT HEY it’s my story!!! LOL

As you can see, much of my first few days at home were very anti-climatic. They don’t have the glitz and glamour that surrounded my crazy adventures in Spain LOL….Sometimes it feels good to get back to a more normal, less drama-filled (good and bad) lifestyle…… Of course, for me “normal” doesn’t seem to last very long. In a post to come soon, you’ll see how my Yale Pre-MBA experience completely flipped me on my head LOL.

P.S. Below I've posted some photos of the school I taught at, the classrrom, a few of the kids, and one final picture of me camped out in the airports





Once again, thank you for tuning in to the BLOG. See you again soon….very soon!!!

InternationalDarius
Email: internationaldarius@yahoo.com

5 Hours Til Lift Off

As I sit hear writing this post, I literally have 5 hours until my plane takes off. I knew I had to get at least one more post in before leaving so please forgive the errors. I’ll update this post once I get home.. With that being said, I’m in a rush against the clock so let’s get started!!!

InternationalDarius’ Revenge

As I told you before World, revenge will be mine…And I’m talking about these crazy kids that I’ve been teaching LOL. Just as a reminder, here is the current score:

Kids – 2 InternationalDarius – 0

So what happened? Well…after finding out that I was in my last week of teaching in the school, the other teachers decided that I should play games all week with the kids. Now normally we may play “Heads Up, Seven Up” or maybe even basketball. I usually never participate though. However, on the final day of teaching, the kids insisted that we play Futbol/Soccer and that I play as well. I must admit that I was a little intimidated to play against these 8 and 9 year olds. I have never played Futbol in my life and these kids were pretty good….But hey whatever, I figured I’d give it a shot. What’s the worst that could happen?... The kids (moreso the guys) decided to play Chicos vs. Chicas – and they put me on the girls team LOL. In the first few minutes of playing the boys scored two goals on us. What’s even worse is that I had a 9 year old completely fake me out as I tried to steal the ball. He literally left me frozen in my position as I watched him score. The celebration that followed was even more insulting LOL. He had the nerve to run around me with his hands in the air screaming “Tomaaaa!!!”… At that point I’d had about all I could take. After 15 years of playing sports, the competitive spirit in me just took over. Play time was OVER!!!...The next time the ball was inbounded I took a couple very awkward dribbles and kicked the ball pretty far ahead of me so I could use my speed to my advantage. After blazing past about 5 boys like a bolt of lightning, I raced toward the goal… It was just Me and the Keeper face to face in what would be pivotal part of our battle! I gave the ball one swift kick as hard as I could and it shot clean over the top of the goal LOL (almost over 2 story high fence)!!! Oh Boy!...I turned around to walk back to my position as we all looked at each other in disbelief LOL. After that slightly embarrassing moment, the next play provided a splitting image of the previous play. However, this time I made an adjustment on my shot. I was a bit more under control as I delivered a rocket directly to the back of the goal. “Tommaaaaaaaaa!!!”, I yelled as I circled around the guys with my arms raised in the air. The girls and I had a good celebration together as well. After that goal, it was GAME OVER. I was in my zone. The guys went on two score to more points, but that only fed into my determination to lead us to victory. The following play I stole the ball out of the air and dribbled the length of the field with the guys chasing me. I found myself resorting to American Football tactics as I tried to maintain possession of the ball while the guys tried to steal it. A stiff arm sent one kid to the floor (hahahaha that’s so bad!) and a little bit of hip knocked another off balance. I raced toward the goal to score once again… While soccer may not be as high impact as American Football, I have learned that the game can get quite a bit aggressive at times. A couple plays later I was chasing down a ball and collided with one of the kids. Of course I didn’t fall, but he definitely hit the pavement. I was sure to be a good sport and make sure he was ok….after I scored LOL….(And this is what I mean by revenge. (Now I understand why my grade school teachers liked to play dodgeball so much toward the end of the year LOL!!!). Toward the end of the game the girls and I found ourselves celebrating quite a few goals. We even had some of the guys asking to switch to our team! The final score was 7-5, Girls Team win. I had 7 hahaha! The guys were quite upset.

InternationalDarius – 7 Students – 7

*Ok Ok Ok…So yea it does sound a little… ummmmmm what’s the word?...pitiful…to be boasting about beating up on little kids LOL. For the record, I know I’m not the next Renaldo. But hey, we had fun. Despite me being a little out of control, no one was hurt or injured during the games. We all had a good laugh everytime I found myself playing American Football LOL. Overall, I must say that I truly enjoyed my experience with the students. I joke about going to battle with them, but in all reality we have all benefitted from the entire experience.

InternationalDarius – Overnight Celebrity?

HAHAHAH not quite, but it sounded good….As usual, my stay in Spain never fails to provide some sort of wacky story that I can pass on to you all. I’ll tell this story from beginning to end so that you can have a complete understanding of it… One day on the job at Kapital, I met a lady, Lana, who has also had the opportunity to travel the world. Naturally, I wanted to know a little more about her experiences. After speaking for awhile we decided to meet up again sometime the next week. Well, 2 days later I get a text from her (in Spanish) asking if I’d like to go to some expensive cologne store (or atleast that’s what I thought it said). I’m not much of a cologne or perfume connoisseur but hey I had nothing else to do. I through on some clothes and headed to meet her….Okay, so when I finally get to our meeting point, I see her decked out in jewelry, high heels, and a fancy dress. I didn’t think much of it until she hands me an invitation, which is when I became skeptical of this trip to a “cologne store”….Something isn’t quite right. There is no way this cologne store is that nice for me to need an invitation LOL. Just then Lana explains to me that she works for Cosmopolitan and that we will be attending an award ceremony thrown by them. “Juuuuuuust great!!!” here I am going to an award ceremony in Jeans, a button-up, and some Air-Force 1’s. Yea reaaaaalllll classy!!!... But hey, it couldn’t be that bad right?!?...As we walk up to the door, I saw people coming out of the most expensive luxury cars. They were also dressed in gowns and 3 piece suits. Again, I’m wearing JEANS…A BUTTON-UP….and AIR FORCE 1’s. Upon walking up to the door, I just new they were going to tell me that I couldn’t come in…Luckily, I still the didn’t. I imagine that they thought “Wow, this 6’4’’ black guy must really be big-time if he came here wearing that!!!” LOL…Anyway, after getting in I was told that many of the most popular celebrities from Spain were at the ceremony. Here I was literally standing next to Demi Moore, Halle Berry, Jessica Alba, Matt Damon, Samuel Jackson, Tom Hanks, etc… Well not actually these people, but I had to use these names so you can better understand the type of people there….and because I have no clue of their names. This is how it was described to me LOL. The award ceremony was really nice as well. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a camera since I though I was going to a cologne store.

What’s Next?

Surely all of the learning and excitement doesn’t come to an end now does it?... As you know, I left the US as a busy bee, and I will be returning the same way. When I return I have many things to accomplish.

Yale Pre-MBA Leadership Program

Upon touching down in the Chicago, I will have 8 days until I board a plane once again. I will be attending the Yale Pre-MBA Leadership Program on June 14^th. I am extremely excited about this great opportunity. This program was designed to assist students in building leadership, networking, analytical, and various other skills important to those in pursuit of an MBA. I feel like this program is a great fit for me. The Yale Pre-MBA Leadership Program has a dual focus. Not only do they want to develop our business skills, but they also seek to enhance participant’s ability to have a positive impact on the community. What more could you ask for? In my opinion, there is more to success than prosperity within your given career. It is also important to assist others in realizing their hopes and dreams. For me, assisting someone in overcome the inevitable obstacles that come with success is one of the most fulfilling acts of kindness.

GMAT

Just when you think being a nerd comes to an end, it creeps right back up on you. I have committed myself to taking the GMAT. It’s a test required to be admitted into business school. I have planned to study 4 hours/day in effort to achieve my desired score. My goal is to earn a 700+ GMAT test score. Scores range from 200 to 800. A 700 would put me in the 90^th percentile, which mean I would have scored better than 90% of test-takers. Four hours/day sounds quite easy compared to the 10+ hours/day I was putting in before coming to Spain. However, the GMAT is an entirely different test than the CPA exam. The CPA is a Pass-Fail exam. Therefore, you just hope to beat the benchmark level. With the GMAT I will be aiming to score as high as possible (at least top 10%) I recently had a huge reality check when I attempted a practice GMAT exam last week. I scored a 480, which puts me in the 31^st percentile LOL. Although I took the test without studying, it is obvious that I have a lot of work ahead of me. It’s time to put that work-ethic to the test once again!

The fact that I will be returning to the life of a nerd once again is hilarious to me. I felt like this is one of those Steve Urkel/Stephon Urquelle moments (please tell me you know what I’m talking about LOL). At home I had my nose buried in the books all day. There was no time for parties, valueless television, random outings, and other types of fun normal people have. I might as well have been wearing glasses with tape in the middle, suspenders, and a pocket protector LOL. After coming to Spain I transformed into the “cool” InternationalDarius (well at least I think so). I was at a party over half of my days. I met new people everyday. Everyday I’d find myself in very interesting situations that I get to put on my semi-cool BLOG. I even had a 6 day going away party!!!…and now it’s time for cool InternationalDarius to go back to the nerdy InternationalDarius, Stefan Urquelle back to Steve Urkel LOL… Ok Ok I’m done being so dramatic.

Maintaining Level of Spanish

After all of this work with my Spanish, I’d be an idiot to let it go. Over the next 3 months I will need to maintain my level of Spanish (assuming time permits). I have about 5 books that I can study from. Therefore, the grammar should not be a problem. I also have movies and TV shows that I can watch in Spanish that will help me better my comprehension. Now all I need is a buddy to volunteer to speak Spanish with me!...........And ummmm what is this talk about maintaining? Hmmmmmm….I wonder if there’s something more to this story?

Stay Tuned for the next post. I will document the feeling I have after returning home. My initial feeling, change in perspective, new developments, etc… I am very excited to see how Spain has provided a change in my life. As of right now I feel fine….But then again, I’m still in Spain. Alright I have to go now….I have about an hour left to pack so that I can catch my flight LOL!!!

I'm Back!!!

Hello World…(I say world because we now have international viewers) It feels like forever since I last posted. Of course, I have gotten myself into a million good and bad things since my last post in April. Nevertheless, I’m happy to check in with you and let you know that I am still alive LOL!!!

How Is Life?
So where did we leave off last time….Oh yea, I gave you a break down on why I had made the decision to stay in Spain when all I had was about 40 Euros and a bag full of hope! How has life been over the last 5 weeks?...Well, I’ll start at the beginning. I’ve been working 2 jobs. I teach English and work at a club in Madrid, Kapital. I am proud to say that today I am eating 3 meals a day and 100% healthy. I eat breakfast and dinner with my Spanish family, and the school I teach at provides my lunch. But hold on a second…Let’s back track to the beginning of April when things weren’t so peachy LOL. Here’s where you see the obstacles I had to overcome due to the decision I made to stay in Spain.

Problem 1, the first two weeks in April are a holiday. Therefore, there is no school, which means I have no lunch. Having little to no money, I decided (not like I had much of a choice at the time) to go without lunch everyday. I developed a strategy to cope with the hunger during those 2 weeks. I tried to wake up as late as possible in order to reduce the amount of time I had to wait until dinner. I’d try to eat breakfast around 2pm. Dinner is around 9pm. Spanish breakfasts are not as large as the portions in America. It’s usually just a croissant and coffee or something of the sort. It’s not the pancakes and sausage, bacon, eggs, omelets, french toast – …Okay I need to stop I’m getting hungry. Essentially, each day I was eating the equivalent of one snack and dinner! Trust me, the 50+ continuous days of ham sandwiches that I spoke about having in the previous months sounded like heaven at that point.

Problem 2, working two jobs had become very time consuming. During the day I’d teach kids and at night I’d be working at the club (Thursday through Saturday). It’s required that I be in the club until at least 4:30am. Unfortunately, the metro doesn’t open ‘til 6:00am, which means that I didn’t get home until 6:30am and sleep by 7am. That would leave me about 2 or 3 hours of sleep until I had to get up for work on Friday. Not only that, but trying to keep up with the “clubbing” lifestyle can be taxing on the body…drinks, dancing, staying up all night. Needless to say, all this madness lead to me catching the flu…and NO not Swine Flu LOL. One Friday, I woke up feeling great after a long night out. But throughout the day I started to develop pain in my neck and the worst headache I’d ever had in life. I toughed out the weekend working at the club, but by Monday I was completely dead. I found my self unable to move as I was glued to my bed for the next 4 days. One of the days I slept for 20 hours, and this is not an exaggeration. Because getting medicine here is the biggest pain, I had to kick my illness naturally. This all lead to Problem 3…Spanish.

Problem 3 - Between getting sick, teaching English, and working in Kapital, I hardly had time or the focus to do what I had stayed in Spain to do….Learn Spanish! Without having classes, I was forced to study on my own. This proved extremely difficult when battling exhaustion. I also didn’t do much practicing through conversation. Obviously, as an English teacher you have to speak English (this comment deserves an asterisk). Also, Kapital is a very popular place for international travelers, which means many of the people that come can speak English. What’s more is that when you’re laying in bed sick there isn’t very many opportunities to speak. Nor do you have the desire LOL. Now when you put all of this together, there is only one possible feeling that you can have….And That Is….Wanting to go HOME!!!

Problem 4….So here is what I was looking at. I was broke, hungry, sick, constantly working, and not learning anything. I can’t lie World, I was definitely regretting the decision to remain in Spain. My pride never let me beg to come home, but believe me when I say that it was on my mind 24/7…And even more so in the morning before I arrived at work only to deal with you know who LOL!

But hey that was then, and this is now. I had to make some major changes in order to make it through the last 5 or so weeks. What are they?... Well now that I have more money, I make sure that I have lunch EVERYDAY. I found out how to ride the night bus home so I could leave the club early and get more sleep. I have about 3 or 4 Spanish grammar books that I study as much as possible. I have come to accept that kids are kids and they are going to act crazy, especially when they can’t understand you. These small changes have made all the difference in the world. Now that I have survived through the worst of a tough situation, I look forward to great days during my travels. I have no doubt that the struggle that I went through over that period of time has helped me grow in many ways. By no means am I rich, but comparing how I felt be for to how I feel now is like rags to riches to me. What's even better is that the entire time I felt that I wasn't improving my Spanish, I actually was. By continuing to push forward through hard times, I was moving toward my goal without even realizing that my language ability was improving. To this day, I'm feeling great about my decision. Let's hope it stays that way LOL!

InternationalDarius vs. Students
When I said that these kids were a riot, I couldn’t have been more serious! Over the past 6 weeks I have learned that I need to be on my toes. They will not hesitate to pull the wool over your eyes if you’re not careful. Don’t believe me? Let’s have a look at the following battles LOL….

Round 1
The movie High School Musical is like the best source of entertainment ever created. Not one class goes by that I’m not asked to play a song from the movie. While the kids do not have a very high level of English yet, they have no problem naming each and every character and singing every song in the movie (in English). Furthermore, they are amazed that I’m not as knowledgeable about High School Musical as they are. After only two weeks their amazement combined with the thought that I didn’t know any Spanish, turned into an opportunity for trickery. One day, all of the students started asking me if they could see Gabriela Desnuda. (FYI Gabriela is Vanessa Hudgens, one of the main characters and desnuda means naked. Apparently, paparazzi got ahold of some revealing photos of the young actress). This was all happening while the kids were in one of those out-of-control moods, so I was quickly trying to find something to calm them down. Already on YouTube, I almost started typing it in… G-A-B-…. Just then it clicked as I thought aloud “Waaaaaiiiiiiiit-a-miiiiinnnnnuuute!!! Did these little comedians really just ask me if they could see “Gabriela naked” in class?” LOL…Never in my wildest dreams did I have the courage to make that sort of request when I was that age! But then again, I never thought I could try to trick my teachers by speaking another language…And kids do say the craziest things. Anyway, for that split second when I was about to start typing, I was thinking Gabriela Desnuda was a song or something….I know you didn’t think I would really show nudity to children did you?…. In the end the attempt at getting one over on me warranted a good laugh, but you know they had to be punished afterwards LOL. OK OK OK jokes on me!

Students – 1 InternationalDarius – 0

Round 2
This next story comes from a class that I was teaching for the older kids, 11-12 year olds. I was teaching the difference between the ‘ch’ sound in English and the ‘sh’ sound. In Spanish, there is no ‘sh’ sound. For example, when they are trying to say be quiet, they say ssssssssssssss as opposed to shhhhhhhhhhhhh! Anyway, after a few examples, I decided that I would try to get tricky and use an irregular word. I chose the word Chicago….So I spell the word on the board and I pronounced it for them. Then I had them repeat after me a few times. After about 2 or 3 times I started to here a giggles. In my mind everything seemed to be normal. I thought that they were laughing because it was a cool word and they were having problems pronouncing it. So what do I do? I start saying it more and more “Chicago, Chicago, Chicago”…Just then I began to think….The true meaning of Chicago (history lesson) is an Native Americna reference to the strong smell of onions…And there was no way in the world that they knew that. Then it dawned on me! I was hanging out with some friends when I had learned the verb ‘cagar’, literally meaning “To Shit.” (excuse my language) When you conjugate the verb in the first person you get ‘cago’ or “I Shit”. So when you split the word Chicago, you get Chi – Cago…So all they see is the professor standing in front of the class laughing and saying, “Chicago, Chicago, Chicago hahahaha. Repeat after me…Chicago” TRANSLATED ”I Shit, I Shit, I Shit hahaha. Repeat after me…I Shit”….OK OK OK world they got me again!

Students – 2 InternationalDarius – 0

Round 3 (still to come)
Hey … Round 3 is going to be different. I can’t let them keep beating up on me LOL!

*For the record, I just think these are funny stories. In all reality, we have a lot of fun while learning. Not all my kids are crazy…..Just some of them LOL.

NightLife
Pheeeeeeew!!!! It just never stops LOL. It seems like I’m out every single night these days. I remember saying how I’m going to limit all of the partying but it just seems impossible LOL. There is always something to celebrate. Heck, I’m still celebrating passing the CPA exam and that was in February! But I’ll tell you what, Spain has more holidays than any country I know. On top of the national holidays that are already long, each city also gets to choose 2 additional days for holidays. Personally, I’ve had over 16 days of vacation from teaching already. Let me just explain how last week was for me. On Tuesday, I met a friend to have some drinks. Wednesday I rested. Thursday was a huge party. Friday was a huge party. Saturday was a huge party. Sunday was a huge party. Monday I had a meeting with KPMG office in Madrid. Finally, on Tuesday I had to go to work….Then I went out with some friends hahaha. While this is a true story, the reality is I work in a club as I said. So I have to be at a party Thursday – Saturday. Normally, I would rest the other days but it was a friend’s last week in Madrid. But hey I don’t have to explain myself LOL. I’m just making up for spending every day of the last year in the library without a glimpse of fun. Plus, I’m on semi-vacation!

Coming Home!!!
What? What was that???.....Yes Yes I have finally decided to pack my bags and head home, June 5th. Actually, it wasn’t much of a decision being that I will be preparing for the Yale Pre-MBA Leadership program on June 14th. I’m excited about going out to New Haven for a new experience in leadership. After looking through the tentative agenda, it appears that we will have plenty of opportunities for developing valuable professional skills.

I hear that the final weeks go fast than all of the other weeks of your stay. This means I’m going to have to move fast to see some of the historical attractions that are here such as the Palacio Real and Thiessen (Picasso paintings). Lately, I haven’t done many touristy things because I’ve been so busy working. Also, I know I still owe you all a video of me speaking Spanish. Once I’m done being lazy I’ll put it up LOL.

Thanks for tuning in once again.

InternationalDarius
internationaldarius@yahoo.com

Las Fallas (A Pyro's Dream)

WARNING: Before you read this post, please be advised that the words you will find to describe the magnificence of Las Fallas cannot sufficiently provide a clear understanding of the event. Las Fallas is a spectacular event that can only be properly digested through your presence in Valencia for the festival. But hey…better something than nothing!!!! So let’s get started.

Day 1

Off To A Great Start

After only being in Valencia (Las Fallas de Valencia) for only 30 minutes, I could already tell that this experience was going to be something I’d remember forever. I’ll just tell you now that a lot of what went on dealt with fire and blowing things up. After getting off of the bus in Valencia, we decided to wander the streets to see what was going on. Surprise Surprise…The first stop we made was at a fireworks shop. And no, this was not the same fireworks shop that we see in America. This shop had everything from drop pops to sticks of dynamite. All the illegal things we dream about on the 4^th of July. My motto for the trip was to “go big or go home”…So I went ahead and bought the strongest and most deafening explosives that they had in the shop. I was trying to blow a whole in the Earth the size of Texas. (My family is probably shaking their heads because they know I used to be a bit of a pyro. No stories necessary!) Okay back to the Las Fallas. My friends, Nick and Joe, also bought some bombs equal in intensity but a slightly different sound. Nick’s box came with 20, Joe’s box came with 10, and my box came with 5. Surprisingly they were fairly cheap (Those pictured were the small kind). We were like little kids in a candy store. Filled with excitement, we darted outside to test our new toys out. Nick decided to be the first to break the seal of our 48 hour grenade tossing contest. He lit the fuse and tossed it about 7 feet away. Our hearts were pounding as we anticipated the explosion. As soon as the bomb detonated, Joe jumped about 6 feet in the air (sorry Joe!) LOL. We definitely underestimated the power of our new toys when we were buying them. Joe and I decided to hold on to our fireworks being that we had a smaller quantity but more intense petardos (fireworks). After that, we decided to go back to our hotel. We picked up another friend, Merve, on the way. Later I’ll explain how Joe almost gave some old ladies a heart attack!!!

The Virgin Parade

The next event we decided to go to on Day 1 was the Virgin’s Parade. Now I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on its significance but here is my understanding of the event. A massive amount of people (mostly women and children) are suited in very fancy and elaborately decorated clothing. They looked like royalty. They were honored as they marched through the streets of Valencia. The entire central area of Valencia was blocked off for the event. This was one of the most impressive parades I have ever attended for a few reasons. 1. They marched for what seemed to be 10 hours 2. The outfits they were dressed in cost over a thousand dollars 3. I don’t know if I believe that they were all virgins, but if it’s true, I saw more virgins at one time than I have seen in my entire life (literally thousands) LOL. I say that halfway joking but if you sit back and think seriously, it is quite amazing. I had a great time watching the parade. However, after about 2 hours I was about done seeing all of the people marching through the street. I was ready for some more explosives, partying, and fire.

Paella and Public Intoxication

After watching the Virgin’s Parade for awhile, we were all starving and ready to eat Valencia’s world famous Paella. They say it’s a crime to travel to Valencia and not eat the Paella. Basically, it is chicken and rice but a million times more tasty (and it better be for 10 Euros/$13 per plate) One more thing about Valencia was that drinking alcohol in public was completely legal. The rules in Spain are more relaxed in general but I’m pretty sure it was legal in Valencia at that time. It was normal to see people with open bottles of vodka, beer, and whine walking the streets consuming whatever concoction they had created. It was more about relaxing and having a good time as opposed to getting drunk and making a fool of yourself, although there were some who did that as well. Only because we wanted to truly live the experience, my friends and I decided mix a few drinks of our own as we enjoyed a night in Valencia.

Playing Tag with Fireworks?

Ok the caption may be a bit much.........NAHHHHH! When night fall had come we decided to light off some more fireworks. Keep in mind that the place already sounded like a warzone as people were blowing things up every 10 seconds, and I do mean every 10 seconds. Anyway, we were walking down one of the streets and we saw some children (about 5 years old) and their parents lighting fireworks. We decided to light a few bottle rockets just to have a little fun with them. The kids thought it was great. Just then, I see this five year old running at Nick with a small firework in his hand. He then throws the firework that had already been lit right at Nick. He ran away laughing and pointing as Nick danced while the blackcat exploded by his feet. It was like it was a game. Obviously, the blackcat wasn’t big enough to do any serious harm. It was more comical than anything. I could only imagine what the repercussions would be in the US for throwing lit fireworks at another person…Yet, here it was something that we were all laughing at. This may sound very dangerous but keep in mind that everyone was more careful than you could believe… OK so now for the story about Joe almost giving 3 old ladies a heart attack. Throughout the day we had learned that if you put a bomb in a tunnel, the sound is amplified about 10 times its normal intensity. Joe proceeds to walk over to a tunnel and throw one of his ten deafening explosives inside. Just then, 3 old ladies, around 60-70, were walking by the entrance of the tunnel as a huge explosion went off directly in front of them. I have never seen 70 year olds move that fast LOL. Imagine seeing an elderly lady high stepping like Deion Sanders. Clearly, this was not the intent, or at least I don’t think it was. But I almost cracked a rib from laughing so hard. I’m sorry America but it was hilarious. (No one was hurt)

Day 2

Caught in the middle of a Warzone

After getting back to the hotel around 6am, I decided that I’d go to sleep and wake up naturally, no alarm. Instead, around 10 o’clock I was awakened by what I thought was a military invasion. Sorry, I was still in a daze! Thunderous explosions rang one after another. Still half asleep and very disoriented, I stumbled over to the window to see what was going on. All I could see was smoke consuming the city from all of the petardos detonating. Needless to say, I had forgotten where I was. It was an amazing realization that this is what it sounded like to people who lived in countries at war. I could never truly grasp how it feels to have (real) bombs going off around me, but just for a second I felt that I had a better understanding.

Mascletas

Everyday in the city center around noon, there was a fireworks display. How could there be a fireworks display in sunlight? Well…this fireworks display had nothing to do with the beauty and elaborate colors that come after the explosion. This event was about the sheer power and amplitude of each explosion. As we rushed to catch the ten minute display of machismo we found ourselves caught in a crowd of millions of people from around the world. I was astounded by the amount of people attending the Mascletas. You’ll see from the video that we were packed like sardines for as far back as the eye could see. And this was only on the one street in which we observed the Mascletas. If you can imagine the largest anthill you’ve ever seen in your life, it was about like that. We arrived much too late to reach ground zero of the display. Nevertheless, we could still feel our bones quake with each explosion. The ground was shaking as if a tank was rolling right beside me. It was mind boggling to here the back to back to back explosions. I can only imagine what it felt like to be in the front. At the end of the Mascletas, the crowd sent back a deafening response of its own as millions of people cheered an unforgettable experience. When you watch the video, be sure to turn your volume all the way up. Then multiply that sound by 1000 and that’s about what we heard.

LAS FALLAS!!!

What is Las Fallas? As it was explained to me, the significance of this event if very interesting. Throughout the year we all have our hopes and dreams that we would like to come true at some point. Unfortunately, there are many obstacles and barriers that lead to failures or mishaps. In the city of Valencia, statues of all sizes are erected. These statues (Fallas) are made of a highly flammable plastic material that can be molded in very detailed structures. The Fallas represent all of the things that have gone wrong throughout the year. During Las Fallas de Valencia, these statues are set ablaze signifying a new beginning, ridding ourselves of problems of the past. For example, some Fallas show women getting plastic surgery, economic crisis, political mischief, illegal immigrants, etc… Neighborhoods spend a large sum of money to create these statues. The most expensive Fallas are almost the size of a building and cost over $1,000,000 dollars. In the end, all the Fallas are burned down except for the one deemed to be the winner.

As I said before, my motto for the trip was to “go big or go home.” Thus, my friends and I decided to go to the largest and most popular Falla right in the city center (multiple Fallas burn throughout the city). Again, the amount of people present at the burning of the Fallas was astounding. This time, I think there were even more present than there were at the Mascleta. As you will see from the video, I managed to obtain a front row position amongst millions and millions of people. The journey to get to the front is a story in itself. Let’s just say that an angry mob of people desperately wanted to jump on the policia as they smashed us into each other in attempt to move the crowd further away from the Falla. It was nearly impossible to move. At the time I was angry due to a lack of understanding of their reasoning. After the burning took place, I had a very clear understanding why we had to move further back. I was very grateful for the persistence of the policia. I’ll only say a few more things about the burning of the Fallas because words cannot do it justice. 1. It was so hot that I literally felt like my face was melting. 2. If it looks like fireworks were erupting right over my head, its because they were (video) 3. Priceless Experience!!!

Bomberos Maricon?

Following the burning of the most popular Falla, we thought that it was all over. Well…I guess Las Fallas decided to give us an encore presentation. After finding my friends, we decided to try and search for something else to get into. We ended up running into another statue burning. This statue was much smaller, but it was not the burning that made this experience worthwhile. Near the end of the statue burning to the ground the crowd began to inch closer and closer to the fire, which was still fairly larger. There wasn’t the same amount security as there was at the other. Obviously, something had to be done. The bomberos (fireman) turned the huge fire hose on us, the crowd, to keep us away. Can you imagine being blasted by the pressure of a real fire hose? The crowd began chanting “Bomberos Maricon” as we inched closer to the fire. The chant was all in fun. No hate toward anyone sexual preference (maricon). At first I thought it was about to turn into a riot. Of course, I would have left if that was the case. But just then, I noticed that a game ensued between the people and the bomberos. As soon as we got too close we would be drenched by the fire hose as we were retreating. Seconds after being sprayed, we began inching closer once again. Although the chant was meant to tease the bomberos and the whole process seemed dangerous, it was obvious that everything was done for the sake of having a good time. After the fire was put out, the crowd rushed the bomberos and hoisted them in the air as we celebrated a great experience. It was as if the bomberos had won the SuperBowl.

WOW…What an amazing 2 days!!!

*Amidst all of the alcohol, fire, and bombs, this was the most peaceful gathering I have ever seen. I was amazed by the fact that I did not see one fight, argument, or injury. It is impressive to see that there can be literally millions of people gathered together surrounded by so much danger, yet there is so much peace.

*Unfortunately, I still have no idea how to load a photo album onto the blog. If you want to see the pictures, I have them posted in an album on Facebook. They are definitely worth seeing!

Thank you for tuning in to the BLOG once again. I look forward to hearing from you all!

-InternationalDarius

internationaldarius@yahoo.com

The Clock Is Ticking

ProfessorDarius
It seems like every time I post I have involved myself in some other experience foreign to me. I guess this is the point of my trip though right. What have I gotten myself into this time?... I just found a job teaching English in a small town right outside of Madrid. Aside from community service, I have never had the opportunity to work with children in this capacity. Thus far, I have worked with students aging from 3-12. At those ages, I thought kids were cute and harmless….Well let me just say that I was in for a rude awakening on my FIRST day of work. When I arrived at the school, all of the kids were intrigued by how tall I am. At that point I thought I’d easily be able to control a classroom being that had so much interest in this giant nuevo profesor. I think they were just putting on an act. The following example of how they behave comes from a 3 and 4 year old class that I had. For the first 2 or 3 minutes of class the kids were like little angels listening to everything I had to say. They must have been plotting how they were going to destroy the classroom. Seconds later it seemed like the classroom quickly turned into a mad house. As soon as I began trying to teach them about animals, they decided to start acting like….well…animals. The entire class thought it would be a great idea to stand on top of their desks and jump off as if they were the birds we were discussing. My 7-8 year old class was even more chaotic. At this age they have developed a more sophisticated level of evil LOL. One boy loved to use his new found knowledge of sarcasm to make jokes. I could also see another girl beginning to emerge as the classroom bully. I had to stop her from putting a classmate into a Hulk Hogan like headlock. In both classes the kids decided to have a track meet inside the classroom… Oh and one question. How come kids have to go to the bathroom every 5 seconds, and all at once? LOL I cannot properly explain the craziness of that day, but if you have ever seen Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie “Kindergarten Cop” you’d understand exactly the type of mischief I was up against. My Spanish has gotten better, but it probably sounds a lot like the way he speaks English. Like Arnold, I’m about 10 times the size of all the little kids, but these fearless little creatures still think they can take me on. As you can see, the Terminator and I have a lot in common.



As crazy as my initial experience has been, I love working the children and I am really enjoying spending time with them. During periods of chaos I would have loved to throw one of those little devils out of the window LOL (I’m joking). However, it is impossible to remain irritated with them when they run up to you the next day excited to be in your class. It is becoming much easier to get my classes under control so that I can effectively teach the students. I feel great when I observe the students learning more and more each day. I try to do as much as possible to help them to shed the heavy Spanish accent. In all seriousness, most of the kids are well mannered. I learned that as a teacher you just have to learn to help them to control all of the pent up energy they have. They are also helping me to learn more Spanish. Kids are some of the best actors when you need them to mimic the meaning of a word.

In Other News
As you all know, I applied for KPMG Global Audit Training and the Yale Pre-MBA Leadership Program. Both programs were stacked with extremely talented people from around the world. Unfortunately, I did not make the cut for the KPMG Global Audit Training, which would have allowed me to do 2 weeks of job training in Greece. I’d be lying if I said that I was not disappointed to hear the news. However, I am honored to have the opportunity to apply and be considered for the program. With that said…Know that I have already gone back to the drawing board to refine my strengths and improve on my weaknesses. The next time another opportunity like this is presented; rest assured that you will not see the same applicant that applied for this program. I’ll be back KPMG! And when that time comes, I’ll be equipped with new and enhanced abilities.

Now for the good news! Last week I was informed that I have been accepted into the Yale Pre-MBA Leadership Program. Sixty candidates worldwide were selected to take part in this program, which focuses on developing business and leadership skills. It is also centered around developing participants’ ability to have a positive impact on the community. I can only imagine the number of impressive applications that the selection board had to choose from. Given the exceptional talent pool, I am very grateful to be one of the candidates selected to benefit from this opportunity. During the program, we will be taught the basics of many business school subjects. Participants will also have the opportunity to network amongst each other, Yale School of Management faculty and alumni, and current MBA students. The program has also planned trips to the New York Stock Exchange and various corporations. Lastly, we’ll receive one-on-one training to improve our presentation skills and job market skills. I’m ready!!!

*Special thanks to Derrick Tillman-Kelly, Nicole Davis, and Professor Gerald Olson for assisting me in the application process!

Decisions Decisions
The end of the month has come!!! I have reached a point in my adventures abroad where I have come to a crossroad. This crossroad has caused me to do a great deal of self-reflection and prioritizing in my life. As you may already know, I have 2 major decisions that I must make before the end of the month. 1. Stay in Spain… 2. Return to the US… I’ll be honest; this is probably THE hardest decision I have ever had to make. You’ll see why in a second. As you will soon read, there is a great deal of risk involved in my decision (more than I have ever experienced to this point). Now, I have already made the decision, but I’m going to walk you through my thought process.

What Is My Current Status?
As I sit here typing away, I continue to live with my host family here in Madrid. I came to Madrid with an acute understanding of the Spanish language. I have now advanced to an intermediate level in both speaking and reading the language. I have developed many relationships with people all over the world (from China to Brazil). What is my current financial position?... Well, after paying this months rent, I have about 50 Euros to my name to last for the rest of the month (as I’m typing there is about 9 days left). As I said before, I found work teaching English to children from 3-12 years old. I am paid hourly and payday is at the end of the month in Spain (as opposed to twice/month). The amount of hours I will receive is based on the demand for English teachers. I begin career at KPMG in October, which gives me 6 months to do who knows whatever my resources allow.

Stay in Madrid? (The Risk)
With only 50 Euros in my wallet, the risks are obvious! Rent is over 10 times what I have now. Breakfast and dinner are included (as well as other perks), which leaves lunch as the only meal that I have to find on my own. I would have to rid myself of the safety net I had with my return flight home that I had previously purchased. I’ll have to purchase a new ticket with money that I hope will be available in the future. As you can see much of my risk is related to financial resources. Also, I am putting all of my eggs in one basket with my current teaching job. As I said, the hours depend on the demand for English teachers. Given the harsh economic environment we live in today (worse in Spain), the demand is not nearly as high as before. I am a newer professor of English, which means it’ll be a little tougher for me to make as much money. So to sum it all up, by remaining in Madrid, I’m risking not having enough money to feed myself, a place to sleep, and the ability to return back to the US. Basically, I could be out on the streets in a foreign country!

Just Stop While I’m Ahead? (The Safe Choice)
Whether or not I decide to go home, I’m still going to be broke in either place LOL. However, by returning home I know that I’ll at least have a roof over my head and a couple of meals to get me through the day. (Side note: In effort to save money, I have been eating ham sandwiches and chips for lunch every day. Currently, I’m on my 40th day with this meal, no joke). Obviously, with 6 months left until I begin my career in accounting, I will have to find a job to cover my living expenses until October. There is no more freeloading after college (well not in my house at least). I’ll return with greater language skills and experience living within another country. I can turn on the TV and understand everything that is said. I can see all of my family and friends that I miss being with. I would probably join Toastmasters’ and take the GMAT (two other goals that I would enjoy working toward). Moreover, I can relax and live comfortably for awhile without living life on the edge every minute of the day.

What Am I Going To Do (The Analysis)
Here is the part of my thought process that helped me to gain a better understanding of myself. In an earlier post I talked about how I was smart enough to ensure that all of my risks were calculated. Well…it is no different this time. I have weighed the positives, negatives, and the potential for disaster in both decisions (which are a lot higher than I would like). On paper, going home is clearly the safer and healthier decision…And trust me, it is extremely tempting. After reading my previous posts and learning more about me, I’m sure that by now you can guess the decision that I have come to. I would love to return to the comfort of my home…But this truth is America, I have some unfinished business. Before coming to Spain, I dreamt of experiencing and living a new style of life. This includes learning the customs, speaking the language, being involved in cultural activities, and developing new relationships. I have been presented with an amazing opportunity that will allow me to see my dreams through… During a serious conversation with a friend I was asked, “How far would you go to see your dreams through?” My answer – “If you want to know how far I would go to see my dreams come true, I could tell you, or you could just look this way and see for yourself.” So at the end of my analysis, I was able to sum up everything into a few questions. What was I more willing to sacrifice? My comfort? Or my dreams?

Last Minute Items!!!
*About three weeks ago I went to a town by the name of Toledo. It is the old capitol city of Spain. I saw some of the most unique architecture and landscaping ever. Unfortunately, I have not figured out how to upload a photo album onto my blog. If anyone how to do this, could you please let me in on the secret? Until then, I'll just load the photos to my facebook account.

*Recently, I went to see an Arabic orchestra playing in some fancy building (forgot the name). It was a very interesting experience. After the orchestra finished playing, my roommate and I (along with 2 new friends) wandered into a VIP dining area. What's funny is that apparently the only reason we didn't get kicked out is because they thought I was Arab. I was wondering why all of the waiters kept speaking to me a language that obviously wasn't Spanish. So far people have guessed that I am Dominican, Arab, African, and Columbian. No one has guessed American yet (before I begin speaking).

*Two weeks ago I went to one of the most amazing events I have ever been to in my life, Las Fallas de Valencia. It was definitely one of the top 2 experiences I’ve ever had. Because it was so special, I will be making a special post for the event to give you an idea of what I experienced (I’m still a little speechless). Here’s a picture of what’s to come!


As always, I invite your comments! Thank you for tuning in once again.

-InternationalDarius
Email: internationaldarius@yahoo.com

One Month Down...And Still "Running"

Hola mis amigos de Estados Unidos (y otros paises)!!! Que tal? I'm a week past my guaranteed staying time and still running. Let's see how long I can ride this thing out. I have added a couple videos for you entertainment. I appreciate you tuning in once again. I hope you enjoy the post!!!

Classes Are Over, Now What?

I just wrapped up my Spanish class this past Friday. I cannot believe how much I have learned in only a month. I am ages ahead of the “deer in headlights” InternationalDarius that I was before. I can actually hold conversations as long as the Spaniards aren’t talking 100mph. For my participation in the class, I received a document verifying that I officially possess an intermediate level of Spanish speaking ability. Because this is such a great experience, I have decided to continue my education, but less formally. I am now participating in what is called an intercambio. Basically, you exchange languages with someone else as you both learn the others language. Right now I have two Spanish speaking friends with whom I exchange languages. One of my amigos is from Peru and the other is from Brazil (Brazilian’s speak Portuguese but he also knows Spanish). We speak for about 2 hours, one in English and one in Spanish. It is really helping me with my confidence, which is very important. It is also a good way to build relationships. Mi amigo Andre (Brazil) walked around with me yesterday helping me look for jobs. He was my translator when I could not understand the managers of the places I applied. Although, at times I could not understand what he was saying either. In order to continue my studies, my Señora gave me a Spanish book with a lot of exercises on grammar. Classes are probably the best option if you want to learn, but they are expensive. I’m in day 3 of my informal education though. It seems to be going well. We’ll see how my Spanish continues to progress.

Oh yea…I finally got around to asking my Señora (her name is Tania) if she’ll do and interview. She agreed and we should be filming it this week. You’ll get to see just how much I learned in a little over 30 days.

Pictures Please!!!

I was informed by a friend that I need to put up some more pictures of the beautiful artwork, landscape, and architecture of Spain. Those are soon to come. This weekend I will be going to a town called Toledo. Toledo is an older city with some amazing attractions. I have an idea of what to expect but who knows what is to come. I’ll be sure to take great pictures and post them ASAP. Until then, I have some photos of a few places I have been in Madrid. I have yet to go inside the King’s palace or any of the elaborately decorated churches. I promised myself that these things are next on my agenda.

Carnaval

Last week marked the end of Carnaval. The festivities carry on for four days in numerous locations across the

world such as Brazil, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Croatia, Columbia, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago. Historically, for Christians, this signified the last opportunity to celebrate and eat certain foods before Lent. It seems to me that it is a huge party where everyone dresses up in their favorite costumes. There are a number of parties and parades that highlight the event. Before you get too jealous of the 4 day party, remember that we

have something similar at home. We just call it Mardi Gras. The major difference here is that people actually get days off of work and school to celebrate. In Spain, Carnaval is most celebrated in the city of Cadiz. Unfortunately, I was not able to travel to Cadiz. However, Madrid has a celebration of its own, which I was not aware of until I was attacked by a pink gremlin LOL! YES! P-I-N-K G-R-E-M-L-I-N…Sounds crazy but here’s what happened. I had gone to the mall attempting to recharge my Spanish mobile phone as I do every week. Everything seemed to be going along as it normally does. As I was handing my money to the cashier, out of the corner of my eye I see this bright pink, four foot gremlin running directly at me. Now I don’t know how many of you have seen a bright pink gremlin, but I must say that for a split second I was little freaked out. Luckily, just before I raised my foot to give this thing a swift sidekick, I recognized it was somebody’s little boy dressed up for Carnaval LOL!...Hey don’t judge me!!! It was a natural self-defense reaction. I expected to see people dressed up at night and at parties…But who expects to see anyone running around the mall at 2pm like that….Call me crazy!

Aside from the above experience, I was able to attend one of the parades in the streets of Madrid. At the parade, Frankenstein, T-Rex, and Wonder Woman all made special guest appearances. I have posted a few pictures (above) of the parade.

IntellectualDarius Moment

Failure Facts:

• Steve Jobs was once fired from Apple, Inc.
• Donald Trump has been forced to file for bankruptcy 3 times
• Nelson Mandela was wrongfully placed in prison for 27 years
• Neil Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer and 50% chance of living
• Muhammad Ali had his boxing license suspended nearly 3 years after opposing the Vietnam war
• Mahatma Gandhi was nearly lynched after assisting Indians in attempting to overcome a bill that denied them the right to vote
• Jackie Joyner Kersee, arguably the world’s greatest female athlete, battled severe asthma throughout her career
• Michael Jordan has missed 26 game winning shots
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. faced harsh criticism after allowing children to march in the Birmingham Campaign in the presence of violent authorities

Despite the numerous failures and setbacks listed above, the people are some of the greatest and most successful people ever to walk the planet. These people have provided a great example of our potential to achieve our goals when we:

1) Never lose sight of our goals

2) Continue on your journey toward success despite any setbacks or failure

3) Be willing to both help and be helped

Failure can either be used to defeat us, or we can use it as motivation. We can allow failures to be listed along with some of the greatest…Or they can be listed along with the underachievers. Where will your next failure be ranked?

I think this commercial by Michael Jordan explains it best.

Last Week’s “Question of the Week” – What Motivates You?

I appreciate everyone who sent in responses to last week’s “Question of the Week.” Below I have listed the most frequent responses:

1) Family

2) Making a Difference

3) Winning (Be first)

Based on your responses, I see that everyone has various sources of motivation. I feel that all motivational sources can be equally effective, assuming we maintain our moral character. In my opinion, we must use whatever it is that lights that fire from within to fuel our charge toward achievement. After we identify what motivates us, we should use that source to leverage our success. For example, if I am driven by the desire to win then I’d probably be more effective when I put my self in competitive situations. Maybe I could make create friendly competition with a classmate to see who could get the best grade in class.

Question of the Week

How do you overcome "failure" in your life?

I appreciate you tuning in once again. I look forward to hearing your comments. Anyone is welcome to respond. You can post directly on the blog or shoot me an Email. Don't be afraid of the wall either lol! Email: internationaldarius@yahoo.com

Thank You,

InternationalDarius