My Bucket List

Last night, I was eating supper with friends and the topic of a "bucket list" came up.  I was asked about mine.  My friend Jim joked "buy a bucket and make a list".  That would be a pretty easy bucket list.  :o)

Prior to this year, I never really gave much thought to a bucket list.  But in February, I was really driven to make one.  To be honest, I haven't really looked at my list in months.  But after last night's conversation, I decided to pull it out.  

At this stage, it's still not complete, but it's a really good start.  Here's the list, in no particular order:

*go white water rafting down the Zambezi River (in Zambia, Africa)

*go parasailing

*visit the Holy Land

*float in the Dead Sea

*put my feet in every ocean

*zip line in Costa Rica 

*visit the village in Ecuador where Jim Elliot and Nate Saint were murdered

*learn how to cook authentic Mexican food

*run a 1/2 marathon and finish

*eat flying ants in Zambia  

*swim with dolphins

*Dig and/or fund a well in Africa

*Visit the Great Wall of China

*Publish some of the things I've written

*Write a book & get it published

*learn how to play the guitar and piano

*ride an elephant

*feed a giraffe 

*visit the Grand Canyon

*hug a koala bear

*sing in the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir for one of their prayer meetings

*pet a manatee 

*float in skydiving air tunnel

*see an active volcano

*snorkel in a corral reef area

*ride in a helicopter 

*hike the Appalachian Trail

*Travel to orphanages in Latin America, build relationships with the children, teach them how to tell stories, use their ideas to write a book(s), get it published and use the proceeds to help the orphanages financially.

I realize that some of the ideas are kind of silly, while others may seem crazy or impossible.  Maybe so, but God made me a dreamer.  You know what they say "dream BIG or go home".  I choose to dream Big.  I do believe all these things are possible and it'll be fun checking them off my list.  

My favorite thing about language learning

For any of you that have learned a language, what's been your favorite part?  Memorizing vocab that seems to be endless?  Conjugating verbs?  Practicing speaking?  Well, sad to say, I can't say that any of those are close to being my favorite.  Some days, I really don't mind any of those things.  Other days, well, I'd rather not talk about it.  I know that those days will get better.  They will get better, right?  I dream of a day where I wake up and all that I need to know about the Spanish language would just magically be present within my brain without me having to put much effort into it....but that is, alas, just a dream.

So, I press on in the day to day of learning this language.  Literally, I have to take it day by day.  I can only face the present day because I can't even bare to think about what struggles I'll have trying to communicate tomorrow. 

One of the many things I try to remind myself of is:  I am not alone in this.  I'm not the only one struggling to put sentences together or trying to figure out what syllable gets the accent.  I'm not the only one trying to figure out some kind of logic and/or pattern with irregular verbs.  I'm not the only who who gets a "deer in the headlights" look when asked a question, knowing an answer has to be given and I have absolutely no idea what was just asked.  Yes!  Yes, I am so thankful I am not alone.

This is my grammar class, along with our teacher.  I spend two hours with this group everyday.  Then another 2 hours with the ladies and different teachers. 

 

 

I wouldn't trade these people!  I don't think there's a day that goes by that we don't laugh and have a good time.  Somedays, okay, most days, I look forward to fun more than I do language learning.  We are learning together, sharing our lives, encouraging and building each other up and once awhile mastering a plan to distract our teachers just because we just can't handle Spanish anymore.  I'm thankful God put this group together; He knew we'd need each other.  These people are my favorite thing about language learning.