Chucho

       When Chris and I moved into our first apartment here in Suchitoto, our roommates had recently adopted a puppy named Nova. I had to laugh, Chris and I had talked about getting a dog of a long time, but always said, "not now, we're going abroad". Then, when we got to El Salvador, there was a puppy at our house. Oh, life. Our roommates soon named us Nova's padrinos (godparents). And what an adventure it's been.

           Dogs are treated very differently here. People get them for protection, and feed them food scraps and tortillas. Most people don't pet dogs. In Suchitoto there are many street dogs, who usually end up receiving poison from someone who gets tired of them stealing tortillas. To be fair, when you are poor and don’t have much to go around, you do what you have to to survive…

 In our old house we had a tunnel in which water ran down from the street to the lake. Nova could get in and out of the tunnel as she pleased, and loved to follow us to work on a daily basis. Our neighbors started volunteering to hold Nova back so she would stop following us. One neighbor suggested we use more violence to get the dog to listen. But, Nova has never been the listening kind. Nova knows all the local pupuserias and often sniffs until she finds out. Where we are, there’s bound to be a scrap or two. She liked arriving just in time for yoga class, and making lots of noise during Savasana.

She was a pain sometimes, but we've come to love that crazy chuca. It's amazing how comforting it can be to have a dog around, especially in the lonely moments. She has accompanied us on many adventures. 

Nova was made famous by our friend Melina! Nova approved of the painting.

Nova has always had a great appreciation for nature...

We were giving Nova a birth control injection every few months. Like all forms of birth control, the injection is not 100% effective... she ended up pregnant. 6 little puppies. Oh, they were so cute. We quickly fell in love with all of them. Finally we chose the funny little runt. She is a little clumsy and barks like an Ewok. But, we love her. We have to make sure she has all her vaccines, and take her to the capital in a month to get her approved to travel to the U.S.

We love Nova so much, it is wonderful we get to take a little part of her to the US. Life is full of surprises. I try to accept and love them with open arms. And that is the story of how we adopted an El Salvadoran puppy names Traviesa.

Santo

I haven't written in a while. Life has been... speaking loudly recently. I've been too busy listening. And learning.

Connie, Chris' stepmom, passed away on January 8. Chris was with her when she took her last breath. It was such an honor to walk with her until the end. 

The memorial service was a celebration, filled with interesting characters from Connie's life. We sang Morning Has Broken, Swing Low Sweet Chariot. Songs of hope. Check out the beautiful slideshow here.

She was an adventurer, a collector of beauty. It feels so strange that she is gone.

Death is strange. One person's life ends, everyone else's continues. We have to move on without her. Eat lunch, take a shower. But we are changed, forever.

The week after Connie's death I began my 3 week yoga teacher training at the Asheville Yoga Center. I thought I was going to have to cancel, I was a bit shaken by the experience and felt I didn't have the strength to do the training. But I am so grateful I did. 

I went into the yoga teacher training expecting to learn to do fancy arm balances, handstands. Bad ass stuff. What I found was my own breath. My life! Gratitude. Yoga, to me, is movement with breath. It's a way of connecting with yourself and the present moment. The balance between effort and ease. 

I remember going to my first yoga class, clumsy. I remember thinking that I could never teach it. I would never be good at it.

The truth is, I am not the most flexible person. Nor am I naturally coordinated. But I love sharing yoga with other people. Especially in Spanish! When Sister Peggy invited me to teach yoga last September, I wasn't sure what I have doing. I learned the poses in Spanish, I awkwardly guided the class through it. Now, it feels like second nature. I feel confident. 

I'm not sure what I will do with my yoga certification. I don't think I want to be a full-time yoga teacher, but I want to continue teaching it in some way. Possibly to Latino farmworkers and their families this summer! Life continues to be full of surprises.

And maybe that's the point - 
Enlightenment will never be reached.
We are always growing, moving.
Never stagnant.
My practice comes in stages,
As I climb up the mountain,
Only to find the range is endless.
I have so much more to climb.
I protest...
I thought I had finally made it.
My creator laughs,
Wraps me in her arms,
And stands on her head,
Just as my grandmother did
In her polka-dotted bathing suit
Never forgetting to laugh at life.
Om namah shivaya.
I am a child again.
I sigh, and ask my mother from the back of the minivan,
"Are we there yet?"