I just read a short story/book that Ricardo recommended, some of you might know it: "Who Moved My Cheese?" It´s pretty famous now, and even has versions especially for teens and kids. It´s basically a short story about mice and little people who have different ways of reacting when their cheese disappears. Some just pick up and move on, looking for more cheese while the others stay there unhappy, feeling betrayed and that someone owes them the cheese that is not there anymore. Then, one of the people that stays slowly realizes that he needs to go with the flow and learn to change when his circumstances change. He learns that he wasted a lot of time because he was afraid of change, but once he´s able to laugh at himself and get past his fear, he ends up going on a journey and finding better cheese.

So that is the backstory/inspiration for this blog. It got me thinking. It´s a very cute and creative way of teaching a profound lesson, which can be related to any situation. Change is change; relationships, job, living situation, diet, etc. I immediately related it to my experiences the past few months, traveling in South America. I thought about changing to different Spanish accents, tasting different foods, going from the hot Caribbean to frozen Andes and most of all switching languages (and adopting a new temporary home) in Brazil.

Even when change is expected, sometimes that doesnt make it any easier. When I was contimplating staying in Brazil I remember thinking, "Ok, I know this won´t be easy. I´ll probably have challenges. I need to learn more Portuguese," etc. I was pretty aware of the difficulties of trying to live in another country (a 3rd world country nonetheless). But as you´ve all seen in this blog, I still have had those days where I dont know if I will make it. I´ve cried to strangers in the street asking for directions. I´ve taken to wrong bus and the metro. I´ve been homesick. (This is focusing on the hard parts, but of course I have enjoyed my time too!) The funny thing about these challenges (and any other challenges we face in our own situation), is that we always get through it. We all have different problems and hard times but somehow, someway, the storm always passes. And once it passes, it suddenly doesnt seem nearly as bad or long as it did in the moment.

I was recounting some of my hard moments of this entire trip to Ricardo and it´s funny now that I really questioned if I should finish the whole trip. When I arrived in an underdeveloped and sketchy part of Barranquilla on my first night of Colombia, when I arrived to Chile and waited 3 hours at the airport crying (not knowing where I was going to stay since my friends flaked), and then freezing cold and lonely in a small town in Uruguay. I remember 2 months ago, telling Ricardo, "Two more months!! That seems like 10 years, I dont know if I can do it."

The funny thing is, my family has offered me multiple times the option to just come home. But deep down, as unhappy or homesick that I´ve gotten, I dont think I could leave early. I know I would regret it (plus you never know the good things that will come in that time that you missed! Like my new friends).

In that book "Who Moved My Cheese," one of the lessons to learn is to laugh at yourself. To recognize that you are letting your fears control you and if you can just laugh at yourself and see the fear for what it is, it wont seem nearly as bad. I really think that laughing is key but also, finding someone who you can laugh with is priceless. Writing this blog (and hearing Ricardo laugh out loud while reading it), venting to friends and family on Skype, or going out for wine with Kim and Fanny to share horror stories... it´s always funny later!

So the moral of the story is to move with change, try to be prepared for it, dont let fear hold you back from changing and possibly finding something better. The unknown isn´t always bad. Scary, indeed but bad, no. And out of all of the new things I had to adapt to in these last few months, I´m glad that I continued. Because, realistically, a few hours of discomfort here and there couldnt change all the good views, good people and good experiences. And now, I only have 2 weeks left here in Rio! So it looks like I survived afterall.