Lisa Lisa Bo Bisa

Decision was made, and in September 2003 I found myself in Costa Rica! I arrived at night and ended up staying at a little hostel that I had found in my travel guide the first few nights.  The hostel was really the back room in this little old man's house, but it seemed legit, was very well recommended in the travel guide, and only cost me $17 a night.  I didn't know anything about the city, or where I was staying, but was fortunate that I ended up alright.  I was in the heart of the city and able to access everything on foot or by bus.  After a few nights I found an even better hostel run by some Quaker women and felt I had to say adios to the little old man. Those first few days I spent hours researching language schools and making phone calls at the pay phone on the corner.  I felt like a dweeb standing out there, but I didn't have my own phone so what was I to do?  It led me to a few prospects but no immediate work.  Si...

Back when I was a twenty-something, I had exciting adventures worthy of blogging.  Life nowadays is just...life.  Nothing terribly exciting.  So why didn't I blog back then when I had fun things to say? It was so foreign to me at that time, and always seemed like i t was for other more talented people, like my dear friend Alicia.  I remember sitting in the little internet café near my house in Costa Rica reading her new blog and loving that I had an outlet into her life that I was missing so much on.  We couldn't easily chat on the phone or meet up for coffee, but I could still feel connected - pretty awesome.  But I didn't realize I could have been doing the same thing, so I did not capture any of my great adventures as a twenty-something living abroad, aside from a few emails here and there to family and friends.  Though I'm 8+ years late and the experience is somewhat vague in my m...

This week I experienced a whole new side of the meaning of business trip, one that has left me utterly and completely exhausted.  I had had my fair share of business trips before now, your typical board room meeting(s) followed by a late dinner with the client and early morning flight home.  I have found those trips to be quite tiring as well, but mostly because I'm out of my routine and for some reason flying makes you tired.  Why is that?  All you do is sit. This trip, however, was a whole new experience.  I was fortunate enough to be able to attend one of our program events as staff, which is nothing like the corporate meetings I was so accustomed to.  It was in Florida, which couldn't be better during December for this Minnesota gal, and I was looking forward to a change of pace and a little time out of my dull office routine.  What I didn't realize was what I was in for.  I was on the go from sunrise to long after...