Live An Adventure Podcast

August 25, 2007 Only when the airplane flew over the pyramids I could believe I was actually here. The land of Cleopatra and Tutankamen: Egypt. My first task was to find an apartment. I found a great place in 3 days! I was worried the first couple of day because the apartments were way too expensive for my stipend. But thank God I found a 3 bedroom one in the coolest area of town, El Maadi. I got quaint white bedroom with two big windows and a balcony with a view of my tree-lined street. School is great. Nice campus and a fun group of teachers. Very diverse crew: single and married, younger and older. There are Egyptians, Americans, Europeans and and one Latino, me. :o)  Our common trait is that we all love to travel. Together we have taught in 52 countries. A week ago we had a dinner and dance at a posh Cairo hotel and yesterday we went to the pyramids. Students start on Sept 2, so I have a week to get ready for my 22 students. I will teach Math and Science to 2 groups of 5t...

Bucharest's unmistakable  Palace of Parliament , due to its immense physical, psychic and historic stature, is perhaps the most controversial building in Romania. Meant to be the crowning achievement of 'Centrul Civic' or 'Civic Centre' - Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu's ambitious urban development plan - the Palace of Parliament represents one of the most extravagant and expensive building projects in the history of mankind; certainly of the last century. Claiming superlative as the world's second-largest building by surface area (after the sneakily spacious US Pentagon), the Palace of Parliament is one of Romania's biggest tourist attractions. Note: I took the pic on my first trip to Bucharest in 2008. Little did I know that I'd be living here 2 years later. :o)

March 19, 2008 Two friends and I took the night train from Cairo to Aswan. 14 hours of travel. Yeah, that’s how I roll. I did not have a ticket because I was told I could buy one once on board. I boarded the train and it was practically empty, but I got worried in Giza when a bunch of people got on the train and I had to move out of the comfy seat I had. In the end I got the very last seat in the "foreigners" car (first class with AC). This sort of thing happens often to me. I guess my optimism hasn’t failed me yet and I hope it never does! After 14 hours on the train we arrived in Aswan. Aswan is a quaint little town by the Nile in southern Egypt, only 3 hours north of Sudan. That afternoon we went to Philae Island to visit a temple built with Roman and Greek influence. The classical Egyptian hieroglyphics don’t cease to amaze me. We also visited the dam that forms Lake Nasser, one of the biggest man-made lakes in the world. When we returned to town we had a...

Ode to Hope Oceanic dawn, at the center of my life. Waves like grapes, the sky's solitude, you fill me and flood the complete sea, the undimished sky, tempo and space, seafoam's white battalions, the orange earth, the sun's fiery waist in agony, so many gifts and talents, birds soaring into their dreams, and the sea, the sea, suspended aroma, chorus of rich, resonant salt, and meanwhile, we men, touch the water, struggling and hoping, we touch the sea hoping. And the waves tell the firm coast: "Everything will be fulfilled " Oda a la Esperanza Crepusculo marino, en medio de mi vida, las olas como uvas, la soledad del cielo, me llenas y desbordas, todo el mar, todo el cielo, movimiento y espacio, los batallones blancos de la espuma, la tierra anaranjada, la cintura incendiada del sol en agonia, tantos dones y dones, aves que acude...

HOW TO LIVE A DELICIOUS LIFE !  Inspired by "How to be Really Alive" Go where   your heart tells you.  Live simply .  Learn from a child.   Do not fear making hard decisions.  F O R G I V E.    Be proud of who you are and what you do.     Appreciate other cultures.   O b s e r v e.     Create excitement! P r a y. Read poetry, preferably aloud.    See beyond what your eyes see.   Dance!  Explore the world around and inside you.  Share your talents, time and resources.  A D M I R E.   Be patient. Wander, you may find  what you've been looking for unexpectedly.   Open your windows.  Take pictures!  Live today.      . And remember:  Share your life with others!  Mario Arana COMO VIVIR UNA VIDA DELICIOSA! Inspirado por "How to be Really Alive" Ve a donde te diga tu corazon.   Vive con sencillez .  Ap...

July 20, 2007 I am exhausted. I left Chetumal, the Mexico-Belize border, at 6 in the morning. I just arrived in Flores in northern Guatemala. It is 3 pm. In 4 hours I take an overnight bus to Guatemala City. By the time I arrive there it will be exactly 24 hours of travel. I will have crossed 2 borders and been in 3 countries. What is travel to you? Traveling to me is more. It is more than discovering deserted beaches, exploring ruins in the middle of the jungle, admiring amazing landscapes or strolling down quaint little towns. Traveling is much more than meeting friendly and captivating people on the road. Traveling is much more than the thrill and joy of new adventures. To me travel is life. And, like life, travel does have its challenging days as well as its glorious ones. Travel, and life, has its unexpected turns, good and bad. Life brings us tender moments but also tough situations. What truly matters is how we react to them. I have been on the road for two weeks and I hav...