Live An Adventure Podcast

The history of humanity is the story of our errors and accomplishments. Jerusalem, which in Hebrew means "City of Peace", is the perfect example of this history. For centuries war and conflict have been part of daily life in Jerusalem. It is in the midst of destruction and conflict that Jews, Christians and Muslims, all express their faith through prayers and pilgrimages to this city.  Religion and politics are convictions rooted in our existential questions. Is there a God? If there is, how can we know Him? Are we just developed animals, or are we more than that? Is there a life after this? How can a loving God allow all the suffering in the world? Why do "believers" kill in his name? Not easy questions to answer. Perhaps there are no answers, or maybe the answers can be found only in the humility and understanding that we will never completely understand  f a i t h.    Possible answers to these questions in "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Le...

I came back to Cairo 3 months ago to finish my second year of my contract. I am enjoying the quiet happiness of daily life. The routine of school with all its drama and comedy. The shared moments with friends. Teaching Spanish to 21 students from grades 1 to 5 has been a blast. I love how my kids seem to be enjoying the daily lessons. The routine of weekends going out and exploring new places with friends or spending time with me. Thanksgiving is a holiday to give thanks. I am extremely thankful for each day and each blessing in my life. ESPAN YOL Regrese a Cairo hace 3 meses para terminar mi segundo anio en mi contrato. Estoy disfrutando de la tranquila felicidad de la vida diaria. La rutina del colegio con todo el drama y comedia. Los momentos compartidos con amigos. Estoy disfrutando mucho dar clases de Espanyol a 21 ninos de 1 a 5 grado. Me encantan mis chiquitos quienes parecen disfrutar las lecciones. La rutina de los fines de semana explorando nuevos lugares con los a...

In the summer of 2008 the road called my name again. I traveled 9 weeks in 9 countries! Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Czeck Republic, Slovakia and Poland. I am so thankful for the friends I made, for the places I visited, and also for the chance I had to spend time with me as I explored this amazing continent. I am thankful for the delicious moments and for the moments when I felt lost and confused, because those moments are also part of this adventure we call l i f e. I visited spectacular cities, quaint small towns, and beautiful landscapes. It was a journey which renewed my soul and saturated my senses. I had the priviledge to explore the roots of western civilization. From philosophy to architecture, sports to visual arts, literature to music, religion to politics. From the mythology of ancient Greece in Samothraki island to the basics of democracy in Athens to the atrocities of Nazism in Auswitchz. I experienced the ho...

JORDAN April 24 - May 2, 2008 Cairo  to Amman...  crossing the Red Sea.. eaten by mosquitoes on a sleepless night at a truckers hotel...  will the jordanian officials admit my Guatemalan passport...? scuba diving around a submerged tank in the Red Sea...  hiking in the solitude of a red desert in Wadi Rum...  exploring the ancient and amazing city called Petra...  pink mountains transformed into a magical city...  listening to bedouin music by candle light...  floating while reading a book in the dead sea...  getting lost driving around the streets Amman...  how we were getting back to Cairo..?  crossing the red sea on a sunny day in a luxury yatch...  loving the adventure of it all... thrilled by uncertainty...  in one phrase from Ricardo Arjona: living without a script... ALEXANDRIA May 17, 2008 a spontanteous day trip to enjoy the compay of friends.. the nostalgia o...

In January 2007, I explored Bilbao, my last stop in Spain. The Guggenheim modern art museum was the perfect ending to an amazing three weeks in Spain. The structure, reminiscent of a boat, covered with titanium sheets as if a giant metallic fish with scales, was simply stunning. Frank Gehrig, the architect, is a definitely a genius. The only two straight lines in the building are the elevator and the floor. I tried to find another one and i didn't. Walking into the atrium one feels as if stepping into a galactic church. Before I went in, I walked around the building for a couple of hours just enjoying the sun, the park, the river boardwalk and taking pictures from different angles. Once inside, an incredible exhibit of modern art was awaiting. Installations, paintings, video, sculptures and such. Very conceptual post-modern stuff that in some cases did not make much sense to me, but I was most definitely impressed in the simplicity/creativity of most pieces. For instance: an ...

We arrived in Madrid at 4 am on Dec 20th, 2007... we slept until 8 am in the common area of the hostel so we would not have to pay an extra night... the hostel is a restored Arab home with beautifully intricate geometric designed walls in red and blue with a fountain in the middle of the courtyard... after getting our beds in the dorm, Daryl, Michelle and i headed to the Prado museum... Velazquez, Goya, and many more Spanish painters and sculptors from the 16th - 17th century, were represented in a display of baroque and religious art... the best thing about it is that i got in for free with my international teacher card :-) my friends had to pay 9 euros... on the 21st we walked all around the center of Madrid... narrow streets, ample boulevards, people shopping, beautiful architecture, history and little plazas around every corner... first we stopped at puerta del sol... right after that we got separated when i was taking some pictures so i ended up spending the day by myself... wi...

never would i have imagined that i would celebrate my 40th birthday in egypt... one of my friends asked me where was the most exotic place i had celebrated my birthday, and i said here!! ...on friday nov 9 i rented a bus for 22 friends to come and celebrate my 4 0 with me...!!! we started the night watching the light and sound show at the pyramids... it was so much fun.. the pyramids looked great with the laser and stuf, and the sound was hilariously funny, way over the top, but interesting as they tell the story of egypt... the best line of the night was, imagine a deep voice in a dramatic tone: "the world fears time, but time fears the pyramids..." hahahaha... then we went to dinner by the nile, very nice place and great food... we ended the night at the four seasons pool on the terrace... one of the fanciest hotels in cairo.. there were friends from france, canada, the US, wales, egypt, denmark, china, germany, cyprus... it is surreal for me to think i come from a ba...

An awesome song by the Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona. He masterfully expresses what many of us feel: to want... to dream... to want to live our own life..."I want to live without a script." I am so proud Guatemala has given the world a poet of life and love such as Arjona...     I want to… by Ricardo Arjona I want to make the biggest mistake in the world and navigate in a kayak from Miami to Havana I want to have a coffee watching the Mediterranean and wake up in Tulum chasing a star. I want to tell Jesus that if he is there to come back, and get my electricity cut off so I can light a candle… and to dream. I want to give a flower to the one I love who hurt me I want to start all over and to change my name. I want to stone the hallways of the lost causes and see dad trying to convince my mother. I want to hear you say what your eyes scream I want to lose the courage I gained being afraid. Chorus I want to run around while I climb on a...

a few obsevations since i've been in cairo... one of the very first conversations i had with an egyptian colleague went like this: So, do you have a boyfriend...? Nope, never had one...What? But do you go out, like on dates...Nope, the only reason I would go out with someone is if there is a possibility we would get married, then we would go out in a group... the concept of "dating" is not part of the muslim world... "courtship" is... how do you get to know someone like that? i am not sure but i guess it works because the divorce rate in egyp is very low compared to the western world... or do they stay together because they "have to"? by the way, my colleague is 26 years old and she does not wear the traditional headscarf many egyptian women wear when they become teenagers... she is "americanized" because she went to an american school and studied at the american university in cairo... she does not even have an accent... in 6 weeks i have ...

Why We Travel? The sound of the call to prayer fills the night in Cairo as I write these words.  It is a melancholic voice. I can only guess what the Muslin man is saying. Praises to Allah. Everywhere in Cairo, you hear the melancholic chant 5 times a day. It can be heard in the middle of the night, when the sun rises, and when the sunset arrives.  There is beauty in not knowing what the man is chanting from the mosque. I have no idea what my life will be like in this city in the next two years. But there is a certain beauty in uncertainty. This attraction to the "unknown" is one of the reasons why explorers, travelers, nomads, and adventurers have been lured to venture to new places throughout history. I believe every human being has deep within a profound desire to learn, to explore. Life in Cairo is exotic, to say the least. Not knowing Arabic has been a challenge and an adventure. Just getting a cab driver to take me where I want to go is ...