Happy Friday, friends! Hope you have all had a good first week of November--can you guys believe it's already November? Sometimes we forget that "fall" exists because here in Puerto Vallarta the temperatures don't really do "fall" :)
Greg-- If you thought we were old souls before, you should see us now! The recent time change has us going to bed at 8:00 PM! The sunsets here in Puerto Vallarta around 6:25 PM so after the sun goes down we are ready to fall asleep! I know, kind of lame to include sleep in the "what have we been up to section"! But honestly, it has been so nice to make sleep a greater priority.
Hillary-- This week we have been to the beach TWICE and it was beautiful. Don't worry--video coming later today and you're coming to the beach with us! We have been trying to eat a little healthier (super hard) so we have been experimenting with snacks like cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and plain Greek yogurt...its going...but I still want donuts every day! (PS-if anyone has any good recipes of things to make with those snacks-please send them my way!)
We enjoyed looking back on previous years' celebrations of Día de Muertos--what a truly special time. Even though things were a little different this year, the spirit of the holiday and celebrating the lives of loved ones still holds true.
THE BEST FOOD OF THE WEEK
Homemade tuna ceviche. You heard (read) right! This week for the first time we made ceviche at home and it was....SO GOOD. I made it with canned tuna--fail, I know. Here's the recipe:
-1 can tuna
-juice from 2 limes*
-big pinch cilantro
-2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
-1 finely chopped tomato
-1 finely chopped jalapeño with the seeds removed (or leave them in if you're wild and crazy!)
-salt and pepper*
*The lime and salt and pepper are key here. The lime really adds a pop of flavor that resembles actual, fresh ceviche. Mix all the above together and serve on tostadas topped with slices of avocado. Easy, fresh lunch option and all your coworkers will love you for eating tuna! (Does anyone have coworkers anymore other than spouses, dogs, and kiddos?!)
Confidence. Confidence. Confidence.
Confidence, or the lack thereof, is the biggest barrier of language (in my opinion). If you are not afraid to actually try speaking, you will be lightyears ahead already! Decide NOW that you are okay to fail. You are okay with making mistakes and the possibility of being embarrassed at those mistakes. You are okay misspeaking and learning and growing and moving forward.
Who else is with me on this one?! We can totally learn Spanish but are in our own way. Allow yourself to make mistakes--in Spanish and in daily life. I think we can all can use a little more of this in our day-to-day :)
Spanish continues to be a huge work in progress, but here are two of our favorite resources we recommend:
♦︎ Pimsleur Spanish Program: We would recommed Pimsluer if you are starting from zero or have a basic understanding of the language, but want to advance to a more intermediate level. You can try a lesson for free and then the cost is $20 per month for access to the entire Pimsleur library. The great thing about Pimsleur is that it is a great value for the amount of Spanish that you will learn in 1-3 months' time.
♦︎ Baselang: We would recommend Baselang if you are more of the beginner-intermediate level and want to take your fluency to the next level. Baselang is $150 USD per month and includes access to unlimited one-on-one personalized classes with live instructors via Zoom. We have yet to find such a complete, well-rounded program that will most definitely help improve your Spanish! Baselang has its own curriculum that you can follow, tons of electives to choose from, or you can use your class to talk about or study whatever you want!
Try Baselang for one week for just $1 dollar!
OTHER THOUGHTS
Practice self confidence. This comes directly from the Spanish tip from above, but oftentimes we are our biggest enemy. No one stands in my way more than I do. Last week at gymnastics, someone in class told me something along the lines of, "you know, you're much more capable than what you believe you are..."
I've thought a lot about that since and I think he really meant that. Oftentimes, we hold back and reserve our self-confidence to a very low, conservative level. There are probably tons of professionals with actual data on why we do this, but I think it comes down to not wanting to ever be/appear/seem overconfident. Everyone knows that guy/girl who is "full of themselves" and I think we (okay, maybe just I) overcompensate for that by acting completely unsure of myself with Spanish, gymnastics, making videos, everything!
Sorry for that super personal rant---but there you have it. Exude confidence. Confidence is beauty and strength and I am here to support you! :)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Punta Mita is NOTHING like what we expected. We thought this little town was only for the rich and famous but actually found a quaint little pueblo and fell in love!
PLANS FOR NEXT WEEK
Well, this is where we had a MAJOR change of plans. We had planned to visit three different Pueblos Mágicos this week but unfortunately had to change our plans last minute due to things outside of our control. Plans for next week (more like in an hour or so!) we are heading to an area where coffee is made. Of course we're bringing you all along for every single step. We are coffee lovers but know nothing about the process so we are very excited for this adventure.
We hope you all have a great weekend!
PS-if you're looking to travel soon, you can check out some of our favorite AirBnbs by clicking HERE. If you're looking to book a hotel, you can book through our affiliate link HERE and we will earn a percentage of your booking at no additional cost to you! Thank you so much for supporting our work :)
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