finding my direction on this special birthday
Dear Community,
I am writing this note as I fly home from Madrid on my 44th birthday. I have been taking notes all week to remember this experience — a week away from my life, returning to a country and an experience that changed the direction of my life , revisiting old memories, creating new ones, solidifying my center, language, and grounding myself in language and presence in this complex world of ours.
While I am sure I will share more details during our summer filming, I am happy to share my highlights and lessons learned. I had what can only be described as a modern middle-aged wild week of travel, celebration, connection, inspiration, and sunshine.
27 years ago I was a timid, naive, insecure little girl. My dad forced me to apply to this program, as his mentality, as a first-generation student and someone who lived abroad, was one of curiosity and wanderlust. The situation at home was not ideal. It changed the trajectory of my life in every way. I have had jobs I may not have had access to otherwise because of my language abilities, friends I would not have had, bilingual children, a love of travel and adventure, and deeper respect for difference.
Even the most formative experiences that have given so much to you are complex. I think of Spain as the most transformative experience of my young life. It was also really hard and lonely.
I was in Spain for a week to celebrate the program that I did 27 years ago in Barcelona (it was its anniversary). I travelled for part of the week with a friend that I made through this podcast (really!). It is a modern mid-age friendship story where I swiped right. I ended the week with my adopted Spanish family, who took me in when I needed it. I made friends with one of the daughters in ballet class in 1997 and the rest is history. Yesterday, we journeyed through the outskirts of Madrid, free as we were when we were 16 — having coffee in one town, lunch in another and dessert in a third. I finished the trip making a tortilla de patatas with her mother and aunts and sleeping in the pull-out sofa in her living room.
Here’s what emerged during the week:
Things I did not expect —How nervous I was before I left. I truly felt myself shaking the way I did as a 16-year-old as I flew out of Boston last week and left my family and life behind. I did not plan on getting robbed twice (I am serious), nor did I
