La vida en Colorado.

¡Feliz Abril, todos! I just finished a little Fort Collins ‘Tour de Starbucks’ with my friend Sarah from work and am a little jittery from all of the caffeine, so I guess this is as good a time as any to get caught up on the blog. Eight Starbucks in four hours. It was a lot of fun and a great way to get to see some new parts of FoCo!

Enjoying some St. Patty's Day beer in downtown FoCo with Sabrina when she was visiting from Omaha.

The last month has definitely gotten me hooked on the Colorado life…I love it here. It is so fun to be able to go skiing or hiking in the mountains without having to travel hundreds of miles, and my jobs at Starbucks and the homeless shelter are going great. I am meeting some great people, forming new friendships, and strengthening existing relationships.

Views like this have made marathon training a lot easier. Things are going well, and I worked up to
16 miles this week!

A good, quick way to describe the last month would probably be ‘checking things off the bucket list.’ Kelsey and I are both pretty into those lists, and we push each other to take advantage of opportunities and pursue the random things we want to do. So, in the last month I have learned how to play chess (I’m not great yet, but let me know if you want to play sometime!), read the Great Gatsby and started the Harry Potter series in Spanish, continued learning more about wines and coffees, memorized some new recipes, enjoyed the best day of skiing I have ever had, and bought Groupons (no turning back now!) to go skydiving over the Rockies and ride in a hot air balloon. I am challenging myself to get the most I can out of the coming months and appreciate each moment.

Skiing at Copper Mountain on fresh powder...perfect!

Moving around so much in the past year has taught me a lot of things…and one of those things is that it takes me around two months to start feeling ‘at home’ in a place. I am thinking of developing this into a theory (my methods of personal observation are super scientific, I know!), as it has once again been the case here in Fort Collins. In late March, I had one of those ‘aha’ moments where I stopped long enough to realize that I had reached a milestone here in Colorado: I felt at home. I was used to the routine of getting up for an early-morning workout, going to work, and then coming home to cook dinner and hang out with Kelsey and friends. I had developed some meaningful friendships. I knew what streets to take and how to get around town. I even started to appreciate beer more (which is a big deal since there are seriously at least a dozen breweries here).

I went to my first Starbucks employee forum this week. It has been great learning more about the
 company and meeting people!

I am realizing more each day – through work, through adjusting back to life in the States, and through the challenges that come with everyday life – the importance of adapting to change and channeling uncertainty and frustration into something positive. I still walk through supermarkets and get overwhelmed by the amount of goods we have available to us compared to people living in other parts of the world, and there are days when I am blown away by being able to drive a dependable car on a flat, smooth road. Change, especially from one lifestyle to another in a short amount of time, can be incredibly difficult. In those times, I realize just how much living in Guatemala has changed me. I am determined to use those small daily reminders to help me count my blessings and push me forward as I work to continue becoming a person who serves with and for others.

I made it home for Easter and was able to see a lot of my family as well as some friends in Omaha...it was great!

I hope you are doing well and that the last few weeks have been great. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers as we move full-bore into springtime. Te extraño y te quiero!

Paz,

Nico

Retos y Triunfos.

Hola todos! No puedo creer que hoy ya terminamos con el mes de febrero. ¡Púchica! I just looked back, and my last post was February 1. So, I guess this means I’ll start out and end the month with a blog….

February flew by! I am feeling a lot more at home in Fort Collins and, other than the snowstorm we had a few days ago, the weather here has been amazing. I made it through another week of waiting in early February, and then found out that I got both jobs. It has been great! I am on-call at the homeless shelter, which has been challenging at times (a story on this later) but very rewarding, and Starbucks is a perfect fit for me.

Kelsey and I (well, mostly Kelsey..) enjoying the SNOW!

I have made it down to Denver a couple times and fallen in love. A couple of weeks ago, I was able to spend the weekend with my friend Joel, who lives in downtown as part of a volunteer program. We had a great time exploring downtown and were able to meet up with another great friend, Meagan, for dinner. On my way back to Fort Collins, I met up with Julie (from my group in Guate!). It was so great to see her, reminisce about the last six months, and talk about what we’re doing now.

A late-afternoon walk through downtown Denver...

Now, a little bit more about my new jobs…(!). Starbucks has been fantastic so far. My trainer is really nice, and I have learned how to make a lot of drinks. I have also learned other things, like how to run the cash register, by pure trial-and-error (and embarrassment). Late last week, they needed extra help taking orders, and after asking if I knew how to count back change (I said yes because it seemed easy enough, even though I don’t think I have actually done it before), they assumed that meant I knew how to run a cash register. So, there I was: 4 PM rush, people ordering drinks I didn’t even know existed – much less how to ring them up on the register – as I was scrambling to make things work as best I could. I quickly learned that a big smile got me as far as anything. I made a lot of mistakes, but I left at the end of my shift feeling really accomplished and proud. It was small, but I had thrown myself far outside of my comfort zone and survived. And, looking back, I learned A LOT about how to ring up drinks that day.

My green apron! Finally official. 

I just finished training at the shelter last week, and now they have turned me loose to run the place during my eight-hour shifts. I love it! It is nice to have more independence with the job, and I am meeting some great people. My view of homelessness and its causes has been broadened a lot in the past couple of weeks. I got baptized by fire last night when a man came in with stroke-like symptoms. I knew I needed to call 911, so I did that, but while I was waiting for the paramedics to arrive, the man went unconscious and stopped breathing. I have never been so terrified in my life. There I was, all alone, and completely helpless – with my only consolation being the calming voice of the operator on the phone. I got the man onto the floor and was getting ready to perform CPR when he came back and started breathing again. The paramedics arrived within five minutes, but it seemed like hours. I decided I’m ready to be a doctor already. Get at me, med school!

We have had some great days for running here. I've got 3 months 'til the San Diego Marathon!

I have already learned so much from my time here. I am discovering weaknesses and strengths that I didn’t know I had. And, although I am missing Guatemala and being free to travel around Central America every weekend, I think it is really good for me to get this taste of the ‘real world’ before med school. I am learning how difficult it is to make ends meet with minimum-wage jobs, but also how important and uplifting it is to have ‘work’ be something you love doing. There is a lot to life that I didn’t realize within the figurative ‘walls’ of a college campus, and as I learn those new things, I am making every effort to apply them to my life in positive ways as I start becoming a ‘grown-up.’

On a random, (not-so-little) side note: I decided to apply for Georgetown’s MBA program as part of their dual-degree MD/MBA! There is a lot to it, and things have to move pretty quickly to meet the deadlines. So, I took the GMAT on Tuesday (thankfully, it went great!) and am finishing up the application this weekend. Hopefully I’ll be heading out to DC for an interview in a month or two. Fingers crossed. J

I have had time to make some new music recordings. Check out the newest one here! 

I hope your February has been great and that March brings a lot of blessings, helpful challenges, and joy. Te extraño, and I hope things are going well!

Paz,

Nico (I wish people in the States called me this now…I miss it!)

Amigos, Carros y Cambios.

¡Feliz (casi) fin de semana y febrero, todos! I’m enjoying my third lunch at Panera since being back in the States and wow – I missed this place! It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks, with some time in Omaha to see some great friends and moving out to Fort Collins. The important things: I am safe, healthy, and really loving living out in the mountains for the first time.

I met up with Kelsey (from Spearfish, SD) in Vermillion on my drive down to Omaha! 

I managed to fit my entire life (keyboard and guitar included) into my car and made my way to Omaha mid-January. Apparently my driving skills got a little rusty during my time in Guate: I got caught speeding through Sioux City by a traffic camera (okay, maybe just my ability to notice speed limit signs needs a little work). The week in Omaha couldn’t have been more refreshing. Honestly, at first it felt a little weird being back on Creighton’s campus for the first time as an alum. Once I started seeing people I knew though, it immediately felt like home again, although in a different way. It was great to be in Omaha and have nothing on my schedule other than seeing people. I stayed with Justin and Eric, who are now in med school (crazy!), and we had a great time. I may have OD’d on frozen yogurt, which is fine by me…

I got some great flying time in during my week in Omaha. I miss it already!

Last Wednesday, I downloaded an audiobook and made the 8-hour drive across Nebraska to my new home in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is beautiful here! I am living with Kelsey, one of my best friends from Creighton who is going to grad school at CSU. We (well, mostly Kelsey – I watch and try to help where I can) have been cooking some great meals, have gone on some great runs, and have explored a lot of the city and campus.

I wasn't kidding about the food. Yummmmmmm.

I have been going a little stir-crazy lately and am learning first-hand that the word ‘job-hunting’ really is like hunting: I spend time scouring websites like Craig’s List for listings, sending in cover letters and resumes, and getting really excited when I hear back from someone. I interviewed at a couple financial investment firms last week, which I thought would be a good challenge and learning experience. However, I quickly realized these opportunities required a lot more commitment (time and career-wise) than I am willing to give with med school starting in August, so I ended up turning a job offer down. It felt really great to actually get a ‘job’ though, and the invitation meant as much as anything.

My new room! Thanks for the artwork above my bed, Adyson :)

So, that brings things up to speed for today. I just finished an interview for a staff position at a homeless shelter (fingers crossed --- I loved it!) and have an interview at Starbucks on Monday. Both jobs would be part-time, and how cool would it be to work at a homeless shelter AND learn how to make some awesome drinks?!

This week, although it has challenged my patience, has been a great opportunity for me to slow down a bit. I made no-bake cookies for the first time. I recorded a few songs in my new studio (a.k.a. my bedroom that has been taken over by music equipment). And, I have been working on a lot of those things at the bottom of my to-do list –- the ‘wish list’ things you never really actually expect to get done. I am learning to take more reflection time and to embrace the silence and time alone rather than fear it. Wow--- I think I might be starting to grow up a bit. Weird!

Celebrating Rachel's birthday --- ¡feliz cumple!  

Here’s to the weekend, days filled with opportunity and change, and embracing the silence when we find it. I am thinking of you and hope things are going well!

Paz,

Nico