Disclaimer

The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.




Sunday, December 16, 2012

Spanish Poem About Love (With Translation)


Beautiful Spanish Poem (Translation Below):
Erase una vez una isla donde habitaban todos los sentimientos:
La alegría, la tristeza y muchos más, incluyendo el Amor.
Un día les fue avisado a los moradores que la isla se iba a hundir.
Todos los sentimientos se apresuraron a salir de la isla,
se metieron en sus barcos y se prepararon a partir,
pero el Amor se quedó,
porque se quería quedar un rato más con la isla que tanto amaba antes de que se hundiese.
Cuando por fin ya estaba casi ahogado, el Amor comenzó a pedir ayuda.
En eso venía la Riqueza y el Amor le dijo: Riqueza llévame contigo.
No puedo – le contestó – hay mucho oro y plata en mi barco,
No tengo espacio para tí.
Entonces el Amor le pidió ayuda a la Vanidad: por favor ayúdame.
La vanidad le dijo: no te puedo llevar tu estás todo mojado,
Vas a arruinar mi barco nuevo.
El Amor le pidió ayuda a la Tristeza: Tristeza me dejas ir contigo?.
Ella le respondió: Ay !! Amor estoy tan triste que prefiero estar solita.
También paso la Alegría, pero ella estaba tan alegre,
que no oyó el Amor llamar.
Allí fue cuando una voz le llamó; ven Amor yo te llevo, era un viejito, pero el Amor estaba tan feliz que se le olvidó preguntarle su nombre.
Al llegar a tierra firme le pregunto a la sabiduría:
Sabiduría, ¿ quién era el viejito que me trajo aquí ?
Ella respondió: era el Tiempo.
¿ El Tiempo ? preguntó el Amor,
pero, ¿ porqué solo el Tiempo me quiso traer ?.
La Sabiduría le respondió:
Porque solo el tiempo es capaz de ayudar a entender un gran Amor...

Duele amar a alguien y no ser correspondidos, pero lo que es más doloroso es amar a alguien y nunca encontrar el valor para decirle a esa persona lo que sientes.
Tal vez Dios quiere que nosotros conozcamos a unas cuantas personas equivocadas antes de conocer a la persona correcta, para que al fin cuando la conozcamos, sepamos ser agradecidos por ese maravilloso regalo.
Una de las cosas más tristes de la vida es cuando conoces a alguien que significa todo, solo para darte cuenta que al final no era para tí, y lo tienes que dejar ir.
Cuando la puerta de la felicidad se cierra, otra puerta se abre, pero algunas veces miramos tanto tiempo a aquella puerta que se cerró, que no vemos la que se ha abierto frente a nosotros.
Es cierto que no sabemos lo que tenemos hasta que lo perdemos, pero también es cierto que no sabemos lo que nos hemos estado perdiendo hasta que lo encontramos.
Darle a alguien todo tu amor nunca es un seguro de que te amarán de regreso, pero no esperes que te amen de regreso, sólo espero que el amor crezca en el corazón de la otra persona, pero si no crece, sé feliz porque creció en el tuyo.
Hay cosa que te encantaría oír que nunca escucharás de la persona que te gustaría que te las dijera pero no seas tan sorda(o) para no oírlas de aquel que las dice desde su corazón.
Nunca digas adiós si todavía quieres tratar.
Nunca te des por vencida(o) si sientes que puedes seguir luchando.
Nunca le digas a una persona que ya no la amas si no puedes dejarla ir.
El amor llega a aquel que espera, aunque lo hayan decepcionado, a aquel que aún cree, aunque haya sido traicionado, a aquel que todavía necesite amar, aunque antes haya sido lastimado, y aquel que tiene el coraje y la fe para construir la confianza de nuevo.
El principio del amor es dejar que aquellos que conocemos sean ellos mismos,
y no tratarlos de voltear con nuestra propia imagen,
porque entonces sólo amaremos el reflejo de nosotros mismos en ellos.
No vayas por el exterior, este te puede engañar.
No vayas por las riquezas, porque aún eso se pierde.
Ve por alguien que te haga sonreír, porque toma tan solo una sonrisa para hacer que un día oscuro brille.
Espero que encuentres aquella persona que te haga sonreír.
Hay momentos en los que se extraña a una persona tanto que quieres sacarla de tus sueños y abrazarla con todas tus fuerzas.
Espero que sueñes con alguien especial.
Sueña lo que quieras soñar, ve adonde quieras ir, sé lo que quieras ser, porque tienes tan sólo una vida y una oportunidad para hacer todo lo que quieras hacer.
Espero que tengas:
Suficiente felicidad para hacerte dulce.
Suficientes pruebas para hacerte fuerte.
Suficiente dolor para mantenerte humana(o).
Suficiente esperanza para ser feliz.
Las personas más felices no siempre tienen lo mejor de todo, sólo sacan lo mejor de todo lo que encuentran en su camino.
La felicidad espera por aquellos que lloran, aquellos que han sido lastimados, aquellos que buscan, aquellos que tratan, porque sólo ellos pueden apreciar la importancia de las personas que han tocado sus vidas.
El Amor comienza con una sonrisa, crece con un beso y muere con una lágrima.
La brillantez del futuro siempre será basada en un pasado olvidado.
No puedes ir feliz por la vida hasta que dejes ir tus fracasos pasados y los dolores de tu corazón.
Cuando naciste, tú llorabas y todos alrededor sonreían;
Vive tu vida de forma tal que cuando mueras tú, sonrías, y todos alrededor te lloren.




English Translation:
Once upon a time there was an island where all the feelings lived:
Joy, Sadness and many more, including Love
One day they were told that the island was going to sink.
All the feelings rushed to leave the island,
got into their boats and prepared to leave,
But Love remained,
because it wanted to stay a little longer with the island that it loved so much before it sank.
When at last it was almost drowned, Love began to ask for help.
Over came Wealth and Love said “Wealth, take me with you.”
“I can not” - it said – “there is a lot of gold and silver in my boat, I have no room for you.”
Then Love asked for help from Vanity: “Please help me.”
Vanity said, “I can not take you, you're all wet, you’re going to ruin my new boat.”
Love asked Sadness for help: “Sadness, will you let me go with you?”
It said, “Alas! Love, I'm so sad that I'd rather be alone.”
Joy also passed by, but it was so happy, it did not hear Love call.
That's when a voice called, “come I'll take you Love”.  It was an old man, but Love was so happy that it forgot to ask his name.
Upon reaching land, Love asked Wisdom,
“Wisdom, who was the old man who brought me here?”
She responded, “It was Time.”
“Time?” Love asked, “But why was Time the only one that wanted to bring me?”
Wisdom replied: “Because only Time is capable of helping us understand a great love..

It hurts to love someone and not have that be reciprocated, but what is more painful is to love someone and never find the courage to tell that person how you feel.
Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right person, so that at the end when we meet that person, we know how to be grateful for that wonderful gift.
One of the saddest things in life is when you meet someone who means everything, only to realize that in the end, that person was not the one for you and you have to let them go.
When the door of happiness closes, another door opens, but sometimes we look so long at that closed door, we do not see that another has opened before us.
It is true that we don’t know what we have until we lose it, but it is also true that we do not know what we've been missing until it arrives.
Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they will love you back, but do not expect them to love you back, just hope that the love will grow in the heart of the other person, but if it does not grow, be happy because it grew in yours.
There are things that you'd love to hear that you never will hear from the person you want to say them the most, but do not be so deaf not to hear from the person that speaks from the heart.
Never say goodbye if you still want to try.
Never give up if you feel you can keep fighting.
Never tell a person that you don’t love them if you can’t let them go.
Love comes to those who wait, even though they have been disappointed; to those who still believe, even though they have been betrayed; to those who still need to love, even though they have been hurt before; and to those who have the courage and faith to build trust again.
The beginning of love is to let those we know be themselves, and not try to turn them into our own image, because then we will love only the reflection of ourselves in them.
Do not go for the exterior, this can fool you.
Do not go for wealth, because even that can be lost.
Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day shine.  I hope you find that person that makes you smile.
There are moments when you miss a person so much that you want to bring them out of your dreams and hug them with all your strength.  Hope you dream of that special someone.
Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all that you want to do.
Hope you have:
Enough happiness to make you sweet.
Enough challenges to make you strong.
Enough pain to keep you human .
Enough hope to be happy.
The happiest people do not always have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything in their path.
Happiness waits for those who cry, those who have been hurt, those who seek, those who try, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives.
Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss and ends with a tear.
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past.
You can not go on happy in life until you let go of your past failures and the pain in your heart.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around smiled;
Live your life so that when you die, you smile, and everyone around you will cry.


Saturday, December 8, 2012

Donate to Javier's Bakery!


NO FURTHER DONATIONS ARE NEEDED, THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU WHO CONTRIBUTED! We reached our goal in less than 3 days thanks to your generous help! All updates will be posted on this blog :)

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I received a desperate message from one of my host dads in Honduras from when I served in the Peace Corps.

Now just some background info:  He and his family are some of THE most humble, selfless, kindest people I have ever met in my life.  With two little mouths to feed, they also took me in as one of their own and treated me as one of their other daughters, patiently helping with my Spanish and adjustment to the Honduran lifestyle for 5 entire weeks.   They had so little yet gave so much and never once asked for anything in return.

My host dad, Javier, was a baker and showed me his little bakery behind the house with a traditional clay oven and all his tools of the trade.  He would create these delicious butter cookies, perfect for dipping into your morning or afternoon coffee.  Whenever there was an opportunity to sell his product, he would take the crowded “chicken bus” (standing room only) an hour or so to the nearest city.  My host mom Pati worked in a hospital, but is now out of the job since she recently gave birth to a third child. 

Resources are scarce, and Javier contacted me with a desperate plea for help.  He needs $200 as start-up capital to get his bakery running again.  I realize that just the money won’t be enough and he will need to be trained on how to better manage his bakery so that it doesn’t go under again.  To resolve this issue, one of my best friends who is still in Honduras has offered to train him in business and financial management so he can be successful.

What I am hoping to accomplish with this page is a contribution of just $1 from 200 people.  Once we reach our goal, the money will be sent to Javier, and I will make a note of every single person who donated and send it down to Honduras and try to do a little special something with everyone’s names.

To donate, please click the button below:



Thank you to everyone who makes a contribution!  :)



We have raised $301 total!!  I spoke with Javier and am sending the money to him, which he should receive by the end of next week!