Two years ago, I partially read this book called The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp.  The nugget of knowledge I took from that read was to have a constant habit that you partake in to get your day started or the creative juices flowing.

My habit is breakfast.  Sometimes, it is what I look forward to right before I fall asleep.  I have always had a bowl of something while I sit and watch the Spanish morning news.  I don't speak Spanish and this is the only time the TV is on, but it is there to keep me company.  I really would like to take the TV portion out but for now this is just the routine I have set for myself to get ready for my day.

Currently my bowl consists of Natures Path Hemp Cereal, an organic banana, wild blueberries, wild chia seeds, and organic pumpkin seeds (which I ran out of for this picture).

I take this time in the morning to set myself right and get my thoughts together in the day.  Although another addition to this habit are my 7AM master mind calls with Nhan, Victoria, and Jonathan.  Their enthusiasm, support, and work ethics are an inspiration to me.

On my five week sabatical from my American life, I will continue to have my bowl of something.  I would prefer it to be food that I cannot get here in the U.S.  My inspiration will come from the foreign countries and cultures I will be exposed to.  I'll miss you mastermind call, bowl of cereal, and noticias en espanol, but not too much.

You can do some basic research on the Tarahumara at Wikipedia.

I want to share my favorite story from the book "Tarahumara: Where Night is the Day of the Moon", by Bernard L. Fontana.  This comes at the end of chapter five.

    On one of our trips into the Sierra Tarahumara we visited the home of an elderly man and discovered he had an enormous tesguino cooking pot in his house. Although it was cracked and a piece was gone from the rim, we decided to buy this thirty- to forty- gallon container. Its owner was more than happy to sell it to us, and he even repaired the crack in the side while we watched, using melted pine pitch daubed on the end of stick. The problem, however, was how to get this huge earthenware vessel, which weighted at least fifty pounds, from his house at the bottom of a canyon to a mountain top where we had a truck parked. The distance was fully six miles by the shortest possible route over the face of a cliff; seven or eight miles by a longer route that avoided the cliff. And it was all uphill.
    We asked the man, grey-haired and bent over from years of hard work, if he knew anyone who might be willing to carry the pot up to the truck for a hundred pesos (a little more than four dollars). He said, much to our surprise, that he would be glad to, but he would need a blanket or tarpaulin to carry it. We agreed that the next day he should come by our camp to get a blanket. We paid him and left.
    When he had not arrived by noon the following day, we returned to his house to see what had happened. When we walked inside, he was there but the pot was gone! "Where's the pot?" we wanted to know.
    "Oh," he answered, "I took that up there last night."
    He had made a twelve- to sixteen-mile round trip in the pitch dark over a narrow footpath carrying this heavy and cumbersome tesguino jar, just how we will never know. Moreover, he was as casual about it as if he had merely walked across a street to the grocery store to get a loaf of bread.
    "How could that old man have done it?" I asked.
    "Maybe," came the answer, "no one has ever told him he is old."
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Fontana, B. L., & Schaefer, J. P. (1979). Tarahumara: Where night is the day of the moon. Flagstaff: Northland Press.

My cousin Artie, originally from the Philippines, has lived in Sydney, Australia long enough to have gained citizenship.  The last visit he made to the Los Angeles area was in December 2007, where he and his wife were on a FOUR week holiday.  In that time they visited the Philippines and various western cities in the U.S.

I became a bit jealous that Australians were given a month's vacation a year.  He explained to me that at the end of four weeks he generally felt ready to go back to work and was well rested.  In addition to Australians, I was aware that many European nations shared in the same abundance of vacation hours.

After two years and four months of being employed with the library, I too will have a vacation like the Australians and Europeans.   I will be mirroring my Artie's journey from 2007 by going to Philippines and Australia for five weeks. 

In the lead up to this trip, I decided to do some research online regarding vacation time.

I was shocked to find that the U.S. is the only industrialized nation that does not require employers to give workers any paid vacation or holiday.  I was under the impression that all full timers received ten days paid vacation and part timers did not.  

For further statistics you can visit CEPR (Center for Economic and Policy Research) and read their report No-Vacation Nation.  

In the report  showing 9 countries with 20 days, 8 between 22 and 25 days, and France topping out at 30 days annual leave.  These numbers do not include paid holidays.  The U.S. is at the bottom of the chart at zero.  According to the report, this means that 1 in 4 workers in the U.S. do not receive any paid holiday or vacation. 

This is my first job where I have had the opportunity to have any sort of paid vacation.  I am working my way to be able to do more of these trips on my own terms. (more on this later)

I am going to enjoy this time outside of the U.S. but will be on a learning experience.  I will do my best to document my exploration of the land, the people and the food.

Check back for posts and photos from abroad.