I Should Write a Letter to the Author

Before I left for the Dominican Republic I went to Barnes & Noble’s to find a Spanish English Dictionary. But as soon as I entered the store, books beckoned me like they were prostitutes in Amsterdam. Each cover carried its own seductive presence that my curious, book loving self couldn’t resist. I spent over an hour strolling along the shelves full of literature. I flipped through the pages of any book that caught my eye’s attention with more excitement than when you are at an ice cream parlor sampling each flavor on a miniature spoon. The words spoon fed my mind.

I decided that I needed a good book to read over the summer. A “summer read” as most book lovers call those type of books that take you on someone else’s adventure as you lazily partake in from the comfort of your own chair while reading on your porch (or in my case, an apartment balcony). After some more browsing, my eyes rested upon a book with three words on the cover, Eat Pray Love. I was sure I had seen the cover before however I proceeded to turn the book over to read the description and discovered that the book was about a woman’s search for self during her travels to Italy, India, and Indonesia. Perfect! Something told me to buy it, so I did and I’ve been reading it since my arrival to Santo Domingo. I’m trying to rush through the book because I feel guilty reading this much English since I’m trying to become fluent in Spanish, but it’s just so good! But anyway, when I stumbled across this line placed halfway in the book, I couldn’t help but laugh aloud:

"Like most humanoids, I am burdened with what the Buddhist call the “monkey mind”- "

Stop right there. Until Mr. Miller said I had a monkey mind I had never heard that expression before in my life (and this is also after I chose this blog name) and yet, here it is, in black ink. Page 132, second paragraph, second line, first word: monkey mind. Some may call this ironic, others coincidence, but I call it God. He’s just at work as usual.

Mr. Miller told me before I left that I need to learn to focus in order to enhance my life. He assigned me with the task to figure out my goals and to focus on doing things one at a time. Now to me this just sounds crazy. How on earth am I supposed to just pick ONE thing to focus on and dedicate my time to when I have so many passions and interests? Then he asked me to do the unthinkable; to make a decision.

My teeth clench at this concept that is more foreign to me than when my host family gave me hot milk to drink with dinner. Learning to speak Spanish in two months sounds more feasible to me than learning how to be decisive. It takes me 20 minutes just to decide what I want to eat at a restaurant and that’s after I’ve already asked every waiter that passes by my table what their favorite dish is.

But nonetheless, this is my personal assignment for my study abroad, to focus on a single issue. My thesis statement still remains unknown. I feel like with a little more time and exploration of myself in this new country may allow my focus point to show itself to me unexpectedly, like what happens to the main character in my book. I know I’ve been giving you all a lot of personal information and you’re probably more interested in the culture, but I promise all out that will be divulged as well. It's just crazy how this opportunity is teaching me so much more than I would have ever imagined spiritually, socially, and intellectually. I’ve been so busy trying to get settled that I haven’t been doing too much exploring, but we still have 7 weeks to go. Until then I guess I will just eat, pray, and love.

Bonisimo!

-The Girl with the Monkey Mind