Northland Runner

a part of me, apart from me.

northlandrunner — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 04:25:59 +0000

completo

northlandrunner — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 23:31:26 +0000

6th grade rulez

I am done student teaching and officially a college graduate. Yeah heyy whoa!

Onto the next great adventure….

De que me sirve la vida..

northlandrunner — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 01:39:51 +0000

..si no la vivo contigo

I’ve had to say a lot of goodbyes lately & I’ll be saying many more in the near future. Maria went back to Spain today, David left for France last weekend and Rosben went back to México last Thursday. It’s comforting to say “I’ll come visit you soon!” but the reality is, I don’t know when I will see these beautiful people again. Throughout my own travels I have met so many amazing people and I feel honored to have been a part of their experience here in the USA. As my friends’ visas slowly expire; my time is almost up too. I will be leaving La Crosse on June 13th to spend my last couple months in the United States with my friends and family, visiting my favorite places up north, and traveling around the states (& possibly a little travel abroad). I will start my adventure in South Korea on August 14th… but until then I’m enjoying every moment and experiencing unspeakable joy.

I spend a lot of time dreaming about places abroad. My home in Sevilla, Spain, beaches in Central America, villages in the mountains of South America, city skylines in Asia, simplicity in Costa Rica, and climbs in patagonia. I cannot even express how much time I have spent in my room staring into space and just daydreaming.. wishing with my entire heart that I was somewhere else. But as Maria, David, and Rosben left to go back to their home countries I realized how amazing it is here. None of them wanted to leave, they wanted to stay. HERE. The place where I have spent the last 4 years trying to get away from. Maybe we just crave the places that are unfamiliar to us because it’s an adventure to us, but nevertheless.. I saw La Crosse’s beauty last night in an intense way as I walked along the river and captured it through 200 + photos.

I’ll continue to appreciate my current home, but the excitement is growing daily for the next chapter in my life. Teaching in South Korea for a year with two very special people:

..more on that later.

Be well. Be wonderful.

-Alyssa

Kemaj

northlandrunner — Tue, 24 May 2011 03:47:04 +0000

Nothing can go wrong because nothing is planned.

Tambor, Costa Rica

me voy.

northlandrunner — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 00:59:37 +0000

August 12th I will be moving to South Korea to teach English.

..let the adventures begin.

Until then I am teaching 6th, 7th and 8th grade Spanish, graduating from UWL in May, exploring Hawaii, and hiking up mountains & experiencing Red Rocks in Colorado.

There’s so much I’d like to soak up with my eyes ba da da ba ba…

go.do.be barefoot

northlandrunner — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:17:43 +0000

I don’t know about you guys, but when after I read Born to Run to say I was inspired is an understatement. I began to completely re-evalute my running, thought about buying Vibrams (never did, thank God), had dreams about doing ultras, and really tried seeking the simplicity of running again. Well, time passed and fall racing season began and I kind of forgot about the whole craze. Garmin was always on my wrist, expensive shoes on my feet, Ipod in hand… I wanted to be faster. I completely threw the whole spiritual side of running out the window. ”Must.run.sub 1:40 1/2 marathon” It really consumed my thoughts. Then one day I woke up and I just didn’t want to do it anymore. Not one ounce of me wanted to run anymore, so I stopped (hence all the non-running related blog posts & tweets). I ran when I felt the desire and that was it. Then, I went to Central America for a month and I changed. Whenever I come back from my adventures I always come back with a new perspective of life or new weird habits. Last year when I came back from traveling around Costa Rica for a month I decided that I would only take 2 minute showers from then on. I had spent the month taking quick, cold showers so I decided my 8 minute hot showers were just not necessary. … weird little things like that. I came back from my travels in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Costa Rica with a complete new outlook on life and the pair of Tarahumara (Rarámuri) shoes that I got along the way hold the story.

In my room hanging next to my race bibs and medals are those beautiful pair of Rarámuri shoes. *In the US the tribe is known as Tarahumara but their real tribe name is Rarámuri so that is what I’m going to call them throughout the post. Unfortunately I did not travel to where the Rarámuri live, but what I didn’t realize is that I was extremely close. My backpacking adventure began in San Miguel Tzinicapan. San Miguel is an indigenous village filled with Nahua people with the most beautiful souls. They have next to nothing in this village, but they are some of the happiest people I have ever met in my life. The week that I spent there I was immersed in the Nahua culture.. I made tortillas, danced salsa, hand washed clothes, bathed in the lake, learned some Nahuatl words, explored caves and waterfalls, and made friendships.

Pictured above is my friend Homero. He lives in San Miguel and is an elementary school teacher with an amazing heart. His focus is Bilingual education, the children in San Miguel grow up speaking Nahuatl (their indigenous language) but all schools in México now must be conducted in Spanish. Since this a a fairly new law many parents don’t speak Spanish therefore their children are not exposed to it.. and therefore when the children begin school it is the first time they hear the Spanish language. Anyway, Homero and I begin good friends in the little time I spent in San Miguel. On my last night in San Miguel we began talking about running. He kept talking about the Rarámuri and how he had went and visited his friend there recently. At first it didn’t click that the Rarámuri were what we call the Tarahumara… once I figured it out I freaked out. We spent quite a long time talking about running and the Rarámuri, he told me that he had got a pair of there shoes when he visited and wanted me to have them. My heart melted .. here is a man who has so little and yet he is offering me something that he has and values.. and he wants to give it to me. I said no multiple times, but he kept insisting. Eventually we agreed that I would sent him a package filled with American things in exchange for the shoes. The next morning Homero showed up with the beautiful Rarámuri shoes in hand and gave them to me. We left San Miguel and began the long journey to our next destination. The generosity of the people of San Miguel was so overwhelming and I was so inspired by the simple way in which they live. I spent the 17 hour bus ride re-evaluating my life. This scenario played over and over in my head: say I did travel to where the Rarámuri resides and I got that pair of shoes and along my travels I met someone who was just as excited about it as me… would I offer them those shoes? Probably not. I spent a week with the most selfless group of people, I want to be that selfless. & I am working on it. “Because I have been given much.. I too must give.” Small steps: valuing relationships, seeing no value in material things, seeking simplicity and planning my future according to where I am needed rather than where I want to be. (Which is extremely difficult and stressful.. I will explain in a later post). I was never materialistic person but I feel like this summer I was different. I loved my bike, garmin, fancy running clothes.. Now that I have taken a step (leap) back from running I’ve had time to think about why I run. And here it is my friends: I run (yes, I do still run I just never talk about it) because it is a gift. It is a beautiful blessing, it calms my soul and gives me time to reflect. Running, for me, isn’t about racing anymore or seeing how fast I can get. It can’t be about that anymore for me. It is simple. It is beautiful. It’s funny how a random act of kindness can cause you to completely change your outlook on everything. When I look at the shoes hanging on my wall they inspire me to be a kind, selfless person who is willing to give everything (because in reality, nothing in this world is mine), to value simplicity of everything including running, and to remember the struggles of the indigenous people. The Rarámuri are facing a lot of struggles that could cause them to lose their identity and home. Read about it here: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/tarahumara-people/gorney-text

I better end this: although I didn’t write much it has taken me 2 hours to write because I keep getting lost in thought.

Be well. Be wonderful. Everyone.

Woods

northlandrunner — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 01:34:59 +0000

The words echo throughout the venue.. “I’m up in the woods, I’m down on my mind. I’m building a still, to slow down the time.” Justin’s voice, tuned into a beautiful, mesmerizing sound that puts every part of my being into a trace. Repeat, “I’m up in the woods, I’m down on my mind. I’m building a still, to slow down the time.”
Escape.
…his face, voice, and actions depict the passion he feels for these lines written months ago. A personal struggle fought out in the woods of Northern, Wisconsin. Seclusion. The type of quiet one needs when healing. I ache for that therapeutic healing from the north woods that I once used to feel. Now when driving North heading “home” I feel pain from unsettled issues and bitterness that I cling to. The woods that used to be mine are foreign and cold. New waste. New lives. The part of my soul that used to be alive.. living and happy there has been cut down. Uprooted, still alive but broken.

“I’m down on my mind.”
… slow.down.the.time. Driving home (La Crosse) from the Volcano Choir last night show I listened to this over and over. My heart aching, still. Aching for the opportunity to walk through the woods and feel ownership once again. To reclaim what was taken from me because of choices made. To walk through the marsh where I played pretend, where I sat as a little girl and envisioned my future, and where I eventually dropped to my knees and cried. Where I sat and watched my home get removed from it’s foundation, my foundation. I sat and watched walls go up and an empty house get filled as I became empty. Slowly taking steps further away, getting pushed further away from my place of comfort.

Repeat, “I’m up in the woods, I’m down on my mind. I’m building a still, to slow down the time.” I continue on, driving through the bluffs, across the Mississippi and back home. The place where I have been slowly healing. The place where I have grown into the woman that I am. We all have those days where we crave seclusion and comforts of home. I have found that here, in La Crosse with my beautiful roommates and friends. Because unlike JV I can’t escape to the woods of Northern, Wisconsin to heal. Because, it is there where my wounds reopen and heart shatters all over again.

JV (Volcano Choir: Minneapolis, MN)

mi viaje

northlandrunner — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 01:08:51 +0000

Bliss

northlandrunner — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 13:51:12 +0000

Deliriously happy.
That is me. In this moment.
spotted cow. cooked vegetables. Bon Iver. Peace&quiet.

It’s funny how things like bitterness and body hate can make me completely miserable for years (which it did). But how beautiful friends and breathtaking places can bring so much joy into my life. I am overwhelmed with joy right now & I have been since I returned from Central America.

This is what has been going on in my life and why I am beaming:

I feel that during the last couple months I have truly discovered exactly who. I. Am. I made changes that needed to be made, surrounded myself with uplifting people, and fell completely (head over heels, heels over head) in love with my future profession. I am student teaching right now, teaching Spanish I, II and IV. It’s easily one of the hardest things I’ve done in my college career but the most amazing experience ever. I have made bonds with teenagers, facilitated learning, and had so much fun the entire time. Being an educator is exactly what I want to do with my life, my entire heart and soul is going to be poured into educating kids around the world. Where in the world? That’s what I am trying to figure out right now. The only thing I know for certain is that I do not want to be in the United States. I got hired at a school in Cuba and I have a interview very soon with a program in South Korea. I believe my heart is in Cuba but my other half (http://180east.blogspot.com) in in South Korea. I planned on going to Asia eventually so why not go when my best friend is there? Just makes sense. But, we shall see. First I have to get the job.

Speaking of friends. I have stumbled upon one of the greatest.

My current roommate, Kristy, is easily one of the greatest human beings I have ever met in my life. Her soul is absolutely beautiful and I am so inspired by her goodness and positive outlook on life.

living. in. complete. bliss.

send.me.

northlandrunner — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 04:38:18 +0000

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Isaiah 6:8