SEE / THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX ( / CAGE / CAVE)...

Hola Pichones,

Yesterday's dinner got an interesting guest, Mr Camilo Venegas, who told us about the importance of recovering our capacity for Sense of Wonder (Capacidad de Asombro)

Flavour his article every now and then...
Estilos-Como Si Fuera Sabado-Regalate una Gran Capacidad de Asombro

...so, what are you making you to say "Wow, Que Maravilla!" today???

We followed up in our breakfast, with another way to be able to see/think outside of the CAGE: by expanding your CULTURE!

That would allow you to taste the RICH heritage of your race (the Human race, I mean), so you don't lose the "flavor" that can make your life valuable/memorable, no matter from where, from whom, from when that "flavor" comes from. Your culture will allow you to break those barriers and get to the right source of "flavor".

If you taste your race's full heritage, you will NOT think like a lamb. No way. You will think by yourself. And ONLY the people that think differently are the ones that change the world...

...so, what is the next song you will share with your classmates???

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PA!!!

Coloca esto mientras lees...

Hace 12 añitos me hiciste el hombre MAS FELIZ del MUNDO!! 

(la mujer mas feliz era Mama...). 

Llegaste esa madrugada tan llenita de paz...haciendo honor a tu nombre. 

Disfrutando en mi flauta la melodia que tantas veces oiste en la panza de mama. Esa misma flauta que ahora tocas. Ya todo eso de por si, un milagro. 

Deseo con todo mi corazon que sigas dando tu NMW100 para crecer SANA (de cuerpo, de mente y sobretodo de espiritu), y lleves asi una vida maravillosa todos y cada uno de sus dias...y que cuando estes en tu "deathbed, many years from now", no pares de sonreir al recordarla, con una sonrisa que rebosará de dicha a tu rostro, como cuando el sol rebosa de luz al horizonte en el amanecer...

Te Amo con Todas mis Fuerzas, Mas que a Mi mismo 

(y mira que eso es muchisimo!!!!)

Healthy Spirit ???

In our life we give our NMW 100 to have a Healthy Mind, Healthy Body and Healthy Spirit. That's it. End of the story.

How do we recognize a spirit that is sick instead of healthy? Sometimes comparisons help us to see more clear:

NMW 100

NO MATTER WHAT 100%

Nature provides us with Life Lessons. We just need to keep our eyes and minds open. Let's celebrate the elephant in ourselves that No Matter What gives to life his/her 100%...
It's the most important of Life's Lessons. Don't ever forget it. No Matter What.
I love you both.

STRONG OR WEEK???

there are two wonderful examples of our past chat on "Maceterito or Campooote"

one, representing being Strong or Healthy, is from our friend Sugatra Mitra:

the other one represents being Week (i.e., Weak or Sick), another way of living:

...and by the way, one of the keys to be Strong? Grit!!

FROM ORK TO THE EARTH (...TO HELP THE HUMANS)

My dear Pichon reminded me, in the most unexpected moment, that I came from Ork to this planet to help the Terricolas to evolve: to become kinder, more gentle, to control better their emotions and reactions...like the people in the peaceful Ork...

I have been more "Terricola" than ever today, so I just listened to his wise words, remembered my own words, and thanked my dear Pichon for getting the point and bringing it back today

Chapeau, Pichon!!

GALLEGOS DE CUENCA EN DOMINICANA...

that Sunday was one of the best Sundays...

after 10 minutes at the beginning of "what I am going to do now?", Pichones got together with their cousins, uncle and aunt as if we would have seen each other last week, and not 4 and a half years ago...

IMAGINE

Today Pichon enjoyed a nice football match, the first one with his new trainer, Juan, from Asturias. PA's hardwork allowed her to finish her homework and go to Maria's birthday...dressed as Flamenco dancer (tomorrow it's only fun time, since we'll meet Jose&family @ Punta Cana!!!).

But today also we met the Kellys...

So 4 thanks in total (at least...):

Thanks Imagine-singer Emmanuel, thanks paralympian Ahmed, thanks judge for reminding us "how pathetic our worries are" (including the covers with diamonds), and thanks Moira, the hero...

everyday you decide: al MACETERITO o al CAMPOOOOTE!! (or HOW TO ACHIEVE FULL POTENTIAL!!)

Today we got the news of the 3 Nobel Prizes of Medicine for 2013. They are three scientists working in three of the finest universities in the world.

They got there because they have decided every day during many, many years to put their brain/seed to grow in the CAMPOTE (love to learn, to overcome, to share, to connect) and not in the MACETERITO (TVmania, facebookmania, triviamania, couch-potato-mania, consumerism-mania).

So their brain grew up to the top level, their seed grew up to become a big, nice, orange tree, able to provide shade to tired men, juicy fruits to thirsty women, and solid branches to climbing children and nesting birds...

That's SUCCESS: tener los cojones y las ganas de dar el maximo cada dia para poner ese cerebro-semilla a crecer bajo las condiciones correctas -no matter what has happened.

Build your LEGEND ON EARTH, my dear Pichones, 

putting your brain to grow EVERYDAY

strong, knowledgeable, compassionate.

Enjoy that blessed adventure.

(in the meantime, we'll try to get better conditions for Naranjito...he he)

to REALLY be happy (or How to avoid the Cliff...or the Bonsai syndrome)

The more we use the middle finger (i.e., the more we investigate), the more we understand the way to be really happy, the way to really overcome stress, etc

And everything coincides into one direction: Connect!!

That's the power of science to overcome ignorance...imagine in 100 years from now how primitive the selfish lives of contemporary humans will look...

The title of my book-in-progress has been for many years "FLIGHT, FIGHT? CONNECT!" (at least I already have the title...)

Now I am even more convinced about that title...

the importance of the MIDDLE finger!!!

thanks to Antonio's presentation we discovered that Voyager 1 had not left the Solar System, as many news articles said...it has "just" entered the interstellar space, leaving the heliosphere for good...bye bye Voyager, hello middle finger...

THAT DAY...

mas claro el agua...

and this is my straightforward answer for that...

THE SPACE AGAIN!!!

After 36 years of a quiet, silent, persevering journey, Voyager 1 is leaving us...first time ever a man-made object leaves the Solar System...now, to the Milky Way's center! good luck Voyager!

LOST IN THE SPACE (perdid@s en el espacioooooo!!!!)

Cuando un@ ve gente pendiente de si el movil es iPhone o no, o si la mochila es Kipling o no, o si los zapatos son de la marca X o no, si por otro lado uno lee cosas como las aventuras de Carlos, entonces, lo minimo que un@ se pregunta es:

donde esta viviendo esa gente? 

en que nebulosa? 

estan perdid@s en el espacioooooo???

Definitivamente hay que tener cuidado con quien uno establece relaciones...

Si no hay comunidad de valores entre los miembros de una relacion (pareja, amistad, negocio, etc) no hay forma de que la relacion deje de ser superficial o dure mucho...

Ya lo decia Mohatma: los valores definen nuestro destino...

auqnue tambien lo decia muy bien nuestra doctora dominicana del BHD...

GRANDPAS' FAREWELL

After 10 years of their Dominican adventure, Grandpas go back to beloved Venezuela. Our country is not in the best of shapes, but it's the best choice for them in their next chapter of the book. We all love you both, and wish you the best in your next adventure.

CE-LE-BRA-TION

"Armonía en el sonido es música. Armonía en movimiento es danza. Armonía en la mente es meditación. Armonía en la vida es celebración."

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar  

"La respiración es el enlace entre el cuerpo, la mente y el espíritu. Cuando la mente está libre de temor, culpa y enojo, está más centrada, puede curar al organismo de cualquier dolencia. La conciencia que crea el cuerpo, también tiene poder curativo. La conciencia es amor puro y el amor es la fuerza más poderosa que hay sobre la tierra."

HAVING FUN ON THE BEACH!! (OR UNDER...)

We had a GRRREAT time in Las Terrenas, not only on the beach, but mostly under...water. 

Both pichones are half humans-half fish, so they spent a lot of time with their brothers and sisters with scales and fins!! (all of them extremely beautiful in Las Terrenas). 

PS: By the way, Antonio with his clappers looked like one of them...

Let's celebrate our time together with these pics and videos:

Luna que nos alumbra...@ grandpas' "resort"

here you go, the full simphony, including percusion instruments at the end...coreography was not filmed, but we can re-interpret it anytime you like...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c-BX5zN6I4

Shanghai...or Bonao?

In our "dessert talk" (sobremesa...que elocuente que en ingles no tengan una palabra para esa importantisima actividad...) Sofia talked about teacher James skipping classes...

It's like a customer going to La Taperia, paying for the food and not getting anything...only watching the TV! ("Sorry, Sir, we don't have food...but you can watch the TV!")

And on top of that, the consequences over time: students in Shanghai getting the best school training possible, studying many hours per week, or students in Bonao's public schools studying a few hours per week (some days) of poor training...what will happen once both are 21 years of age?? The same that will happen if I play tennis against Nadal...

What type of job and life opportunities will have the better prepared students?? And the ones from Bonao's public schools??

All that is worthwhile needs a constant effort on our part, my beloved Pichones. Years of effort. But JOYFUL effort, because we are aware that the effort is to be able to live a life with many more and more exciting opportunities, as Paola Santana, from Santo Domingo, can tell...

Paola in Linkedin
Matternet Vision
Matternet in Haiti !

TIA BEGOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Hoy 15 de mayo oimos el "Hoooolaaa" mas maravilloso de nuestras vidas: el Hola de la tia Bego, despues de su dura estadia en la UCI tras su neurocirugia...

Es una campeona. Estamos muy orgullosos y felices por ella. Esperamos que sigan esos avances agigantados que llevas...

Te queremos infinitoooooooo

OUR FIRST MARATHON TOGETHER!

Our medals testify for good that on May 5th we ran our first marathon together. We missed Sofia and Mom and look forward to run next year with them. We learnt to administer our energies, not to overrun at the beginning so we have energies left afterwards. We also learnt that it's better to finish last but with your own capabilities than first with somebody else's. And we also learnt to have fun, making fun of ourselves with our "zancadillas, rocio de agua, y lanzamiento de niño en cuerda".

Here we go to the Start Line, and the countdown!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ize07zJhHCY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Here the competitors: Danilo (3rd), Kevin (4th), Diego Rafael (2nd)


And here the best gesture of the day: my Pichon putting my medal in my tablenight. I love you, my sport -and life- companion.

El tio Pili @ SD!!

9 EL 9

Our forever loved Pichon:

Today March 9th, we celebrate your 9 years on this Earth. It's the only time in your lifetime that that will happen. In fact, each day is the only time in your lifetime that will happen. Each second of your precious life is unrepeatable. Take the most of each one of them. Do your best in each. We love you!!

Some pics and vidos of the B-day Party!!:

And a precious gift. A nice video from William, a 14-years old that changed his life and his village's thanks to his DETERMINATION TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!

http://blog.ted.com/2009/09/23/how_i_harnessed/

ROSTRO-LINA

Here we see our artistic daughter, creating wonderful playdough faces along with her friend Angelique...

NUESTRA PICHONA!!

Our extremely beloved pichona was in her soccer training today...the only female representative! 

Go Pichona Go!

the bikehorse

here we go, the bikehorse now in video!

AINHOA'S BDAY!!!

The whole Dominican-side of the family went to one of the most beautiful places on earth (no kidding), Jarabacoa, to celebrate the B-day of our beloved Ainhoa!!! 6 years in this planet!! Celebra la vida!!

Setting up the table...

Already 6!!

Gifts' time

what a setting...

nap's (priviledged) view

THE COUSINS

what about?

...having entrepreneurs in the family? like Juicy Antonio? (long live Social Entrepreneurs, by the way, the Heroes of XXI century!!):

or wonderful, soul-healing artists?

BLENDING TWO OF THE BEST WORLDS...

Antonio has always been a lover of horses. He began riding "Curro" when he was one-year old!!...and he has always been a lover of bicycles as well. He began driving his "yellow beast" right after two...and learnt to drive a bike at 3 years of age...ALONE, and without small wheels...

So, why not to blend his two loves?? 

Here you can see, the COWBOY BIKER!!!!

FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT IN...SALCEDO?

On Saturday we spent 10 hours (from 7.30 to 17.30) to go and come back to/from Salcedo!! Casa España was invited for a tournament...and we couldn't miss it!

Salcedo's Sport Center: 19.376782,-70.422599

First, the "guagua" to get there...watching The Three Stooges, of course


Then, the "Dressing Rooms"...much better ventilated than normal

La Roja ready to win!! (or at least to have fun and make its best effort)

Antonio defending at a corner...

...and Antonio attacking at another corner...

...what about recovering calories after two football matches?

TIAS 2x: VIVI BDAY!! (WITH PILI VISITING!!!)

What a great day: BBQ in Casa España for tia Vivi's Bday with full DR family on board

...and tia Pili visiting!!!

WHAT A DAY!

Hola Familia. 
Para contaros que ya recibi las calificaciones de los chicos. 

Los promedios son:
Antonio 92...y mejorando todas las notas y resultados de la entrega anterior. Subio 6 puntos.  
Sofia 94... Comentario de la profesora: "Si todos los chicos de la clase fueran como Sofia e Isabella, este seria el trabajo mas facil del mundo". 

Estoy muy orgullosa por el trabajo que han hecho en estos ultimos meses... incluso con La Taperia a bordo.  

Un besito para todos de,
Mama Gallina :)