Upon stepping off the flight from Austin to SFO, I jumped on the Caltrain to Atherton (South of San Francisco, near Palo Alto) to visit my new friends at Blackbox, a ‘next-generation seed accelerator’ for tech startups. I met one of the co-founders, Bjoern, at SXSW and was so intrigued by his entrepreneurial drive and desire to help startups get off the ground. He was so kind to invite me out to the Blackbox Mansion and stay the night. Little did I know, I was visiting on a day when 25 members of European Parliament and about 20 European entrepreneurs (living in Silicon Valley) were gathering to discuss why the smartest people from their home countries were leaving Europe to start companies in the valley. While this seemed like a no-brainer, my eyes were opened to the challenges aspiring entrepreneurs face outside of San Francisco. Sure enough, a lot of what I heard resonated with the challenges I have been facing recently in Austin. Note: I love Austin just as much as I love San Francisco, but as a young, aspiring entrepreneur, I need all of the help I can get. The startup culture in the bay area is extremely mature and surrounded by seasoned entrepreneurs that want to help youngsters, like myself, and really care to see us succeed. It’s something I’ve come across in Austin…after lots of digging. In San Francisco, you don’t have to look far.

Needless to say, my stay at Blackbox was both fun and fascinating. Tuesday afternoon, I finally headed to San Francisco, where, thanks to the handy Path app (get on it, people), saw that my friend, John was at Facebook HQ, not too far away, and I happened to jump on the same Caltrain as him. We ended up having one of the most incredible (30-minute train ride) conversations about fundraising, something that he happens to have a lot of experience and expertise in. What an eye-opening opportunity that was.

After a few more business encounters and Silicon Valley HQ visits, I was sold on moving. I immediately contacted an old friend that had some great connections for my living situation. Sure enough, the first girl he connected me with was looking to sublet her room from June-August. She happens to live with 3 amazing girls in their mid-twenties and are all good friends with my old friend. I went to see her apartment and totally fell in love with the apartment and area of downtown. We ended up going to dinner and talking for a good hour and a half about life in San Francisco. The plan is to move in mid-June and over the 2 months I am subletting, get a feel for the city and find a place to live long-term.

I successfully ended my SF adventure with a lunch date and private tour at Google HQ with my new friend, Nirav. By far one of the best afternoons spent in sunny San Francisco. I hope it’s not my last time to visit, seeing that we ate at only 1 of the 19 cafes to choose from. [Note: If you're wondering, they got rid of the goats and have resorted to professional lawn movers.]

And so, another chapter closes as one opens. What is so crazy about all of this is that in less than a week (what feels like hours), I felt nothing but peace about this decision. It started as an idea, turned into a (short) research project, and ended up a peaceful decision. What’s funny is that I have asked for, even looked for, something to stop me…and I still haven’t felt an ounce of hesitation. I am so excited for what’s next.

So, the past 36 hours have consisted of bus, ferry, taxi, subway and plane rides…but I can’t complain. Everything about this trip was so refreshing and a fun change of pace. It was nice to disconnect from my “Social” folder on my phone for a little while. I know it was only 2 weeks, but traveling to a city with a huge international population taught me a lot about the world. I will say, I felt silly telling people I was only traveling for the amount of time I was gone for, especially when I met Europeans that were on 8-month sabbaticals, traveling all over the world. One day.

Something that struck me as interesting was that when we met Americans (which was not frequent), I found myself wanting to distance myself from them. It was like they were relieved to talk to another US citizen in a foreign country, where I was looking to converse with people from elsewhere to hear and (hopefully) get a new perspective on the world. The last thing I wanted to do was get into a political debate, which was usually the case with Americans. Quite frankly, I was a little embarrassed to associate with people that put down not only other countries beliefs, but also my own, especially when it was coming from a fellow American. Granted, this was not always the case. We met some awesome people from other parts of the US and talked for hours about the way traveling has opened up our limited view of the world.

If I’ve learned anything these past 2 weeks, it’s that it is so easy to get wrapped up in our own little sitcom (featuring me, myself and I). Everything shrinks to “me-sized,” meaning we take every instance, every moment and make it about us. Through this journey, I’ve been reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan, which might be one of the hardest things to read (sometimes wish I was warned before reading it). In the book, Francis challenges this way of thinking and instead, relates our “part” in the movie to an extra in a scene where the back of your head is shown for 2 seconds. To you, this is a huge deal, right? I would probably make my whole group of friends and entire family go see the movie just to see the back of my head. But come on…how is anyone going to know that was me? And if they did, why would they care after those 2 seconds? So many of us think and live like the movie of life is all about us. Sad, huh?

There’s so much more to live for other than yourself…I’m realizing how important it is to find a purpose to your life on this earth and focus it not around YOUR success, social standing, or being but on something else, something bigger. Personally, this movie is about God, and my scene (AKA life) is only 2 seconds long compared to what’s next. It’s his movie, his world, his gift and the point of my life is to point to him. Living how and where I do now, this is so not easy to do, but it’s a challenge that’s worth facing because my life depends on it. I get that you might not share this belief with me, but I say it because A. It’s my blog, I can say what I want, and B. It relates to this whole “finding yourself” thing I’ve been wrestling with recently and there’s really no other way to put it. Plus, if you’ve cared enough to read this far, I’m pretty sure you’re either my dad (Hey, Ed) or you’re a patient person willing to sort through my story-telling/thought process. Regardless, I sure hope Wordpress fixes the photo uploader by the time I take my next trip so people actually look at this thing.

So, thanks for reading. Time will tell when I am lucky enough to take another journey across the map, but for now, it’s time to focus on living out the perspective I’ve taken on while abroad at home. I hope I don’t totally blow it.

Hi, this is Michelle’s dear friend and travel partner during her time abroad in BA. I apologize for the length but considering this is my debut (and only) post, I advise you to read on. My name is Taylor, as most of you well know, but while I’m South of the equator acquiring a gorgeously bronzed aura, I have also adapted a new name. I love and thrive on change. Travel brings change. It changes you. I just took it a step further and decided while seeing a world so much bigger than my own to adapt an entirely new name as well. This name (as noted in the title) is derived from a funny joke I think God is playing on me. I loved Helen Keller jokes. Always have. Dirty, sad, inappropriate, whatever. If you know Mama Jane, you understand why. I think he is paying me back for all those inconsiderate stabs at this incredible woman because while in BA (riding the coat tails of my fluent travel partner), I’ve come to feel like the locals admire her, love her, are in curious awe of her, and then slowly find themselves looking to the left of her (and often slightly behind) asking themselves the question “who is this buff, blonde, out-of-place/granola looking American? Is she deaf?” I’m inclined to feel this way because while Michelle gets hoots, whistles and hollers (probably because she has a tango-loving, Spanish flare from her head to her toes), I seem to get looks of pity, curiosity, and awkward stares at my feet whenever I wear my beloved Birkenstocks. “What are those?” you ask? If you do not know these variably strapped leather wonders, then you don’t know me well.

Anyway… back to Helen.

I am getting by (not really) in Spanish and picking things up as I go, but mostly continue to get pitiful looks and long drawn out phrases such as “commmmooooo teeeee llllaaaammmaaassssss?” like you would say to someone sporting a Whinnie the Pooh t-shirt in a foreign country or someone hard of hearing. The first few days I would smile and nod and then look at Michelle saying with my eyes “well, you gonna answer this or not?”

So. I am now “Helen” pronounced “Heleeen,” which has turned out to be a good defense against identity theft which my dad warned me “is a real big problem down there… Along with gettin’ sold to all sorts of bad people cause they like blondes, ya know.” Of course, this was after he watched Taken (and a documentary on Natalie Holloway) for the 3rd time so he could carefully calculate the militia of redneck ammo he’d have to bring to save me if that actually went down.

Thankfully, Redman, no one knows me as Taylor here. The one or two times I’ve been hit on (compared to the 372 times tallied up for Michelle- not counting or anything) I’ve used this name along with my three key phrases: “Me llamo Taylor.” “Soy de Texas.” And “Soy una enfermera.” Oh! And, “tengo veinte y dos anos.” Duh. With these, I manage to get by pretty well. While Michelle has a small army of Spaniards, Brazilians, Argentinians, and even a handful of New Zealanders (whom we coincidentally ran into at McDonalds), I am leaving Argentina being swooned (futiley) by a 35-year-old lawyer who told me about 37 times I spoke “perfect Spanish.” Please.

All in all, I am not ashamed and someday will revisit this country fluent, I swear it. For now I will leave this place as “Heleeeeen”: suitor-less, yet more traveled, and gorgeously tan. Perfecto!

The past few days have been packed with adventure, exploration and fun. We saw the incredible cemetery in Recoleta where the grave sites look like miniature palaces. Yes, friends, we saw Evita’s grave, which was surprisingly not nearly as grand as some of the others. That night, we went to our first milonga (tango lesson/show with a band) where I found my calling to drop everything and become a professional tango dancer, complete with the slicked-back hair and fishnet tights. If you know me at all, you know I’m at least considering it. Since then, we’ve been to Parque Norte, which is essentially the YMCA on steroids with pools bigger than some lakes I’ve seen and more tennis courts and soccer fields than any D1 university in the states. One day, we walked along Av. Alvear (like BA’s 5th Avenue) and went into the magnificent Polo Ralph Lauren store and tried on dresses and shoes (!!!) worth more than our trip altogether. Tay found her future wedding dress that “fits her like a glove” and I found a pair of boots I could totally see myself rocking in the states. We’re still American girls at heart with a need to satisfy a dress-up fix every once in a while!

Among many other things, we’ve enjoyed several dinners with new friends from all over the world, checked out La Boca, met lots of people at Spanglish (like speed dating but with native Spanish and English speakers), toured the US Embassy, and experienced the nightlife until sunrise one too many times. Thank God for café con leche. When we spend the majority of our day walking (if we’re not taking the subté AKA subway), it’s easy to become addicted to cafés con leche, which are the equivalent of a café latte except 1/3 of the price and so much better. There’s a coffee shop on every street corner here so we never have a reason not to get one.

Needless to say, Taylor and I are beat and ready to relax. We booked a trip to Uruguay for Sunday-Thursday. We are checking out Punta del Diablo and Punta del Este, which are known for their beaches, so a tan is in my future. *fingers crossed* We return to the US on Friday…seems so soon, but we are making the best out of these last few days. I started this blog post at El Ateneo (an old theatre converted to a bookstore…pictures on facebook) and am finishing up while I get a $10 pedicure. I’m a happy girl.

While it’s fresh in my mind, I want to write about last night…we have a neighbor who is from Spain and is living here for a few months, he basically moves around the world all year for fun. We’ve hung out with him a few times – super nice guy…so kind that he made us a paella in our apartment for dinner! Best we’ve ever had and so simple. Our kitchen is really small but I managed to sneak a few pictures of him cooking while he taught me the “real” way to make paella. While the dinner was awesome, our conversation was even better. We ended up talking for a few hours about the current and past economic state of Europe, the US and South America. He’s an entrepreneur that’s been through a lot and really knows how to work with money. When talking about my company and the plans I was thinking about, he asked me a question that in the back of my mind I had been answering but hadn’t really figured out the question…you might have to think about that for a second. He asked me what I was going to do once I get to the “goal,” if you can even cap it. Here I am thinking of ways to run the business but realized I’ve focused so much on “what” and “how” I want to run things, but lost track of “why” I’m doing this. It sort of goes back to how I feel I’ve gotten sucked into the industry and forgot the reasons behind what I’m doing. Forget the “pressures” I feel – I am realizing this is a problem that is so easily and frequently come across, but not really noticed or even seen as a problem. I guess this is the part where I finally find an explanation to my madness.

Buenos Aires has treated us well. I’m starting to really look forward to our beach getaway so I can start to process all of these experiences, conversations, and thoughts as we’ve taken on the city with full force. So lucky to have experienced the past few weeks and can’t wait to write more.

Side note: My feet have never looked so good.

Exciting news #1: I had my last day at the coolest job any student could ask for at the Texas A&M University System working on communications and marketing materials for the Office of Research. If you know me well, you know that I never had a “boring” day at work. Although I was only there a semester, I learned more than I could have in any classroom and got to work with some of the most influential people at Texas A&M University. It was a very humbling experience.

Exciting news #2: About a month ago, I decided to follow my dream of starting a company. I didn’t think it would happen right out of college, but it just further proves that “in her heart a woman plans her course, but the Lord determines her steps” (Proverbs 16:9). I’m definitely going out on a limb, but in all honesty, I think I’m less nervous about it than I would have been if I had waited. I am young, energetic, and have absolutely nothing to lose. I’m starting from zero, which makes it easier to prepare for the best and worst (AKA failure). Hoping for the best. Details about the company to come very soon…next blog post. Promise.

Well, all this leads to exciting news #3: I graduated from Texas A&M University this week with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and minor in Business! Gosh, it feels great to say/write that I won’t ever have to go to school again (unless I have a quarter-life crisis and go to grad school but I’ll pass for now). Thanks again to my incredible and super supportive parents that made it possible for me to say this. Below is the graduation announcement (postcard) I designed in Photoshop and sent out to a few close friends and family.

Oh right…In honor of change, I give you a new blog theme. Welcome “bouquet.

The Aggie Ring. A tradition. A symbol. A milestone.

September 18, 2009 marks a significant point in time for me. On this beautiful Friday afternoon, I received my Aggie Ring! Never have I been so excited about wearing a piece of jewelry until I became a Fightin’ Texas Aggie. This ring represents an unforgettable 4 years of personal growth and achievement, a one-of-a-kind education I’ve had the privilege of attaining (thanks to my incredible parents…that’s you, Ed & Oli), and the powerful Aggie Network that keeps the tradition alive.  Call me red-ass, but if you put this kind o’ ring on it, you’d be hullabaloo-ing and whooping all over the place too!

Almost there!

Roommates on Ring Day!

L to R: Mallory, Jacqueline, Me

It’s been a fun three or so weeks. I’ve seen a lot and definitely learned more than expected. If it weren’t for my incredibly supportive family, I would not have had this awesome opportunity to experience a side of Mexican culture that most people wouldn’t think to try. Although speaking in Spanish was challenging and embarrassing at times, my fluency has skyrocketed.  I know it’s going to have a giant effect on my future. (Thank you Mom, Dad, Tia Sonia, Mamita, Papito, & yes, Alejandro)

On top of everything, I’ve been reading The Four-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. Talk about the future…this has to be one of the most motivating and eye-opening books I’ve ever read. I’m not much of a business books-reader, so for me to say that about a business kind of book is huge. Tim went from working 80-hour weeks, to literally 4-hour weeks. He takes “mini-retirements” all over the world and holds a world-record in tango (sounds like my kind o’ man). And he’s barely 30. How? I don’t want to give it away/bore you, but I will direct you to http://fourhourworkweek.com, where it’s a lot better explained. Anyway, the book is totally worth the read.

Well, it’s been quite the ride, and we’re about to take another one. But this one is real, and it’s only going to last 13 hours. :/ I’ll be back in the states, God-willing, on Saturday night. Say a little prayer for us!

Here a few pics from around the pueblo. All of this is within walking distance of where we live. I could definitely get used to this…

"Puerta Del Lago, Corazon de Ajijic" means "Door to the lake, the heart of Ajijic"

This is one of our neighbors' front door. I walk by it almost every day. Isn't it neat?

Cool shot...this was taken on the shore of Lake Chapala in front of a really cool restaurant that's right on the water

Mexican security system. Figure it out...

If you recall, I made a friend that sells us great jewelery at great prices. Since I’ve seen him just about every day and taken orders from family members for some of his stuff, we’ve gotten to be pretty good friends. He lets me take pictures of his jewelery, where I pass it on to family/friends (like you) and take “orders.” Now, I’m leaving within a day, so I probably won’t be able to take any more, but we are keeping in contact, and he wants to send me pictures as more things come in, where I can hopefully help him out. I’m actually kind of excited about it! Here’s just a bit of what he makes:

I'm pretty sure my mom is going to get both of these...

Any pair, $40 pesos, roughly $2.50...all hand-made. WOW.

Bracelets galore

This is Domingo!

Now, Domingo is not alone. There are lots of other neat people that work beside him. One, in particular, makes really neat wall art. He tried explaining the history of it to me today, but I had to just smile and nod most of the time because it was very elaborate and hard to understand. Nonetheless, worth checking out:

VERY neat, hand-made, affordable art work

When you put light behind it! Cool! For around $60 US dollars!

Another one in front of light...I just love it! And you won't find anything like it in the US

Here’s a picture of the lady that sits by them and sews (?) all day long…I’ve seen her crank out some pretty neat bags, scarfs and much more. She didn’t want her picture taken, so I had to get just her hands working…it’ll do.

Last, here is a collage of only some of the murals/architecture I came across in this great pueblo.