Where did Lynda go?

So, I finally did it.
Moved.
Again. But this time, to Europe!

Where in Europe, you might be wondering. Considering Europe does consist of 50 countries, I guess that's a fair question to ask. However, I haven't quite decided where to plant my feet just yet. So, for now that is an unanswerable question. The real question you should be asking is,

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"Where are you exploring?"

photo cred: Michael Tompsett

 



 First stop:

 ​Italy

David Rumsey Map Collection

​Now, for those of you who don't know me and to those of you who think you already do, let me clear a few things up before we get into "why Italy". I am originally from the East Coast of Massachusetts. No, not Boston, but close. It's safe to say I have moved around quite a bit - Close to 20 times, believe it or not, which is more than half my lifetime thus far. So, I guess you can say, whether by choice or not, I haven't really been able to "keep still". At a very young age, I was introduced to the world of travel. At just 4 years old, I went on my very first vacation with my mom to the Azores.

(The Azores are the islands off of Portugal)
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Without getting too into it, ever since then, I have traveled quite often. Almost every year and sometimes more than once a year. I guess I immediately fell in love with exploring different areas, people, food, etc. etc.

As I got older I started to realize the East Coast just wasn't for me.
Mostly, because of the obnoxiously long winters and crazy bipolar weather.

This is something that might not bother most, but for me, it's torture.
Personally, I'd much rather be sweating my ass off versus freezing it off.
Outside of the weather, I've just found at this time in my life the quality of life and high demand to make more-more-more is just not for me.
I found myself consistently feeling stressed, overwhelmed, depressed, angry, and just unhappy with almost everything, including myself.

I decided after temporarily moving to Florida for a couple years and then returning back home, that I would make the move back home temporary too. I wasn't going to make myself suffer anymore. I had to create a plan to get out. And so, via a great friend, I learned about the power of dual citizenship.

​Dual Citizenship: 
aka, "dual nationality"
a person is a citizen/national
of two countries at the same time

Once I found out that I could apply for dual citizenship I knew I had to do it. Applying for dual citizenship would allow me to become a European citizen. Which means, I could live anywhere in Europe and work with minimal questions asked, while receiving whatever benefits, privileges, and social services needed. You might be wondering how was this possible for me. Well, I lucked out. Both of parents were born in the Azores. Remember? The islands I visited when I was just 4 years old. And because of this, I was able to apply for dual citizenship. And you best believe, I took advantage.
Knowledge is power, people.
Research, Research, Research.
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As time moved on and influences were being made, a special seed was planted in my head: I was going to try to move to Spain.

​You see, that same friend who told me about becoming a Portuguese Citizen, was the same friend who has had a huge influence on a couple of my travel moves in the past few years (One of them being my trip to Costa Rica, which you can read about here). She herself has her Portuguese Citizenship and lives in Barcelona. And even though we are both Portuguese, through time Spanish had become our third language. And for me, for whatever reason, Spanish was much easier to understand and speak. I loved the language and was fascinated by the idea of living in a Spanish speaking country.
See how everything is coming full circle here?
So, now, why am I in Italy?
HA! Bare with me here..

Let's just say, in the midst of me trying to create this master plan-- you know, the one which included me getting the f*ck out of the U.S.A-- I met someone who wanted to join. Once confirmed they would join me on my journey, we decided we'd make a stop first.

Which brings me here, in Italy, right now.
Very much not alone. With open arms, unsure if Spain will be the "final destination", because I know plans don't always go as expected. And with all things considered, I want to be able to roam around Europe! And explore as much as possible and create homes along the way. Pretty much what I have been doing my whole life, but now just on a more adult level, until I find that special somewhere that can be called my own. As for now, whether I choose to settle in Spain after Italy before further exploring is unknown, but time will tell.. That is the only thing in life that is certain.

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Let it be known, I made this promise to myself that I'd do my best to use my intuition and ultimately do what was best for me in this journey. Over time in the past several months, I had allowed myself to fall off. Watching myself fall back into habitual damaging patterns wasn't ideal right before a big move, nor as a yoga instructor. I had to separate myself from teaching and carefully dissect my emotions and the world around me, all while making the biggest decision of my life so far. After over-analyzing my options, I knew I had to free myself from the toxicity. And leaving home, my family, friends, and all the familiarity, however hard, was necessary. In order for me to grow, I have to re-plant. This might sound like an oxymoron, but I trust this process. I trust I'll find that place to re-plant in due time. But first, I am enjoying the moments that are given in Italy - all the joys and its wonders.
​All while getting back into yoga and exploring each love of my life.
Because life is short. And everyone loves pasta.

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