In celebrating my 40th birthday, I took a year-long sabbatical to fulfill some dreams. This book collects the journal entries that appeared on the website. As a result, this is meant to be read as a journal rather than as a story book of one coherent theme.
A few years ago, I came to the realization that my life had been quite a blessing and that I would like to share this blessing with those who are less fortunate. Hence, the idea of a sabbatical was born. It was the best birthday gift I could have imagined for myself. There was no specific day-to-day plan as to how the year would be spent, lest it would feel too much like work. Basically, my intention was to spend approximately half of the time working with charitable organizations in Latin America - mainly in Costa Rica - while the rest of the time I would spend traveling and learning things that had always interested me. Along the way, I hoped to acquire a higher level of fluency in the Spanish language, to foster some new friendships and to gain a better understanding of the Latino culture, and myself.