Lessons for Miami Me

I figured I'd follow up my Lessons for Little Me post with a Lessons for Miami Me post.  Enjoy!

Try New Food

This picky eater is trying to be more adventurous.  Eat the duck tongue.  Eat the oysters and clams.  Try dim sum.  Try Peruvian food.  Dining with friends is fun.  Dining with J is a great experience to talk.   I have found a lot of new cuisines that I like and restaurants that I will miss.  I'm looking forward to exploring the dining scene in Seattle now.

Tapas.  Yum.

Travel

It's a cliche, but it's true: it's not about the destination, it's about the journey.  Some of my best memories are about what happened on the way to a end-point and who I was with (reading silly billboards in GA with Miss E comes to mind immediately).  San Fransisco was a cool place, but going there with our friend and meeting up with J's brother enhanced the trip for me.  France is beautiful but my friends also made it fun.  Eat the local food, sleep on the floor if you have to, but just GO.

France is Fun-iculaire with friends.  Inside joke.

Learn Constantly

I've taken a writing class and numerous crafting classes.   I've also learned from people around me: how to crochet, how to work smarter and not harder, how to live and work in Miami...  I'm really passionate about being a life-long learner. 

I've learned how to do things that I never thought I could do...

Read, Always

I've had my nose in a book since I was a wee little thing, but my reading went to the next level while living in Miami.  I joined a book club and read books that I normally would not have picked up and in the process my world expanded even more.

Reading with wine is even better!

Be Brave

Yes, I am afraid of murky water.  Yes, I think about crocodiles grabbing me, but if I have to swim through murky water to pet a baby manatee and if I get to see that manatee roll over on it's belly because it likes being pet then I will just have to be brave.  When we went on that trip I was literally saying "Be Brave, Becca" over and over in my mind while snorkeling.  I'd never gone snorkeling before and that in and of itself was a challenge that I overcame.  I've had to be brave while driving and while working with some difficult individuals.  Be brave and you'll be fine most of the time.

This is not the murky water!  This was from the same trip, though.

Be Assertive, Ask Questions

I've had to stand up for myself, my husband, and my pets in situations that I might have usually shirked away from.  It can be difficult doing that in a city with a different culture than the one I grew up in.  I've been confused in some situations and I've had to ask questions.  I'm actually a fairly shy person (unless I'm one-on-one) but in the last three years I've had to learn how to navigate some challenging situations and keep some conversations afloat (to avoid that potentially awkward silence).

Becca and Grumpy Cat both hate awkward silences.

I'm sure there is more, like: How to do Your Laundry and Dodge Little Lizards and That was a Miami-Left Turn... but that's it for now.