Sarah la Viajera
Sarah la Viajera

The Facebook Fast

August 11, 2013SarahAdd comment
Written by Sarah
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If you had told me soon after my college graduation that I would be working in marketing, I wouldn’t have believed you. If you elaborated further and said that I’d be earning an income by handling social media accounts for a couple small businesses, I would’ve burst out laughing. Well, the joke’s on me because that is what I have been doing for just a little over a year now. I won’t do this forever -as long as I keep having dreams in other languages I won’t- but it is good steady work for now. And being able to work at home, or wherever I’m at in the world, still has its perks.

2013 has been a good year. It’s been challenging and it’s coming to a close soon, but it’s been good. I was able to go back to Spain for a long visit, see several friends, “run into” and do some sightseeing with my brother and have many other exciting adventures along the way. I’ve spent time with friends here too and attended a wedding of a good friend a couple months ago. I’m eagerly awaiting my cousin’s wedding this fall which will bring one whole side of my family together.

Back on the home front (Jacksonville), though, I’ve been a bit lonely and unhappy. I chalk some of those feelings up to turning 25 at the end of this year. If you’ve talked to me lately, you might have heard me mention that I’m having sort of a “quarter life crisis.” John Mayer coined the phrase a few years ago and it has seemed to stick with my generation. It’s not that I don’t know who I am or what I want, it’s just that I don’t know how to get to where I want to be – or rather I lack the resources to do so. Several months before my big trip to Europe, I had this passing thought one day: “Well, now the goal is to get out of Jacksonville.” It stopped me for a moment because that is almost the same thought and plan I had many years ago when I realized I had to get out of Ohio (my home state). I didn’t know if I was going to be able to achieve that goal but my hope was stronger than my doubt. Now, I am filled with that same hopefulness, years later. Only time will tell when I can move onto the next chapter of my life -wherever that may be.

Not too long ago I decided to go off of Facebook for a month. I still haven’t shared a good portion of my pictures from my trip nor have I written about many of the new cities I traveled to or the people I met along the way. It wasn’t that my trip changed me in a negative way. It made me stressed out at times but overall I was joyful there. I had some fun experiences and made wonderful memories with old (and new) friends. However, I came to Spain discontent about the situation at home and was hoping being in Spain again would change things. Help me figure out how to become content again. The only way to truly change how I felt was to change my thinking. And when that failed, give it up to God.

Well, as I was doing my best to do the latter, I still struggled with those feelings. I realized one of my problems was now this fancy iPhone I got just before my trip. I had the world at my fingertips. I could read, watch or listen to anything I wanted to, whenever I wanted to. I had never experienced that before. I could also see whatever my friends around the world were doing at any given moment with just the touch of my finger. Now, let me just say that none of those things are bad. It’s great that the world is much smaller and more connected than it ever has been. It’s great that families and friends can stay in touch all over the world. What can be bad (or detrimental) to your health and well being is that you become addicted to things like social networks and smartphones. I’ve already developed a dependency on social media -which I’m not exactly proud of- but I didn’t want to become addicted to my iPhone. Most importantly, I didn’t want to become addicted to checking Facebook first thing while I was still lying in my bed. Too ambitious maybe?

Well, here are the three things that I wanted to accomplish by staying off Facebook:

1) Break my habit of checking the site multiple times per day.
2) Form good habits with my smartphone
3) Get back in touch with and be more engaged with my real life (IE: regularly exercise and enjoy the outdoors, finally get around to studying Portuguese and spending more quality time with friends)

You might be thinking: “Hold on just a second! I thought you said you manage social media pages like *ahem* Facebook?”

Okay, so… admit that it wasn’t a complete and total Facebook fast. I’ve still been on the website everyday…for business. I’ve seen my own profile page a few times when switching between the pages but I haven’t seen the news feed and what you all have been up to in about a month. In fact, I don’t know what many of my friends have done with their summers. Is it my fault? Well, the short answer is yes.

I ended up fasting food almost the entire day today (Saturday). I know that this may seem like it coincides perfectly with my other fast but I didn’t plan on doing it. In fact, I’ve never really done an honest to goodness fast in my life. I’ve done the Daniel fast before but at least with that type of fasting you can still eat throughout the day, though there are diet restrictions. Anyway, because I fasted today, I was much more aware of the time and I was more focused than I have been in a long while. I can’t say that I accomplished a whole lot today but I had a much needed time of reflection.

This nearly month long of Facebook fasting has been good for me. I went into it with misguided intentions but have come out learning a couple of good lessons. One thing in particular was, that I’ve known for a little while, is that I’ve been very selfish. Due to a couple of situations this summer, I realized that I’ve grown a bit obsessed with thinking about myself. My work. My time. My actions. My clothes. My looks. What I do right during the day. What I do wrong. Or what I simply don’t get done during any given day, week or month. How much money I make. How much money I’d like to make. Where I live. Where I’d like to move to. How much I miss home but can’t go back often enough. It’s always about ME. From the moment I wake up to the second I fall asleep. Sure, I think about and interact with other people throughout the day but I don’t do it often enough. Not as much as I should.

Secondly, I need to always reach out to my closest friends and stay in touch. To make plans to chat or catch up in person. I have hardly done that all summer. I’ve spent most of my time working and recovering from all that work in my down time. I had a good conversation with my mom about this the other week. I told her how tired I was (of a lot of things) of always being the one to initiate contact with someone. How the people who stay in the best touch with me are hundreds of miles away. How no one around here makes plans with or thinks of me first. (See where I’m going with this? It ties into the first thing I mentioned) I asked if she ever got tired of being the one to make plans with her friends growing up and if she ever stopped being the initiator. She said yes but she continued to be the one who got everyone together. To make plans to hang out or go take a weekend trip. She said that if she didn’t, nothing would happen. And on top of that, she would feel lonely.

That’s how I have felt these past few weeks. Sure, I’ve had some time to myself to do the things I’m interested in and learn a new language but if I can’t spend time with other people while I’m living in this city, then what’s the point of living here? For some strange reason I thought people would want to talk to me more and make plans to do stuff this summer in person since I got off Facebook. It’s a great tool to use to stay in touch but it can also ruin friendships. I’m not saying that my fasting has ruined any of my friendships but it has sort of stunned the growth of some. I take full blame. It’s not easy to admit that but I feel a lot better doing so. The truth is, I need people. I like helping people. I like talking to people. I love making people laugh. I am fine spending time by myself but God does not want us to be alone all of the time. He built us to desire companionship -both in platonic and romantic ways.

As this fast comes to a close, I can definitely say that I’ve learned more than I thought I would. I knew that I had been selfish at times in the past few months but I didn’t realize that it had gotten this bad. I will re-join the Facebook world in just a couple of days but I won’t look at it the same way I did before. I hope to continue to work on my pride issue and do my best to get it under control.

I’ll still be working through the constant struggle between my fervent desire to live abroad and my current financial situation. That’s not going to go away any time soon. For now, I will do my best to be content with God’s timing. I may make my own plans but ultimately His plans will prevail.

Have you ever taken a break from technology or a social network? How long was your break and what did you learn?

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When I read my very first blog post about the infamous pintxo de champiñón (champi for short) and gamba, I just knew that one day I had to try it. Fast forward 11 years and I did! And now I’m posting about it 2 months later, oops. 😅 Visiting Logroño, located just underneath País Vasco, back in March was a very pleasant surprise. The walkability, large concentration of bars in the city center and the fact that eating was the main focus of our weekend were wonderful. When I was dreaming about trying these absolutely delicious #pintxos all those years ago, I never imagined I would go to Logroño with the person I absolutely love trying new dishes and cuisines with. I never knew how fun going away to such a gastronomic gem of a region like La Rioja 🍷 would be and how eating my way around the town (plus, a little bit of culture and football ⚽️ for him) would be such an adventure. We didn’t make it everywhere we wanted to go so we’ve got yet another list of pintxos to try the next time we visit. 👫💕 Pintxos featured: 1️⃣ Champiñón 🍄 a la plancha con gamba 🍤 - Bar Soriano 2️⃣ Unas patatas bravas increíbles! 🤩 - Bar Jubera 3️⃣ El cojonudo (huevo de cordoniz con chorizo sobre pan) - Bar El Muro Restaurante 4️⃣ Un excelente pintxo de tortilla 🍳🥔“melosa” -La Concordia (Tortillera) 5️⃣ Croquetas de puerro y gamba (yo) y de cachopo (A) -Divina Croqueta 6️⃣ Otro pintxo de gamba y champi - Bar Ángel (mi favorito 😍) 7️⃣ Bocatita de jamón con queso de tetilla 🧀 (a nod to our beloved Galicia) 🤤 - Pata Negra 8️⃣ Tío Agus (un mini bocadillo de carne de cedro adobado con salsa secreta) - Tío Agus Bar Lorenzo 9️⃣ Tarta de queso vasca 😋 - Café Calenda (Calle Portales) 🔟 Brocheta de langostinos a la plancha con aceite de oliva y pimentón de la Vera - La Casita Mesón Bar Side note: it’s really hard to film one handed and try to eat at the same time (see slide #4). Have you been to Logroño before? What were some of your favorite foods/pintxos? 😋🥘🐷🥖⬇️ #callaurel #callelaurellogroño #logroño #pinchos #tapeando #lariojapetece #foodies #larioja
💻🤓✨ Freelancing might look different to you but this small collage of photos is how I see it. You’re never finished making lists and writing down appointments and deadlines into your planner. Not to mention all the forms, folders, zillions of emails and other who knows how many documents you’ll be gathering and holding onto. You vary your workspaces from time to time but it’s easy to get stuck in rut at times especially during these past couple of years when I’ve almost exclusively been working at the same table inside my apartment with no change. • And don’t forget about the outlets from work that you’re going to need to have or cultivate. I’m talking about coping mechanisms, hobbies and interests. And some of those can look like ice cream, chai lattes, lemonade with a spring of mint in the sun, a tinto de verano or a glass of wine or just a good old fashioned cup of tea. And last but not least, you’re going to need some way to relax at the end of the day when you’re trying to turn your brain off from working but you can’t seem to because in the beginning of it all, you can never fully shut off. • This isn’t the full story but it’s a small glimpse into the world of freelancing in #Spain that I’ve experienced thus far. • I am going to be adding a lot more info and posts on freelancing in Spain since I’ve been doing this for a few years now and while it hasn’t been the best experience of my life, it has certainly taught me lots of lessons. I finally feel a bit more grounded and knowledgeable about what it’s all about and what’s required of us (hint: paying a high tax rate even if we don’t work one month! 😭) and I want to pass all this knowledge onto my readers! • I already have one post live and the idea is to publish new posts biweekly on Fridays. So #freelancefriday has made a comeback in my planner! • I’ll be covering both the good and bad sides to freelancing, sharing what I wish I had known before I started back in 2017, how to understand some forms and processes and so much more! • Is there any specific topic within #freelancing that you’d like me to cover? I’m all ears! 👂👩🏻‍💻📚📝🌃
Two weeks ago today, @andrewrgillan and I woke up around 5:30 am, packed the last couple of things into our small bags and headed to the airport for an early morning flight to a place neither of us had ever been to before: 📍Palma de Mallorca! At about 18€ round trip per person (yes, for flights!), going away to a new comunidad in Spain and to the #IslasBaleares for the first time ever was just a hop, skip and a jump away. The perfect short yet adventurous city break that we needed! In fact, we had had the idea to go to Mallorca for a quick weekend getaway on our list since 2020 and so I was thrilled when we could finally go do it. And what’s more, there’s nothing like receiving the gift of a trip and a memorable experience for Valentine’s Day, is there? ❤️ Though it was a whirlwind of a trip (just under 36 hours), I loved everything we saw and ate. And madre mía, did we eat well there! I’ve thanked you many times since but thank you so much for taking me away from everyday life and giving me the chance to explore somewhere new with you, Andrew, just like we’ve dreamed of doing ever since we got married. 🤗💕 From the pictures: landing in Palma de Mallorca, exploring near the marina, taking a siesta in our abnormally large “double bed” (aka two twin beds pushed together 😂), La Rambla, eating tumbet con solomillo, wandering the Catalán and Italian style streets and climbing lots of stairs, seeing the picturesque Sèu de Palma and all the yachts parked in the harbor, eating some of the best tortilla out that I’ve had in a very long time, finally having an #ensaimada from Spain and not a Starbucks in Florida 🙈 and lastly, that view of Palma from the window seat in the back of the plane! 😍 We will be back to explore more of the island as soon as we can plan another trip 😅 but for now, I’ll be reminiscing about everything I saw from my photos. Here’s to more adventures in 2022! 😘
A couple of weeks ago, I turned 3️⃣3️⃣ on December 16th. It’s long since been my favorite day but this year I made a couple of big realizations. As much as I’ve tried to have some sort of birthday dinner or a party when I was younger, I realize that since they haven’t usually worked out save for a handful of times (thanks, Christmas parties, trips and dinners 😅), I don’t really even expect to do something big. A nice, relaxed lunch (which is what we did this year) or dinner with @andrewrgillan, some self-care pampering and cake are all I could really ask for. Or a trip to Sevilla like I did a couple of times a few years ago. 😍🍊💗 Lastly, and this the big one, I think the reason why checking off a big item on my to-do list and marking the occasion are so important to me and why this time of year is more intense for me compared to everyone else, is that the year ends twice for me. First, once I add an extra candle to my cake and second, when the clock strikes 12 on December 31st. Much like it will here soon in the UK. 🇬🇧 It’s really crucial that as we get older, we keep learning more about ourselves and this year I dove deep. Parts of 32 sucked to be honest but other times I felt such joy and accomplishment for the things I’ve done and how I made it through this past year. This year, I’m grateful to be alive and 33 years old. Not everyone makes it this far and that’s a sobering thought. And in the same vein, not everyone who was with me when I was 32 can come with me on my glow up into this next year. Also, let’s not forget, this time last year I had no idea that I’d become a published author halfway through 2021. I can only dream up what I’ll do this year... 🤔😅 (Photos include birthday pics and some of my favorite things: cats, cute things and the gorgeous coastal views of Northern Ireland from this year 😍🌊🐈 ) Happy 2022 everyone! 🥳🥂
There isn’t anywhere else on the Internet where you can get a 125 page e-book that explains in easy-to-read detail on how to get around Madrid via public transportation (Metro, EMT Madrid bus, Cercanías, Metro Ligero, BiciMAD 🚲 and more), figure out what neighborhood you should stay or live in, where to eat, what to do, the off-the-beaten places and hidden gems to visit written from the perspective of a 5-year resident of Madrid herself. Hi 👋🏻, I’ve checked and this type of guide just hasn’t been done before. So if you’re looking to move here or are already here and want to get the most out of what Madrid can offer, I’ve got you covered. Take the stress out of buying tickets and passes, making bus and metro connections, reading maps and learn and enjoy the city like I have for 5 years and counting. I show you how to get a special discount on my book for a limited time only to show you how quick and easy it is. Save 25% until December 1st, 2021 at 11:59pm. Share this with anyone you might know who’d love to get their hands on it or gift it to a transportation lover on your list this Christmas! 🎁 Favorite places featured: 1. Parque de Berlín (neighborhood: Hispanoamérica) 🚇: Concha Espina (Line 9) 2. Puerta de Europa - Parque Cuarto Depósito (neighborhood: Nueva España) 🚇 Plaza de Castilla Line 1, 9, 10 (+bus lines) 3. Hotel Riu Plaza España Rooftop 🌇🏨 (neighborhood: Argüelles) 🚇: Plaza de España Line 3, 10 4. Edificio Metrópolis (neighborhood: Sol/Cortes) 🚇: Banco de España Line 2 What’s your preferred mode of transportation in Madrid or another part of the world? Let me know in the comments!
✨ 7 years in Spain as of September 27th, 2021 ✨ I honestly don’t know where the time has gone since I stepped off the plane in Madrid and then much later on, the bus in a brand new place at the time (A Coruña) but enjoy this flashback of photos from last summer when @andrewrgillan and I finally went back to #Galicia together in August 2020. One of my favorite photos from a pretty awful and chaotic year (2020👀) was taken on the beach in Matosinhos, Portugal (still on the Iberian Peninsula 😉) so I’ve thrown it in for good measure. Swipe til the end to go back to 2014. ¡Happy 7th Spainiversary to me y por muchos más! Please let this be a year where I can visit regions I’m familiar with and a couple I still need to see (País Vasco y Asturias or Canarias, I’m looking at you!) 🎉🇪🇸🥳💃🏻🥂🐙☀️🏝
Happy second anniversary, @andrewrgillan 🥳 I have to be honest these past two years have felt like double the amount of time has passed. Not that it’s difficult to be married to you, just that time has been thrown so out of wack. It speeds by in the blink of an eye and yet it still somehow manages to take its sweet time as the calendar pages painstakingly flip by. There aren’t enough words in the world to describe how I feel about you. 💕 But the second photo in this mini montage is the one I think describes where we’re at at this stage, two years in. We’re setting down roots. Not in a physical sense but where we are in terms of our love for one another. It runs deeper each day and not only have we hit our stride with sharing the same living space together, we complement each other better. I love waking up next to you each morning and laughing with you almost every night just before bed. You are the embodiment of what home feels like in a person. And I’m so glad that I got to experience more of what your home country feels like for you. 💝 From a chance meeting on a rainy night in Northern Spain to reconnecting through an awful situation five years ago next month to falling in love and building a relationship full of mutual trust and love together, day by day, I’m excited to see what this year will hold. #loveyouthemost #medianaranja 🍊 #internationallove
This time last week we were in Northern Ireland on our Gibraltar anniversary and traveling just a wee ways over to the location where we had had our wedding reception. While it was a special and fun day and our marriage legally began on Sept. 2nd, personally we had a few more weeks to go before our official married life. One of the most frustrating things of these last 19 months or so was having to stay put and when it was safe enough only travel locally (as in not leaving the Iberian Peninsula). I often thought of how couples who got married a few years ago or more have been able to go back to the places where they got married and have taken many more anniversary trips. And to think for us, simply having the ceremony and reception and bringing our two worlds together were miracles in and of themselves. It’s easy to fall into those ways of thinking and it is only human to do so. That nagging question of “well, when can we return to one of *our* special spots?” was answered last week when we were able to visit the lovely location where we had our wedding reception on 9/21/2019. The drive out to the forest, the gorgeous fields of dark purple heather (not to mention the sheep that held us up along the way 🐑🚗) and the forest itself were sights to behold. 😍 Stepping inside it and reveling in the greenery felt like I was taking a breath of the cleanest air I’ve breathed in in a very long time. 😌🍃 And don’t let my dress fool you, it was cold inside there too! As if someone had splashed a bucket of cold water on me. 🥶💦 It was a beautiful gift to both reflect on the memories of the past and make new ones at the same place, a couple years later. Swipe through for a few newer pictures from that day in Gibraltar. One of my favorites is the fourth photo because even then we were talking about the books I would write and smiling brightly thinking about the future. How wonderful to have gotten it forever frozen in time. ❤️ I could never have imagined what exactly we were embarking on back in September 2019 but there’s no doubt that I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else other than you, @andrewrgillan, by my side.💗 Happy belated “paperwork” day, mi amor. 💋👫💙💜
I am officially a published author! 🎉📖🥳 On the night of June 1st, I clicked publish on my first ever e-book, a massive 30,00 word, 121 page digital book that I have spent the last 7 months working hard to bring to completion. And it’s finally here! If you can believe it, I had to consolidate all the information I found but still came up with over 100 pages chock full of useful information, historical fun facts, descriptions, tips and links to all of the the transportation websites, articles, maps and much more. Not to mention pro-tips and recommendations you only learn from commuting around the city after almost 5 full years. There is something for everyone: first timers in Madrid, current residents, visitors and tourists, commuters, study abroad students, interns, languages assistants and travelers both young and young at heart. ❤️ But mostly it’s for the people who are or would be completely lost without a guide like this. To me personally, this book is for 21 year old study abroad Sarah who single handedly planned the longest metro trip from the Barajas Airport to the Atocha train station one wintry day in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio while reading her guide book. An actual paperback book with a map of the major metros of #Madrid and Barcelona. My goodness, how far she has come since January 2010. 😅 Madrid is a fantastic city with excellent modes of transportation, a city bike share system and buses that run on both electricity and zero emissions. There are still improvements to be made but I truly do love this city and how I wonderful and freeing it is knowing I don’t need a car to see it. Have you been to #Madrid before? What mode of transportation do you prefer? 🚇🚌🚊🚲 #madridmemata #ilovespain #newbook