Easy and fun

When it was getting to be around noonish, I asked Sweet Hubby if he wanted to go out for lunch. "And how about if we go some place we've never been before?" I asked.  Of course he knew that the request was to allow me to fulfill on this blog's mission, and so, with a knowing smile, he agreed.  Yes, I'm not above roping other people into sharing my new somethings.

We decided on a Brazilian restaurant I had spotted several months ago and been curious about because I didn't really know what distinguishes Brazilian food from other Latin cuisines.  Which, of course, is the whole point of this blog: to experience and learn.

We were the only customers, which made it possible to have some lovely conversations with our waiter.  Turns out Brazilian food leans heavily on meats and starches such as rice and yucca.  I'm an omnivore and will happily eat meat, but was also intrigued by the vegetarian stroganoff featuring mushrooms and hearts of palm in an absolutely scrumptious sauce.  We had that along with a sample meat platter served with potato sticks, potato salad, black beans (lightly spiced with some herb I wasn't able to recognize),rice (which we didn't eat), and yucca fries.  It was all waaaaaay more than we two could manage, but we had brought our leftover containers (we always bring out own - our little effort toward saving Earth's resources) and will be dining off this meal for several more to come.

So both the restaurant and the hearts of palm stroganoff were new to me.  A good day's discovery, I would say.

Aloha!

I've heard it said that to learn another language is to begin to understand another culture.  I find that very exciting.  I'm currently studying Spanish on Duolingo, very slowly and clumsily but with great enchantment for the feeling of stepping just a tiny bit outside my American mindset.  I'm fortunate that our biweekly housekeeper is a native Spanish speaker, and she sometimes helps me understand some of the nuances of the language.  (What's the difference, for example, between" Como estas" and "Que tal"?)  (One is more formal, one more casual.)  

Today's Something New was to take a lesson in Hawaiian.  Such an interesting language, with only 12 letters in its alphabet and a lot of little pauses in the speaking, denoted by apostrophes in the writing.  This was a most basic introduction, of course.  Yes, no, hello (who doesn't know Aloha?), thanks (likewise Mahalo), eat, speak.  I'm intrigued, and part of me would love to continue to learn, although I don't know when I'd ever have a chance to use it.  Even if (when?!) I take another vacation to Hawaii, I don't know that I'd try out my primitive vocabulary, as it would somehow feel even more disrespectful than just speaking in English.  I'm not sure why that is. The times I've been to Hawaii, I have found people to be, in some cases, incredibly friendly, and in other cases, reserved and bitter.  Recognizing what those unbelievably gorgeous islands must have been once and comparing that to what they have become makes that bitterness, that reserve, completely understandable.  White people's history of colonizing, robbing, and ruining places like this is shameful and ugly.

Sometimes I am able to feel philosophical about history.  What happened is what happened, and may have been inevitable.  Even if it wasn't inevitable, it happened and not much to do about it now but try to learn from what I understand, and understand what I learn.  But I guess it's easy for me, with my white skin and American sense of entitlement, to feel philosophical about something that destroyed other people's lives and countries.  So the old questions still persists: What am I supposed to do with this life?  How can I spend it well?  How much of a difference can I make?  Or do I even want to make?

And all this from a few moments of learning a few words of Hawaiian.  I wonder if every Something New will be so stimulating.

I do something new every day

I decided recently, for no particular reason and for no particular time frame, to do something new every day.  Starting today, August 29, 2022.  I'm actually pretty excited by the challenge.

The biggest part of the challenge will mostly be thinking of something new to do that 1) can be done in a day, while still allowing me to take care of the other parts of my life, such as writing, housework and cooking, socializing, etc., and 2) truly is something I have never done before.  The reason this is going to be the hardest part is because I've already had so many adventures, tried so many new activities.  For example:

I'm currently taking Spanish lessons - I've taken ice skating lessons - Done a tandem skydive - Been on a game show (several, in fact) - Taken archery classes - Taken almost every kind of dance class (that 'almost' might come in handy for this venture) - Been backpacking - Trekked in the Himalayas - Taken a hang gliding class - Ridden in a hot air balloon - Done ropes courses and zip lines - Ridden horses, Western and bareback - Ridden a Segway - blahblahblah, you get the idea.

Certainly I have not done everything there is to do in life so I'm very much looking forward to this exploration.  It seems to me that this is a good time (70 yo) to bring as much fresh air as possible into my mind and soul.  I want to keep learning.  I want to be unafraid of new experiences.  I want to stretch and grow for as long as possible.

Sometimes a day's newness will simply be trying a new restaurant, or starting a book by an author I'm unfamiliar with, or listening to new music.  I've been collecting ideas since this blog occurred to me, so I've got quite a few options to start with.  If you think of something you'd like to suggest, I welcome new ideas and possibilities.

Just as a side note, when Sweet Hubby was creating this blog, he found that the titles "Something New Every Day" and "Every Day Something New" had already been taken - and in both instances, there were no entries, despite the blogs having been created years ago.  Well, I promise that will not be the case here.  It take this adventure very seriously, while also approaching it joyfully. 

Today I'm going to take the light rail, getting off at a stop I've never gotten off of before, and meeting with someone I've never met before, to discuss a project she is creating.  Let the game begin!