I hope to write more often!

Hello all!  So----I didn't quite keep to my word.  I sincerely apologize for that.  But, my oh my how things can change in a year (or in a day for some)!

So here are a couple of new parts of life.

1.  Moved back to Hawaii on July 4!  Glad I got to celebrate America's birthday with America :)

2.  Found out lots of new information.  Some people really aren't who they say they are.

3.  Started working at HBA.  I am truly blessed and I have felt so welcomed here!  My class is pretty great too.  They are a bunch of fun loving 3rd graders!!  :)

4.  I have been helping out with the girls XC team.  I am not the head coach, which means I don't have as much responsibility or much leadership too.  I really enjoy the other coaches, so that makes it really fun.  I am also really enjoying getting to know the girls and figuring out how I can best motivate them to be the best runners they want to be.  This is truely a great passion of mine, so I hope to continue learning and developing this part of my life.

5.  I've been racing and that has been going really well.  I have a great new coach who I am super excited about.  I feel like she really gets me and knows exactly where I am coming from in so many parts of life.  My workouts have gotten a lot harder and take up a lot of my time, but I am really enjoying it.  Right now, I am really excited to focus on my training and be the best triathlete that I can be.  I know she can also help me achieve my goals, so I am pretty excited!

6.  Ended a relationship.  Again, people aren't really who they say they are.  I have never felt so loved and so forgotten about in a relationship before.  There is so much to say about this.  The bottom line is he gave up and only really cared about himself.  He told numerous lies. He cheated.  He moved on. I was sad.  I missed him.  I believed what he said.  I fought.  I stayed true.  I am hurting.

Although life is really busy right now, I am enjoying everything that I am doing.  I love my workouts, I love my job and I love coaching.  I also love being home with my best friends.  I am so blessed to have such great friends from all over the world, but I am also blessed to be able to come home to people who know me inside and out and who get me.  These girls will always be there.  I am so thankful.

Getting back in it

Aloha!  I mean--Gia sou--I'm still in Greece, so I should keep practicing my Greek :)

Today I got back into racing!  Over the last month I did two half marathons, which in hind sight, probably wasn't too good for my body.  Although I might look strong, I actually have a pretty fragile body-heart included ;).  The first half marathon went well and I was able to stick to my paces and even go a bit faster, but the second one I fell apart.  The second race, The Athens Half, was a hilly course, which has been foreign to my body.  However, today I competed in a duathlon and I felt nice and strong.  It was a short race, 5k run, 20k bike, and 2.5k run.  I felt good the whole way and I felt that I pushed in the right spots.  My power meter decided not to work which PISSED me off the whole bike!  I mean I paid a lot of money for it not to work!?!?!?  Also, my heart rater monitor hasn't been working, which also annoys me.  Apparently the Garmin heart rate monitors stop working after a while?!!?  Anyone know?  I will try to get it sorted when I go back to the states.  Anyways it was a nice day to be out in the sun running and biking with other people who like to run and bike too.  Afterwards there was a group that went for a swim in the sea, and I thought about if I was in Hawaii I would be part of that group. I am really looking forward to being part of a team and being surrounded by friends and with people who like to do the same things as me.  In Salt Lake, I was just starting to get in with the triathlon community, and then I left and then here in Greece there aren't many girls and I don't speak Greek, so it is a bit harder to get in. Plus I don't have a car-so that is also another challenge.

Other than my race I did a bunch of work.  Oh, last week I applied for a couple teaching positions at Punahou.  It has always been my dream to return to Punahou to teach.  I mean, today on my cool down I was thinking about how I am living my dream right now and when I go back to Hawaii I get to live another dream.  I don't have a job yet, but I will find something.  But I feel really lucky and so fortunate to be living this life that I live.  Although there are some struggles, I am really lucky and I have so much to be thankful for.  I am not rich in money, by any means, but I am rich in love and experiences.

Okay, off to bed.  I need to get ready for the next week.  This Friday I am heading to Bucharest, Romania to check out another new place.  We will just be there Friday-Sunday, but it'll nice to be able to see a little bit of the country.

20 days till Hawaii.  Tomorrow will be 19!  I remember when it was 91 and I didn't know how I was going to make it!  Although, the closer it gets the more nervous I get.  I don't really know what to expect.  I have a lot things planned and I hope they go smoothly.  I also hope that I am not too exhausted! Usually when I get back to Hawaii, I spend the first week on the couch and sleeping, but there is no way that I can do that this trip!

Have a nice week guys and kalomina!

Before the Nafplio half.  Yahoo, friends to run with too!!!!

Before and after shot of the Athens Half Marathon.  I think you can tell who PRed and who didn't :)  Yah Jess!!!!!!!!

From this weekends race.  Fun times :)

Enjoying Schinas.  Didn't go in the water, but it was nice to be at the beach.  Thanks Kostas for being my right hand man!

Bulgaria

Hello again!  Don't worry, my last post wasn't a fake, I am going to get back into the habit of writing again.

Kalomina!  Happy April!!  April!?!?!  What!!?  I have been waiting and waiting for April to arrive :)  I can't wait for Spring Break and my trip back to Hawaii.  I've had a count down, which I am not proud of, but I am just super excited to be back home again. :)

Don't worry though, I am using my time here in Europe wisely.  Last weekend, I took a trip to Bulgaria with some of my friends here.  It was another amazing trip!  This one was a bit different, since we were able to stay with a Bulgarian family.  We stayed in Sofia one night and got in a good walking tour (of course :) ).  Then after the walking tour we wanted to get a quick lunch and walk around and do more exploring.  However, the quick lunch turned into a 2 hour lunch-due to the fact that there was one server and who knows how many cooks!  The food was good and it was nice, but we didn't want to spend 2 hours sitting in a new city!

Anyways, it's all part of the adventure :)  Next, my friend's boyfriend is from Bulgaria, so his family came to pick us up and hang out with us for the weekend.  One minor challenge though, only the 15 year old daughter and one other family member spoke English.  Bulgarian's don't speak a lot of English, so you do what you can :)  Despite that, which again is just part of the experience, everything on our trip was great!  We got to hang out with the 15 year old the entire trip and she is an amazing young women.  She is in a language school and speaks 3 languages and will start another one next year.  It is pretty amazing, what people can do.

During our time there, we ate a lot of food, went to a Bulgarian hot spring bath, went to an outdoor zoo, went to a small quaint town to see what old Bulgaria used to look like, bought a lot of beautiful bowls and plates for my new living place in Hawaii, and I think that is it.  The family we stayed with was pretty amazing!  They were so welcoming and such great people.  Even though we couldn't communicate very well, our smiles and hugs went a long way!

This weekend I am taking it easy.  I have a race on Sunday-a duathlon, that I am looking forward to.  My first bike race in a while.  And other than that just getting things done.  I finally made an appointment for my biyearly haircut.  I just don't get my haircut very often, there is no real reason why.  Anyways, it is my last Saturday in Athens till May, so there are a couple of things that I want to get done, so I am looking forward to it.

The next two weekends I'll be traveling.  First to Bucharest and next to Rhodes.  I hope to write about those later.  :)

In the Honda Civic like car with our boxes of dishes in the back and backpacks on our lap with two other people. :)

The deer that would feed out of people's hands.  I just watched.

Don't get too close...they don't like it. 

It's been a while

So, although it might have seemed like it, but I didn't fall off the face of the earth, I am just in Greece. :)  Wow guys.  It has sure been a while!  My last post was from the July 2014!  I guess a lot has happened and at the same time things are still pretty much the same :)  Here are some of the highlights:

1. I have a new class!  My class this year is mainly Greek students, similar to my class last year, but things are going more smoothly this year.  Maybe because I know it is my last year?  Whatever it is, I am really enjoying them :)

2. I decided that 2015-2016 was going to be my last school year abroad and I will be moving back to Hawaii to start life there.  I am excited about this, but also nervous at the same time.  I feel like life in Hawaii comes with more stress and pressures than life here in Europe.  However, I am doing my best to keep a positive attitude since positivity breads positivity. :)

3.  I began a year long long distance relationship in August 2015.  During the summer in Hawaii I basically met the man of my dreams.  If I was to list all the things that I wanted in a life partner and put it into a machine, this man would have popped right out.  Although I don't regret starting a relationship 8,000+ miles apart it has been very difficult.  The first four months were great and we spent hours on the phone talking each day and really getting to know each other.  I felt like everyday was a dream come true.  He came to visit a couple of times and we spent time in Switzerland, Amsterdam, and other places in Greece.  I felt like we were on Bachelor/Bachelorette dates. :) However, when January 2016 came around real life settled in and his life got extremely busy, which meant that he didn't have much time to talk anymore.  We went from talking a couple hours a day to sometimes only talking an hour or so a week.  Anyways, all I can say is that it is tough.  Really tough.  However, I know if it works out it'll be the best thing in life and either way I don't regret any of the choices that I have made.

4.  I have been traveling as much as I can!  I had a bit of a slump this February, which turned out to be a really hard month, but I am back into the swing of things now!  Last weekend I was in Kiev for 3 days and I really had a great time!  I am glad that I got out of Athens, was able to explore a new city, meet new people, and explore the world!  I mean this is the reason I came back to Greece-I wanted to see more of the world!  But since July 2014, I have seem so much!!!  A highlight for sure is Czech Republic with Audrey.  We rented bikes for a couple of days and biked around part of the country.  It was amazing. :)

5.  I have been doing some races.  My training took a bit of a hit this winter, being sick and unmotivated, but I am back in the swing of things now.  I have been running more than usual and so far so good.  I feel good.  I have a bunch of races in Greece planned and I am really looking forward to them.  Some friends and I have turned the races into mini-vacations.  I mean, life doesn't get much better-traveling and racing in the same trip!

Phew-so I am going to end this post here.  One of the reasons why I haven't written is Google wouldn't let me into my account and today I figured out why (I had to switch my default email).  So, I will be updating my blog more so you guys can follow my exciting life :)

Here are some fun pictures from the past 2 years :)

April's wedding in 2014

First day of school 2014-2015 School Year!!!!

Christmas Break 2015. Love and miss these guys!!!!

 Miss this guy!  Nafplio 2015
    

The end of a 70.3. This was a very difficult race, both mentally and physically.  I am still recovering. 

Biathlon in Schinas July 2015.  Fun and fast race.

Summer 2015. Olympia, Greece.

Summer Big Island trip with mom.  Most southern point of the United States.

First day of school 2015!  Great new team :)

First obstacle race.  It was a lot of fun with these guys!!!

Skiing the Swiss Alps.  Such an amazing time with this guy :)

Best birthday cake!!!!!!  Thanks Erin!

 Christmas with mom!  Train from Edinburgh to London.
 

House Boat in the middle of winter in Amsterdam.  Good thing we love each other--lots of cuddling to keep warm!

4th grade field trip!

Kiev, Ukraine.  Legend says if you rub her nose, you will marry a great man.  I rubbed extra hard ;)

Summer

So again...time seems to have flown by!!!  Since I have last written a lot has happened, so I will try to recap all of it!

First, school ended.  Although I am always excited for a break, I was really sad to see my class go! :(  I had some great students and we had a lot of fun!!  Also, for a lot of my students it was their last year in Greece, so I won't have a chance to see them grow into young men and young women.  I am looking forward to the day I decide to stay in one spot and I get to watch my students grow up and see all the great things they choose to do in life.  It's weird to think that this next year will be my 7th year of teaching!!!!  Where has the time gone!!  Also, that'll mean that my first group of kids will be 10th graders?!?!?!?  I don't think that is right...maybe 9th graders?!?!?!?!?  Yes, I think it is 9th graders..Ek!!!

Next, after school ended, I hung around for 2 weeks and worked at ACS Summer Camp.  This summer camp was nothing like the summer camp that I usually do in Hawaii!  Instead of doing art projects, playing outside, catching fish at the Lily Pond, I was inside teaching English to some students who were fluent and others who barely knew any English. On top of this, the students were speaking in Greek most of the time and didn't want to be there!  I taught five sections each day and out of those five, one was good, two were okay, and two were horrible!!!  On the bright side, I did learn some Greek at camp!

After camp, some friends and I traveled to another Greek island Paros and near by Antiparos for the week.  I love Greek Islands!!  My friends and I rent four-wheelers or scooters and ride around and explore the island.  It is sooooo much fun!! Also, this time I brought my bike along so I was able to do some exploring by myself.  It was so relaxing and so much fun.

Next I did a triathlon in the Peloponnese.  This is a part of Greece that is full of trees, mountains, small villages, and nothing like Athens.  The race took place around a beautiful lake.  The day we arrived the weather was perfect and it was sooo beautiful!  However, race day was full of wind!!!!  In Athens, during the summers, it is more windy, but I guess it was unusual for that side of the country.  Luckily, the race was in the afternoon, so the wind started to die down a bit, but it was still a pretty windy race!

As far as the race went, I felt good about it.  It was another Sprint, so short and quick compared to what I have coming up in September.  I was the second girl, the girl that bet me is the Greek Champion and former Olympic athlete.  She is quite good.  I hope some day I can catch up to her, but as I mentioned before I struggle with training and traveling.  I feel like I have done a good job trying to maintain a balance, but both have to give in order for this to happen.  (more on this later).

Then after this, my sister came to visit!!!!  For those that know us, know that we are not a like.  This can make hanging out together challenging, but we both just have to remember that we love each other and that we want the best for the other person.  Although at times we had our differences, it was a great trip!!!  We got to visit Meteora, Greece where there are monasteries that sit atop varies mountain tops.  It was quite amazing to see.  From there we went to Skiathos, another Greek island.  And, you know how I feel about Greek Islands!!  It was fun being able to share this experience with my sister.  Skiathos is a northeastern island, so it was a little bit different than the other islands that I had been to before.  It still had a very touristy side, but as usual we were able to find less crowded and more beautiful beaches.  Next, we went to Croatia.  We were only able to visit Dubrovnik and Spilt, but on the bus between the two cities, I picked out my next destinations in Croatia.  Lastly, we spent two days in Athens.  It was fun walking downtown and seeing the sights here with her.  I felt very proud to be showing off the city to her.   :)

Now, this brings me to today, July 27.  My sister left this morning to go visit a friend from college in Austria.  I am excited for her to be seeing so many new places!!!  Also today, I said goodbye to two of my fellow Americans, Jakob and Shanna. :(  I am really going to miss these two!  They share a lot of the same values as me and they love to travel and explore the world!!  It was really sad saying goodbye to them.  First off, I HATE goodbyes.  I was thinking why do I move all the time since saying goodbye to people make me so sad. :(  It even makes me sad when my friends leave my house after a dinner party or something. :( Also, I don't seem to get better at them.  It is just so sad!!  I know that we will keep in touch and I will keep up with their new adventures and travels, but I felt like they made my life better and they were just fun to be around.  :(

So now, after having a full house (Caitlin-and Jakob and Shanna) I am all by myself.  Luckily, only for two and half more days since I am going to Hawaii on Wednesday for month.  I have been go-go-go for a while now, it is always so weird to just relax and be alone.  I am looking forward to my time in Hawaii with my mom and also with my friends there.  I am also very excited to see some friends that I haven't seen in a VERY long time at one my best friends from high schools wedding!  She is the first one to get married, so it'll be a lot of fun!!!!

Ohh..back to training.  So I am excited to head to Hawaii and get in some good training.  I made my ticket for Denmark, so now my 70.3 is even more real!!   I will be making the trip in September, but I still have a lot of miles to swim, bike, and run before then.  I have signed up for some races in Hawaii, which I am excited about.  Like I said before I am a bit anxious about my training.  I have been doing my best to keep it as consistent as possible, but still being about to explore the world and see and experience new things.

Anyways guys.  Thanks for reading and as always I'd love to know how you are doing too!!!!  Miss you all!!!!!

Here are some pictures..so I just realized that I left somethings out..but here are some pictures of them :)

 At the Sports Awards for our school.  Erin (swimming), Kevin (cross country), Shanna (school nurse), Jakob (basketball), and me (cross country).

Shanna and I during the wine tour.  

Wine tour in the Greece country.  

On the boat to Andros.  

Andros.

Shanna, Kevin, Jakob and I on Paros.  

Our hotel in Paros. 

Caitlin and I at Meteora.  

Hiking down to the beach in Skiathos.  

Our day trip to Montenegro.  This was one of the most beautiful hikes that I have ever done!

After climbing up 1,000+ stairs and then back down and then rushing to make sure we didn't miss the bus to the next stop!  

Caitlin and I in Split, Croatia. 

The Acropolis.  

Caitlin atop the Acropolis.  

Where does the time go???

Hi all!

So....it's been a while!  As I think about the last time I wrote, it was quite a while ago.  I will just quickly recap what I have been doing since then.

Istanbul, Turkey:  We had a three day weekend, so some friends and I jumped on a plane to Istanbul.  It was a pretty cool experience.  I enjoyed Istanbul, but again I was amazed at how many people there were there!!!  We got to see pretty much all the sites and it was nothing that I had every experienced before.  I had never been to a Mosque, so that was pretty cool to see and be inside.  Also, the call to prayer during the day was another different experience for me.  Also, we got to experience and learn about Agia Sophia.  Agia Sophia started out as a church, but then it got converted into a Mosque and then now it is a museum and it looks like a Mosque/Church.  It still baffles me how many fights and wars are because of religion.  I wouldn't say I am a religious person, but I try to live like Jesus would and to live a just and respectful life.  Anyways, tt was pretty cool to be able to see Agia Sophia and learn about the history of it.  Also, the Grand Bazaar was pretty cool.  I bought a lot of stuff and spend a lot of money-but when in Istanbul....:)  (I lived that saying up in Rome :) )

Spring Break:  A friend and I took a 10 day journey around Italy.  That country is pretty amazing!!!  We started on the Amalfi Coast in Positano.  This place was really quite neat.  The buildings and houses are all stacked on the hill side and it goes up the side of a cliff.  My favorite thing we did here was find the hike The Path of The Gods.  I love hiking!  I love being outside in nature and getting to experience natural beauty!!!  To get to the hike we rode in mini bus up the mountain, which was another cool experience, and then we hiked along the mountain and then back down the mountain.  The sea view was amazing!!  Also, during this visit we took a boat ride to a smaller island, Capri Island.  Although the boat ride was a little chilly, it was still a very nice day tour of the sea and the island of Capri.

After Positano, we went to Rome, which was another amazing city!  So many museums and amazing things to see!!  Good thing I had my Rick Steves' guide to help us know where to go and what we were seeing.  Also, we stumbled upon the Pope giving The Holy Thursday Service at the Vatican.  This also was pretty cool.  ;)

Then we were off to Florence for a couple of days.  I liked this city a little more than Rome because it was a little smaller and not quite as busy, although it was still pretty busy.  I also ran around the city and got to see different parts of the city that weren't as touristy-which is something I always enjoy!

Next, we went to Venice for a day.  My expectations of Venice were quite different than the realit of it.  I thought that Venice would be a small quiet city with not too many people, and boy I was wrong!!!  The city was filled and filled with people.  The only time I had the city to myself was at 7:00am during my run.

The tour around Italy was a great trip but I was also glad to back home and back to my daily life.  Although, I get tired of my routine-I really do like my every day life. :)

Let's see...what else has happened...

My first triathlon of the season was last week. It went well, although I felt like it should have been easier than it really was.  It was a sprint distance, but for some reason I was exhausted during it!!  I did train straight through the race, so this could have been a factor and also I am increasing my running milage from being injured for a month and a half-so this is probably another factor.

Although I won the race, sometimes I am not satisfied with a win.  Sometimes I would rather get second or third place, but know that I did my best and that I left it all out on the course.  With this race, I feel like I should have been more competitive and have given it more.  Until the next competition...

School is starting to wind down and I can't believe that my first year is almost over!!!!!  I feel like at the beginning, time couldn't move fast enough, but now it is moving too fast!!!  I am really going to miss my class.  They are such an awesome group of kids!  They are just great and I always enjoy seeing them and coming to school!!

So...Greece...There are still some things that I don't understand about this country-for example, the next two Fridays and Mondays we don't have school because of the Greek Elections.  So the theory is that they shut down the schools, because these are voting sites and they need to prepare for the voting. In Salt Lake, we had school and people voted at our school at the same time.  In Hawaii, they would shut down the schools that are voting sights, but here in Greece, they shut down all schools.  Our school is not a voting site...I mean I am a little glad to have a break, but at the same time there is always so much to do at the end of the year and now we have four less days to get everything done!

Speaking of school, I have enjoyed my first year at ACS, but I still miss my old school.  I miss the organization and knowing what to expect and what to do.  Even at the end of the year there are new things that pop up and I still feel as though I am in the dark.  I am hopeful that next year will run smoother.

So..since the next two weekends are four days weekend, some friends and I are going to Zakynthos this weekend and then next weekend we are going to Milos (some Greek Islands).  I am looking forward to these island trips, but I feel like I have so much to do for the end of the school year.  Hopefully I will just be able to relax once I get there :)

My summer plans are also starting to shape up.  School ends June 18, and then I plan on working the summer camp that my school has for a couple of weeks and then hopefully some of my old co-workers from Utah are coming to visit.  I hope they make it this year, but if not this year than next year for sure.  Then my sister is coming to visit for two weeks in July and then I am going home for basically all of August.  When I moved to Greece, I decided that I wasn't going to go home and instead spend my time traveling, but that idea changed.  One of my best friends from high school is getting married and I just can't miss that wedding.  I am so excited for her!!!  Also, it'll be nice to see my family and friends.  I am used to spending 3 months in Hawaii each year, but 1 month will have to do.  I am looking forward to my trip home and seeing all of my friends!!!  Just like my Utah life, I really enjoy my Hawaii life and also enjoy my Greek life!!!

Anyways, I think that's about it.  I have been struggling again with the training vs. traveling dilemma.  If anyone has any thoughts I'd love to hear them!    

Thanks for reading!!  I miss you guys sooo much, but thanks for keeping up with me :)

Carly

Some of the kids in my class.  We study hard and we party hard!!

Venice, Italy :)

Florence, Italy 

The Vatican, Italy 

Outside Agia Sophia, Turkey.

The Spanish Steps, Italy

Positano, Italy

Inside Agia Sophia, Turkey