Goals for 2012!

I started writing these bad boys in mid-December cos I was so ready for 2011 to end and 2012 to begin. You know what's awesome? That I already started on them the last two weeks of December. Yeah, baby!

These goals could be for the entire year, but probably the most important one of all is my self-imposed deadline of April 1 to determine whether or not I'm staying in Lima. April 9, 2012 will officially mark a year living here, so it seems only fair to myself, and to my commitments here in Peru, to assess the situation then.

By then I'll have a good idea then of how things are going and if Lima's going to work out for another few months or even another year or two.

As for my goals, here goes!

SPANISH

1. Continue Spanish classes.

Action plan: Enroll in a Spanish class in January. Decide whether to continue in February.

2. Read four books in Spanish.

Action plan: Read Andrés Vanderghem's Merengue Dominical and Laura Riesco's Ximena de dos caminos by June, as well as two more books in Spanish by December.

SCHOOL

3. Begin a healthcare program at a local university.  

Action plan: Start the Universidad de Wiener's Natural and Complementary Medicine program's module 1 in February and decide whether to continue to module 2 in April.

WORK

4. Decide whether I will continue working as an English teacher in Lima.

Action plan: By April 1, determine whether I will accept my boss's contract to continue working with her for two more years for full benefits, a work visa, and eventual Peruvian residency status.

VOLUNTEERING

5. Start volunteering regularly.

Action plan: If I stay in Lima, by June, start volunteering 2x per month at the Puericultorio Pérez Aranibar in Magdalena or at a local health clinic. 

TRAVEL

6. Travel to one city in Peru.  

Action plan: By April (if I decide to return to the U.S.) or by June (if I decide to stay), travel to one city in Peru, which could be Arequipa and Colca Canyon or Trujillo and Chiclayo or to Tarapota and the jungle.

7. Travel to one other country in South America.

Action plan: By December, travel to at least one other country, which could be Chile and/or Argentina and/or Uruguay.

RESEARCH

8. Conduct anthropological research.  

Action plan: By June, decide on one research topic among the many ideas I have, and by October, start the preliminary research, including conducting interviews.

ZEN FUN

9. Continue surfing.  

Action plan: Take at least one surfing lesson by May either here in Lima or by October back in the U.S.

10. Participate in at least two 10k races.  

Action plan: Run a 10k race by June and another 10k race by December.

11. Continue pottery classes.  

Action plan: By June (if I stay in Lima), sign up for pottery classes with the potter in Miraflores for 2 classes per month. If I move back to the U.S., sign up for 2 classes per month by October.

12. Learn how to cook Peruvian cuisine.  

Action plan: By December learn how to cook four Peruvian entrées and at least one Peruvian dessert.

SPIRITUALITY
13. Continue yoga and meditation.* 

Action plan: In January, find a yoga video and do yoga at least 1x per week. Start free Saturday morning classes at the Unversidad de Wiener in February. By February, start meditating for at least 5 minutes 2x per week, and enroll in the free basic meditation course offered at the local meditation center.

14. Work on improving myself my self-respect, compassion for others, and learning how to set boundaries. 

Action plan: This goes well with goal #13 meditation. I will meditate on self-respect and setting boundaries, as well as developing more compassion for others.** Attend one workshop or read one book that highlights these three issues. Start the 29 Gifts project on January 1st.

RELATIONSHIP
15. Decide whether Peru is the right place for me to commit to a serious relationship.***
Action plan: By April, decide whether I have a better chance of meeting someone to have a serious relationship in Peru or whether this is a better option in the U.S. This will determine the outcome of goal #4, along with several other ones.

Just do it!

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* Wow. How the planets align when you least expect them. Soon after typing this, I went for a walk to the mercado and when I was about to open my building door, my landlady walked past with her two adult kids. She introduced me to her daughter, who happens to have a meditation center just three blocks away. Is this the Universe telling me I'm on the right path again or what? ♥


** I seemed to have lost compassion for others since moving here to Lima. See this blog entry for more. I've become more reserved and less willing to give of myself, as well as less generous in emphasizing with others. Compassion and empathy are qualities that I loved about myself in the U.S., so I don't want to lose them now. As for self-respect, that goes hand in hand with knowing how to set boundaries. I've always been poor at setting boundaries because I want to keep myself open to all possibilities. But that means I allow too many people to push me until I end up fighting back in a nasty way, and I don't want to be like that anymore. Living here in Lima is forcing me to learn how to set boundaries, and I need to get better at it, which means I need to focus on improving my respect for myself.

*** I'm not entirely sure if goal #15 is the right one for me because it feels very heavy and super serious I think it might be the wrong question to ask. Because maybe it's about committing to the place first rather than thinking of becoming a couple. Maybe committing to my place leads to being a couple. That seems more logical. I'm gonna have to meditate on that one for awhile. EDIT 1/10 I've decided this just isn't an appropriate goal for me. Mostly it has to do with being tired of thinking about relationships, but overall, I just have so many other things to contemplate and act on, I don't need to consider this one, too. What may come may come.