Here Is Where It Begins

For anyone who happens to stop by here accidentally, this blog is about two personal goals of mine and a reward I have set for myself if I reach them.

Goal 1: Lose nearly 200 lbs. and get back into shape

Goal 2: Learn to speak Portuguese

And the reward?  I have always wanted to go to Brazil to see the Amazon river, the rain forests, and the unbelievable beaches of Rio de Janiero.  So if I am able to accomplish the two above goals in the next two years, I plan to reward myself with a trip to Brazil.

Background Story on Goal 1 - I have struggled with my weight the entirety of my adult life.  At different points along the journey I have engaged in self-loathing, avoidance of social contact, dieting, and acceptance of who I am.  Acceptance is a good thing but the health problems I was having were not acceptable in the long run, and I have decided that I have to do something about the excess weight - 200 pounds of it.  I have been successful in weight loss before, and even reduced my weight by over 100 pounds once, but I get distracted when tragedy or severe stress occur in my life.  (I might blog about the specifics another time.) And once I fall off the wagon, I can not find the strength to get back on.  But I'm back now and this goal is doable.  I have to average a loss of about 8-10 pounds per month to reach this goal, and that is a reasonable rate of weight loss - healthy.

Background Story on Goal 2 - I am a linguist and a Spanish teacher.  I have always loved language and learning Spanish was an enormous achievement that has been worth every minute of effort I put into pronunciation practice and verb drills.  It is so rewarding to be bilingual.  In the modern world, speaking English and Spanish just makes good sense.  But, in my heart, Portuguese is the language I really adore and want to speak.  I think it sounds melodious, lyrical and even poetic.  I love the bossa nova, the samba, and every bit of wonderful music that comes from Brazil too.  The chances that I will actually ever need Portuguese in my day-to-day life are minimal, but I want to learn it for me.  Can a person learn a language in two years?  Well, for many people that answer might be no. However, I already speak Spanish and it is very closely related to Portuguese.  And I have been blessed with a talent for languages, so I feel like it is a goal I can reasonably reach.

I think my goal of taking a trip to Brazil is a very logical one, because once I am in shape enough to enjoy trekking around the country, walking on the beach -and- I can speak the language, then that is where I feel I want to be.   It's the sort of reward that will inspire me in my twin goals.

So this is the place where I will post updates on my progress on my weight loss and my acquisition of the Portuguese language.  I will also post related content like motivational pictures, recipes, sub-goals, and reflections.

Here's to going down and away!  (Down in weight and away to Brazil.)

You will see less of me next time,

--AnneK