Life as I'm living it.

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

Disclosure - Magnets ft. Lorde

‘Caracal’ the new album is out now http://po.st/unqZXb | iTunes:http://po.st/Caracal3 | Amazon:http://po.st/Caracal10 | Spotify: http://po.st/CaracalSP | App...

#magnets #us 

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

There are a lot of things I could say about my experience in Zambia thus far...but nothing comes to mind more than the beautiful children I get to spend my mornings with here. The Kondwa center is a day-care center for around 100 orphans. It was founded in 2000 by Angela Malik and is located in the slums of Lusaka. Some of the children at the Kondwa Center have taken care of their own sick parents during their last days and at such a young age are so familiar with the heavy burden of responsibility. The children receive medical care, psychological support to deal with and over come the loss of their parents, and two meals a day. They also receive a pre-school education providing them an easier transition into primary school. The local community of Ng'ombe is very involved and the orphans sleep at homes of volunteers hand selected by the founder Angela. What I have walked away with each day, and fallen asleep thinking about this week is how excited , happy, and eager the children are to learn. They have gone through the darkest moments at such a young age but still have found the motivation to want to learn. I have taught the Middle Class (with students ages 4-7) and the Babies (ages 2-3). The lesson vary from day to day but I am finding our presence as volunteers very useful as we can take over the classes and teach which then allow the teachers time to plan the upcoming lessons. Zambia is a beautiful country filled with equally as beautiful people. I am looking forward to the weeks to come, new people I will meet, and the memories to be made. Being here with my roommates and best girlfriends from college is unforgettable and I am so lucky I get to share this experience with them.

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

Ciao Italy, Moni Zambia!

Time for another adventure! 

This weekend I am off to Zambia for a month on my last escapade with Northeastern University! 

For the month I will be working at the Kondwa Center teaching, playing, and learning with children.  This charity “aims to provide basic support for orphans and vulnerable township children so that they can lead happy and successful lives through care, nutrition and education.” It acts as a safe place and home for the children during the day as well as a primary education center, and further Kondwa directly deals with the children and helping them get through and come to terms with the losses they have suffered due to HIV/AIDS. It seems like a beautiful place doing a beautiful thing and I am so lucky and happy that I have this opportunity to go and be there. 

I have gathered from my closet at home any clothes and shoes I do not want, I have received a few fiscal donations for me to go and buy school supplies and some children’s clothes. I hope I fall in love with this organization, and that our paths are able to cross in the near future as I have been waiting to do something semi-monumental for years with my savings.

Kondwa - Be Happy 

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

5 years later...

We had always talked about living together, and more than that we had always talked about living on the same continent, or in the same country, or even in the same time zone.

Long distance relationships are hard...do not let anyone ever tell you they aren’t.  But through our long distance and time apart I have been given the chance (so was he) to grow into our own people, make our own friends, find our own ways.  It is comforting to know after all of that, after 5 years of “see you in three months”, after “only 45 days till we are together again”, we are still each other’s person.  I am only as secure as i am making these decisions like moving across the world for him, moving in together, and letting all my guards down because of the long distance.  If we can get through all of that, I’d like to think we are going to be OK. 

And here we are today, moving into our apartment. In the same place we met, the same place we said so many goodbyes, the same place we fell in love.

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

Switzerland Take:823

Ciao Italy! After a wonderful vacation with my family I am now in Switzerland! Currently at his beautiful house in Lucerne while we wait and pack until next week when we can get the keys to our new apartment in Lugano!! 

It is actually all very surreal ... We have been dating for such a long time that the whole actually living together and being on the same continent is something we constantly talked about / wanted / dreamed of but now that it is actually happening its pretty crazy! I (we) are so excited, this time together is WAY over due and I am going to enjoy every second of it! 

This next week will be full of packing, watching OITNB, finally watching the GOT finale, and more packing! 

Mid July I leave for my next big adventure and I am off to Zambia for a month with two of my closest friends, whom I lived with basically anytime I lived in Boston during my college years (WEIRD THAT THOSE ARE OVER ERH MAH GERD) alas...it is a good thing. This next chapter already has me inspired and excited where as if i as headed back to Boston I would honestly kind of be dreading it.

bis dann ~Tschüss!

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

Capo d’opera - A Masterpiece

Italy is nothing less than a master piece. I love nothing more than walking around the old streets, consistently surrounded by culture, ancient architecture, and soo much history.  It has been great to travel with my family and a pair of our dearest family friends.  It’s the same couple that the husband walked me down the runway at my debutante ball, and we have simply known and loved them for years and years.  Being with my family is great too since I am spending the rest of the summer away from them and then in classic Claire form am moving away again in August.

D arrives on Thursday to our current location which is a stunning secluded villa in Umbria, Italy. There is a chicken farm that has now expanded to included ponies, bunnies, guinea pigs, rabbits, goats, the list could go on for ever.  Needless to say all of those animals combined with the 8 or so doggies on the estate I NEVER want to leave.  The scenery is too beautiful for words, even as a storm rolls in as I type there is no place I would rather be.

Venezia was as always magical.  The city on water lives up to and exceeds every expectation every movie, travel blog, or magazine it is every mentioned in.  It is honestly a place everyone should put at the top of there must see list. Next week we move onto Rome which despite the overwhelming presence of tourists and tourism will always be one of my favorite places in the world.  There is nothing like walking down the street and up to the Colosseum... it just can not be beat.

Till next time - Ciao Ciao xx

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

TTFN-TaTaForNow Saint Louis

My hiatus from tumblr was much enjoyed as I drank, studied, cherished, and mainly cried my way through the end of my spring semester at Northeastern University.  Alas I am still an official student as I am taking part in a summer study abroad in Lusaka, Zambia. Which leads me to my leaving! 

It is the night before I leave, a feeling that is probably too common and has made me a bit numb to it all, but will always be bittersweet.  I have a routine... make sure the Bubz is snuggled up next to me - have a glass of chocolate milk - and I watch an episode of my favorite show in bed. (this time it is the latest episode of Game of Thrones) 

Tomorrow I am off to a bunch of different places, but first will touch down in Italy to spend a relaxing few weeks in Italy with my parents, younger brother, and our best family friends. Next week D will be joining us, and as one would expect I can’t wait to see him! Following a small Italian Get-a-away, the family and friends will return to the Lou while he and I get the keys to our first home together!  After 5 years of being in a long distance relationship and having to always count down the months in between seeing each other, this is the best thing in the world and I am so lucky we have both worked so hard to be able to make this finally happen for us. 

 The post move in plan will be to get some Scuba diving in before I leave for my study abroad in Zambia! We will most likely go to Portofino where 1/3 Christ of the Abyss are and is a must see in divers world! (especially because I was lucky enough to already checked off #2 of 3 in Key Largo florida this past spring break). All settled in and scuba-ed out i will re-pack a bag and head off to what i hope will be the greatest adventure I have ever taken so far.  

I have high hopes for how much I am going to fall in love with this part of the world...I have written a lot before about happiness and the pursuit of it.  And I must admit that those two ideals are lost in my modern western world (where money and superficial items usually trump experiences and raw feeling) but exposing myself to the purest forms of happiness, joy, and life while I am in Zambia will change my heart and soul. (or at least I hope it does) I am so lucky to have grown up in a world where I never had to worry about my next meal, a roof over my head, my education, or having to be a parent because I didn’t have any.  I know that I can not make all the bad in the world go away, I know that I can’t change it all, but if I can have some long term effect on some more than deserving children’s lives during my time there it is worth every drop of sweat, every hour of every long plane ride, every moment of missing home, and every dollar that could never ever ever be spent in any better of a way.  I really hope to leave Zambia with a new love and look out on the world.  I’m ready to embrace the changes, I’m ready to work, I’m ready to learn, I’m ready to live. 

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

Tenerife Sea - Ed Sheeran [Official Audio]

Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran. All rights to ed sheeran

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

The Wanderlust Gene: Why Some People Are Born To Travel

Some people are just born with restless limbs.

[taylorswift]

Directed by the amazing Kyle Newman

Starring Dominic Sherwood (who has 2 DIFFERENT COLORED EYES)

#STYLEmusicvideo

http://smarturl.it/1989STYLE

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

We come back everytime

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

overdue reflections

School ~ I have less than two months of classes left in my undergraduate career. It gets crazier looking back at these past four years the closer to graduation I get.  This weekend I had a small reunion with my Berlin study abroad group from my freshman year summer.  Seeing all of them and swapping stories of where life has taken them these past years and where they are headed now is crazy.  What I learned the most from this reunion is how much I have grown and accomplished.  I have done such a great job these past four years following my dreams, working hard, and having it pay off. So as this chapter at NEU closes I can really only feel excited about the next step in my life with attending grad school in Switzerland. 

Friends ~ It's an interesting thing being separated from the people you love the most.  My boyfriend and best friends are currently spread out all over the world. Two of my closet college friends one is in India and one is in Thailand, my boyfriend is in Switzerland, and my hometown sisters are in Saint Louis.  This is how the world works though, every person has one life to live and I am so happy everyone i care about is living it.  As fun as it would be to all be in the same place with each other for the rest of our lives it just isn't the way its suppose to go.  

I have also been working through specific friendships where communication has become less frequent, where certain topics are taboo, and a feeling of loss is creeping in.  As I make this big move to Switzerland I can't pretend that isn't a scary thing for these friendships but I know it won't matter where I am in the world. 

The biggest thing I have been reflecting on is letting my friends realize how much they deserve and truly how great they are.  I find people still so caught up in high school drama wanting everyone to like them, always taking care of others but never themselves, and settling.  Now is the time for me and people my age to live fully for themselves.  This is our time do what makes you happy and fuck what other people have to say about it.  Be honest in everything you do and who you are doing it with. 

Travel~ this is so exciting for me to have so many things planned! I have been feeling stuck here in Boston with the weather and the snow and with staying in one place for so long.  (while putting down some roots before I graduate has been nice the wanderlust in me is so ready for the travels ahead) the next six months I am lucky enough to be going scuba diving in the florida keys with family, training through Italy with family, a 3 week overland adventure with D where the destination is still TBD, Zambia as a final study abroad volunteering in local villages and working with children everyday, and then finally moving to Lugano to start grad school in the fall. So many places in such a small amount of time, it will be a whirlwind, but that feeling of chaos and keeping track of plane tickets and my passport is what I love.

"The cost of not following your heart, is spending the rest of your life wishing you had"

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

The only place I want to be is with you. <3 

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

Beautiful. 

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

5 years of long distance coming to an end ... and I couldn't be more excited for the change about to come. 

per usual Tswift has crafted a beautiful song and video that captures the little girl butterflies I still get when I am around him, or even think about him.

taylorswift

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

Feeling Myself.

2015 ... so far so fucking good. 

I have been accepted into graduate school to get my masters in international business management and not to put my education after my love life but after 5 YEARS of long distance this acceptance into this program will also be requiring me to move to Switzerland.  <3 D & I have had many talks about the what if's, the whens , the this is the last time we will be apart , and BAM finally here.  It almost doesn't feel real.  Now the scary adult stuff starts, like D looking for a job (a job is a job) in the same area as me so we can not only be in the same country but ideally live together. Beyond how excited I am to not have to count down the months till i get to see him this program is perfect for me.  The way they have it structured and what they want their students to get out of it is incredible and it is just what I am looking for. 

As far as me goes, still happy.  Still focusing on that!! ... getting back into a fitness routine after being sick and these snow days. I want to get back to where I was, but what is different this time is it is not what i need to be happy it is truly something I want and am just kind of ready for. 

Still struggling the tiniest bit with some other personal things... some friendship turmoil has left me with some sleepless nights and lists of questions and fix it remedies or ways I think i can help them and myself but alas ... you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Which breaks my heart and tugs on my conscious every day, hoping that will fix itself soon.

Almost one month into this new year and I really can't complain how things are going... but i know school is going to be hard, as well as other things coming in the next few months, but I think I'm ready. 

[keepingupwithkalsbeek]

This summer I get to spend a month in Zambia volunteering, teaching, learning, loving, and growing with what I think will be some of the most beautiful I will ever be lucky enough to meet. Besides the beautiful company I will be surrounded by from the locals and children I get to experience this with two of my best friends.  We have all been friends since freshman year and now we will have a great memory to end on.  Myself and S are also both graduating which makes this trip extra special as it is our last college horrah together.  There is no one else I would want to have this experience with and I simply can not wait.