This was the year of three's. Reed and I both turned 30 and we had our 3rd anniversary. We decided we since we were already in France that we should take advantage of our proximity to some of the world's most beautiful places.
Conflans: A Medievel City Parade
Anniversary Trip to Lyon, France
Life in Small Town France
Colorado: Part 2
Colorado: Part 1
One of the great things about working for our organization is their investment in training, and their ability to pick some of the best places in the U.S. to have these trainings! We spent all of June and most of July in Fort Collins, Colorado. There we had classes and seminars 5 days a week to prepare us for living abroad. We learned about conflict styles, leadership abilities, and language learning, all things that help us live better overseas. After the 5 weeks of training, we had an all-staff conference with everyone across the U.S. in our organization. Around 5,000 people came to Colorado State University as we spent time together, listened to wise speakers, and had open and honest conversations about issues that have plagued our communities. And of course, in between all of that, we spend time exploring Colorado. Below are a few of those photos:
How to Stay Healthy When Traveling Overseas
If you've ever taken an international trip outside of western culture then you've probably experienced the fun of the little critters that rumble in the belly. And when you are only in said country for so long there's nothing worse than having to miss out on a few days by spending them near a bathroom. Sadly, I've been there way to many times. If Sarah, Steve, Andrew, and Roberto are reading this all I have to say is . . . remember Guatemala? There's nothing worse than sticking your head out of a car window and letting it go... #classy
That said, I've learned quite a few tricks over the years on how to keep yourself healthy and thriving when in a new food culture. Not only that I've also learned the hard way things NOT to do that will keep you healthy when you return. So let's get started!
1. DRINK LOTS OF FILTERED WATER - I'm going to assume that most of you aren't first-timers to traveling overseas and so it goes without saying that you never drink the tap water, including when you brush your teeth. But what I constantly see is when people finally take a break and eat at a restaurant, it seems everyone always orders Coke. Now I totally get it. It's made with real cane sugar and is void of that nasty high fructose corn syrup, but that doesn't mean it's all good. And while you've had a long day and totally deserve that Coke, I encourage you to drink two waters for every soda. There's nothing worse to your gut than tons of sugar. Not only that but if your system is fighting off bugs then sugar only weakens your immune system. So if you feel yourself starting to rumble, go against all instincts in reaching for that Sprite, and instead opt for sparkling water with a lime or lemon quarter or plain 'ol bottled water. Speaking of lemon, that brings me to my next point.
2. ADD LEMON TO YOUR WATER. In fact, don't just add lemon, but carry with you a 100% pure-grade essential oil (Young Living) and put in one drop of lemon oil in your water. Take note that lemon oil will eat through plastic so be sure to invest in a glass bottle before leaving. I love this one! Plus it comes in several different sizes and tops. I'm a straw gal myself. Why lemon you ask, well, it not only has antioxidant properties but it aids in cleaning out the nasty stuff, keeping your ph balanced, and making sure you rid your colon and liver of all the crap we put in it. Plus if you get a sore throat just add a drop to hot water along with local honey, it works wonders!
3. TAKE A DAILY PROBIOTIC. All day, every day I will preach against antibiotics, but if you have to take them then make sure you are also consuming a probiotic. And it's probably a good idea to just go ahead and take that little guy whether you have antibiotic or not. It's amazing at regulating gut health and will help keep you strong. If you are looking for a good probiotic that you don't have to refrigerate then I suggest Young Living's PB Assist.
4. ANTIBIOTIC ALTERNATIVES. Anytime I had a stomach ache I use to down an antibiotic. I knew it was a little critter and it had to die. I've had my fair share of parasites and giardia, so I got pretty good at recognizing the symptoms. The problem was I didn't replenish my gut flora with probiotics and I took way too many antibiotics. If you are in a place that has malaria and are prescribed medication, make sure you understand what it is. I was taking Doxycycline for malaria prevention as well as cippro when I felt icky and then a stronger antibiotic when I would show positive signs of parasites. But no one ever told me to be careful and use probiotics or that I had an alternative. And now I'm paying for it. I took so many antibiotics that I soon developed candida in the gut. This led to IBS, weight gain, food allergies, unbelievable sugar cravings, thyroid imbalance, tiredness, and more. Now I'm not saying that you will get this from one dose of antibiotics, but if you are a frequent traveler and find yourself taking them more than once in a year then you might want to be careful. Okay so what can you do instead.
I am a HUGE fan of essential oils. Here are a few of my favorites for traveling abroad:
- For tummy troubles like pain, loose bowels, vomiting, etc use Di-Gize oil. If you can't do pills then invest in the oil. While the oil is great, I've found more relief with the pill as it's going straight to the problem area. Another good option to help with pain is Peppermint Essential Oil. This stuff is also good for headaches, adding to tea or hot water, and a ton of other things.
- To kill parasites and other bugaboos use the ParaFree Softgels. This stuff is gold. Seriously. I used it for helping me get over my Candida and it worked better than the anti-fungals my doctor subscribed. (shhh, don't tell) That said, it's packed with essential oils like Oregano, Peppermint, Melaleuca (Tee Tree), Thyme, Lemongrass, and Lemon. And it's that Oregano that will kill all things! You take one to three pill for ten days. If you start out taking three pills you will notice some cramping, that's your body detoxing what's inside it. So I recommend building up. Start with one and see if you can handle more.
- Now some of you may just be blessed with the opposite of loose bowels. I say blessed because I've never been on this end and things are always greener on the other side. ;) But if you are looking for something to help balance you out as well as detox some of the crap living inside you (crap as in not quite parasites, but still needs to go) then I highly recommend Detoxzyme.
Okay those are my tips for keeping your gut in check while abroad. I'd love to hear what things you guys use to keep healthy?
To purchase any of the Young Living items shop here & enter this number: 2301525
EDIT: So Lily from Balance Me Beautiful reached out to me to tell me about her great website full of amazing information on essential oils. If you are interested in oils I highly recommend reading her post: http://www.balancemebeautiful.com/types-of-essential-oils-benefits/
It's a great intro into 9 popular oils. If you check it out, be sure and leave her some love!
February Recap in Photos
While I tried to write this post several days ago I had one of those "encounters" with technology...ya know, the one where it won? Ugh. Needless to say after spending an hour trying to upload photos from my February Photo Day Challenge it quit on me and I lost it all. After sulking for a few days I've decided to try again, but sadly this time I won't be posting everything photo. Just a few of my favorites.
And if you want to follow along be sure to check me out on instagram.com/jessicaleegardner. This month I'm posting photos I've taken in the past that follow along with the prompts from #thebethadillychallenge.
So here's a look at February!
{034|365} S T A R T S W I T H P.
Pretty Pink Sky.
{036|365} O L D S C H O O L
A globe older than me. I love looking at how the country names have changed over the years. South Rhodesia anyone?
{040|365} W R I T I N G
There's a lot of writing I need to do, but first, coffee.
{044|365} L O V E
Tonight's #ootd for Valentine's Day Weekend kickoff!
{046|365} M A C R O
It's about as macro as I can get with my lenses. Doesn't this cotton remind you of Spring? Kind of crazy that we have 70 degree weather today and chance of snow tomorrow. That's life in Texas for ya!
Surprisingly this was my popular photo of February.
March 2015: Recap in Photos
Well it's another month down for #thebethadillychallenge. And this month I used photos I had taken from my travels in the past. I have to say it was a challenge to find a photo that fit the prompt each day! But it was fun looking back through photos and realizing how blessed I am to have traveled so much of the world. March's photos range from South America to Europe to Africa. I've posted them below as well as the most popular ones for March.
This month in April I'm going to be doing stylized shooting. This means I'll be using backgrounds and natural light sources to get a more professional look going on my feed. This is something I've been wanting to do for awhile so we'll see how it goes!
So what are you all doing to keep yourselves creative? Share below in the comments!
Zero Tolerance on FGM
I first heard of FGM when I was watching Half the Sky. FGM or Female Gentile Mutilation is an ugly, not very known, reality. Popular in many parts of Africa it's a practice that dates back generations. And for many, it's a practice centered on old wives tales.
I'm not going to describe what happens, because to be honest, I'm not even sure I can. But I want to tell you my story in facing this horrible tragedy.
We were in hot East Africa and I was sitting in a room with three other women. They begin to describe their work with their girl's running program. We talked about how the girls managed to get proper nutrition, what their school schedule looked like, how their parents felt about them participating in a running group, and what they considered to be some of their biggest challenges.
It seems that every month there comes a time in a woman's life when things just aren't so pretty. Nodding in agreement we understood, but you see that was just it—we didn't understand at all. In fact, we had NO idea. For when girls hit puberty they are often subjected to FGM. Even though many countries have outlawed this practice it still happens, and because in many places it's illegal it happens in unsupervised, unclean places. But when a woman has undergone FGM she doesn't just experience her monthly time like everyone else. She goes through a pain so strong it rivals childbirth...and this happens every. single. month. *jaw drop*
So these young girls already facing a lack of food, clean water, and proper shelter, now face a pain so unbearable most of us would be upside down in pain pills after minute one. As they go on to describe what happens to these girls my mind goes wild. I completely understand these women's concern and I'm even more proud when she tells me how she's stood up for these women. She's fought for their safety by going to their parents, telling them the real truth of what they are doing to their daughters, and even offering them education.
A few days later I found myself in new whirlwind of a new country. This time I was in the thick of it. I was no longer in a place that considered this illegal, but in fact, 90% of women had undergone FGM, and all from the push of their own mothers. But that's where Dr. Edna comes in. I got the privilege to meet Edna and hear about her fight in FGM. She has a hospital in the city where she trains and sends out midwives. These midwives not only help with delivery but they help with educating locals on the reality of FGM.
Meeting Dr. Edna and hearing her talk about all the great things her hospital is accomplishing.
(side note: I need to work on my smiling...life of always being BEHIND the camera I guess)
Dr. Edna telling us about her initiative to train and education the women and men that work for her.
I realize I'm not in a position to train midwives or stand up to mothers, but I am in a position to educate you. I can tell the stories of the women I've met and I can give you options to help.
1. Donate to Dr. Edna's hospital directly: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/EAHF/
2. Donate to Global Aid Network. GAiN works in several countries around the world that help combat not just FGM but also in helping provide washable famine pads to women and girls. I've actually gotten the privelage to help work on this campaign and love watching it in action! Read more here: http://www.gainusa.org/engage-luopads/
2. Share stories like the one above and educate yourself. Here are some articles from The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/society/female-genital-mutilation
