Life in the Dominican Republic & Making the Most of Alone Time

So I haven’t posted anything in a while, and it’s mostly because I temporarily moved to another country. Ha.

My husband decided to play winter baseball in the Dominican Republic. The team he plays for specifically, has a WONDERFUL set up.

We stay at Casa de Campo resort in La Romana, which is an extremely upscale, sprawling  property on about 7,000 acres of land on the coast of the Caribbean Sea.

But I’m not trying to write paragraphs about this place. Instead, just look at my pics!

Seriously, watching the sunset at the beach club here probably ranks pretty high in my traveling highlights.

The only downside on being here, is that I do miss the United States sometimes.

In the most basic white-girl statement ever, YES, I do miss Starbucks.

Although the actual coffee here is pretty fantastic.

Being here during the holiday season is also a little weird. I see everyone at Christmas parties and posting pictures of snow, and here I am, thousands of miles away, on a beach, where most people speak a different language.

(Pause, to imagine me speaking Spanish in my southern accent)

Now before I go too far, I do realize these are the most “first world problems” ever, but believe me, if there’s a way to complain, I will find it! Ha.

I am a very social person, so it kind of stinks that I can’t small talk with a lot of the locals and workers here.

(Yes, I am one of those people who will make jokes to anyone who will listen.)

Speaking of being social, I will say being here has a lonely feel some days.

Since my husband is here for baseball, he has to go to “work” which means I’m spending a lot of time alone.

If you really want to know your true self, spend some time alone.

I have two ways of looking at alone time:

1. A great time to mentally unwind & let my mind wander
2. An awful mind-jail where I’m alone with my thoughts and eventually they drive me crazy.

When I’m alone during the day, I enjoy listening to podcasts. Either the funny ones (Pardon My Take, Tom Segura) or podcasts that educational (Ted Talks sound boring, but they’re actually very interesting).

I was listening to one TedTalk, and it was about the death of creativity.

In the age of technology, our minds are so crowded with stimulants, that it’s hard to let our mind wander and think of new ideas.

The more I thought about that, the more I agree with it. All of my most creative ideas and solutions to problems have been on long runs, in the shower, while I was folding laundry, or on a plane with no wifi.

So on that front, having some alone time is nice.

But another front, or, on my negative days, alone time is where my worst thoughts come to the surface.

“What am I doing with my life?”

“Does my husband love me as much as he used to?”

“Will I ever live somewhere for more than two months at a time?”

(Seriously, this is a big concern for me, ha! I get tired of seeing all those posts on Instagram about #wanderlust and how much everyone looooooves traveling, when in reality, if you really travel a LOT, you live out of a suitcase, and currently, I might not be able to work out again because I’ve run out of clean workout clothes! buhhhhhh)

Do you see where this is going? Ha. Some days I’m just stuck on the negative train and I don’t have anyone around to pull me off.

But since I spend a lot of time alone, I’ve tried some methods to fight that.

1. Call a friend.

Seriously, I would’ve already gone crazy if it weren’t for phone calls from my best friend Holly (and also occasionally Tara!) Texting is not the same thing as having a conversation on the phone. Also, the older I get, the more I truly relish good friendships. One good conversation can totally change the outlook of my day.

2. Work Out

Okay, this is one you’ve probably heard before.

But in my life of chaos, working out is about the only thing I can control.

Whether it’s a crappy hotel treadmill facing a wall in Louisville, a long swim in a public lap pool in Reno, a pretty hike at Yosemite, or an intense weight session at the state-of-the-art gym here at Casa de Campo, I’m pretty good at staying active.

All that crap about endorphins and exercise is definitely true.

Also, it makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something.

(No, watching  three hours of Netflix is not an accomplishment, Chelsa)

3. Start a blog.

Will anyone care what I have to say? Ehh probably not. But sometimes it’s good to get your thoughts out of your head and into the universe.