The Avila  

      I always thought that every city in the world had something special, and
that something identifies not only the city but also identifies the people who
are from that place.When people read or talk about The Himalayas, the first
thing that comes to mind is Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world,
for example. If people dig in the identity of each city they will find out the
habitants in that place are tied to that symbol in many ways, spiritually, mentally,
and physically. Caracas the Capital District of Venezuela is surrounded by a
green, beautiful and huge mountain called Avila. Most of my life I lived
surrounded by this natural environment, fresh mornings, the songs of the birds,
that scent of trees and fertile earth. I used to wake up early and my mornings
were silent and peaceful. I remember how I heard and understood my thoughts
and my feelings. I always want to take advantage of everything that The Avila
had to offer. I remember that before work, I stopped a few minutes on
my balcony to stare at the landscape. That was how began my day
wrapped by wet, green and tropical rainforest.  

   My meditations started while I was hiking up the mountain. That land full of
leafy trees gave me shadow when sunny days were inclement. After a
long walk, I sat down on a bench or whatever place on the top of the
mountain to look at that fascinating landscape. The mingle of blue, green, white,
brown all perfectly together amazed me. Being above the clouds, and feeling
that fresh soft breeze gave me kind of a sense of calm and let my mind rest. 
Moreover, my concentration levels were high enough to heal my mind of
problems or negative feelings. In 2017, I moved to Chicago and one of my

firsts thoughts was there are no stars in the night sky. This city is too flat,
and the cold winter is killing me. Indeed, the woodland around here is
almost totally plane except for some hills. At that moment, I already knew
that I would probably never live in Caracas again. Much less, reassure my stress,
my tiredness without the environment of my city made me feel nostalgic
like everything was missing. 

 For me weekends were my moments to be outdoors, and frequently I chose to stick
around because in Caracas there are a bunch of things to do and activities to enjoy.
The variarity included beaches, mountains, and restaurants with new organic food and
drinks. Considering, The Avila there was pretty close by my house, was easy
for me  to do some outdoor exercise there. When I didn’t have enough time to go to
the beach,  I used to stay on the north side of the city and check if the ground humidity
on the mountain was too high or dry to decide if I was going to hike up or climb
up, to avoid falls. Even though I was doing something for my body, those
activities helped me to keep the balance, and my stress levels went down too.
My body, my mind and my soul learned how to build walls against negative
thoughts and feelings, and develop tolerance and patience. Here in Chicago, my
outdoor activities are limited by the weather and seasons. In spring and summer,
for three or four months I am capable to stay out without freezing. I’m a more
warm and sunny day woman. Despite this, I enrolled in a gym with pool,
basketball and tennis court, yet after two years in Chicago, I became a swimmer
and my workouts switched. Now I lift weights and run on machines too. I settle
down my mind and bring my calm back after long days of work, noise and
crowded streets with indoor activities most of the year.   

How I socialized changed as well. I never did my activities alone in Caracas. I
was always with my friends; we used to start our exercises before 7:00 in the
morning, so when we went down The Avila it was time to eat breakfast. Actually
at the beginning of the mountain  there are small bakeries adapted to the nature
of the place. The brown wood and greens all over the place. There are large
terraces with panoramic view over the internal areas of the rainforest, and outside
of the city, those bakeries didn’t need any decorative painting held on the walls,
the view was enough.  Enjoying small talk with a burning bread, eggs and
strawberry or orange juice was a perfect way to forget everything and relax.
Since I arrived in Chicago, I started a new and cold life full of work and weekend
days were more for making money than relax. Most of my friends that I have
here work on weekends the same way that they work on Monday or
Wednesday. Unfortunately, it's hard to make new friends because the language
is an obstacle. Those breakfasts in my hometown Caracas surrounded by
rainforest with fresh and homemade food have ended. My friends emigrated
too, so our small talks, how we listened to each other, how we advised each
other, and how we fixed our country is over. I really miss them all so much.  

   These are  two different experiences in two different places. I have been through
giant changes in my life over the last two years.  However, the process of clearing my
mind, throwing away negative emotions, and stress is still hard work for me, yet
I discovered when I was driving along Lake Shore Drive how immense, and
beautiful are the sunrise and sunset on Lake Michigan, and also there are
many activities that I can do during the summer. This makes me feel positive
and full of energy, so this new perspective of Chicago has gained space against
negative thoughts. I have been adjusting to my new life, so usually I call
my friends, I usually swim two times a week, my friends and me make traditional
Venezuelan dinners with a couple glasses of wine, these are a few of the changes
that I have done. Regarding this, I know that I will never forget my beloved and
beautiful Avila. That symbol will always be a part of my life in many ways,
despite the distance between us.