Staycation

Merry December-Time friends! I hope you're enjoying your holidays, whatever those may be. My family does both Hanukkah and Christmas, though both as just another excuse to get together with family, but I love it nonetheless, and I love the holiday spirit that takes over everything this time of year! Unfortunately for Hanukkah, I did not have one free night this year to celebrate it, so my family kind of skipped right over it. That just means we'll have to make a bigger deal out of Christmas and I'm really looking forward to it! 


How is everyone celebrating this season? 


Mostly my life has been PACKED with work work work. But that does include yoga internships, tons of interpreting for  an array of topics you wouldn't even believe if I told you about, meeting new people, and hanging out with friends when I get the chance. 


Though none of this has involved traveling, I have actually been really enjoying my time at home, despite not literally having much time to chill at my apartment. I love jet setting back and forth but sometimes I need to take a breather, and focus on the life I sometimes miss out on. So now that I have a little bit of down time, I'm doing my best to take some vacation time for myself. 


That doesn't mean I don't stop dreaming about far off places though! And last week my mom gave me a gift that will help me travel everywhere without leaving my couch. She gave me a 6 month netflix subscription!! I"m so excited to catch up on movies, I'm never up to date on what is out or what's good, so I've been playing around and building up my queue and I wanted to share some of my favorite "destination" movies. Some of these are great for the plot itself, and some I just find really pretty or intriguing to watch as they make me want to go visit their countries. 


First- a classic L' Auberge Espagnole I admit I haven't seen this one in years so my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I love seeing the scenes in Barcelona and it's such a good depiction of different cultures, clashes and all. 

Nueve Reinas (Nine Queens)- A fantastic, witty, and intriguing movie from Argentina. Argentina has some of the greatest film makers in the world, and this plot will leave you guessing until the very end with all it's crazy twists. This is really fun to watch! 

El Mar Adentro (The Sea Within)- Directed by the famous Almodovar, he's a hero to most Spaniards. This movie is thought provoking and well written. The Mediterranean sea is of course beautiful but you'll probably end up too busy crying to notice. Still, I don't want to deter anyone from watching this because it is a wonderful movie and touches on some heavy topics that should be addressed at some point. 

Hotel Rwanda- Another heartbreaking movie, but I think a must watch for the African History. It's one of my all time favorites but I only watch it when I'm prepared to bawl my eyes out. I've always been fascinated by African culture and finding ways to better the current situation has been a very important cause for me for a long time. 

The Number One Ladies Detective Agency - For a happier side of Africa! This is an HBO series based on the books of the same names written by Alexander McCall Smith. I've read all the books and highly recommend both the books and the movies. You'll fall in love with the main character, Precious Ramotse. 

Monsoon Wedding - This movie is simply stunning to watch. The colors, the music, the vibrant Indian culture...I loved it. I decided after seeing this movie that I am going to have an Indian style wedding. It doesn't matter that I am not Indian or whether or not my future husband will be Indian. I want my wedding to be this pretty. 

Paris J'Taime - Oh Paris! What can I say about this? The title says it all. I do, I just love Paris, and this movie draws you into all the individual stories and I just imagine what my life would be like in Paris (Amazing I'm sure!) 

There are so many more I could list, but instead I'll just encourage you all to start exploring! I know I plan on using some of my free time to catch up on movies and take advantage of my unlimited supply of dvd's now, but I do want to ask for some help! 

MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS! What are your favorite movies? They don't have to be foreign, though I love those too. Anything I can order from Netflix that you think I HAVE to watch. Send me your list of favorites!

Lots of love and Happy Holidays!

Gaby