Just click this link: Tania.BJJ.Bolivia

Friday, December 11, 2009

Went with Fredward to the flea market in the afternoon. Sharp contrast to the five star restaurant from last night. Trekked through aisles of fruit and unrefrigerated, freshly slaughtered meat which hung from clothes hangers. The rotten smell haunts my memory. I clung ever so tightly to my purse after several warnings of how many robberies occur there.

Fredward came with me to the poligimnasio. We got there late….after 7. As we were walking in a guy from the class was walking out holding a napkin against his forehead. His face was covered in blood. There was a T-shaped cut across his forehead. Someone had kneed him during sparring. When I got there the guys were in a circle and there was full blown sparring in the circle. I wasn’t down for full force sparring but I rolled a few rounds pretty hard with the instructor. I love MMA. I really love it.

Thursday, December 10^th, 2009

Last night a group of my girl cousins had a special dinner in my honor. My cousin Silvia works in a 5 star hotel. The attendees were Kitita, Lilian, Claudia, Sylvia, Mari, Romi, Tammy, and one more I can’t remember…. Whoops! The restaurant was gorgeous… Like an upscale Benihana. The problem is I longed for an authentic 3rd world experience. It was great to spend time with the girl cousins. Love them. Yet for some reason I felt strangely awkward.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Monday was pretty……well……boring. But Tuesday made up for it.

Woke up around 11am for breakfast with the fam. My family here is of average economic status for Bolivia but in poverty by American standards. It’s strange to me that they have 2 fulltime maids…..I guess it’s a common thing for families to have.

For the most part the day here begins around 2 or 3 pm. Some shops open from 9-12, then close for siesta, then reopen at 2 or 3. A lot of the very hot/humid countries that I’ve been to live mostly at night because it’s too hot to work during the day.

Around 2:30 my cousin Mariella, her 2 daughters, and cousin Romi took me downtown to get a cell phone. I bought a local area card and prepaid minutes and poof! I have a phone. I hope the phone will allow me to be a bit more independent. Right now I’m not permitted to go anywhere alone, to take out my iPhone or anything valuable in public, or wear jewelry. I wear my purse high on my shoulder and my cousins recommend I don’t even bring a purse when I go out. To get into the house I have to go through four locks: the gate outside, two sets of locked front doors, then the locked door to my room. It’s a pain.

After getting my phone we wondered around downtown. I really liked a shop I found with indigenous pieces of Bolivian art.

My cousin Fredward called my cell and came and met us. I came here to Santa Cruz about 5 times before the age of 15 and Fredward was always my BFF when I came. We’d spend the days lighting firecrackers and setting things on fire. Only in Bolivia.

When Fredward arrived at the park we ran up and jumped on each other and hugged tight. We were both teary-eyed. That hug was 15 years in the waiting.

Next my beloved cousin Lilian came to meet us.

I’d found an MMA gym nearby that has classes from 6-9pm. Fredward and Lilian wanted to come with me to watch and make sure I was safe. I felt bad because 3 hours is a long time!

We took a cab to the ‘Poligimnasio’ where the classes were to be held. Poligimnasio is basically a huge warehouse with bleachers. There are sections with drop mat and many different styles of martial arts being taught at once. There’s taekwondo next to wrestling next to MMA next to karate next to kickboxing etc…. There were hundreds and hundreds of people there.

There are 3 MMA classes: 6-7 submissions, 7-8 Muay Thai, 8-9 more submissions plus sparring. There were about 20 people in each class. All male. Big surprise. The classes were super fun and intense. I must say that the jiu-jitsu submissions were not taught as precisely or technically as my instructor back home Itabora teaches us. I’m not a person who normally sweats a lot but with the humidity I was drowning in sweat. Also the mats were not very clean. I decided to take an antibiotic for preventative measure.

I’m thrilled to say that when we rolled (sparring Jiu Jitsu style) no one could submit me! Not once! I landed two submissions.

My cousins were pretty surprised with my hobby. Definitely not tae-boe.  Everyone in the class was really nice and welcoming. I have a huge bruise on my elbow and another on my knee. They said there is some medical person who comes to the class that can drain my cauliflower ear tomorrow.

After going home and showering I took Lilian and Fredward out to dinner. I have to say I’m not a fan of the food here but I loved spending time with my cousins. I tried quail meat for the first time. Didn’t like it. Over dinner we talked about American and Bolivian politics and economy, as well as everyday small talk and gossip.

By then it was 12:30pm and Fredward wanted to stay out but there wasn’t much to do. We took a cab home and remembered there is a strip club/whore house across the street from our house. Since we were bored, curious, and crazy, we decided to go in. It was kinda fun.  Nothing too crazy or different from an American strip club. There was one drunk weirdo that wouldn’t stop talking to me, but we had security handle that. Tons of fun chatting with the cousins. Got home after 2am.

This morning my aunt Mari sat next to me at breakfast and asked me what I did the night before. She straight up asked me if we went across the street. I said yes and she seemed upset. She said to never ever go back there because it is a very bad place. I felt so bad! I don’t want my family here to have a bad impression of me. I asked Fredward and Lilian if it would be ok with the family and they said yes. Oh well. I won’t go back.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

My flight left SF at 12:25 am Dec 6; Sunday morning. I flew from SF to Dallas, TX, to Miami, FL, to Santa Cruz, Bolivia… over 20 hours (including layovers). I boarded the first flight still completely stressed from the crazy week I had prior. I had to relocate my entire business within a few days, plus get everything ready for the trip, stay on track with my MMA training and for about 4 days I had been battling stomach pain… Oh ya, and this damn cauliflower ear. I’m not complaining though, I like being pushed to my limits.

By the time I got to Miami I was so exhausted I was hardly even conscious. I passed out on the floor of the airport with my backpack as a pillow, but the pain in my tummy and the headache I had wouldn’t permit me to sleep.

During the 7 hour flight from Miami to Santa Cruz I was seated next to a very sweet young mom from Cochabumba, Bolivia. She had her one year old on her lap and her 5 year old on her other side. The baby was adorable…..when she wasn’t crying. She screamed and cried, piercing screams, throughout much of the flight. The flight attendants felt sorry for me and offered me free alcohol, which I declined.

Upon landing it took about 90 minutes to go through customs.

I was nearly delirious after about 40 hours without sleep. Finally, when I was released from customs, I was greeted by about 15 smiling faces, all family. It has been over 15 years since I’ve been here.

The weather was tropical; it was warm, raining, and humid. As we drove through the city I noticed how much more modern it had become since last I came. It was somewhat disappointing. I love visiting less Westernized cultures. I learn completely new ways of thinking, and realize what is really important.

I chatted with my cousin Mariela during the drive. As she asked about all the family and how they are, the pain in my stomach turned into sharp, intense, shooting pain. I couldn’t hear what she was saying because the pain was doubling over. After a few minutes the pain faded.

When we arrived at the house I was excited to see my room: I had my own bathroom, television, and refrigerator. Bolivia has evolved light years.

Apparently my mom told my Bolivian family that I’m some kind of workout and diet freak. Every time they hand me something to eat they say, “Here, this is fat free!” or “Don’t worry, there’s no sugar in this.” When I got to my room they brought in some free weights, some kind of cardio apparatus, and a scale, “in case I want to weight myself every day.”  Lol! I had to explain to them that I can eat everything and I’m not that obsessed. Thanks Mom.

Monday, December 7, 2009

I woke up and two of my favorite cousins were waiting to greet me, Kitita and Luli. They drove me around Santa Cruz and I accompanied them on everyday tasks like grocery shopping.

I’m thrilled to report that my abdominal pain has faded from painful to mildly annoying. I only feel it when I take a deep breath. I guess all I needed was some R&R.

Thus far my family won’t let me go anywhere on my own. Apparently the crime rate here has skyrocketed. They advise against wearing jewelry or using your cell phone in public. It sucks for me because I’m so adventurous and independent. I hate having to have a chaperone or to ask for rides everywhere. I’ll figure something out.

I found a Hapkido gym nearby and I had my cousin Mariela take me there last night. The class was good… It’s sorta like MMA in that it combines numerous fighting styles. The main difference is it is focused on self-defense rather than fighting for sport. I learned some new Akido style takedowns and two new kicks. I sparred freestyle with the instructor for a few minutes. He’s an amazing fighter. Super fast. My family had my 12yr old cousin who we call ‘Gordo’ (even though he’s skinny) accompany me throughout the class for safety.

CAFFEINE

It’s the most widely used mood altering substance in the world. It’s very well researched but many people seem to be confused about its effects. Clients ask me all the time…’Is caffeine bad?’ Well, it’s hard to put it in a little box marked ‘good’ or ‘bad’… There are pros and cons to caffeine and each person should weigh the risk/benefit ratio for themselves. I’m a caffeine user (and I’ve been a caffeine abuser in the past) and I’ve spent hours researching the effects of caffeine. The following is a summary of the key points of what I’ve learned. I’ll break the effects of caffeine up into three categories: physical performance (including sports performance and mental clarity), body fat loss, and general health. For each category I will list some of the pros and cons (most of which are related to high doses, sleep disturbances, withdrawals, or pre-existing health conditions). At the end I will explain a bit more about how caffeine works and provide some recommendations (both for how to use it and how to get off it, whichever you decide).

The studies I read used varying dosages of caffeine. I consider 150mg-600mg a normal dosage (about 1-4 cups of coffee). The most desirable effects seem to peak at 3-4 cups. Studies show that many of the negative side effects arise when the dosage rises above 900mg (about 6 cups — varies depending on body weight).

Click the link to view the caffeine content of common foods, drugs, and beverages:

http://www.guarana.com/cafchart.html

Physical Performance:

Positive effects on performance:

· In endurance athletes, caffeine has been shown to significantly improve both duration and intensity of exercise. Some studies show improvements as high as 30%. The increased duration is probably due to its glucose sparing properties. More fat is metabolized during the first 15 minutes, which spares glucose and keeps your blood sugar up longer, thus increasing your stamina.

· The ‘perceived exertion’ during exercise is lower (exercise feels easier).

· Improved reaction time and alertness.

· Improved cognitive ability: greater focus, clarity, and memory (mostly because of increased blood to the brain and enhanced neurological function).

· Something that surprised me is that there are many studies that show that caffeine does not contribute to the dehydration. Acute urine output is marginally increased but because most people get their caffeine in the form of coffee, the fluid in the coffee seems to make up for the lost fluid.

(Note that caffeine has not been shown to improve performance in anaerobic activities such as sprinting or high weight/low repetition weight lifting.)

Negative effects on performance:

· Caffeine can mess with your sleep patterns and decreased sleep overtime can decrease your performance in many ways. Muscle recuperation takes place during REM sleep. Decreased sleep is linked to poor cognitive function, decreased memory, longer reaction time, muscle weakness and fatigue.

· It is hard to overdose on liquid caffeine (you would have to consume 80-100 cups to get a possibly lethal dose), but with the introduction of energy pills it is possible. Cases of death are rare but have occurred (usually in athletes) because of CNS overstimulation. Plus, because the perceived exertion is lower, athletes are more able to push themselves over the limit.

· Over time, excessive caffeine (combined with stress, lack of sleep, illness, etc.) may contribute to adrenal fatigue, which occurs when your adrenal glands get worn out because of producing excessive amounts of stress hormones. The result is that your hormones get all out of whack and you can end up feeling chronically fatigued.

· The withdrawals from caffeine after chronic use can have effects directly opposite to the positives I listed above, making you lethargic, prone to headaches, and unable to focus.

Body Fat Loss

Positive effects of caffeine for body fat reduction:

Caffeine increases the metabolism of free fatty acids and spares glucose (Especially during the first 15 minutes of exercise). Simply put, it helps you burn more fat and less sugar. Since glucose (sugar) is spared, your blood sugar levels stay higher for a longer period of time, helping to reduce hunger cravings. Studies on athletes show that caffeine enables them to work out significantly longer, and at a higher intensity during aerobic activities, leading to increased fat loss.

Caffeine promotes thermogenisis (calorie wasting).

Note: the acids in coffee can cause your bowels to empty and have a mild laxative effect. I guess that is ‘weight loss,’ but it is temporary and not true body fat loss.

Negative effects of caffeine for body fat loss:

Too much caffeine, drinking it too late in the day, or combining it with a stressful lifestyle or poor diet can lead to insomnia and adrenal fatigue. Both will cause your body to release more of the stress hormone cortisol, which causes fatigue and weight gain.

Some people are stress/anxiety eaters. Since caffeine can increase stress and anxiety, it may trigger overeating in these people.

If you are getting your caffeine in the form of a venti frappuccino or some other high calorie beverage, you may gain weight from the excess calories and sugar. Think about it, if you have 5 cups a day of coffee with cream and sugar, you could be drinking like 400 extra calories a day! Not to mention that sugar and cream have almost no nutritional value and are total trash in your system.

HEALTH

Caffeine and positive effects on health:

We hear a lot about the negative effects of caffeine on health, but it was interesting to see that there are a lot of studies documenting some long-term health benefits.

Here is some info I borrowed from “How Caffeine Works” (http://health.howstuffworks.com/caffeine5.htm)

There have been more than 19,000 studies on caffeine and coffee in the past 30 years in an attempt to determine its exact effects on the human body. One of the most thorough and exhaustive studies was done by Harvard University, in which they examined 126,000 people over an 18-year period. The findings indicate that people who drink one to three cups of coffee a day are up to 9 percent less likely to contract diabetes. What’s interesting is what happened to those who drank six or more cups of coffee per day – men slashed their chances of contracting diabetes by 54 percent, and women by 30 percent [source: Kirchheimer].

Other studies have shown similar results in many facets of human health:

• Regular coffee drinkers are 80 percent less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.

• Two cups a day gives you 20 percent less risk of colon cancer.

• Two cups a day causes an 80 percent drop in cirrhosis.

• Two cups a day prevents gallstone development by 50 percent.

• It has also shown to be beneficial in asthma, stopping headaches, boosting mood and even preventing cavities [source: Kirchheimer].

Also:

Caffeine may reduce risk of obesity.

Some studies have shown that caffeine decreases the occurrence/progression of Alzheimer’s.

Negative effects of caffeine on health:

Some health problems may be worsened by caffeine, including:

Type 2 diabetes — although caffeine decreases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, taking caffeine once you already have it can cause unstable insulin levels.

High BP — caffeine may raise BP in some people.

Certain psych disorders — including panic disorder, anxiety disorder, and bipolar disorder.

Digestive problems – the acids in caffeine can aggravate some digestive problems.

Your body adapts to higher levels of caffeine leaving it less effective over time.

Possible acute negative side effects:

nervousness, headache, stomach upset, restlessness, muscle twitching, and anxiety.

Possible long term side effects:

adrenal fatigue, insomnia, dependence, withdrawal.

More about how caffeine works, tolerance, addiction, and withdrawal (borrowed again from “How Caffeine Works” http://health.howstuffworks.com/caffeine3.htm):

Caffeine and adenosine

Why do so many people consume so much caffeine? Why does caffeine wake you up? By understanding the drug’s actions inside the body you can see why people use it so much.

In the HowStuffWorks article How Sleep Works, the action of adenosine is discussed in detail. While it sounds like advanced science, it’s really pretty simple. As adenosine is created in the brain, it binds to adenosine receptors. The binding of adenosine causes drowsiness by slowing down nerve cell activity. In the brain, adenosine binding also causes blood vessels to dilate, most likely to let more oxygen in during sleep.

To a nerve cell, caffeine looks like adenosine. Caffeine therefore binds to the adenosine receptor. However, it doesn’t slow down the cell’s activity like adenosine would. As a result, the cell can no longer identify adenosine because caffeine is taking up all the receptors that adenosine would normally bind to. Instead of slowing down because of the adenosine’s effect, the nerve cells speed up. Caffeine also causes the brain’s blood vessels to constrict, because it blocks adenosine’s ability to open them up. This effect is why some headache medicines like Anacin contain caffeine — if you have a vascular headache, the caffeine will close down the blood vessels and relieve it.

So, now you have increased neuron firing in the brain. The pituitary gland sees all of this activity and thinks some sort of emergency must be occurring, so it releases hormones that tell the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline (epinephrine). Adrenaline is the “fight or flight” hormone, and it has a number of effects on your body:

• Your pupils dilate.

• Your breathing tubes open up (this is why people suffering from severe asthma attacks are sometimes injected with epinephrine).

• Your heart beats faster.

• Blood vessels on the surface constrict to slow blood flow from cuts and also to increase blood flow to muscles.

• Blood pressure rises.

• Blood flow to the stomach slows.

• The liver releases sugar into the bloodstream for extra energy.

• Muscles tighten up, ready for action.

This explains why, after consuming a big cup of coffee, your hands get cold, your muscles tense up, you feel excited and you can feel your heart beat increasing.

Caffeine and Dopamine

Caffeine also increases dopamine levels in the same way that amphetamines do. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that activates pleasure centers in certain parts of the brain. Heroin and cocaine also manipulate dopamine levels by slowing down the rate of dopamine reabsorption. Obviously, caffeine’s effect is much lower than heroin’s, but it is the same mechanism. It is suspected that the dopamine connection contributes to caffeine addiction.

You can see why your body might like caffeine in the short term, especially if you are low on sleep and need to remain active. Caffeine blocks adenosine reception so you feel alert. It injects adrenaline into the system to give you a boost. And it manipulates dopamine production to make you feel good.

The problem with caffeine is the longer-term effects, which tend to spiral. For example, once the adrenaline wears off, you face fatigue and depression. So what are you going to do? You consume more caffeine to get the adrenaline going again. As you might imagine, having your body in a state of emergency all day long isn’t very healthy, and it also makes you jumpy and irritable.

The most important long-term problem is the effect that caffeine has on sleep. Adenosine reception is important to sleep, and especially to deep sleep. The half-life of caffeine in your body is about six hours. That means that if you consume a big cup of coffee with 200 mg of caffeine in it at 3:00 p.m., by 9:00 p.m. about 100 mg of that caffeine is still in your system. You may be able to fall asleep, but your body will probably miss out on the benefits of deep sleep. That deficit adds up fast. The next day you feel worse, so you need caffeine as soon as you get out of bed. The cycle continues day after day.

This is why 90 percent of Americans consume caffeine every day. Once you get in the cycle, you have to keep consuming the drug. Even worse, if you try to stop consuming caffeine, you get very tired and depressed, and you get a terrible, splitting headache as blood vessels in the brain dilate. These negative effects force you to run back to caffeine even if you want to stop.

So adenosine is the stuff that makes you feel tired. When you drink caffeine your body is basically fighting the effects of the caffeine by becoming more sensitive to adenosine. So now if you stop, you’re really going to feel tired.

Like I said in the beginning, I’m not going to put caffeine in an all good or all bad category. I want to supply you with information so you can make a good decision on your own. Try to think of caffeine like an energy credit card. You are borrowing immediate energy but eventually you are going to have to ‘pay’ that energy back (at least some of it). And if you max out your energy credit card too much, you’re really going to dig yourself into a hole.

If you decide to quit caffeine, here are some suggestions:

Reduce your intake by about 25% every week.

For example, if you are drinking 3 cups a day, the first week you can continue drinking 3 cups, but make 75% regular and 25% decaf.

Continue reducing the ratio and after week 4 you’ll be on all decaf.

At that point you can start swaping out the decaf for another beverage. Caffeine free tea is a good choice. If your having 3 cups of decaf, the first week you can do 2 decafs and 1 tea. Keep decreasing the ratio until your caffeine free.

If you want to capitalize on the increased mental and physical energy of caffeine and minimize the long-term consequences, here are some suggestions:

Only have caffeine in the morning.

Never exceed 4-6 cups a day. It’s better to try and stay below 4 cups.

Try taking some days off from caffeine. Have some days during the week, preferably a day when you are resting, where you take in no caffeine or much less caffeine. This will help keep you from becoming more sensitive to adenosine and will make the caffeine you take in feel more potent so you don’t have to keep drinking more and more to feel the effects. 3 days on caffeine, one day off, is a good reduction schedule.

If you are an athlete taking caffeine for sports performance try to only take the high doses on competition days. Lower your caffeine when you’re not in competition season.

These recommendations may seem simplistic, but the negative effects of caffeine (dependence, withdrawal, sleeplessness, and adrenal fatigue) can seriously interfere with your life. Keep your caffeine use in check.

Partner Training

There are a lot of benefits to training with a buddy:
-increased support and accountability
-more fun
-strengthen your bond with your partner
-a drastically reduced price compared to what you would pay if you trained separately

If your training partner lives in your household you will benefit even more! It is so much easier to make diet and lifestyle changes if the members of your household are doing the same thing. Give someone you care about the gift of better health. Encourage them to try partner training.

I returned from Nerita Japan (and Thailand) on Monday the first feeling rested, excited, and motivated! (The fact that we rode first class the whole way back defiantly helped) I was a little heart broken about leaving, 12 days is completely insufficient, but I was excited to take all my new experiences and insights and leanings and apply them here at home.

I had missed work (how fortunate I am to have a job I actually miss) and was glad to go back and see my clients and friends and possibly teach them a little of the what I had leaned of Muay Thai.

One of my very best friends, Marlon, who lives near the border in Tijuana Mexico, was scheduled for surgery that Saturday in TJ. I was planning to go down for emotional support and to visit him that Saturday.

By Wed, I started to feel a little run down. I thought that it was funny that the jet lag was catching up to me so late. Thursday I noticed I was starting to get a staph infection on my hip. It was in the beginning stages. I had been having diarrhea since the day that I had made the huge mistake of drinking that 1oz of tap water in Bangplee Thailand, but I didn’t think much of it. I’ve gotten travelers diarrhea nearly every single time I’ve gone to a third world country. It is completely expected. A small price to pay for such an experience…… or so I thought. The weird thing is that rather then feeling better after I returned, I was feeling worse. I was more fatigued and my stomach cramps were slightly worse…. they weren’t really bad though. I thought it was perfect timing and a fortunate coincidence that I was going to Tijuana Saturday anyway. Marlon works at a medical clinic that treats mostly Americans. Since I own my own business, a few years back I went to that for about 18 months without medical insurance and I had gone down to Marlon’s medical center for all my treatments and medications. I could have them take a look at me while I was there.

Look, going to Mexico for medical treatment is risky, but in my case, I’m an experienced world wide traveller, my best friend works at the clinic, through my friendship with Marlon I had gotten to know the Dr’s personally, and I had been treated by them before and I knew they did an excellent job. In the past I’d been so impressed by the quality of care I got in TJ and how affordable it was that I thought I should go there for all my treatments in the future. I fly nearly for free anyway (since my Dad works for United Airlines).

My flight left at 6am Saturday morning. Funny I didn’t really start to feel sick until I boarded the plane…. then the cramps started to get painful and the trips to the bathroom more frequent. When I arrived in San Diego and walked off the plane I literally just tossed my backpack on the floor of a crowded waiting area in the terminal, used it as a pillow, and went to sleep. I was drained.

Two hours later I took a cab to a trolley that took me to the border. The contrast between crossing the border from the US into Mex and crossing from Mex into the US is laughable. To go into Mex you just walk in….. No one checks anything. There is a little bridge and people carrying bags and stuff, and there are some armed guards there but I’ve never had one of them stop me. There in a red stop light and if it happens to flash while your walking under it then I think you are subject to a random search, but I’ve never seen it go off. (Keep in mind that I’ve been to Mexico at least 40 times) and you just walk in. I always makes me think how easy it must be for fugitives in the US to run and hide in Mexico. On the way back you have to wait in this ridiculously long line, sometimes for 3-5 hours (if your in a car, 1-3 if your on foot) while immigration checks every one’s papers and all the luggage goes through x-ray and the drug dogs sniff the crowd for drugs.

Back to my story. So since Marlon was in surgery that day he sent one of the Drs to pick me up from the border. The Dr drove me straight from the border to a clinic for testing. The staph infection was not a big deal, easily treatable with antibiotics. I still thought the whole thing wasn’t a big deal. I told him it wasn’t that bad and that I’m sure it’s just travellers diarrhea but that I should get it checked since it’s getting worse. The clinic did a series of tests. I thought it was weird that they were doing so many tests. First they wanted to test the stool then then they wanted to see my insides under fluoroscope.

The Dr came to me and said he had some bad news. I had a very serious parasitic infection and my intestines were swollen and there was a puss filled abscess in my intestines. (Gross, I know…. but like I wrote before I made the decision to censor this blog as little as possible. Just keeping it real.) I was shocked! ‘How bad is it?’ I asked. He said that although it is not urgent right now, they would need to begin treating me with antibiotics and I would need to have surgery on Monday to drain the abscess. He said that if we don’t start treatment right away it could become life threatening.

I thought ‘What! Monday! I’m only supposed to be here in TJ for one day! I only brought one pair of underwear! I’m supposed to train 8 clients on Monday! I’ve barely worked for month already….. My money is running low. How am I going to afford this? My whole life, my identity, and my livelihood are based around me being athletic….. How long is this going to take me out?’

People keep asking me how I got sick, but answering that is like finding a needle in a haystack. I went to swamps and jungles, played with all kinds of exotic animals, and had some open wounds from fight camp. But I probably got it from the food or water. When is any one’s guess, but it probably happened at the end of the trip (I don’t know how long the incubation period is on these things, but I didn’t really get sick til after I returned).

So the Dr drove me to a different hospital where I sat in the hotel waiting room and cried….. inconsolably; maybe even hysterically at some points. Marlon was going through his own surgery so he wasn’t available to support me. My phone wasn’t working bc I was too far from the border. I thought “there’s some weird little animal eating my insides and destroying my health and I’m filled with puss and I only have one pair of underwear and a pair of heels and I’m in a foreign country and if I tell my family they’ll freak out and I’m nearly broke and all I have is this little backpack (which I clung to like a security blanket) and the Dr said that left untreated this could become life threatening. I am booked up with clients all week. My phone doesn’t even work bc I’m too far from the border. My whole life and income is based around me being a very athletic person. Some of the nurses tried to comfort me but I just sat there, arms folded, crying.

After crying inconsolably for a few hours. Then, after some of the shock wore off, I had my first rational thought. ‘Ok, I’m in this horrible situation. I can’t change it. I need to regain control of myself and make the most out of this obstacle. Of course it sucks, but suffering one moment longer or more then I need to is stupid. I’m not going to let this break me.’
I regained some of my composure. ‘I have to be smart’. I planned to go to another clinic to get a second opinion (they told me the same thing), figured out a payment plan, bout some comfy clothes, and had a friend contact all my clients. Once I felt a little better I asked myself, ‘How can I use this experience to actually benefit me? Well, for one, this is a true emotional and physical challenge. If I can get through this without getting depressed and recover as quickly as possibly, then I’ll know I can handle anything that comes my way. I started t think that maybe someday I would look back on this experience and actually be GLAD it happened bc it improved my mental toughness and my confidence in my ability to overcome anything that life throws my way.

I had the surgery two days later. I was in the hospital for three days with a drainage tube and an I.V. and 9 stitches. The day after the surgery I was in excruciating pain! It hurt to even breath or move.

Marlon was there by my side. He was in pain and stressed out from his own surgery… We were both stressed out and in a lot of pain so we fought like cats and dogs for the next couple days. Of course I wasn’t perfect, there were times when I got caught up in self pity or anger, but overall I did a great job constantly redirecting my attention to focus on making the best of a bad situation.

Now it has been 3 weeks and 3 days since the surgery. I am all recovered. Looking back I am SOOOO proud of myself for having overcome such a difficult obstacle. I used my time off to work on my spiritual side and to meditate. I know that if I can recover from that and find a positive way of looking at it, I can do anything.

Boot Camp!!!

Onsite at Genomic Health
with Tania Cinquini of Nucleus Personal Training

This Boot Camp will be fun, effective, and tailored to challenge all fitness levels….. from beginners to seasoned athletes. Tania will challenge you with a variety of exciting military style workouts (such as circuit training, obstacle courses, and group exercise). Tania will demonstrate variations for each exercise to make it effective for ALL FITNESS LEVELS.

During the cool down at the end of the class, Tania will give you one goal to work on each week (Based on one of the five components listed below) to help you make simple, healthy lifestyle changes.

The five components that are vital to your success in achieving your fitness goals:

1. Mental Focus- Get motivated and overcome limiting belief pattens

2. Food Intake- Make lasting changes to your diet

3. Cardiovascular Exercise- Get your heart pumping and burn tons of calories…. all in a fun, supportive environment.

4. Resistance Training- Get stronger, leaner, and increase your metabolism with fun military type exercises that are adapted for all levels.

Duration: 6 weeks (and planning on continuing indefinitely)

Dates: July 8- Aug 19th

Deadline to sign up: July 6

Days and Times: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12pm-12:45pm

Location: Either outside on the grassy field or in the gym (Tania will send out an email to let you know)

Cost: $170
($9.44 per class if you come 3x week)
($14.17 per class if you come 2x week)

Payment options:
Cedit Card:on Tania’s website with paypal- nucleuspersonaltraining.com (click buy-enter $170)
Check- give to Jennifer Griffin

Please help Tania spread the word! Encourage your coworkers to attend!

Questions?
Contact Tania at:
nucleuspersonaltraining@gmail.com
(650) 504-3675

Thursday night 5/30

I was planning to leave Fairtex Bangplee for Pattaya tonight. It is Friday night and the other fighters invited me to go out to some local bars but I had to decline.

Later that night a huge storm came. It was too dangerous to make the 2 hr cab ride in that weather. The laundry that I had put out to dry was soaked again. I was out of fresh water in my room, but when I stepped out to go to the water fountain my foot sank into like 6 inches of water. I had to take a prescription medication so I thought ‘I’ll just take it with like 1oz of tap water’. Big mistake! As soon as I tasted that tap water I knew I’d be sick. Tasted like creek water. I watched some of the other campers stumble in throughout the night drunk.

Saturday
Woke up around 630am for my morning training. I was so proud of the improvement I’d made in such a short time. My movements felt instinctive and fluid. My injuries were recovering rapidly. My blocks were intuitive. The day before I had gone 10 rounds with my trainer. Endurance is not a problem. Technique, injury, and trauma to the joints are what slows me down. I had felt my tummy aching since I woke up (from the sewage water I drank) and I knew it would only be a matter of time til I got sick. At round 9 I had to run to the bathroom and call it quits with the morning workout.

I went to my room and prepared to leave to Pattaya. I went to every fighter’s room to give a personal goodbye and give them my contact info. It takes a certain type of person to travel to a foreign country and live at a camp where you train for such a brutal sport. I am very adventurous; I like to take risks and try new things. I feel that I had found a rare group of kindred spirits there at the camp. I’ll miss them.

Next I went to say bye to the leopards. I poked at them through their cage and they purred and we played little games with our hands.

Next the monkeys; my favorites. They were especially playful that day. But those little f*ckers are sneaky- lemme tell ya. One of them was hugging me through the cage and another grabbed my hair with both fists. Obviously I was distracted so I didn’t notice when a third monkey managed to unzip my fanny pack and grab my keys!!!!! I didn’t even know until I saw him chewing on my key chain and saw my keys on the floor inside their cage. I got an employee to skillfully retrieve the keys with a long stick.

Lastly I bid farewell to both my trainers. I left them tips and big hugs and thank yous.

I loaded my luggage in a cab and head off for the 2 hr drive to meet my parents in Pattaya; an exotic beach resort town kinda like Hawaii- but way crazier. As soon as I got in the cab I was overwhelmed by fatigue. I guess my body realized the constant punching and kicking had stopped for the moment and it saw it’s opportunity to rest! I arrived at the 5 star resort and reunited with my parents. The resort was grand and luxurious! A far cry from the camp where we didn’t even have bed sheets. But my heart sank a bit. I missed the tough life at the camp. Anyway, when I got there I was barely conscience; I was sooooo tired. I tried to make myself stay up bc I only had 1 1/2 days to explore Pattaya. I decided to get a pedicure in the resort to relax for a bit. I couldn’t even sit up during the pedicure! Fortunately the pedicurist let me lay down while she did my toes. I went to my room to take a ‘nap’ and wound up sleeping about 15 hrs til the next morning. That night I literally dreamt of fighting. I went over the form in my mind- kicking with a pointed toe while pivoting on the other toe, catching my opponents kicks and knocking him down, keeping my wrist straight during my punches. There is nothing like the adrenaline rush you get from fighting. I’ve been infected with the bug…. The fighting bug. I’m a very long way from actually competing; you need to train for a minimum of 8 months to actually compete, and the fear of serious injury and permanent scaring makes me hesitate. Moreover, the nearest Fairtex is in San Francisco….. I’m trying to find somewhere closer to my home. Training to compete requires about two hours a day. I’m already in the gym all day; I already have two gym memberships; so if I seriously decided to compete I’d have to drive to a third gym to train for another 2 hrs. I don’t know. I need to think about it.

Sunday

Woke up around 730am and felt rejuvenated. My had body desperately needed the break. Went down to the resort breakfast buffet. I ate 7 (yes, 7) fried eggs, 3 pieces of toast with jam, and a glass of OJ. Eggs tasted abnormally delicious to me all week. I guess my body needed the protein.

Threw on my shiny gold bikini and went across the street to the breath takingly gorgeous beach. It was a tropical paradise; beached umbrellas, white sand, and clear blue water.

There were a few European tourists but the vast majority were Asian. Apparently long blond hair, big eyes, and fair skin are a very rare sight for them. Everyone was staring at me. Then, people began coming up and asking to take pictures with me. Pretty soon there was a line of Asian tourists and families waiting to take pictures with me. I was shocked, humbled, and amazed. All this for little old me? Why? I don’t know how many pictures I took but it was A LOT. I felt like a celebrity.

The locals were selling everything on the beach….from food to drinks to tattoos to tours. I decided to go para sailing. This was my third or forth time para sailing (FYI, para sailing is where you are attached to a parachute and a boat takes you flying over the ocean). I love para sailing. It is so peaceful and beautiful. The view is spectacular. It is the closest I’ll ever come to flying.

Next I wandered the streets of Pattaya. I was so happy with my hair extensions I decided to get more. (when I got them in Bangkok the hairdresser ran out of hair before she finished). To I went into a salon and had them finish the job. I found out that the hair actually comes from Cambodia (they just dye it blond to match my color). The women there sell their hair (if it is long and high quality) for about $35. Hair extensions are a tedious process. I spent about 5 hrs in the salon and was getting really antsy. It was TOTALLY worth it though. I spent about $60 that day and $100 the first time. The same real hair extensions in the US would have costed over a grand. I bought a bunch or hair to bring home too. I got both curly and straight so I can keep up the extensions if I choose.

Around 830pm I went to downtown Pattaya with my parents. There is a street called “The Walking Street’ (that’s what the sign said) that is lined with bars, shops, strip clubs, street performers, restaurants, and fighting rings. Some of the things I saw were too graphic for me to write about. I knew that Thailand was famous for prostitution, but I was flabbergasted by to magnitude and severity of it. Hundreds and hundreds of half naked beautiful young Thai girls (some looked as young as 13) filled the bars and streets. Some where dressed as sexy school girls, some as stewardesses, and some as tigers (yes, I said tigers). I was disgusted and disturbed by how widespread the prostitution is and how young some of the girls were. It also seemed very socially acceptable. Why does the Thai government allow it? Well, I guess it is a major source of income for the economy.

Many of the bars have fighting rings where amateur Muay Thai fighters fight for tips. Brutal. I think it was even more brutal then the professional fights. I saw some horrible kicks to the head and knockouts.

There were a lot of kids and families out there… Some of the kids preform on the street (in the middle of the red light district) for money. Some are acrobats and some sing or dance. At one of the bars people were ordering bowls of huge fried insects as snacks; the same way we Americans would munch on popcorn. They were even serving huge fried scorpions! There were worms, beetles, grasshoppers…. I dared my dad to eat one but he wouldn’t.

One of the bars had a mechanical bull. You know me…. I had to try it! That thing is tough! My my screamed when my head almost slammed into the bull. It was really fun and challenging.

We headed back to the resort and I decided to get a full body 90 minute massage. I was in heaven. It costed about $9 and it was a great way to finish of the trip.

Around 3am we left Pattaya for the airport. I was heartbroken. I love Thailand. I learned and grew so much. I will never be the same.