A few years ago I started marking each actual year of my life, answering these same set of questions each birthday to help me measure moments. Here are the last 365.25 days:

not pictured: the massive cockroach that kept trying to be a part of the fun.

What are you doing exactly right now/what are you doing for your birthday? 

This year my birthday falls on an unfortunate Monday, so I’ve made a weekend out of it before. We had a fun happy hour yesterday and a nice dinner and then night after tonight. Of course, because we live in a third world country and things always go wrong, things went haywire with the keys and getting locked out, but. It’s been lowkey but just nice. I have about four friends in Guatemala, and so it’s quite a different social scene for me than the last seven years in Hong Kong, but I’m very okay with it.

What shoes and clothes are you wearing? 

Bike shorts and a tank and my new progressive lens glasses. Yep. At 41 I already need reading glasses (insert whatever emoji expresses sad-anger towards aging aggressively in my most important organ).

What did you last eat? Last food pic on your phone?

Twas sauvignon blanc and chicken fingers and french fries and then quite a few beers during losing rounds of Beer Pong, and then a spoonful of frosting when I got home. Calories don’t count during your birthday week, literally everyone knows this.

Where are you living?

After seven years in Hong Kong, one of the world’s craziest and most population-dense cities, I now live in a tiny town in the volcanic mountains of Guatemala on beautiful Lake Atitlan. We’re about 5,000 feet up, with water and electrical outages common. The town relies completely on tourism and we have a big indigenous Mayan population. There are three stoplights, none guaranteed to work at any given time. The nearest movie theater is three hours away. The only clothing stores are second-hand. I live in a studio again, where, again, the only door is sliding in and out of the bathroom. It’s a ten minute walk to work and twenty minutes to the lake and there is a terrace and I am very okay with the very little because compared to many here it is a whole heck of a lot.

Ms Frizzlin’

Where do you work?

After four years in fourth, I’ve finally moved up to fifth grade! Not sure how I feel about it. Because I have to like, watch Youtubes of how to teach most things in math and science (why do kids need to know how to divide fractions or convert centimeters to inches in the year 2025 of our Lord? Make it stop). I’m at a tiny “bilingual” and “international” school that mostly serves indigenous kids on scholarship. It’s hard, HARD freaking work and I’m technically a volunteer without a visa, so there is that. But it’s a good mind-shift from the opulence and busyness and privilege of Hong Kong.

El Salvador!

Where have you traveled this last year?

Gosh . . . last year, living in Hong Kong, I listed SIX countries I had traveled to. The blessings of a high income and close proximity to an international airport and a “I’m feeling sorry for myself – let’s book a trip!” attitude. Since my last birthday, I squeezed in a trip to China, spent a weekend in Singapore, and beached away a few days in Vietnam with Maggie to round out our time together in Hong Kong. Then it was home to the states before moving to Guatemala! Where I live is so remote it’s hard to get anywhere, and I’ve already done all of Central America except! El Salvador! Which we squeezed in over Thanksgiving and it was lovely.

When did you last cry?

maybe it’s the hormonies, but I’ve been crying ALL THE TIME. My students told me I have a “corazon de pollito” or “tiny chicken heart” in Guatemala – I am sentimental and easily moved to tears. And sure, I cry, but it’s NOT MY FAULT if I have to teach them about things like colonization and slavery and the Civil Rights and Indigenous Rights movement! And I have to stand on a soap box! And explain structural racism! And poverty! And try to inspire them against all the odds that are stacked up!

also cried when i found this in my toilet and thought it might have come out of ME

Also, we watched “The Wild Robot,” which is the closest many of them have ever been to seeing a movie in a theater, and everything about that made me cry.

What was the last movie you watched?

I’ve been on a kick to watch all Disney classics in chronological order, and the last was “Peter Pan,” which has more funny and more racist moments than I remember.

Favorite TV show of the moment?

Just finished “The Pitt” and I’m obsessed. I’ve been watching “Kimmy Schmidt” from the beginning and just . . . God bless Tina Fey. I started watching “The Mindy Project” for the first time and love it. Currently finishing up The White Lotus, Severance, The Last of Us. ALSO – if you can find it, “Teachers” and “English Teacher” are freaking HILARIOUS.

so teacher-y – our names are both Rach(a)el Lynn, we’re both born in April, both taught in Asia, and showed up to work dressed like this one day.

Favorite toy of the moment?

okay this is so teacher-y but I got one of those bright lanyard cross-body things to put on your phone and wow. game-changer. More things should be hands-free.

What book are you reading?

Men Who Hate Women – phenomenal research and a must-read after seeing “Adolescence” to try and understand the “manosphere” of influence on young men growing up in today’s internet world. I just started Lucille Ball’s autobiography.

How many books did you read in the last year? Highlights?

Gosh, like over 100. I’m not reading as much these days, as I’ve started my Masters. Friend me on Goodreads if you really want to know. Favorites – All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy. The Emily Wilde series. Mixed Signals. What Happened to You.

“we’re Enneagram 7’s, we WILL be the fun.”

When did you last laugh really hard? 

Probably tonight, playing terrible beer pong at Tipzy Goat, doing silly things to distract the other team.

What are you most looking forward to right now?

My little brother is getting married in June and it’s going to be such a fun family reunion! I’m not sure how he’s old enough to get married, as I identify as 25, which would make him like eight years old, but I’m willing to go to Virgina to see how this works.

What’s your favorite song at the moment?

I’ve got Bad Bunny on repeat and I’m still not over “That’s So True” and loving “The Giver” and “Messy.”

digital auntie life

What’s the same about your life last year that you’re happy about?

I still love being an Auntie and my tribe has expanded this year! I’m still teaching, and it’s the heartache I keep coming back to and trying to get better at. I still go on hot mess girl walks almost every day and try to catch a sunset.

What’s different about your life from last year? What surprised you about this last year or changed it for you?

dressing up for Guatemalan Pride Day

Almost everything is different. It has been a massive adjustment from Hong Kong to this tiny, rural, indigenous, third world, poor as, small as, way-behind-the-times-I-was-used-to place.

My life is simpler, and slower, and I’m grateful for a lot of it. My social life is much smaller, I hardly travel anymore, I make no money as I am technically a volunteer, but the work I do feels much more important and rewarding, I get to speak Spanish again, I sleep sooo much more, I’m much healthier. I don’t regret a thing.

When and what was your last vacation?

I made a last-minute decision to fly home for Spring Break to see the family and it was so good! I got to meet my newest niece, who is perfect, spend a lot of time with Gma, eat way too much good food, talk long walks on safe trails, indulge in some privilege and I didn’t let myself feel bad about it (because I brought back a lot of cool things, too!). I took a bubble bath, laid out by the pool, cuddled the dogs, and my mom even had Easter a week early so I could be a part of it. Lovely week.

What’s your current favorite joke? 

It’s not a joke, per se, but my students have just learned what “jinx” is and are reaLLY upset they can’t catch me with it. But they’re always like, “Ms Raquel, guess what?” and I answer “How can I help?/yes?/at your service!/tell me the news, etc.” instead of “what?” that I KNOW they’re trying to jinx me with and it just kills them. (insert my maniacal cackle)

What would you like as a gift right now?

United Airlines miles, a third-party income injection to my bank account, mosquito eradication on a world-wide level. Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food ice cream. McDonald’s chicken nuggets.

What are you proud of this year? 

I quit almost all subscriptions and streaming services and don’t miss them. I quit Twitter and Amazon Prime. I did a two-week social media fast that changed me. I went from August to December only buying a sweatshirt. And did no-buy again from January to April. It’s easier than I thought. I’m almost to level 7000 on Candy Crush. And I’ve passed 450,000 views on this humble blog!

Oh and I FINALLY started my Master’s! It’s been SO good for me to stimulate my mind in this way and resume-building and keeps me off the streets and not to brag but I will – I’ve gotten all A’s so far and text my mom screen shots of it because she’s not getting grandkids from me so I gotta be interesting somehow. (For balance, I also screenshot her my “accomplishments” on my beer tracking app).

What’s an important relationship at the moment?

The town I live in has only 11,000 people, so I got super lucky to work with the cool ones that I do. And, in a way that feels like dorm living again sometimes, four of us also live in the same building and can literally call each other for a cup of sugar, or more likely in my case, “wanna watch Love is Blind/have a dance party/make tortillas with me?” I don’t know what I would do without them.

here’s to more redeyes and overpriced coffees in my future!

What are your goals for the next year?

I don’t know . . . be a good person, have fun, pet more dogs. Finish my Master’s well and maybe take some Spanish classes to really solidify my fluency. Maybe get to one new country, try dating again, and eat more vegetables.

Until next time . . . subscribe to give me a free birthday gift and keep up with the chaotic good that is my life :)