Mark – Page 12 – markmagpusao.com

My prospective itinerary for 2017.

Subject to change.

Lima, Peru

Valparaíso, Chile

Seoul, Korea

Vienna, Austria

Bratislava, Slovakia-Polyglot Gathering 31 May- 4 Jun

Prague, Czech Republic

Dresden, Germany

Berlin, Germany

Copenhagen, Denmark. BJJ Globertrotter Jiu Jitsu Camp. 26 Jun- 1 Jul

Porto, Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal

Scotland

Ireland

Reykjavik, Iceland- Polyglot Conference. 27 Oct-29 Oct

Bay Area, CA

Auckland, New Zealand

Wellington, New Zealand

Rio De Janiero, Brazil

Thats a year of travel in less than a hundred words. Just looking at the names seem daunting because of the size of the task. I’m excited for the challenge and the adventure. This is just a prospective itinerary. More than likely it will change.

What I originally planned to do was to hit up these countries with no plan, expectations or mission. I’m 32 years old. I know that I’m not an average traveler. I have specific interests and habits that I do. I go to the movies of the country I’m visiting, especially if I don’t understand the language. I eat the food and I try to learn a little bit of the language. I’m not much of club guy. Not really my scene. I can party if I feel like it but I rather enjoy a good conversation with friends around food and alcohol. Extreme sports. I can be peer pressured into that stuff but I don’t go out of my way to do it. Sightseeing. Yes but it’s not a deal breaker. Most importantly I do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I’ve been training in jiu jitsu for roughly seven years. I’m going to try to train in every country I visit. This type of journey has been done and documented by Christian Graugert in his book and blog, The BJJ GLOBETROTTER. I feel more active as traveler with this goal in mind.

What makes a place memorable when you visit? Is it the food? Sure. Is it the language? Maybe. Attractions? Meh. Weather? 75%. I think what makes a place memorable is the people. I’ve moved a lot in my twenties and in the Navy. The friends I’ve made where I’ve lived, whether they were locals or not, made those years unforgettable. What is the best way to bond with the locals. With a passion we both share, jiu jitsu. We don’t even need to speak the same language. I will blog about this subject extensively for the next year. So look out.

My former blog was a language blog. It was about my journey for a lingua franca, A bridge language. I am still learning Spanish. I think I can understand 60-70 percent of news and audiobooks I listen to, if slow. I can read fairly well in Spanish. I had Skype classes on italki weekly since I left the Navy. There’s still a lot more to learn. Rewind five years ago. I would not have thought I would be able to communicate or make friends in this language but I have. I hit that point in my language learning where I realized that I can communicate and I am able to use it. It’s an incredibly rewarding feeling, almost a drug-like high. I’m addicted too. I want to learn more! I plan to attend two polyglot events, Slovakia and Iceland. What better way to learn more languages than get advice from the world’s best.

That’s it.

1st Stop Maven Jiu Jitsu inSpring, TX.(Kevin,Me, James)

As I begin my journey

As I begin my journey…

I want to record as much memories and ideas to come to me while I’m on my travels. To do so I need to write. I need to make a routine of writing everyday. Which means blogging everyday. Will my blogging be good? Probably not. I want to get in the habit of writing.

What did I do today?

It was the day after my 32nd Birthday. I woke up and studied some German. I took my nephews to the park. I had Skype class for Spanish. I went to Jiu Jitsu.

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.

I used to get depressed around Valentine’s Day. It’s a day that the world highlights that you are single. Now I see it as just a day. Not just a day. A day of opportunity. It’s about perspective. For flower and candy shops, it would probably be a blackout day for employees. (A blackout day is a day where you are not allowed to take a day off.) Rightly so, it’s a money making day. That’s how I see tomorrow. Just a day to make money.

The Grey Area

What I learned from my Navy experience.

7 years and 7 months. Done. It has been a long road. Honestly like many I had a sense of bitterness and disdain towards the Navy. I can make a laundry list of the things I disliked and experienced, but it’s over. What I choose to do is…let go and move forward. It’s easy to focus on all the bad things but flip the coin and you can see all the positives that come from an experience like serving in the military.

1. A good friend of mine said to me, ” I’m not going to miss the work, the places I visited, nor the training, what I’m going to miss the most is the people.” He said that to me a year from my contract ending and it stayed with me. The people I’ve met in my travels and duty stations while enlisted will be some the greatest friends I will ever meet. I would not have met those people if I had not enlisted. For that I am forever grateful for that opportunity.

2. My career path started, like many Sailors in post 9/11, as a recruit at Recruit Training Center Great Lakes, IL. I went across the street to A school, Hospital Corps School Great Lakes, IL. I continued my training to Field Medical Training Battalion in Camp Pendleton, CA. My first duty station was Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton. I trained and tried out for special operations as a Dive Medical Technician. Dive School didn’t work out as planned and I was sent to Naval Hospital Guam. 3 years on an isolated island in the Pacific changed me. I choose to be stationed in possibly the best place to get deployed, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center 29 Palms, CA. I didn’t get deployed but what I got in exchange was priceless. I’ve experienced many once in a lifetime experiences. I can only be thankful for that opportunity that was given to me.

3. I learned a lot about myself in the Navy. Life isn’t just black and white. I received my DD-214, an official form of military discharge, yesterday. It showed all my duty stations, awards, job and my last rank. It shows what kind of Sailor I was on paper. On black and white. It doesn’t show the struggle, the friends I’ve made, the things I learned, how I changed as a person, the failed policies, love lost, favoritism, politics, trauma, friendship, death and overall life in the Navy. The grey area. The words in between the lines.

Don’t let your bitterness fester. Let go.

Time to travel. Life is short.

Camino De Santiago II

Camino De Santiago Part II

I set my goal. I left for Spain in July 2015. I arrived in Rota, Spain. Then I went to Seville. Then to Madrid. I spent three days there if I remember correctly. It was an interesting experience with tours and wondering around. It’s difficult to remember when I look back. I lot has happened in those memories.

I was able to speak with a beautiful Madrileña on the train to Irún, the starting point of Camino del Norte. I was so proud of myself for having short conversations with her in Spanish. She was very patient with my Spanish.

I remember I arrived in Irún late and I didn’t have lodging. I spent an hour walking around looking for a place to sleep. I finally settled on a pension. I thought to myself. “Tomorrow I will begin my journey.” I remember that I was very timid with my Spanish. Now when I think about it. I feel more comfortable to be in a situation where I need Spanish to help me.

It’s unfortunate that I’m writing this part of the journey more than a year ago. Many of the details are lost in my mind. It was an amazing experience because the journey was so new and refreshing. The views were so beautiful.

I met some wonderful people on that Camino. I met French, Swiss, Spanish, Catalan, Danish, Belgian, Austrian, Italian, and of course, German. Everybody had their own reasons for walking the Camino. Some were newly graduated college students, established adults with a career who saw the Camino as a convenient holiday, or other people who were looking for answer to a life decision. The last reason was my own.

My first impression of French people came when I visited Paris as a 21 year old. It was not a great experience. It was a strange unwelcoming feeling for an American. I saw the landmarks but the language barrier and the inherent unfriendliness towards tourists left a dent with me. That impression was shattered when I met a very friendly French man on the Camino. His name was Olivier, from a city north of Paris. I stopped for a break and he joined me for his break. I shared some of my orange with him. We decided to walk to the next town together. Olivier had a wonderful idea of eating sashimi for lunch. We went to the grocery store and bought our picnic food. We ate on top of green cow pasture above Zumaia looking at the Atlantic Ocean. We communicated in English, which he spoke very well, and he told me his story. He was mid 40’s, divorced, two kids. It seemed he was on the camino like most, searching for an answer through meditative walking. I don’t remember much else from the encounter except that he has upgraded my impression of French people. There are unpleasant people everywhere from every country, but there are good people everywhere as well.

Isabel, una madrileña(izquierda) , yo (medio) y Charlie, una Americana (derecha).

I left 13 days into it. I stopped in Santander. It was a one of the best days on the Camino. We left Güemes and there was a light rain. I remember the day being rainy and miserable but I didn’t care because I knew that was my last day. So I just enjoyed every second of it. Especially the misery. My favorite memory of that day was when we stopped around 11am at a beach bar before Santander. I changed my socks and we ate some food. I bought some “chupitos” for my group. Then we walked to Santander with a nice buzz. We took a small commuter boat to Santander. We had Regma ice cream, Santander ice cream, right after the boat ride. We parted ways soon after. It was the best day of Camino because of company I was with. The most important part about the Camino for me was meeting wonderful people.

It was said that this was the best Albergue on the Camino, Güemes.

I returned home when I got to Santander. I finally continued my journey in September 4, 2016. See Part III

Camino De Santiago

My family visited my in SFO airport during a layover before I go to the East Coast.

Camino de Santiago Part I

I recently completed the Camino de Santiago in the north of Spain. It’s a religious pilgrimage in Spain that has starting points from all over Europe. All of the routes end in the city of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The English translation is “The way of St. James.” James was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, his tomb is underneath the cathedral in Santiago. People come from all over the world to walk the Camino. Pilgrims, anyone who walks the camino, come from all over the world to walk the camino. The reasons why one walks the Camino are as many as people in the world. This is my story.

There two popular routes of the Camino de Santiago, Camino Frances and Camino Del Norte, the latter being physically harder and less pilgrims because of the numerous elevation changes but more scenic. I choose the road less traveled for several reasons. The scenic views of the coast, my affinity to water, and the cities of the Basque Country, Bilbao and San Sebastian. The challenge of choosing a path the majority do not attempt enticed me.

The origin of the idea of walking the Camino was when I watched “The Way” with Martin sheen. Without spoiling it, is about a man who walks the Camino with his son. The story was so powerful, it affected me with the goal as soon as I finished the movie. I messaged my close friends to see if they would be interested. Nobody showed interest in the endeavor. At the time I started to teach myself Spanish and I visited Spain once already. It was a good goal for myself.

So I set my goal. See Part II.

Results of taking a break from Facebook

I took a break from Facebook.

I started April 5th, 2016 when I was in the backyard of 29 Palms and my perspective on life was clearer because I didn’t have all that noise distracting me on my goals. So I decided to make an experiment and take a 30 day break from Facebook. There were times when I felt better about myself for not relying on the infinite news feed for comfort, as other do. I thought about leveling up my Spanish and how to get better. I started doing water color paintings. I’m searching for truth in myself and my art. It’s over now and I logged on. with 4 friend requests and 43 notifications. I didn’t miss anything.

I took the app off my phone and I am logged off on my computer. By taking the application off your phone it disconnects you from always being occupied with advertisements and outside noise. My friend, Kim, said it was fantasy world. A place where people share good news, travel photos, dress up pictures and good memories. Occasionally people share rants and complain about life, but all your 413 friends really don’t want to hear about that, maybe your close friends and family. I’m guilty of all those things. I post travel photos, good memories and have done a rant or two. When it comes down to it. What else could I be doing with my Fucking time!?

I’ve been teaching myself Spanish for the the past year and a half. I used a computer program called Fluenz. I finished the program last year before my second trip to Spain. I learned enough to get by and have small conversations. The process it was very slow and frustrating but very inspired to realize my progress in a foreign language. In January I realized I haven’t progressed at all since Spain. I have to increase my level of proficiency in the language. I’m currently reviewing the program, which is starting from the beginning to the end again. It helps but its not increasing my proficiency in a way that satisfies me. I got a tutor but he was too far away and too expensive for my budget. I’m researching on other tutors on Italki, a website to connect language learners. I will post my research. With teaching myself Spanish I feel like a scientist. I have to try something and if it doesn’t work I’ll have to try something else or adjust my original plan.

As I’m getting out of the military in 8 months. I have to solidify my plan as to what I will do when my life is not confined to routine. As of now. I plan on living in Barcelona, Spain for two years. There is an art school there and I plan on getting a student visa to live there longer than the 90 days allowed for US citizens. After the two years I plan to finish my illustration degree at SVA. With the GI bill I can live in NYC without too much worry of housing and costs of living in the expensive New York City. If I have any money left in the GI Bill. I’ll use it to get my Masters in a foreign country.

That’s it for now.

my instagram @markmagpusao

Going Dark From Facebook.

Going dark=silence in communications

Facebook= a social media website where we can see the decline and progress of humanity.

I decided to take a break from Facebook. I am currently on day 4. I was in the field(military training in a tactical environment) for almost two weeks. I had this thought where what if I just stopped scrolling the infinite feed. I think it was being in the middle of the desert and seeing the bright stars shine without the light pollution of civilization.

What kind of person would I be? Do I need to post something or see what everyone else is doing/thinking, sharing? No, I don’t. I doing experiment of 30 days.

What can I accomplish without that noise? I’m interested to find out.

I read two books while I was in the field.

The Sun Also Rises- Hemingway

I didn’t like it though I did enjoy it but I didn’t like the ending. I thought the book was about Spain, which it was. I just couldn’t relate to the characters. The description of the Spanish cities was my favorite passages especially about San Sebastion. The takeaway from reading Hemingway was talking to my Chaplain about literature. He recommended many other authors and books.

The Road- McCarthy

He let me borrow The Road. I enjoyed the read but I watched the movie already so it spoiled the book. I still was glad that I read it.

More to come.

Birthday blog post

31 years old.

It’s not a big deal. I’ve been old enough to know that it’s just day that signifies another year closer to death. That’s very morbid and pessimistic you say. That doesn’t make it any less true.

One constant that I enjoy having on my birthday is that I don’t work. There was once a time when I worked at Disneyland and I choose to work on my birthday. I thought yeah this is awesome. Work at the happiest place on earth on my birthday. Wrong. It was the fact that I was forced to be there and I couldn’t do what I wanted at a moments notice. I also carried a terrible attitude that day which may have rubbed off on the guests. I may have ruined someone else’s birthday at Disneyland because of my toxic attitude and choosing to work on my birthday. Hence why I don’t work on my birthday.

That moment stays with me whenever I think about working on my birthday. It’s best to do whatever you want and be with the people who genuinely care about you. It makes you feel better. If you have to work share a story like that with your boss and maybe they will give you a half day.

I also stopped having Facebook tell people its my birthday. No more fifty or so acquaintances writing happy birthday on my wall. When they would not say hello to me otherwise. I enjoy how it was ten years when I didn’t have Facebook in fact when more than half the world didn’t have facebook. When only your close friends and family knew about your birthday. That’s all the people who really matter.

A drawback for having my birthday in February is that its two days shy of Valentine’s Day. I don’t take this day personal. Yes, I don’t have a significant other to spend it with. Yes, it’s a day that highlights your loneliness. But it’s a day that will pass like any other day. Some people mope around being depressed but that doesn’t help anybody especially when they share on social media. So spend it wisely and work on yourself.

I went to Sam Francisco with my mother. I read some books, painted and laughed at some Calvin and Hobbes comics.

Car Troubles

Weekly blog.

My check engine light came on. I texted a few people that I knew more about cars than me. I’m very thankful that my friend answered back fairly quickly. I spent most of Saturday working on my truck. My friend looked at my truck and heard that it was not firing on all cylinders. We drive to auto zone and I buy new spark plugs. He taught me how to change my spark plugs. That didn’t fix the problem. Next we went to change the ignition wires. We go to the near by junk yard, which was an interesting experience, to look for my ignition wire. Seeing a graveyard of disheveled cars without tires and engines created an interesting image against the desert background. After an hour we did not find the part I was looking for. We go back to auto zone and they had my ignition wires in stock. We changed my wires and that still didn’t fix my problem. I needed to continue doing errands on my Saturday so I put it on pause until today, Sunday.

Sunday. We tried about everything simple that we could do with my truck. I’m calling in the towel and I will take it to a shop tomorrow. When you lose your vehicle to malfunction, it is very stressful. I’m thinking about getting another vehicle if this proves more expensive than perceived.

My take aways from this weekend. I am thankful that I have a few friends that have knowledge on car repair. I’m very thankful those friends are willing to help me. I wish I could pay it back to them.

That is all for the week.

Why do Jiu Jitsu anymore?

Why do Jiu Jitsu anymore? This question is posed to those who have been doing Jiu Jitsu for a long time, especially for those blue or purple belts. I received my purple belt about three months ago after training on Guam for three years as a blue belt. I came off a physical therapy from an ACL reconstructed surgery. I tore my ACL from a failed throw by my training partner. It was a big blow to stop, receive surgery and recover from it then keep going with the potential to injure it again. I would contemplate the “what ifs” scenarios. I was gun shy at getting back on the mats.

“I don’t want to not live, because of my fear of what could happen.”

-Riding Giants, Laird Hamilton

Top 5 reason to keep going

5. Its a perishable skill. If you have ever taken a break from Jiu-Jitsu, say a month or two, you notice that you skills, timing, flexibility, muscle memory is slightly off. Though at my level now to get back to my ability now I think it just takes 2-3 weeks of consistent practice to attain my level of where I left off. The important concept of growing as a person is keeping consistent. I’ve been taking extended breaks for most of my jiu jitsu journey. What if I kept consistent with it? Instead of taking a break for a month or two. Go once a week. It would keep your skills better than not going at all.

“We are all growing or dying, there’s no in-between.” -Tony Robbins

4. It keeps you humble. That feeling of being exhausted from trying to defend yourself competently from the relentless attacks from your partners. Sometimes you will get tapped. Sometimes a lower belt will submit you. Sometimes you don’t have enough strength to defend anymore. That feeling of defeat is a sobering one. It stays with you. It is not a good feeling. It is only a good feeling when you return from it. Redeem yourself and go back on the mats and train.

3. The ability to express yourself. Self expression is an immensely powerful tool for rehabilitation, meditation, and therapy. It is an art form though some people may not see it as such but Jiu Jitsu has the potential to be a vehicle of expression of your emotion and state of mind. If you are stressed out or concerned about life, rest assured that you can be submitted many times until you cannot think about what ails you. You can also work through it and be in place of meditation and focus that all the things the weigh you down are outside and not on the mats.

“In combative form the art of expressing the human body…to me, ultimately martial arts means honestly expressing yourself. Now it is very difficult to do.” -Bruce Lee

2. Make it Fun. Honestly if it turns into an activity you dread to go to then there is no point to do it anymore. There are ways to entertain yourself. Make a game out of it. In Jiu Jistu University, Saulo advised to try playing someone else’s guard style. That’s like doing an impression of someone. Impressions are funny when they’re dead on, they’re even awful when done bad. But still it’s fun. Play another person’s game other than your own, someone unorthodox like Nino Schembri, Eddie Bravo, or Eduardo Telles. The list can go on. There are many different styles and I don’t think enough is written about the subject.

“Sometimes I even tell my students, “Today you are going to be Pe de Pano, you are going to be Shaolin, and you are going to be Marcelo Garcia-play like that.”

-Jiu Jitsu University

1. Grind. It is a term I really learned on Guam. It means to keep going despite all things. Come to class as often as you can and put your gi on. Train hard and you will feel it in you muscle and bones. You will be tired and exhausted from training and your life. I can remember times when I was driving home and just felt at one with my body and soul. You may not see the change or feel it but when you put that kind of time and effort into something over a long period it will show results physically, mentally and spiritually.