I’m ready to dive into my summer! Photo cred 

Best stuff I’ve read on the web this month:

The Romance of Flamenco in Madrid at Curiosity Travels brought back memories of my first trip abroad (in 2003) to the lovely city of Barcelona.  I remember visiting a late night Flamenco show where one of the dancers was dancing so passionately that the back of his shirt ripped open.  Perhaps one day I will be able to take a Flamenco class, but until then I can read posts like this one which bring Flamenco alive.

An Open Letter to Those That Don’t Travel Often from Backpacks and Blackboards is something that really resonated with me.  I have friends and family back home who have such settled lives in Oregon and sometimes I look at their Facebook photos wistfully and I’m sure they look at mine the same way.

How Different Cultures Understand Time by Business Insider was very thought provoking. Having lived in China, Italy, Japan, and two latin american countries, I fully agree with what is described in this article.  If you are considering a move or you are working in a multi-cultural environment, this article might shed light on some behaviors that you are very likely to encounter.

Google Docs+ Writing Workshop= Happy Writing Teacher by Two Writing Teachers is a great resource for you teachers reading this.  I hate lugging around writing journals and this post explains how I can avoid doing that ever again!

Top Books I’ve Read in June:

Reamde by Neal Stephenson gets 5/5 stars. This is a mammoth book! I read it on my e-reader so it wasn’t until I had been reading it for a week (I normally read about two books a week) and I still had over half of the book left to read, when I realized just how many pages this book has (1056 in case you’re curious)! It is a techno thriller unlike anything I have ever read.  There is a computer virus, hackers, Russian Mafia, MI6, CIA, FBI, and it is all connected to a multi-player computer game.  While I thought the ending was a little predictable there were so many twists and turns along the way that I never wanted to put the book down!

The Fixed Trilogy by Laurelin Paige gets 4/5 stars. If you are looking for a great mindless summer read and you liked Fifty Shades of Grey I think you will enjoy this trilogy.  I first heard about it a couple of weeks ago when my housemate (who never reads) picked the first book up on a day when we didn’t have internet at our house. She read all three books over the course of two days! Then I did the same thing! I took off a star because it wasn’t groundbreaking or anything new for me, but I still enjoyed it a lot!

Music I Can’t Stop Listening To- Bachata Version:

When I first moved to Venezuela two years ago I NEVER heard Bachata music, but over the past six months or so I have been hearing it more and more.  Here are my favorite Bachata songs of the moment.

Propuesta Indecente by Romeo Santos makes me smile and want to dance every time I hear it! Very sexy! This is my new favorite Bachata song!

Here is the video to this song because if you don’t understand the lyrics the video gets the point across VERY well!

Odio by Romeo Santos ft. Drake is a fun cross over Bachata. The song is mostly in Spanish but has a small rap section by Drake.  I haven’t tried dancing to it because I think the rap section might make it a bit of a challenge, but I love listening to it!

Darte un Beso by Prince Royce is a really cute Bachata song by my second favorite Bachata guy.  While Propuesta Indecente is sexy, this song is more romantic.

Te Robare by Prince Royce is a slower Bachata song and if Darte un Beso is romantic, this is Royce in sexy mode.  I like listening to this one!

Frio, Frio by Juan Luis Guerra ft. Romeo Santos has a bit of a classic sound to it.  This song is very romantic in a poetic way.  It is a beautiful easy Bachata to dance to.

TV That I Can’t Get Enough Of:

I started watching this new series called Halt and Catch Fire.  It is AMC’s new period piece set in the early 80s.  It is about corporate espionage, reverse engineering, and computer geeks. What’s not to love?!