Monday, September 29, 2008

100% Happy

The reason I have not posted lately is that… I was having such a good time in Berlin that I didn’t want to sit down and write about it. I just wanted to live it. I feel such good energy in this city and it really resonates with my own energy and connects me to myself. I keep reminding myself that my life should always feel this way. I stayed with a student from Bolivia and we immediately became great friends and had fun hanging out at her place and going out in the city. I met a romantic interest who, if you can believe it, is a German Buddhist poet who spent the last year traveling in India and has the same Buddha statute in his apartment as I do. I spent a lot of time at a great coffee shop using their wireless internet and went to some really fun places in the city, some new ones and some that I had been to before. On Saturday I spent the afternoon lying in the sun in the Tiergarten park. The work at the museum was long and intense but fun and rewarding and I have more ideas for future research projects that I could do with the collection there. I’ve been meditating a lot and am feeling relaxed and have found my center again.

It’s amazing the connection that I have with this city. When I think of what I love about the city – the deep history, the acceptance, the individuality, the self-expression, they are all qualities that are important parts of myself. Aside from the times that I have spent in cities on the beach, I have never felt so at home somewhere.

In less than one week I’ll be in Nairobi via a few days in DC…looking forward to the adventures to come. I think a challenge for myself in the next few months is going to be to stay connected with myself and stay in the present moment while I’m doing so much traveling and going to so many different places.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

From Joe

'It's not every day you get to see an African-American man spank a white senior citizen on live network TV, so you should all definitely join in for the fun.'

(regarding the upcoming Obama-McCain debate)

Here's hoping!!!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Au Revoir and a Sweet Story

Today is my last day in France. I had many idyllic moments here but overall it was not the vacation that I had hoped for. A lot is changing in my family and I think it is difficult for everyone to deal with. It's been an interesting parallel with the changes that are going on in my own life and how I am dealing with those. It's also been an excellent opportunity to practice all sorts of lessons such as appreciating the positive and letting go of the negative, staying centered in an unpleasant situation, how people create drama for themselves and, as a personal note to myself, how freaking unpleasant it is to be around someone who is unhappy and stressed out.

So, while it was not the vacation that I had been looking forward to perhaps it was the vacation that, on some level, I needed.

I did have many good times though and one especially sweet story sticks out in my mind. We have a fancy new espresso machine that I initially was afraid to touch but is so easy to use that my 7-year old niece can and in fact does use it to make espresso for the rest of us. She was making me a drink one afternoon and I told her that the best possible way to wake Aunt Catherine up in the morning would be to come to my room with a cup of espresso. And sure enough, on the mornings that Mei Li was here there was a knock on my door followed by a little girl in pajamas handing me a steaming cup. Truly one one of the sweetest ways I know of to start out the day :)

From Elise

'Yesterday I started my happiness log. That's where I write down any happy thoughts/things from the day. I'm trying to voice those instead of the unhappy ones. So far I feel great so I hope the happiness log continues to keep me positively focused.'

Elise is not a yoga friend but grew up with Buddhist parents. This reminds me that I am surrounded by interesting and introspective and inspiring people - I love that I have friends who do things like this!

Monday, September 08, 2008

Better than a raise

I received a very thoughtful email from one of my former students about an experience he had in a political science class this semester. The professor asked the class a question and, he writes: "I waited a moment, though I had a question already burning in my head, to hear what my classmates had to say. They all gave good answers at which point the professor politely nodded and dutifully wrote them on the board, but I still had one problem... The answers were perfect if we were only considering American cities formed during the industrial revolution. I finally asked the question that your class helped me write, "are we considering cities in the 19th and 20th century, or throughout human evolution?" Instantly, the professor perked up and began to engage us in the conversation that he really wanted to have. I chimed in a little with some of the knowledge you gave me this summer as well as with some of my past experiences and readings. Now, I do think I would have been instantly skeptical of this question never having taken your class, BUT, I would not have had the words or the breadth of evidence to ask it, I might have kept quiet. It's as if something about the question bothered me and you helped me put my finger on it, turn it around, and make it work for me.

I felt like writing this email to let you know that today, in a real way, one of your students used something he learned in your class to further his education and hopefully the education of 29 other people."

As a teacher, this is just about the most meaningful thing you can hope to hear. It is from the student who asked me out, but still.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Parallel Universe

I arrived in France a few days ago and am in the midst of my parallel life. Today, for example, I had espresso and an almond croissant for breakfast, walked to the market with my mom, took a walk in the vineyards, had quiche and vintage reserve wine for lunch, hung laundry in the attic (we don't have a dryer), ironed towels, sheets and pillowcases (because everything's stiff when it's line-dried), read and sipped tea in a lounge chair snuggled under a blanket (it's already fall here), did yoga under a huge skylight during a torrential downpour, and had soup and more wine for dinner. Yes, people really live like this here.

And, in other exciting news.....a family member in the village now has wireless internet! Which makes it easier for me to get on-line using my own computer :) I guess I'm still an American at heart.