Hello folks! I'm back in the US of A after the longest day of my life. I mean literally, not figuratively. I got on a plane on 9pm Thursday the 25th, then arrived in the US at 4:30pm on the 25th after an 11+hour flight. Weird, right?
Anyway I'm now in Portland with some fabulous couch surfing hosts! I had my interview at NCNM (National College of Natural Medicine) Friday morning. I'm not quite sure how it went because I was severely jet-lagged. I'll find out in a week or two if I did alright or not.
Other than that there isn't really anything much to report....My last week in China was all by my lonesome since Andy left for warmer weather in Hawaii and was fun but nothing crazy happened. I went to the Great Wall (beautiful!) and met some nice guys there who showed me around the 798 factory district (really cool art). I also went to the forbidden city and various odds and ends and made some really good friends at the hostel I stayed. Here in Portland my hosts Tawny and Zane have taken me to a potluck and we made breakfast together this morning! Soon we'll be heading out for Portland adventures. I'll be hopping on a train on Monday for an across America journey with a stop off in Chicago! Unfortunately I won't be visiting NYC with Lana and Virginia (HELLO lovely ladies!) but I am excited to get home. Though I thought I was going to skip winter this year.....I have yet to see real snow. I saw a couple tiny piles of dirty snow in Beijing but that hardly counts.
Love!!!
See you soon.....
Ece
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Chopsticks
I've been spending altogether too much money on fancy chopsticks. I can't help myself!! They're so beautiful. And I blame my fascination with them on several people.
So it all started before I began my adventures. I read somewhere about how many tons of disposable chopsticks the Chinese go through every day. I thought "oh I'll just buy my own pair so I don't contribute to the landfills." Then I got to Nepal. One of my wonderful roommates, Luna, eats everything with these simple but beautiful bamboo chopsticks. She told me about how she believes that food's energy is effected by everything that touches it, and it is best effected by other plant forms rather than metal. Of course I believe in the energy of everything so that further deepened my resolve to get myself some nice natural-material chopsticks. Then Andy comes along and shows me this beautiful set of chopsticks he got in Thailand (mind you, they use silverware in Thailand, not chopsticks). I couldn't wait to get to China and get my own.
So now you know. I started off with a fun cartoon pair that Andy picked out (it came in a pack of 2-one for each of us). Those were plastic (I convinced myself it'll be easier to clean as a traveller with limited access to dish soap). It took me over a week to find my next pair....a beautiful wooden one painted with delicate little branches and birds. Too nice to use on a daily basis. The same day I found a rather simple wooden pair with other types of wood inserted into the top...and they came with a beautiful chopsticks-holder! While staying in Dali, I bought a short rosewood pair because of both the shape carved into the top and the shopkeeper told me about how wonderfully the energy of the rosewood effects your food (good salesman). Then I came across 4 pairs with colored woven cases, on display next to some beautiful chopstick stands (tiny wooden block to rest your chopsticks on so it doesn't smudge the table!) 2 shaped like fish and 2 rectangular-curvy ones. I'm working on convincing myself that I have enough now and needn't buy anymore.
I love my chopsticks.
So it all started before I began my adventures. I read somewhere about how many tons of disposable chopsticks the Chinese go through every day. I thought "oh I'll just buy my own pair so I don't contribute to the landfills." Then I got to Nepal. One of my wonderful roommates, Luna, eats everything with these simple but beautiful bamboo chopsticks. She told me about how she believes that food's energy is effected by everything that touches it, and it is best effected by other plant forms rather than metal. Of course I believe in the energy of everything so that further deepened my resolve to get myself some nice natural-material chopsticks. Then Andy comes along and shows me this beautiful set of chopsticks he got in Thailand (mind you, they use silverware in Thailand, not chopsticks). I couldn't wait to get to China and get my own.
So now you know. I started off with a fun cartoon pair that Andy picked out (it came in a pack of 2-one for each of us). Those were plastic (I convinced myself it'll be easier to clean as a traveller with limited access to dish soap). It took me over a week to find my next pair....a beautiful wooden one painted with delicate little branches and birds. Too nice to use on a daily basis. The same day I found a rather simple wooden pair with other types of wood inserted into the top...and they came with a beautiful chopsticks-holder! While staying in Dali, I bought a short rosewood pair because of both the shape carved into the top and the shopkeeper told me about how wonderfully the energy of the rosewood effects your food (good salesman). Then I came across 4 pairs with colored woven cases, on display next to some beautiful chopstick stands (tiny wooden block to rest your chopsticks on so it doesn't smudge the table!) 2 shaped like fish and 2 rectangular-curvy ones. I'm working on convincing myself that I have enough now and needn't buy anymore.
I love my chopsticks.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Ni Hao Are You?
I'm in China! I've had my first HOT shower since leaving the US :D It was fantastic. I've also had the pleasure of visiting a doctor in every country I've been to. Thankfully it's nothing new just a little bit of leftovers from India. The Chinese are very thorough!
So far Andy and I have just been putzing around doing touristy things. It's been really nice especially since the weather is so warm!! Today we rented bikes for the day and made our way out to some smaller villages. We also found a natural hot spring but decided against taking a dip. It's all been really great...but....well there's no purpose anymore. I'm just a tourist. I see nice things and enjoy my time away from the US but what am I gaining from this in reference to the rest of my life? I'm not here just for a vacation I'm out here to learn about myself and about the world and right now I'm not really doing either. Nepal brought me a deep spiritual experience, and India brought me practicies in the energies of my body (chakras) and of the energy of the cosmos (as Bharti-my yoga teacher- likes to say "yoga is prayer through the body. Each of us has a spark of divinity that must be fanned into flames by yoga.") and China is bringing me nothing other than another western culture and a quick peak into some of the natural/rural areas.
I am excited about the New Year with Mrs.Li and her family (that should be a really nice cultural experience) and to come home with a bag full of clothes and shoes that actually fit me (!!!!) but for the next week and a half I'll have to find some purpose.
Love!
Ece
So far Andy and I have just been putzing around doing touristy things. It's been really nice especially since the weather is so warm!! Today we rented bikes for the day and made our way out to some smaller villages. We also found a natural hot spring but decided against taking a dip. It's all been really great...but....well there's no purpose anymore. I'm just a tourist. I see nice things and enjoy my time away from the US but what am I gaining from this in reference to the rest of my life? I'm not here just for a vacation I'm out here to learn about myself and about the world and right now I'm not really doing either. Nepal brought me a deep spiritual experience, and India brought me practicies in the energies of my body (chakras) and of the energy of the cosmos (as Bharti-my yoga teacher- likes to say "yoga is prayer through the body. Each of us has a spark of divinity that must be fanned into flames by yoga.") and China is bringing me nothing other than another western culture and a quick peak into some of the natural/rural areas.
I am excited about the New Year with Mrs.Li and her family (that should be a really nice cultural experience) and to come home with a bag full of clothes and shoes that actually fit me (!!!!) but for the next week and a half I'll have to find some purpose.
Love!
Ece
(title credit and posting responsibilities: Eser)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Ups and downs of the Buddha dharma
Hello!
I've been in Varanasi for 4 days now, but before I get into that I'll update you on Bodhagaya!
So Bodhagaya is a fairly small city, probably no bigger than 20,000. About 100,000 people come to listen to the Dalai Lama's teachings. So you can imagine it was rather crowded. It's also impossible to bargain since all the shops know that the next tourist will pay their overly inflated price. But anyway, expensive in India is still cheap compared to the US so I'm not complaining.
The teachings themselves were great...unfortunately the translator wasn't fantastic but I still got a lot out of them. If you've ever seen 'I Heart Huckabees' that's a really accurate representation of what it's like to be taught the Buddha dharma. You talk about emptiness and how everything is suffering but hopefully in a couple of eons (an eon is thousands of millions of billions of years) you can attain enlightenment and be able to love everyone and have true happiness free from attachment for everything in samsara. If you meditate on some things for enough time it really does feel like the fabric of the universe is coming apart and nothing is connected (so why does any of it matter??) but then you remember love and even though you know that any love you have is tainted by attachment it's a wonderful beautiful thing and if you focus on that then you'll be okay despite the sufferings of samsara.
Hahha sorry that's a long ramble and I don't know if it makes any sense to someone that hasn't studied Buddhism!!
Anyway. Varanasi. It's still a big city but we got a hotel in the same alleyway as this wonderful yoga studio (Yoga Training Centre) and I'm taking 4 hours of yoga a day. That's right, 4 hours. You want to know how much it costs to take 4 hours of good quality yoga class with a maximum of 8 students in India? 8 bucks. I'm getting to be really strong and really bendy!! I'll just have to work extra hard to keep it up. Tomorrow I start the 2 day Reiki level one initiation. I'll be officially certified to practice Reiki and balance the 7 chakras. Our yoga instructor balanced all of our chakras this morning, and it felt so powerful. I had so much more energy and flexibility for the afternoon class and my stomach feels worlds better (apparently my second chakra was screwy which has been making it difficult to eat much of anything).
That's it for now I suppose. Next I might be going to south India or Thailand...I am more than ready for some warm weather.
I've been in Varanasi for 4 days now, but before I get into that I'll update you on Bodhagaya!
So Bodhagaya is a fairly small city, probably no bigger than 20,000. About 100,000 people come to listen to the Dalai Lama's teachings. So you can imagine it was rather crowded. It's also impossible to bargain since all the shops know that the next tourist will pay their overly inflated price. But anyway, expensive in India is still cheap compared to the US so I'm not complaining.
The teachings themselves were great...unfortunately the translator wasn't fantastic but I still got a lot out of them. If you've ever seen 'I Heart Huckabees' that's a really accurate representation of what it's like to be taught the Buddha dharma. You talk about emptiness and how everything is suffering but hopefully in a couple of eons (an eon is thousands of millions of billions of years) you can attain enlightenment and be able to love everyone and have true happiness free from attachment for everything in samsara. If you meditate on some things for enough time it really does feel like the fabric of the universe is coming apart and nothing is connected (so why does any of it matter??) but then you remember love and even though you know that any love you have is tainted by attachment it's a wonderful beautiful thing and if you focus on that then you'll be okay despite the sufferings of samsara.
Hahha sorry that's a long ramble and I don't know if it makes any sense to someone that hasn't studied Buddhism!!
Anyway. Varanasi. It's still a big city but we got a hotel in the same alleyway as this wonderful yoga studio (Yoga Training Centre) and I'm taking 4 hours of yoga a day. That's right, 4 hours. You want to know how much it costs to take 4 hours of good quality yoga class with a maximum of 8 students in India? 8 bucks. I'm getting to be really strong and really bendy!! I'll just have to work extra hard to keep it up. Tomorrow I start the 2 day Reiki level one initiation. I'll be officially certified to practice Reiki and balance the 7 chakras. Our yoga instructor balanced all of our chakras this morning, and it felt so powerful. I had so much more energy and flexibility for the afternoon class and my stomach feels worlds better (apparently my second chakra was screwy which has been making it difficult to eat much of anything).
That's it for now I suppose. Next I might be going to south India or Thailand...I am more than ready for some warm weather.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Seatbelts....?
You'll all be happy to know that I was able to see a Tibetan doctor before I left Nepal and he set me up with some wonderful herbal meds that fixed up my stomach in a jiffy. I have an extra supply now too!
New Year's eve was wonderful...Andy and I spent much of it around the Bodha stupa with insense and spinning prayer wheels and went to bed early (though I was up before you experienced the new year!!). I ate at my favorite breakfast nook for the last time. It's a little family 'restaurant' without a name. You point at the foods you want to eat and it's all delicious and healthy! They even made veggie soup just for me one night :).
I've officially left Nepal and I miss it already. What a wonderful country! I highly recommend a spiritual retreat or a trek or both at once!
A quick summary of how I left Nepal:
The bus was suppose to depart at 4:30pm on Jan 1st but because of the 'strike' (something to do with Maoists is all I ever got from the locals) the bus was rescheduled to 6:30. At 7 we followed the ticket lady out of the office down a series of dark streets to another dark street and waited. I think we got on a bus around 9. We then waited...waited...waited....started driving, and stopped after like 20 min. We then waited until dawn. Then we started moving. I was lucky enough to sit next to a guy who liked to use my shoulder to lean on and smelled of rotting fruit. Andy had a window that wouldn't stay shut though the bus was all around breezy anyway.
We reached the Indian border at night. The couple of foreigners were led to a tiny office without power (the whole border was very dark and very crowded with traffic) to get our passports stamped (Nepal exit) then we walked more and got them stamped again (Indian entry).
We arrived in Bodhagaya Jan3rd probably around 3pm.
This is my experience of India so far:
I've seen too many people going to the bathroom....both kinds of elimination.
If you're a white women, everyone wants to know where your boyfriend is. (Thankfully Andy is pretending for me!)
No one cares that there's a line. Pushing and shoving are a way of life.
Beggars are WAY too insistent.
Samosas are DELICIOUS.
On a higher note, I got a quick glimpse of the Dalai Lama as he drove in today! The teachings begin tomorrow. Hooray!
New Year's eve was wonderful...Andy and I spent much of it around the Bodha stupa with insense and spinning prayer wheels and went to bed early (though I was up before you experienced the new year!!). I ate at my favorite breakfast nook for the last time. It's a little family 'restaurant' without a name. You point at the foods you want to eat and it's all delicious and healthy! They even made veggie soup just for me one night :).
I've officially left Nepal and I miss it already. What a wonderful country! I highly recommend a spiritual retreat or a trek or both at once!
A quick summary of how I left Nepal:
The bus was suppose to depart at 4:30pm on Jan 1st but because of the 'strike' (something to do with Maoists is all I ever got from the locals) the bus was rescheduled to 6:30. At 7 we followed the ticket lady out of the office down a series of dark streets to another dark street and waited. I think we got on a bus around 9. We then waited...waited...waited....started driving, and stopped after like 20 min. We then waited until dawn. Then we started moving. I was lucky enough to sit next to a guy who liked to use my shoulder to lean on and smelled of rotting fruit. Andy had a window that wouldn't stay shut though the bus was all around breezy anyway.
We reached the Indian border at night. The couple of foreigners were led to a tiny office without power (the whole border was very dark and very crowded with traffic) to get our passports stamped (Nepal exit) then we walked more and got them stamped again (Indian entry).
We arrived in Bodhagaya Jan3rd probably around 3pm.
This is my experience of India so far:
I've seen too many people going to the bathroom....both kinds of elimination.
If you're a white women, everyone wants to know where your boyfriend is. (Thankfully Andy is pretending for me!)
No one cares that there's a line. Pushing and shoving are a way of life.
Beggars are WAY too insistent.
Samosas are DELICIOUS.
On a higher note, I got a quick glimpse of the Dalai Lama as he drove in today! The teachings begin tomorrow. Hooray!
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