Today is my last day in Goa. I have an 11pm train to Cochin tonight. This will be my first overnight train anywhere. I am not looking forward to the squat toilets on the train. It will be a 15 hour train ride. I have my pinky ball and theraband so that I can stretch out while on the train. I think I am on the top bunk so that will give me a little privacy.
Last night I had a difficult time sleeping. I kept waking up thinking that there was a bug on me. It was probably just sand because I don't have any new bug bites this morning.
I took some video of the guy in his loin cloth with his girlfriend. My new friend Ronald says he is doing Tai Chi. I don't know... the people in Golden Gate Park do not look like they are doing what this guy is doing. You decide. If I am not completely successful in uploading this video now, I will show it to you when I get home in a week.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Video from dinner
Here is some video from dinner a couple nights ago with Ronald and Suzanne.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPBWWIoR0-0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPBWWIoR0-0
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Goan Dinner
Yesterday I was so much more at peace after talking to Mark on the phone. It was the first time we had spoken since I left on my adventure.
Afterwards I bought a train ticket to Cochin for tomorrow, November 6. I am one day behind "schedule" but that's fine. I feel very comfortable here on the beach. My new friends, Suzanne and Ronald, moved from their guest house/hut at Bakti Shukir to my place at Papayas. From the outside Papayas looks like a little bit of a mess. They just re-opened for the tourist season on November 1, but the beach is much more quiet than Palolem.
Every room is named after a fruit. I am in Mango. I forgot to mention that at Quiet, every room was named after a planet. Guess what planet I got? Yup, Uranus. Awesome.
Last night, Ronald, Suzanna and I walked 40 feet down the beach for a lovely evening. We watched the sunset and enjoyed a fish feast. We ate grilled tandoori fish and traditional Goan Xacuti fish.
The restaurant first showed us the fish. We had a choice of lobster, squid, some other gooey sea creature, kingfish and snapper. We chose the snapper. I will try and upload the photos. I have tried twice but it may be the computer that I am using.
During dinner we talked about all sorts of things. Ronald is finishing up medical school and he is specializing in gastro-intestinal stuff and other digestive medicine. It is fascinating to me. He is very interested in Kashrut. So whenever he is in SF I promised him that he could get all the details from my Talmud-savvy friends, including my husband.
Suzanne works in low-income housing in Rotterdam. She is also a big fan of yoga and Pilates.
Ronald asked me when I thought I might die, hopefully of natural causes. I am not sure. I only got to know one of my grandparents. Before he asked me this question I had been reading a booklet that I had picked up at Sri Auribindo Ashram entitled "Death". Don't worry , this was one of four booklets that I picked up. I don't buy into many of the things he says, but I enjoy sitting on the beach reading about these greater topics. He asks the question "why is there death?" assuming that the soul lives on forever. Personally I don't believe in reincarnation, so worshipping cows here in India seems odd. Auribindo talks about death being a impetus for us to get things done. He calls it Aspiration. I just think that without death, we would be lazy. We wouldn't have a Deadline. As we get older, we see the frailty of life. We become weaker. We see our parents age. More people around us hit that deadline. That deadline gives us a sense of responsibility to make changes in this world that will hopefully improve life for those in the future.
While in Sri Lanka I met a woman who said she had no qualms about working for an unethical company or for a country that supports injustices against women, people of different faiths and people of different sexual orientations. She became angry with me when I said that it would be difficult for me to even be friends with someone who gives such a big part of their life's energy to a cause that could harm others.
In SF Mark and I are so lucky to be part of a greater community full of ethical business-people, teachers, doctors, spiritual leaders, healers. I wrote earlier about Barbara Marx Hubbard's theory of how the butterfly emerges out of the catipillar. My friends, my associates, my colleagues are making that blueprint on the catipillar's cacoon so that the butterfly can emerge.
Afterwards I bought a train ticket to Cochin for tomorrow, November 6. I am one day behind "schedule" but that's fine. I feel very comfortable here on the beach. My new friends, Suzanne and Ronald, moved from their guest house/hut at Bakti Shukir to my place at Papayas. From the outside Papayas looks like a little bit of a mess. They just re-opened for the tourist season on November 1, but the beach is much more quiet than Palolem.
Every room is named after a fruit. I am in Mango. I forgot to mention that at Quiet, every room was named after a planet. Guess what planet I got? Yup, Uranus. Awesome.
Last night, Ronald, Suzanna and I walked 40 feet down the beach for a lovely evening. We watched the sunset and enjoyed a fish feast. We ate grilled tandoori fish and traditional Goan Xacuti fish.
The restaurant first showed us the fish. We had a choice of lobster, squid, some other gooey sea creature, kingfish and snapper. We chose the snapper. I will try and upload the photos. I have tried twice but it may be the computer that I am using.
During dinner we talked about all sorts of things. Ronald is finishing up medical school and he is specializing in gastro-intestinal stuff and other digestive medicine. It is fascinating to me. He is very interested in Kashrut. So whenever he is in SF I promised him that he could get all the details from my Talmud-savvy friends, including my husband.
Suzanne works in low-income housing in Rotterdam. She is also a big fan of yoga and Pilates.
Ronald asked me when I thought I might die, hopefully of natural causes. I am not sure. I only got to know one of my grandparents. Before he asked me this question I had been reading a booklet that I had picked up at Sri Auribindo Ashram entitled "Death". Don't worry , this was one of four booklets that I picked up. I don't buy into many of the things he says, but I enjoy sitting on the beach reading about these greater topics. He asks the question "why is there death?" assuming that the soul lives on forever. Personally I don't believe in reincarnation, so worshipping cows here in India seems odd. Auribindo talks about death being a impetus for us to get things done. He calls it Aspiration. I just think that without death, we would be lazy. We wouldn't have a Deadline. As we get older, we see the frailty of life. We become weaker. We see our parents age. More people around us hit that deadline. That deadline gives us a sense of responsibility to make changes in this world that will hopefully improve life for those in the future.
While in Sri Lanka I met a woman who said she had no qualms about working for an unethical company or for a country that supports injustices against women, people of different faiths and people of different sexual orientations. She became angry with me when I said that it would be difficult for me to even be friends with someone who gives such a big part of their life's energy to a cause that could harm others.
In SF Mark and I are so lucky to be part of a greater community full of ethical business-people, teachers, doctors, spiritual leaders, healers. I wrote earlier about Barbara Marx Hubbard's theory of how the butterfly emerges out of the catipillar. My friends, my associates, my colleagues are making that blueprint on the catipillar's cacoon so that the butterfly can emerge.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
photo success?
OK, So I have to figure out how to bring this image right side up. But we're making progress, right?
Noa in Goa
I have been waiting forever to be able to write that title above. I have arrived in Goa. I am uploading some videos from the past day so that you can see the beautiful beach here. I am staying at Patnem beach where there are a few Europeans and some cows on the beach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w0LEaHyhrs
I walked to Palolem Beach which is much more built up to sit here at a nice internet place and inquire about train tickets to my next destination Cochin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQwiCZF8OHE
Yesterday I was nervous because I didn't know how I was going to get from the airport in Goa to my beach.
I spoke to a couple sitting next to me while riding the airport shuttle bus that takes you from the gate to the plane in Mumbai. Turns out that they already arranged a taxi to take them to their hotel in Palolem Beach. They were totally cool with me joining them in the car. Thank you Ronald and Suzanne! They are from Rotterdam in the Netherlands. That saved me over 1000 rupees! I arrived at my hotel and I am very impressed with the facilities. The toilet is amazing and I was given not 1 but 2 rolls of toilet paper! I am tempted to spend more time here just because of the bathroom facilities. Just kidding... kinda. Anyone who has ever travelled in countries that lack running water hopefully can appreciate my reverence of a flushing toilet -- one that can handle tp. On my flight to Goa, it was the first time that I have been among tourists. In some way, it was nice to be able to talk to the person next to you and have a lot in common right off the bat. I met Regina and her husband Daniel from New Zealand. They had come from the north and did a 14 day trek in the Himalayas. Mark, maybe in a few years?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w0LEaHyhrs
I walked to Palolem Beach which is much more built up to sit here at a nice internet place and inquire about train tickets to my next destination Cochin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQwiCZF8OHE
Yesterday I was nervous because I didn't know how I was going to get from the airport in Goa to my beach.
I spoke to a couple sitting next to me while riding the airport shuttle bus that takes you from the gate to the plane in Mumbai. Turns out that they already arranged a taxi to take them to their hotel in Palolem Beach. They were totally cool with me joining them in the car. Thank you Ronald and Suzanne! They are from Rotterdam in the Netherlands. That saved me over 1000 rupees! I arrived at my hotel and I am very impressed with the facilities. The toilet is amazing and I was given not 1 but 2 rolls of toilet paper! I am tempted to spend more time here just because of the bathroom facilities. Just kidding... kinda. Anyone who has ever travelled in countries that lack running water hopefully can appreciate my reverence of a flushing toilet -- one that can handle tp. On my flight to Goa, it was the first time that I have been among tourists. In some way, it was nice to be able to talk to the person next to you and have a lot in common right off the bat. I met Regina and her husband Daniel from New Zealand. They had come from the north and did a 14 day trek in the Himalayas. Mark, maybe in a few years?
Monday, November 2, 2009
camera
I just purchased a camera in the airport in Mumbai. My flight to Goa leaves in an hour. I tried to find an international calling card so that I could call Mark and connect with him on our first wedding anniversary. No luck. Hopefully he checked his email so that he knows that I am thinking of him on November 2. I am also thinking of him on every other day but you know what I mean...
Now I will sit down and try to assemble this camera. Hopefully it will work. I got the cheapest digital camera available.
Now I will sit down and try to assemble this camera. Hopefully it will work. I got the cheapest digital camera available.
Last day in Auroville
Yesterday I went to the temple in Chitamburam. It was in the Dravidian style.
Mark asked me to get more specific about my experience so here goes:
In Auroville, it is basically a strange version of probably what the state of Israel looked like when they were drying out swamps with an Indian feel and New Age sensibility. It is dirty and there are a lot of old hippies that have moved there or are visiting. There are a lot of Indians who have also moved there though I am unsure if they are in it for the potential financial or security of because of what Auroville stands for.
The best thing I have seen / experienced so far is the inside of the golf ball. It is an amazing meditation place. I couldn't get in until today because of the rain. The inside is all white and they are afraid that people will track mud inside. They give you white socks to put on. You are led up a spiral pathway, all carpeted in white to a huge room that faces a glass sphere. When the sun passes over the golf ball there is a window at the very top that catches the light and then the light is refracted inside the glass ball. It is beautiful.
I appreciate how it is not, despite the name Matrimandir, a temple to The Mother. She specifically said that it is a meditation space that is not dedicated to a person. It is for anyone, from any religious background to sit and meditate in whatever way you want -- as long as you are silent.
Then after grabbing a snack at the bakery and some jewelry -- couldn't help it--- I started my journey in a private taxi to Chennai.
So what do I want out of this solo trip? What have I gained so far? What I want from this experience is to be able to reflect on where I am in life. To think about my spiritual path. I don't have the opportunity to really to that at home and it is great to spend some time doing that. On Sunday I sat around a circle with 8 others in silence. The birds were chirping. Some motorbikes went buzzing by. Some fresh fragrant flowers were in the center of the circle and I could sit there/ lie there/ think there/ meditate there for 3 hours. There was a quiet closing chant that is pretty common that basically translates as: May all things exists in peace.
During the movie on Saturday night I started reflecting on how I feel about bringing a child into a world that could very well be destroyed by climate change, war and other forms of destruction. The movie I saw in Sri Lanka was very depressing. However the movie by Barbara Marx Hubbard (old hippie new-agey lady) called Humanity Ascending made me feel a little bit better. Her theory was much more hopeful. Instead of thinking about humankind being destroyed, she sees it transforming into something better. She uses the metaphor of the catipilar transforming into a butterfly.
Today I visited two other temples, Rama Krishna Mutt Temple and Shiva Kapaleeshwar Temple.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1nftzD67vo
Tonight I am sleeping in a kinda icky hotel. I look forward to getting to the beach in Goa.
Mark asked me to get more specific about my experience so here goes:
In Auroville, it is basically a strange version of probably what the state of Israel looked like when they were drying out swamps with an Indian feel and New Age sensibility. It is dirty and there are a lot of old hippies that have moved there or are visiting. There are a lot of Indians who have also moved there though I am unsure if they are in it for the potential financial or security of because of what Auroville stands for.
The best thing I have seen / experienced so far is the inside of the golf ball. It is an amazing meditation place. I couldn't get in until today because of the rain. The inside is all white and they are afraid that people will track mud inside. They give you white socks to put on. You are led up a spiral pathway, all carpeted in white to a huge room that faces a glass sphere. When the sun passes over the golf ball there is a window at the very top that catches the light and then the light is refracted inside the glass ball. It is beautiful.
I appreciate how it is not, despite the name Matrimandir, a temple to The Mother. She specifically said that it is a meditation space that is not dedicated to a person. It is for anyone, from any religious background to sit and meditate in whatever way you want -- as long as you are silent.
Then after grabbing a snack at the bakery and some jewelry -- couldn't help it--- I started my journey in a private taxi to Chennai.
So what do I want out of this solo trip? What have I gained so far? What I want from this experience is to be able to reflect on where I am in life. To think about my spiritual path. I don't have the opportunity to really to that at home and it is great to spend some time doing that. On Sunday I sat around a circle with 8 others in silence. The birds were chirping. Some motorbikes went buzzing by. Some fresh fragrant flowers were in the center of the circle and I could sit there/ lie there/ think there/ meditate there for 3 hours. There was a quiet closing chant that is pretty common that basically translates as: May all things exists in peace.
During the movie on Saturday night I started reflecting on how I feel about bringing a child into a world that could very well be destroyed by climate change, war and other forms of destruction. The movie I saw in Sri Lanka was very depressing. However the movie by Barbara Marx Hubbard (old hippie new-agey lady) called Humanity Ascending made me feel a little bit better. Her theory was much more hopeful. Instead of thinking about humankind being destroyed, she sees it transforming into something better. She uses the metaphor of the catipilar transforming into a butterfly.
Today I visited two other temples, Rama Krishna Mutt Temple and Shiva Kapaleeshwar Temple.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1nftzD67vo
Tonight I am sleeping in a kinda icky hotel. I look forward to getting to the beach in Goa.
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