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Archive for January, 2006

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Spacing out

Saturday, January 21st, 2006

“In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth. ” –Gandhi

Hello all! Bangkok has been a wonderful experience. The warm weather and smiling faces have really put me in a good mood, and I’ve just been very happy lately. I’m staying with Pui, possibly the nicest, most generous person in the world. She’s taken me all around and kept me well fed on this delicious Thai food. She also got in contact with a Buddhist temple up north in Chiang Mai, where I’m going to go tomorrow for at least 7-10 days for a meditation retreat. I think it will be perfect for me, it’s something I’ve wanted to do for some time. I just wanted to let everyone know that I won’t be available during that time; I’ll have no internet access. Also, there’s a chance I might stay longer if I’m really enjoying myself, so if you write me and don’t hear back for a while, that’s why. Just wanted everybody to know that I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. Have a good couple of weeks.

P.S. If you’re interested in looking at where I’ll be, the address is www.fivethousandyears.org

Cheers

On the road again

Saturday, January 14th, 2006

“But you know what is really strange after all this time and after all these continued feelings of unrest and confusion…. that I still have so much faith in Chance. I still really believe that if you go into an experience openminded and full of hope (even if we are cynical about certain aspects), if we are overall optimistic that the choice is benefiical to us and to our environment, then we will surely find the answers guiding our next great decision at somepoint during it.”
-Nicole Pollio

Hi-dee ho, good neighbor. The last week in Cairo has indeed been one to remember. It’s a vibrant city with reckless and yet somehow wreckless drivers. I fell victim to the tourist industry and invested on a camel trip into the desert to see the pyramids at Giza, but I enjoyed myself. My camel riding skills were in fact so superb that my guide allowed me to try the “crazy gallop”. I did not know that camels could run. I will never question their ability again. In the meantime, I’ve spent a lot of time wandering the streets, taking it all in. The first few days were as Heather mentioned, a big celebration/feast here called Eid Al-Adha, which involves the killing of cows and sheep, etc. So I would walk down one street and see a cow tied to a storefront, and a while later, pass that same spot to find cow pieces. I chose not to watch any of the “cuttings” as they’re called, for myself. The aftermath was quite sufficient and did not leave too much to the imagination. People here are very friendly and very proud of their city. I’ve never hear the phrase, “welcome..” more in my life. On the other hand, some people are a bit too friendly and walking down the street as a western woman can actually prove quite a hassle, having nothing to do with my nationality. The immediate effect of this was my sequestering myself away in my hotel room for a good deal of the day, reading. The longer term effect is now showing itself in my decision to skip the rest of the region for the moment. I want to stress that it is not a matter of safety that I no longer wish to travel in the middle east alone, but a matter of my impatience with the unwanted attention I garner walking to and from the internet cafe. That said, I have booked a ticket to Bangkok which leaves tomorrow. I have one night in Abu Dhabi and then I arrive the next day to Thailand. My college professor, Dr. Chasek, has put me in touch with a woman who lives there and whom I’ve met before, so I’ll have a friendly, familiar face and someone to give good advice about where I should go in the country and what to see. So that’s it for now, folks. Sorry that I haven’t put new pictures up in a while, the internet cafe I go to here doesn’t have Windows XP, so I haven’t been able to work it out yet. But soon.

Atlas shifted

Tuesday, January 10th, 2006
"And when all was said and done, the lies a fellow told about himself couldn't probably hold a proverbial candle to the wholesale whoppers other fellows coined about him." -James Joice, Ulysses Hello. Let me ask you a question. ... [Continue reading this entry]

And so it ain’t.

Sunday, January 8th, 2006
"Every man has his daydreams Every man has his goal People like the way dreams have Of sticking to the soul Thunderclouds have their lightning Nightingales have their song And don't you see I want my life to be Something more than long. Rivers belong where they ... [Continue reading this entry]

And so it is

Wednesday, January 4th, 2006
Row, row, row your boat Gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, wearily, merrily Life is but a dream. Warm greetings from the cold city of Kiev. Ah, I sense you are surprised. Allow me to explain. As Christmas came closer and ... [Continue reading this entry]