Tuesday, October 2
Aaaaaand I'm back!
It has been way too long since I have bothered to post any of my adventures on this blog. Just goes to show that I was too engaged in the adventuring!
To be honest, my life has totally changed since February. Let me count the ways.
1. I was a spring break nanny for a family with four children on Passover retreat in Orlando, FL, where I got up close and personal with crowd Judaism + lots of money. Where the result was some classism, some overeating, and some self-examination.
2. I accidentally got myself an awesome job in Toronto by following my instinct to email a film director and chat about the arts and creativity. In the course of our conversation, he mentioned he was looking for a nanny, and the rest is history!
3. I spent three months in Okazaki, Japan, teaching English, with no Japanese and no formal training. Being a vegetarian was challenging, as were the language difficulties and the intense heat and humidity of summer, but I learned so much about education, made some great friends among the students and the mothers, explored some beautiful places, and got to spend a lot of my free time focusing inwardly.
4. I completed another Vipassana meditation retreat, although this time I didn't sit the 10 day course but served. This means that I was not required to be silent, and that I spent ten days cleaning and cooking for about 100 people interspersed with thrice daily sittings, for one hour each. It was transformative -- jumping back and forth between noisy kitchen work and the intense quiet and focus of meditation was a great challenge, and I practiced such deep compassion and mindfulness during those ten days like I have never experienced before. I am still not sitting every day now, but I am more mindful and I am working towards twice daily sits.
5. I attended my dear friend's wedding in Maine - significant because it was the first wedding of a close friend, and because I was fortunate enough to spend two days with my dearest college friends. Transformative, and also grounding, in the way that any contact with your past is.
6. I spent about two months in the Seattle area, visiting friends (hey Anna!), attending college happy hours, and enjoying the Whidbey Island area with family. Lots of solitude, which I crave, and lots of planning and mental work in preparation for my move to Toronto. This time is drawing to a close in about three weeks, when I will relocate to Canada!
In the meantime, I am focusing on being here and now, and enjoying the tiniest changing of the seasons each day. I am trying to be mindful of my body and what I allow into my body (food and other people's interactions and judgments).
My excitement for Toronto is immense - I am beyond thrilled to have my own apartment, to be making money, to get to know a new city and make new friends (who speak English!), but above all, to be working with a family who values me and what I bring to the table, and whose values I also respect. What a gift!
Off to snack on some vegan, gluten-free, melt-in-your-mouth ginger molasses cookies and some tea.
Happy fall!
To be honest, my life has totally changed since February. Let me count the ways.
1. I was a spring break nanny for a family with four children on Passover retreat in Orlando, FL, where I got up close and personal with crowd Judaism + lots of money. Where the result was some classism, some overeating, and some self-examination.
2. I accidentally got myself an awesome job in Toronto by following my instinct to email a film director and chat about the arts and creativity. In the course of our conversation, he mentioned he was looking for a nanny, and the rest is history!
3. I spent three months in Okazaki, Japan, teaching English, with no Japanese and no formal training. Being a vegetarian was challenging, as were the language difficulties and the intense heat and humidity of summer, but I learned so much about education, made some great friends among the students and the mothers, explored some beautiful places, and got to spend a lot of my free time focusing inwardly.
4. I completed another Vipassana meditation retreat, although this time I didn't sit the 10 day course but served. This means that I was not required to be silent, and that I spent ten days cleaning and cooking for about 100 people interspersed with thrice daily sittings, for one hour each. It was transformative -- jumping back and forth between noisy kitchen work and the intense quiet and focus of meditation was a great challenge, and I practiced such deep compassion and mindfulness during those ten days like I have never experienced before. I am still not sitting every day now, but I am more mindful and I am working towards twice daily sits.
5. I attended my dear friend's wedding in Maine - significant because it was the first wedding of a close friend, and because I was fortunate enough to spend two days with my dearest college friends. Transformative, and also grounding, in the way that any contact with your past is.
6. I spent about two months in the Seattle area, visiting friends (hey Anna!), attending college happy hours, and enjoying the Whidbey Island area with family. Lots of solitude, which I crave, and lots of planning and mental work in preparation for my move to Toronto. This time is drawing to a close in about three weeks, when I will relocate to Canada!
In the meantime, I am focusing on being here and now, and enjoying the tiniest changing of the seasons each day. I am trying to be mindful of my body and what I allow into my body (food and other people's interactions and judgments).
My excitement for Toronto is immense - I am beyond thrilled to have my own apartment, to be making money, to get to know a new city and make new friends (who speak English!), but above all, to be working with a family who values me and what I bring to the table, and whose values I also respect. What a gift!
Off to snack on some vegan, gluten-free, melt-in-your-mouth ginger molasses cookies and some tea.
Happy fall!
Thursday, February 23
[2.5 months of downtime]
So, I have about two and a half months to waste until the next job starts. And I still have free flight privileges for another 10 months. So.....I'm thinking perhaps a whirlwind, unplanned Southeast Asia tour would be fun. And/or South America. Because I speak Spanish. And Southeast Asia is just so appealing to me. I mean, come on, beaches, temples, delicious vegetarian food? I'm in.
I pretty much always pack as if I could travel around the world and never come home. So I'm all ready! And I've never done a trip where I don't plan anything. I've never traveled in such a way that I have to rely on other people and pure old karma. It sounds thrilling! I also have barely enough money to feed myself, which would double up the fun, I'm sure. Let's be honest here -- all my money right now is either going to pay off my student loans or to finance an overseas adventure.
Think I'm crazy? You're right. But I love adventure. And this would sure be one hell of an adventure, am I right?
Here's as much planning as I think I'll do: I'll make a list of things I want to do and places I want to see in all these countries, plus a starter list of cheap hostels in each location. The plan is to start in Bangkok, and go through Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and perhaps Burma, Malaysia, and Indonesia if I can swing it (and if I don't get too distracted). And then I'll just ask nice people on arrival and do some scouting around for places to stay and eat (see below). How's that for minimal planning?!
Me eating a fried sandwich in Varanasi, 2012 = YUM.
I'm going to try to lower my standards so much that I can survive on a low, low daily budget. Like, street food (that's been fried or otherwise safely prepared!), grocery shopping and keeping myself stocked with fresh fruit and snacks and packed lunches, public transportation, and crowded dorms with at least lukewarm water. Don't worry folks, there will be a well-kept record of this crazy affair, complete with costs, locations, reviews, and stories.
I am so ready to be challenged and terrified and awakened and satisfied by a trip like this. Thoughts? Is this totally nuts? What do you think I should do to prepare? Do you have any activities or locations you think I should seek out?
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