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A Taste of the Sweet Life

31 Mar

It’s a quiet weekend here at English Village in Paju, South Korea.  It’s Easter Sunday and as I am at work today… and in South Korea…its presence constantly escapes me. I am working my last weekend shift of a two month rotation. It is nearly April in Paju and I am still wearing my long winter coat and scarf.  I am longing for the days when Spring has fully arrived but I am reminded that the heat and humidity of Paju summers are not far behind… and then there’s monsoon season.

Lately conversations can turn to the threats of war from North Korea.  While teachers, myself included, are paying attention to North Korea’s headline making threats and actions, there seems to be a sense of concern but not a feeling of panic or urgency. Recently one of our head teachers at English Village, a Korean man, addressed the issue at a staff meeting.  He wants to help keep us informed and he shared his belief that North Korea is simply reacting and offering threats as is their history in the past.  So for now, I suppose I am like many other English teachers in Korea and South Koreans – paying attention to the situation, but also not getting lost in the fear of it.

Work this weekend is pretty simple for me.  The weekend teaching staff at English Village tends to any special camps or students visiting for the weekend as well as the general visiting public.  The last few weekends, today included, I have been teaching an English game for the general visiting public called “Compound Words”.  It is a simple game.  There are two pictures and each picture represents one word of a compound word.  The first team to guess the correct compound word gets a point and the team with the most correct answers wins.  I have found that children and adults alike enjoy it.  They stay for about 20 or 30 minutes or so and laugh and play and guess.  Sometimes the parents help the children answer in English and… sometimes the children help the parents.  It’s amazing to me sometimes to see a very young reserved Korean child come up with a correct answer much to my and often their parent’s surprise.

Last night I took my first try at gluten-free baking in my new to me Korean toaster/convection oven.  As I can’t eat refined sugar and do my best to stay away from gluten, but still love sweets… my last few months surrounded by the candy, sweets and baked goods among English Village staff and students has been challenging.  Finally an opportunity to make something a little sweet for me.  What was on the menu?  Brownies!  It couldn’t have been easier!  With a base of almond flour and sweetened with honey, they turned out sweet, moist and chocolatey.  Just what the doctor ordered!  Here is the recipe!

I couldn’t wait – I ate one!
Rich and moist!

Earlier this week on my day off I made my way into Seoul.  The mission?  Yoga!  I have been practicing yoga both independently and in classes for over 8 years.  It has become a mainstay in my life and a practice I use to feel at home no matter where I am in the world.  After being in South Korea for over three months, I have found just a handful of yoga studios in Seoul that offer classes in English.  Much of the yoga in this area is what’s known as Hot Yoga, a series of yoga postures done in a heated room.  This type of yoga has not been my practice and does not appeal to me… and so the search continues for a yoga class.

After some persistent google searching and communicating with a studio via email, I finally decided to make the trek to a class this past week in Seoul.  Door to door it was about a two-hour journey.  The commute was longer than I expected and I arrived about 5 minutes late for class.  When I finally arrived I found a Korean teacher with a class full of Korean students.  I was surprised because I sought out this studio and class particularly because they offer classes in English.  Irregardless I made my way in and laid out my mat as I heard the Korean instruction.  The teacher was very friendly and asked me if I spoke Korean.  I shook my head no.  I thought perhaps I could make the best of it. “Perhaps I could follow along?” I asked hesitantly.  The kind teacher looked at me with a less than optimistic look.  She suggested I try another class taught by one of their English teachers.  Respectfully, I rolled up my mat and left the studio.  And so the search for yoga continues.

I am grateful to have my own personal practice of yoga that I can take with me no matter where I am.  Even here in English Village I have had the opportunity to share some basic yoga with the other English teachers.  I was even invited to create a simple yoga lesson that can be done with Korean students in classes at English Village.  Its a Powerpoint guided lesson that has a series of videos showing simple yoga moves that can easily be done in the classroom.  I received some positive feedback on it from a fellow teacher who tried it in his class.  They had some extra time and felt the students needed some physical activity.  He said the yoga lessons met the needs of something physical for the students without getting them too “excited”.  After the class he said they were in a better place to sit down and participate in the rest of the lesson.  That’s great!

And so as this day comes into full play, I find myself in unconventional Easter surroundings.  I will spend my Easter in South Korea teaching young and old alike about compound words.  And later tonight, a little sweet treat and a restful evening as I prepare for the busy work week ahead.  It’s a good Easter in my new surroundings, appreciating the little things that make life sweet.

How about you?  How did you spend your Easter Sunday?  Any sweet memories or recipes to share?

Top Photo – a taste of the sweet life.  Gluten-free honey sweetened brownies prepared in home-sweet-home in Paju City, South Korea.

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My Serene Seollal Celebration

10 Feb

It’s Sunday.  Just an ordinary day for most Americans.  But for Korea it is the celebration of the Lunar New Year called Seollal.  I can’t say that I really know that much about it.  I know it is an important holiday for Koreans and that traditionally people travel to be with their families and prepare and eat traditional foods.  I have heard that Seoul is a ghost town during Seollal since so many people depart to go be with their families.

According to Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_New_Year), the Korean New Year is traditionally celebrated by eating Tteokguk , a soup with sliced rice cakes. It says the Korean New Year is similar to a birthday for Koreans, and eating tteokguk is part of the birthday celebration. Once you finish eating your tteokguk, you are one year older.  But for me, mostly, it’s just another day.

I went to Seoul yesterday for a meeting with my SGI Buddhist group.  It was great!  The chapter I participate in is a small group of mostly foreigners (remember, that’s me!) but also a few Korean folks too.  We had a study group together yesterday and then a potluck to celebrate the New Year.  I brought a fresh spinach dip to the celebration.  Here is the recipe if you’re curious.  I used soy sauce instead of the Worcestershire sauce and didn’t use any mayonnaise.  Next time I think I’ll use greek yogurt instead of sour cream.  At any rate, it was a hit and it was a nice gathering among friends new to me.

After the meeting the leaders of the SGI group traveled with me back to Paju to “enshrine” my Gohonzon.  For those of you not familiar with SGI Buddhism, the Gohonzon is a scroll with Sanscrit writing and is the object of devotion in the practice.  I received my Gohonzon when I became a member of SGI two years ago, but as I have been traveling for most of the past two years, it is just now that I am a little more “settled” and I am able have and use and practice with my Gohonzon again.

It was fun for me to lead them from Seoul to my new “home” in Paju.  They had no idea what to expect from English Village.  They were tickled and delighted to discover English Village is like a small theme park, complete with a giant mock Stonehenge at the entrance!  “So you live in there?”  they asked referring to behind the gates entering English Village.  “Yep” I said.  Not your typical Korean abode! They were like kids in a candy store as we entered through the gates and I began to lead them through the campus to my room.

They were generous in their description of my little “home” in English Village.  “It’s cute”  they said.  “So cozy” and “It’s like a little hotel room.”  All little affirmations that were nice to hear and in fact, for me it is cozy!  We spent a little time together in my room, hung my Gohonzon in its new cabinet and did a little chanting together.  It was really sweet for me to have them all there and to spend that time together.

As it is the New Years holiday, we have fives days vacation this week at English Village.  This is time that many staff use to travel to near-by (and not so near-by) destinations – Thailand, Japan.  As I am a recent arrival I was not yet prepared to take a trip but look forward to having a nice low-key week and doing a little sightseeing in Seoul.

I am not alone in my New Years respite at English Village.  We have a staff potluck/New Years celebration tomorrow night and it will be fun to share food and time together in the midst of the slow-paced holiday break.

And today, the day of  Korea’s New Years celebration, I find I have time to rest, relax and have time with myself.  I have indulged in a little on-line video streaming, plucked around on the internet, as well as my typical respite of Reiki and yoga.

A fresh coat of snow in last week... about a foot. Not a Blizzard or anything... just regular winter life in Paju South Korea.

A fresh thick coat of snow last week.  It wasn’t a blizzard or anything – just regular winter life in Paju South Korea.

I was told not too long ago by a young Korean man I met on the subway (who was excited to see a “foreigner” so he could practice his English)  that according to Korean tradition, I am 44 years old.  Now I don’t know exactly how that works… but somehow in that process I gained two years! (I am 42 in American years)  And so it is.

The sun is starting to set and the quiet evening is making itself known.  It is so peaceful here right now that the only sound I can here is the hum of my heater blowing overhead.  We remain cold  here with a hearty blanket of snow on the ground unwilling yet to go away.  And so, this is the context and the landscape of my Korean New Year.  My only question is… with this New Year, am I now 45?

Top Photo:  Toto, we’re not in Korea anymore!  Stonehenge?  The unexpected welcome at the entrance to Gyeonggi English Village in Paju City, South Korea.

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Being at Ease

2 Feb

It’s been a great Saturday for me.  Nothing too exciting.  It’s the weekend and I spent the day taking it easy.  Cleaning my apartment, sorting things, going to the grocery store.  I gave myself a Reiki treatment, did some yoga and put some black beans in the crock pot.  Tonight I will watch a movie.  I have to say it has been a great day!  Just what I needed.

I realized today as I was walking to the grocery store that I am starting to move out of  “survival phase” in my integration to life at the English Village in South Korea.  I have been here long enough that I am now fairly content that my basic needs will be met.  I have a kitchen full of foods that are healthy and satisfying.  I have a fluffy pillow and warm blankets.  I order regularly from iherb.com to get the healthy foods I want and need but can’t get in South Korea (delivery only a flat fee of $4.00!).  I have some basic spices and seasonings in my cupboard and with the assistance of my lovely crock pot I am able to cook some yummy meals for myself.

I can also get myself to Seoul without too much distress and make my way around a bit on the subway.  I have overcome some simple, but necessary challenges of traveling by myself to and from Seoul… like making sure I exit the subway at the exit number where the bus stop for the bus home is located (this is very important!  A few times I exited at random exit numbers and emerged on the streets of Seoul and had no idea where I was, let alone where my bus was!) And I am now confident that I know my bus stop well enough that I won’t accidentally miss it or pass it by, even at night.  It’s the little things!  So I am starting to feel a more… relaxed… and at home.

I am very grateful for my connection to the SGI Buddhist group in Seoul!  They have been a wonderful respite and a place to connect and meet new people when I want on the weekends.  This weekend on Sunday I will be traveling to Seoul to join them for their monthly world peace chanting.  Afterwards I will join a few members to go grab a bite to eat.  Really nice.

It’s a quiet winter day here on the English Village campus.  The snow has mostly melted and today this sun is shining.  While it is warmer, there is still a descent bite of cold in the air.  Our busy month of January programming and teaching is complete.  We have had a few days of light teaching this week and I am told a light week to come before our upcoming 5 day holiday (It is the Korean New Year).

As you may know, I am in Paju, south Korea which is a small community of about 250,000 just an hour north of Seoul.  The surrounding area is pretty spacious… much wide open land with little clusters of business – stores, restaurants and other things I can’t tell what they are since I don’t read Korean.  I am told this area is agricultural  and has a Korean military base not far away.  Paju Premium Outlet mall is just a short bus ride away (shockingly similar name to the outlet chains in the United States) with American movies and some familiar brand names and shops.  We’ve had a few days of weather here where it’s not so cold that I am huddled into my own being like a turtle seeking its shell. I am actually starting to look around and notice my surroundings a bit more.

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A quick look at the area surrounding the English Village in Paju, South Korea, the land still barren in the dead of winter.

The English Village campus is somewhat remote.  While we are located in the city of Paju, we are surrounded by much land and are a 5 or ten minute walk from the grocery store and a fifteen or twenty-minute walk to nearby restaurants, post office and other commerce.

We have pretty easy access to “getting around” with the bus stop just outside the English Village grounds and a bus that goes directly to Seoul.  There are other buses that take you to nearby shopping areas and cities and with the assistance of our friendly security staff, we can easily catch a cab when needed.

I was at a clothing swap earlier this week.  A staff member is leaving and she hosted a swap as an opportunity for her to give away clothes and other items that she won’t be taking with her when she leaves Korea.  When we were chatting she mentioned that living at English Village is like “Korea light”… which is true.  Nestled in the comfort of our English-speaking environment, we get to experience many of the comforts and ease of home.

That said, we don’t have to go far to be immediately immersed in the world and culture of  South Korea – just beyond the Hollywood-like sign of the English Village.  For me, I find it’s a nice balance… as I continue to ease my way into life and work in South Korea.

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The Road to South Korea Just Got Shorter

5 Dec

The scenery is starting to change.  The bright leaves of fall have given way to naked trees.  My laundry that has been scattered all over my room is now finding its way in an organized fashion to my suitcase.  And my Passport, previously mostly barren except for a stamp here are there from Germany and England, now has a Korean Visa in it.  Funny, it seems I am going to Korea…

I am in that busy hazy phase prior to making a life-altering shift.  You know the one, where you tend to the immediate details at hand preparing you for something that… hasn’t fully consciously hit you yet.  Yep, that’s me.  Although it’s starting to hit me… waves of excitement and anxiety are finding their way to my body.  I wake up before the sun rises, before the busy little bodies in the home where I stay rise.  I get up and I start to work… on whatever I can think of to do next to make sure I have everything cared for before I leave.

Bye the way, did I mention that I am leaving on Tuesday?  As in less than a week from today?  I was patiently riding on the slow visa train to Korea when all of a sudden, I switched tracks and landed on the express.  And here I am wandering in everything I want to make sure is complete and wondering about the little things I am not thinking about that still need to get done.

Last week it suddenly dawned on me… that I needed to buy a plane ticket.  I felt sort of like an expectant mother who had gotten so comfortable in the process of pregnancy that I almost forgot about giving birth.  And then one day, the alarms sounded… it is time!  It is time NOW!

So here I am bustling in the wake and energy of my plane ticket purchase preparing for my imminent trip to Korea.  My new place of employment, the Gyeonggi English Village (GEV),  is ready for me to arrive and to begin training for their new program.  I will be teaching English at a hands-on-learning campus created to immerse Korean and international students in the English Language.

Happily I will be making a brief stop in the mid-west to visit with my family – my parents and my sister and her family.  My gut says its important to spend some time with them before I leave, even for just a few days.  I will leave for Korea from there.

This is not something that happens for me every day – preparing to travel to Asia!  It’s my first time there.  I am grateful for a few little tokens of comfort like knowing that I will be picked up at the Seoul airport by a taxi driver sent just for me who will be holding a sign with my name on it.  It’s funny I have always seen that scene played out in the movies, but it has never happened in my own life… until now.  I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it!  From there I will be taken to my apartment on the GEV campus.  Yes, my own apartment – a luxury that I have not had the pleasure of since I have been traveling.

I am wrapping up my time here at the family residence in Philadelphia that I have called “home” for the past 3 months.  The youngest boy has been feeding me a steady diet of hand-made presents, since I won’t be here for Christmas.  Practically speaking, this home has been a perfect place for me to be at this time of transition and visa making.  I have been just a stones throw away from the post office, UPS office and other “city needs”.  Additionally I have been most fortunate to have use of a happy, thriving, macintosh laptop computer.  It’s a lovely toy, if even for the short-term, and especially with the expected death of my slow but well-loved PC laptop… hanging in there for now, but… it doesn’t look good.

I am trying to make the most of these last few days here… preparing the family as best as I can to transition to life without an extra set of hands.  I did my best to stock up on groceries and even cooked a few casseroles to put in the freezer for a little added comfort and joy when I leave.

And now, well,  I keep walking the walk of “what is there for me to do next?” on my road to South Korea… getting shorter and shorter as the days go by.  A busy and expectant time!

If you’d like to learn a bit more about my journey and trip to Korea, I invite you to view the video I created.  It’s on my Indiegogo campaign at www.indiegogo.com/southkorea.  And while you’re there please consider a contribution of any amount to support the continuation of this long lovely journey and big school of life.

Thanks for joining me from time to time on the road.  Much more to come!


Photo of Forbidden Road, my favorite “getaway” in near-bye Wissahickon Park in Philadelphia, PA.

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Birthday Eve

21 Nov

It’s about 10:30 pm Eastern Standard Time here in the US. I am (mostly) shamelessly listening to the Carpenters (among other tunes) on my Pandora radio.  I have my space heater cranking in my brisk third floor room and am reveling in the simple joys of some time alone… you know, organizing and throwing away old papers, doing a little yoga, drinking hot tea.  Ah, the good life!  In a few hours I will usher in the day of my birth, less formally known as my Birthday.  This year I celebrate 42 years of living.  I am thrilled.  It’s a good time to be alive.

About three hours ago I took my Reiki teacher, Elizabeth Ohmer Pellegrin, to the Philadelphia airport for her flight home to New Orleans.  She came to teach a First Degree Reiki class here in Philly and for a visit. Elizabeth first came to Philadelphia to teach about 6 month ago.  She has some family ties to the area.  She also has another Reiki student who lives full time in Philadelphia and coordinated a class for Elizabeth in June 2012.  She coordinated this most recent class as well.  There is now a budding community of Reiki students in the Usui Shiki Ryoho tradition initiated by Elizabeth blooming and growing in Philadelphia.

It was a real pleasure to have Elizabeth here.  It was like a wonderful burst of “home.” Much of our time together was spent in the Reiki class that she taught all day on Saturday and Sunday.  It is typical for me to sit on Elizabeth’s Reiki class.  Elizabeth is a wonderful teacher and after practicing Reiki for about 8 years, I always find it rewarding and beneficial to sit in on a class.  It’s also fun to be able to contribute in small ways… sharing my experience with Reiki, answering a few student’s questions, and giving assistance as they are learning to give treatments.  It is also a gift to be a in a Reiki class because I get to bathe in the healing energy of Reiki all weekend long.  It feels sort of like taking a vacation … without having to leave the city.  Also Elizabeth is a great caretaker and, when she is not busy teaching or tending to her new students, she always seems to have time to give a little extra TLC my way and make me feel like I am cared for, which is a lovely feeling.

Elizabeth has been my friend and mentor since I first became her student 8 years ago.  She has been there for me persistently and with great care.  We went through the great challenge and new adventures of hurricane Katrina when we were both uprooted from our home for an extended period of time. She has been there to support me through hundreds of big and little triumphs and challenges, including many of the joys and challenge of my latest adventures in travel.  As she went on her way back to New Orleans I felt grateful to have spent time with her and also strong in my on two feet to continue on my journey.

Elizabeth suggested once that I celebrate my birthday one day for each year I have been alive.  I have adopted that philosophy, exploring little ways to celebrate each day.  Tomorrow I will begin my birthday celebration by attending a yoga class and listening to my body and being and see what else my heart desires on this day.

Thanksgiving will likely be a quiet respite for me.  My host family here is traveling to be with their family in New York State.  I was wholeheartedly invited to join them but I have opted for a few juicy days with some time to myself.

And so, on this Birthday Eve and nearly Thanksgiving Eve, I will leave with the spirit of thanks and gratitude… for all the lessons I have learned on this amazing journey I have been on, all of the people I have met along the way and those who have loved and supported me in taking risks and having new experiences of myself… that I would have never had if I hadn’t taken a risk and bought a ticket to Europe a year and a half ago.  Yes I am grateful for the simplicity of living out of a suitcase, taking it one day at a time, and exploring the possibility of new adventures.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Photo of stunning Fall Colors in my Mt. Airy neighborhood.

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Being at home

26 Oct

It is around 7pm on a school night.  I can hear the kids outside up to some sort of mischief with neighborhood friends.  I am seeking a bit of refuge up in my room on the third floor.  The chaos of full on busy family life has its interesting spins and for me, sometimes, it is exhausting.  I have to laugh as I find one of my primary roles here is the evening meal cook, a job I scarcely thought myself capable of holding.  But it seems that I am doing okay.  After spending 8 months in the busy but capable kitchens of the Seminar Haus in Germany and four months mostly a witness to the beautiful meal preparation of the kitchens of Les Battees in France, it seems, to some degree, I can cook.  This is a revelation for me.  Tonight as I was preparing dinner the oldest son, 7, said to me a bit sheepishly, “I have to say, I don’t know what recipes you’re using but… you sure are a good cook.”  From the mouths of babes.  No better compliment.

I am still finding my way a bit in this home…. As a “helpxer“, or living with folks in exchange for room and board, I find there is an ebb and flow to each new experience and my job is to learn to ride the wave.  I have found you can try to set parameters, do you best to set some boundaries, but in the end the experience is its own creature.  Here in this home in Philadelphia I am still exploring how to make the most of my trade in service to them in balance with my own independence.  Some days I feel that “I’ve got it” and other days… I wonder. It’s a dance and every new experience has its own rhythm.

In this home, in the midst of some chaos of a family of good people with “too much” on their plate right now, it seems being here is also a place of healing.  Living here I sometimes hear the cries and yells of children and parents doing the best they can in a stressful situation and I find my “inner child” shrieking and shriveling in response reminded of similar echos from my own childhood.  As my travels and experience are ultimately a journey of healing, it has been useful for me to get present when this happens, get clear that what is happening in this home at this moment is not about me… that it is not my “fault” and that while I can contribute to the well-being of this home, it is not my responsibility to “fix” what is going on here.  And so it continues…

Being here has also given me a profound new understanding of the complexities and challenges of being a parent…. up close and personal in a way I have never experienced before.  At the age of 42 with no kids, I had no true idea of what it takes to be a parent and the limits that children can stretch you to… even in their innocence.  I have a new perspective of my own parents and my own childhood.  I am now thinking that parents are miracle workers to do it all… even the basics of clothing, feeding and educating a child.  And if there are challenges in the environment, it is now easier for me to understand, while those “challenges” may not be an environment that is best for the child, that the parents are often doing the best they can.

And so I continue the syncopation of my gypsy ways currently in family life in Philadelphia.  As someone who has spent a lot of my adulthood alone and independent, I appreciate the ways it is stretching and growing me.  And that said, I also need and love my time tucked in my bedroom, or at the yoga studio, or strolling through the neighborhood.

Last weekend I had a wonderful adventure!  A few weeks ago at a neighborhood festival I heard a Samba group play and the drums just made me feel alive!  It turns out that they were from a local class taught just a few miles away from where I am staying.  Last Sunday I took a leap and joined the class… and I LOVED it!

It was so amazing, everyone playing there was filled with such joy, beaming smiles on their faces as they played.  As I became more familiar with my drum and my role, I let go of my concentrated effort and allowed my own beaming smile to join in with theirs… moving and grooving as we played collectively.  It was fabulous!  The teacher was a wonderful leader and I am welcomed back in the future while I am visiting in town.  It is so great!

I also discovered a BEAUTIFUL park just a few miles from here.  The park is called the Wissahickon and my hosts here guided me to a friendly and beautiful walk down a road in the park called Forbidden Road.  It was … amazing.  The fall leaves are in peak and the road runs along a gurgling river.  It was truly one of most beautiful parks I have ever been too.  The magesty of the surrounding trees just took me in and brought me home to that place where I feel nurtured.

The adventures continue, it’s fun, it’s beauty, complexity and simplicity… .  Life with a family… its blessings and its challenges.  I suppose its all just a part of learning to be…at home.

Photo just a little slice of Fall!

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Life with the “fam”

18 Oct

It’s another day in Philadelphia.  The weather is getting cooler… nothing too alarming, just a fresh reminder that it is Fall.  I am preparing for a good night sleep to wake up “early” tomorrow to go to Yoga class.  I am attending a gentle yoga class lately as my left ankle is still on the mend from my spill down the stairs in May in France.  I am encouraged by friends saying that, alas, it takes a long time for these things to heal.  I am really fortunate that there is a sweet little yoga studio walking distance from where I stay.  I have been going once a week, but would love to go more often!  A yoga class always provides the time and space to treat my body and my yoga practice with the honor and attention that it deserves.  I love yoga!

Tonight we went out for a little dinner…. me and the family I am staying with – mom, dad and the two boys.  Wednesdays is kids eat free night at one of the local restaurants.  I am finding this community is quite a “small town”, already running into familiar faces at the coffee shop and the yoga studio.  The restaurant we went to last night is run by the husband of the owner of the yoga studio I attend.  Yes, it’s a small community feel.

I have continued my balance here of house attendant, quasi-chef, and marketing/small business assistant extraordinaire.  On a good day you can add Reiki Practitioner to the mix.  It helps to keep it interesting to be able to mix things up a bit… yesterday preparing dinner and grocery shopping while today designing “apps” for my hosts’ Facebook fan page.  All in a day’s work!

My hosts have created quite an interesting world for themselves here.  With two boys age 4 and 7, the oldest boy attends the local Waldorf School and the youngest attends the local co-op nursery school down the street.  In Waldorf education, the oldest is learning unexpected things like how to knit.  I’ve learned a few things about Waldorf schools since I have been here… like they don’t start teaching kids to read until third grade and all students are asked to have no “screen time” (television, computers) during the week.  From what I can see it is an enticing learning environment where the child I stay with seems to be thriving and exploring on his own… including reading very well at the age of 7.

These boys here are really quite something. The oldest is so bright and attentive.  A few weeks ago from the back seat of the car he said to his mom, “Turn off your brights!” when she had forgotten and left them on when an oncoming car approached.  I don’t remember doing that at the age of 7!  The youngest, age four, is full of mischief!  On the car-ride home tonight I was sitting next to him in the backseat.  He got the hiccups and I offered to use my sisters method of getting rid of hiccups when I was a kid – tickling!  Of course he loved it, squirming and laughing… but it didn’t get rid of his hiccups.  He’d scream, “stop”, so I’d stop tickling him and then a hiccup would escape.  And then of course he would say again “tickle me!” until he couldn’t take it anymore.

But for now, it is my private quiet time at the end of the day.  The boys are in bed… and likely the parents too… and the house is quiet until the greeting of the morning noise of the boys.  So I’ll sneak a little quiet time for myself… tucked away with a family in Philadelphia.  Yet another unexpected stop on my unplanned  journey!

Photo taken of 2nd National bank in the historic district of downtown Philly, neighboring sights like Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.  It’s great to be so connected with our nation’s history here.  Things and places that were like ideas in a story have now come to life!

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Being in Philly

12 Oct

Here I am… in Philadelphia continuing to stretch and grow.  My life is filled with an interesting variety as I find ways to be of service on my journey.  For the past month, I have been living with a busy family in Mt. Airy, a neighborhood in Philadelphia.  It’s a great place to be with plenty of mature trees, historical homes and a progressive outlook.  How lucky I am to have landed in such a good place!  The family I stay with is a couple building their developing business from home while raising two young boys, 4 and 7.

Living in a household with kids is a shift for me!  As someone who has spent many of my recent years in quieter contemplation, the reality of life with children is quite a wake up call.  I live with a family with two beautiful boys.  As the saying goes, when they are good they are very good, but when they are bad… well, I’ll just leave that to your imagination!  It’s been fun to be here and help out with the simple things in their life… doing laundry, organizing cupboards, keeping the kitchen tidy.  I get a quiet satisfaction from helping this busy family get a little more form and structure to their sometimes chaotic life.

Recently I have been enjoying preparing meals for the family.  I like considering what I might cook that night and exploring what food is left in the kitchen to whip something up.  And even better, they appreciate what I am cooking!  That makes it even more fun!

I have been taking stock today of how grateful I am for all of my experiences over this past year and half.  I have learned so much and I can feel each day how much better I feel about myself with my growing confidence of being able to contribute wherever I may be.  It’s fun to feel like I am a part of something… a business, a household, a family, and see the ways I am comfortable and confident participating that, before I left on my journey, I was not.  Much that I have learned is really quite simple like in Germany learning to contribute and be part of a community and paying attention to what needs to be done, even if it’s just preparing  a simple meal for those around you.  In France, I learned how to make a great bed and set a nice table.  I see these little seeds of experience  blossom in my time here in Philadelphia.  For example, today I had the opportunity to do a little work at my host family’s local food co-op, Weavers Way.  I worked for a few hours to help the organization set up for a fundraising dinner.  I showed up to be of service and found myself in charge of decorating and setting the table.  How fun it was to create beautiful centerpieces from the assortment of gourds, leaves and flowers and also great to feel confident that I could set a nice table for them.  It’s the little things, they add up!

Tonight I am on my own for a bit.  The kids are tucked in bed after a post-dinner dance party featuring the boys as glamorous performers.  My host and I each had play money to use to pay admission to the show and then the performance began, with flashlights for spotlights and all.  It’s been a beautiful full day with yoga in the morning, some housework during the day and the co-op shift in the afternoon.  I am fully engulfed in the activity of each day and am amazed at how each experience on this journey fully pulls me in…  I become totally engrossed by what is happening in the here and now.

And…in the here and now I find I am tired after this full day!  A good feeling.  So I suppose I will seek a little rest in my comfy bed in my quiet room on the third floor.  Good night from Philadelphia!

Photo taken from the beautiful countryside in New York State near the Catskill Mountains where my host’s family lives.  I spent last weekend here.  Don’t be fooled by the serenity of this photo.  With 6 children collectively, it was a wild, wild ride.

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Being at Home Anywhere in the World

18 Sep

It was recently the 7th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina as we were reminded with the arrival of Hurricane Isaac.  I lived in New Orleans for thirteen years and like so many others was uprooted by the flooding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.  That was the beginning it seems of my Gypsy training.

I was in Houston, TX attending the Landmark Forum for “just the weekend” when Hurricane Katrina hit. From there I traveled to Austin, TX where I lived for about 18 months before returning home to New Orleans.  With my former apartment flooded and rents on the rise because of increased insurance costs for homeowners, I was lucky to find an affordable place to live when returning.  I rented out two private back rooms and a bathroom in a comfortable Mid-City home.  It wasn’t quite the “home” I imagined for myself, but I was grateful for an affordable place to land. Time flew and I was there for 3 years.  When my landlord’s daughter was to return home and she would need my space, it was my time to leave.  As I no longer had my affordable place to live, I started taking some creative leaps.

I stayed for one month in a private home that used to be a bed and breakfast in exchange for graphic design work.  Next a friend wanted me to house sit while he was out-of-town and his home was for sale.  Six months later I left that home when it sold and moved to another home for sale until, six months later it too sold.  It was from there that I flew the coop and headed to Europe.

These years of transition and travel have accentuated the necessity and importance of creating and cultivating an inner home.  I began to rely on and develop an inner sanctuary and place of respite.  This is a place I can turn to no matter where I am in the world and no matter what may be happening in my world, inside or out.  It isn’t always easy moving from place to place, in foreign environments with life handing unexpected twists and turns.  Here are some ways that I have come to rely on to support myself and the cultivation of an inner home as my world around me shifts and moves.

Spiritual Practice
For me, connection to spirit is a place that I go to for comfort and ease when life around me is constantly changing or when life seems chaotic.  A spiritual practice is like a daily (or more) taste of the divine.  It is like visiting that greater place we call home no matter where I am or what is up in the world.  I find the more I visit that place through daily practice, the more it surprises me with visits during my regular ordinary life.

Some of my favorite spiritual practices are:

Time in Nature.
There is nothing that satisfies my spirit or soothes my soul more than spending time in the outdoors.  The feel of a gentle cool breeze, the bright colors of a blossoming flower, or the warmth of the sun on my skin are core experiences that bring me joy and that I have come to rely on for peace and comfort like a tender, loving parent.  Every day, no matter where I am, I take a little time for nature.  Sometimes it’s been a stroll along a farmers road between potato fields in Germany.  Other times its been a walk along a near-by river or park.  I am usually alone and it is often quiet as I am greeted by whatever that day has to offer.

Dance.  I love to dance.  I am not a professional dancer or anything, but for me there is nothing like listening to some music that makes me want to shake my booty and just moving and dancing for a bit.  Nearly every day in the privacy of whatever room I might be in at the time, wherever I am in the world, I put on a little music from my iTunes on my computer and I dance!  Sometimes mellow, sometimes not.  But it always feels good to just move!

Practice being in the Present Moment
We all know the phrase… “wherever you go… there you are…” and so it is true that no matter what has happened or what is to happened what is always there is the present moment.  I am no different from anyone else… with my mind wandering at times hastily to what has been or to what will be.  But I take the time to practice… being where I am… in the moment.  Sometimes it may be as simple as calling my attention to my fingers and the feel of the iron and the sheets as I was ironing at Les Battees, feeling my feet in my shoes as they meet the ground.  Sometimes it is noticing my breath… sometimes breathing easily, sometimes not… When I remind myself to slow down and pay attention to just the present moment I am often awakened to expanded perception in that moment… and expanded joy.

Eating Well
A simple healthy diet is the cornerstone of well-being for me and makes a big difference in my well-being and feeling at “home”.  As lately I have been living in other peoples homes and kitchens, I do my best to be a fair and good communicator to ensure that my new home can provide the basic foods for my health and well-being.  This includes no refined sugar in anything that I eat and access to whole grains and fresh veggies and proteins.  A little good food goes a long way!

Reading from inspiring books and texts
Nearly daily I lean on and rely on books and texts that lift and inspire me.  For me these are often of a spiritual nature.  Even just a quote or paragraph that reminds me I am of something greater than myself gives me perspective on whatever opportunity or challenge I may be facing at the moment.  My favorite book to lean on is currently A Course in Miracles , but I also have enjoyed books by Catherine Ponder and Gary Renard’s Disappearance of the Universe.

Goofing Off
I also find it is important to have time just to goof off – to just do that silly unsophisticated thing for a little bit each day that nurtures the little child in me and brings me comfort.  Sometimes it may be reading a light novel or magazine.  Lately it has been watching old episodes of the show Medium on the internet.  Just a little something, often “brainless” and fun, to take a “break” from whatever I may need a break from that day!

These are my basics for cultivating my inner home, wherever I may be, whoever I am with.  I am grateful to have the time and experience of cultivating an inner home as I currently travel from place to place, some plans known… some still unfolding…

Photo from the gardens of Les Battees.

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Being Easy

4 Jun

Wow!  It is hard to believe it is June 4th already and that I have been here at Les Battees in Southern Burgundy for nearly three weeks.  I find myself in almost a timeless space here, with most days spent in the countryside living and working at the Chambre D’hotes.

In general, life here is pretty easy.  I have plenty of time in the morning for relaxing and doing my morning rituals – Reiki, yoga, often prayer and meditation.  Summer business so far is mostly on the weekends, and most weekdays offer plenty of time for leisurely work and play.

Even though I am living in France,  I am surrounded daily by the tones, expressions and content of English culture with my English host and his visiting mum.  It is fun to see the similarities and the differences in the language and the culture.  Yesterday I made a comment to my host that he did something “lickety split!”  He looked at me bewildered… and perhaps even a little afraid.  I retreated sheepishly…Oh, I got it!  American slang! You have no idea what I just said to you!  I quickly rearranged my verbage to a more friendly and accessible phrase.

My hosts sister and partner have been visiting this weekend, expanding the British encounter.  We joined them and visiting guests on Saturday night out on the terrace for dinner.  It was an even split for the evening… five french guests at one side of the table and five English speakers at the other.  And in truth there was not much intermingling between the two.  My host mended some of the distance with his conversational French.  My hosts’ French girlfriend was also there, relieved to have some French comrades for the evening meal and conversation.

I am still nurturing and healing my injured ankle from my trip down a few stairs during my first days at Les Battees.  My plans of riding kilometers down the bicycle path along the nearby canal are temporarily on hold.  I continue to find my way in the little things, day to day.  We have had some visiting hedgehogs here at Les Battees, a mama and two babies, living near the compost.  Digging in the dirt the other day, clearing the weeds away from the lavender plants, I discovered my first French snail.  And a few days ago, I caught a glimpse of one of the local birds who sometimes comes for a visit… the Hoopoe.  His distinct call lets us know he is in the neighborhood.  He is a beautiful spectacle and quite something to see.

Today the sun is finally shining after a few days of rain.  The surrounding meadows, flowers and gardens happily greet me outside my bedroom window.  There is a light breeze and coolness in the air and the birds once again are showing off.  My hosts’ garden features roses now in full bloom.

It seems that there is something creeping in on me… from these days of simple living in France.  It almost feels like… rest… all the way down to my bones.  I am giving way, ever so slightly, to the need to predict, impress, figure out or make big plans while I am here.  And in the wake of that I see there is some space to be… present.  Present while ironing the sheets for the Chambre D’hotes.  Taking simple pleasure in its neat appearance when complete and folding it gently in quarters.  And in the space, perhaps the freedom to simply be present I am experiencing some… relief.

My host and his mum are heading for a visit to a near-bye  village tomorrow.  I look forward to joining them as I continue to go with the flow.  It’s nice to leave Les Battees from time to time for a shopping errand to a neighboring town or village.  The wind has picked up outside and soon I will do a little laundry and hang my clothes outside on the line to dry in the sun.  Another day submerged in the easy living of Les Battees.

Plum blossom photo from the grounds of Les Battees.

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