The honeymoon period between me and Australia come to an end over the past 3 weeks. I'm not kicking her out of bed by any means, but the novelty of being in a new place has worn off and I had to remind myself that marching around with a group on nuns is NOT normal.
Highlights:
Cabin Fever
This one hit me hard and fast one weekday afternoon. I had been cooped up writing papers, reading and doing typical temple things when it dawned on me that I hadn't been my full self in a while.
By this I mean that as a human being with a range of emotions I felt like the solitude within which I was conducting my studies didn't let me get my weird on, a part of daily life I truly cherish. Whether it was trying to get Kevin to sing the National Anthem with me and Nguyen at work, waking up next to Katrina after staying up past 9pm due to our sugary cupcake intake or going to a poetry slam with Kamelya and Ryan only to try our hand at it in the privacy of our judge-free abodes, I had quite a community to explore life with in LA...and those are just examples of people who's name start with a K!
I quickly remedied the situation with Facebook phone calls to friends so I could word vomit onto my dearly beloved. The frustrating thing is that I am tired of the pixel images; non- moving, non-breathing, non-responsive. This highlighted my reliance on non-verbal cues to read a person as I talk with them and really experience a conversation in 3D. A long term solution of course is to form strong bonds with people here and there are certainly some contenders! I ventured to Sydney to get some real person contact with people. It was great! I walked the Bondi to Coogee trail with a German friend I met in Fiji. We did a little sprechen auf Deutsch and grabbed food. He also got a beer while I drank a delicious sparkling water, my first experience "going out" while not consuming alcohol in Sydney. My body has already formed a new habit of not drinking, so I knew that wasn't an issue but I had reservations about hanging out at a bar but not partaking and how that would effect the mood, conversation, etc. I'm happy to report that I was still hilarious and no one was thrown off by my lack of intoxication. Later that evening I hung out with Shadie at her beautiful place on Manly Beach. Conversation flowed between rehashing events from the past month and planning future adventures. Also worth a mention, big props were given to TFA for setting us up in the world. The following morning I met up with British girl who I also met in Fiji and we had a lovely brunch next to the Opera House. Then, we explored the Botanical Gardens and went into my favorite Art Museum. After a scrumptious pumpkin quesadilla I headed back to the temple in good spirits.
Class
My second class took place over two weekends and it was much smaller in size than the first one I had taken. Some of the classes are "one offs" that anyone can take and others are more specialized for each major and have pre-requisites. Thus, the Wellness through Leisure and Recreation was more tailored to people who are going for the full masters. The class was also more practice based instead of content heavy. We practiced Tai Chi and meditation and I even got to lead a meditation session, complete with the meditation bell borrowed from the temple, very exciting! My presentation was about deep sea scuba divers and the psychological impact the sport has on them. I learned a lot about the sport as well as the reasons for why people take on extreme risks in the name of fun, some self reflection upon this topic was also required.
Kids
One of the best parts of my week is going to schools on Wednesday and Thursday mornings to teach kids Buddhism with Venerable Chun (aka Nun or Reverend). She lets me have full control of the class and only directs me about what topics to cover. Through these trips I realized how much I love (and certainly missed) teaching. When I was a bright eyed and bushy tailed 21 year old in charge of my own classroom I didn't care for lesson planning nor did I enjoy having to behavior manage. I am clearly at a different point in my life because typing out page long instructions gives me joy, I love to set procedures and practice them until the kids become well behaved little Buddhas and I plan out curriculum in utter bliss. Nothing beats actually being live in front of the classroom though and watching those little brains work. It's funny how quickly I tapped into that same feeling that I had when I was coaching the dream team with Lianne (there should be a post about it somewhere, so so many years ago) or the excellent 6th grade class I had in Korea that was the best thing ever ever ever (pretty sure I wrote them an open love letter way back in the day as well).
The other benefit is that I get to discuss the topics with the nun and get more clarification and insight into each item we cover so my learning is also extended. I'm truly bummed that next week is the last time I have class and then they go on break and my hectic schedule of marathon classes and 10 day meditation retreats begins in October.
Other:
All the nuns went to a conference in Taiwan and so my daily meditation in the meditation hall as well as early morning Tai Chi is on temporary hiatus. I was able to borrow some 2kg weights from a classmate and now make my daily walks around the lotus pond while doing various arm exercises. I sometimes wear shorts (scandalous) and the tourist almost always stare but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do...
Namaste
Highlights:
Cabin Fever
This one hit me hard and fast one weekday afternoon. I had been cooped up writing papers, reading and doing typical temple things when it dawned on me that I hadn't been my full self in a while.
By this I mean that as a human being with a range of emotions I felt like the solitude within which I was conducting my studies didn't let me get my weird on, a part of daily life I truly cherish. Whether it was trying to get Kevin to sing the National Anthem with me and Nguyen at work, waking up next to Katrina after staying up past 9pm due to our sugary cupcake intake or going to a poetry slam with Kamelya and Ryan only to try our hand at it in the privacy of our judge-free abodes, I had quite a community to explore life with in LA...and those are just examples of people who's name start with a K!
I quickly remedied the situation with Facebook phone calls to friends so I could word vomit onto my dearly beloved. The frustrating thing is that I am tired of the pixel images; non- moving, non-breathing, non-responsive. This highlighted my reliance on non-verbal cues to read a person as I talk with them and really experience a conversation in 3D. A long term solution of course is to form strong bonds with people here and there are certainly some contenders! I ventured to Sydney to get some real person contact with people. It was great! I walked the Bondi to Coogee trail with a German friend I met in Fiji. We did a little sprechen auf Deutsch and grabbed food. He also got a beer while I drank a delicious sparkling water, my first experience "going out" while not consuming alcohol in Sydney. My body has already formed a new habit of not drinking, so I knew that wasn't an issue but I had reservations about hanging out at a bar but not partaking and how that would effect the mood, conversation, etc. I'm happy to report that I was still hilarious and no one was thrown off by my lack of intoxication. Later that evening I hung out with Shadie at her beautiful place on Manly Beach. Conversation flowed between rehashing events from the past month and planning future adventures. Also worth a mention, big props were given to TFA for setting us up in the world. The following morning I met up with British girl who I also met in Fiji and we had a lovely brunch next to the Opera House. Then, we explored the Botanical Gardens and went into my favorite Art Museum. After a scrumptious pumpkin quesadilla I headed back to the temple in good spirits.
Class
My second class took place over two weekends and it was much smaller in size than the first one I had taken. Some of the classes are "one offs" that anyone can take and others are more specialized for each major and have pre-requisites. Thus, the Wellness through Leisure and Recreation was more tailored to people who are going for the full masters. The class was also more practice based instead of content heavy. We practiced Tai Chi and meditation and I even got to lead a meditation session, complete with the meditation bell borrowed from the temple, very exciting! My presentation was about deep sea scuba divers and the psychological impact the sport has on them. I learned a lot about the sport as well as the reasons for why people take on extreme risks in the name of fun, some self reflection upon this topic was also required.
Kids
One of the best parts of my week is going to schools on Wednesday and Thursday mornings to teach kids Buddhism with Venerable Chun (aka Nun or Reverend). She lets me have full control of the class and only directs me about what topics to cover. Through these trips I realized how much I love (and certainly missed) teaching. When I was a bright eyed and bushy tailed 21 year old in charge of my own classroom I didn't care for lesson planning nor did I enjoy having to behavior manage. I am clearly at a different point in my life because typing out page long instructions gives me joy, I love to set procedures and practice them until the kids become well behaved little Buddhas and I plan out curriculum in utter bliss. Nothing beats actually being live in front of the classroom though and watching those little brains work. It's funny how quickly I tapped into that same feeling that I had when I was coaching the dream team with Lianne (there should be a post about it somewhere, so so many years ago) or the excellent 6th grade class I had in Korea that was the best thing ever ever ever (pretty sure I wrote them an open love letter way back in the day as well).
The other benefit is that I get to discuss the topics with the nun and get more clarification and insight into each item we cover so my learning is also extended. I'm truly bummed that next week is the last time I have class and then they go on break and my hectic schedule of marathon classes and 10 day meditation retreats begins in October.
Other:
All the nuns went to a conference in Taiwan and so my daily meditation in the meditation hall as well as early morning Tai Chi is on temporary hiatus. I was able to borrow some 2kg weights from a classmate and now make my daily walks around the lotus pond while doing various arm exercises. I sometimes wear shorts (scandalous) and the tourist almost always stare but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do...
Namaste
