Two and a half months flew by! Colombia has given me a wealth of experiences, and I hope to have traded this generous gift by inspiring a few to travel and continue studying English. Fortunate for this experience, I realize that practicing gratefulness and continuing to try to understand and bridge the world together is a lifelong practice.
Continue reading “Iza, Boyaca and what I’ve learned from Spanish”
A summer in Colombia. I’m excited for this opportunity, and a little nervous.
It feels surreal. At the time of this post, I’ll be on a cross-pacific flight heading back home. Left from the West, arrived from the East.
I got to write part of this in Monkey Park, north of the city palace in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. It was my last few days in India. Rajasthan is known for its beaming and extravagant palaces, but I found a refuge from the chaos in a quite piece of city nature.
Groomsman to a Vietnamese wedding. What an honor!
The wedding spanned two days, with preparations starting weeks before. It was an elaborate and extravagant ordeal, and I feel grateful to become so deeply immersed in Vietnamese culture moments from stepping into the country.
Goa! I never expected to fall in love with the place, the people, the culture. Even though it is in India, it is widely different from the rest of the country. More westernized.
Each day I spent was a new and unexpected twist, and I learned to love the scene. The music – whether electronic or instrumental, gave rise to the culture renown throughout the world. Learning how to create and dance through music.
In all the different environments of this unique Indian state I got the chance to meet people on internally extreme ends – those who came for a vacation, or to forget reality at home, or those who came to learn more about themselves and master a skill; dancing, sewing, singing, playing. And everyone on these mentally different paths coexist in this touristic conglomerate, with crevices and facets waiting to be discovered.
Rituals. Daily routines. Beach-side contemplative sunset walks.
My week in Goa stretched itself into two and a half… all because of the magical nights I spent there. I got to learn more about dance! Ecstatic dance.
It was therapeutic. I learned more how to let my mind calm down, and how to let my body freely explore itself.
One of the most memorable occasions was under a huge banyan tree, stretching far into the sky, with its fingers pointing in all directions. Barefoot, surrounded by other dancing feet, spending the night together under musical flow. An electronic beat to guide us. The mentality was all the same, boldly expressed through our bodies; a release and deeper connection with movement.
It’s so strange that dancing can evoke such elated mental states. Movement under music seems to combine the ecstasies of self-expression with the realization of transience, every moment passing so quickly.
Inspiration gathered from all the active smiling people around.
On the long stretches of beach music could be found thumping well into the night. Letting the sand seep through our toes and time take us away.
I learned how to really let every part of my body express itself. And to let go of any expectations. I didn’t feel the urge to dance like others, and when I didn’t feel like dancing at all, I was able to stand and smile as the sound waves passed through and around me.
See you again, Goa!
The Mumbai suburbs were a special treat.
Here I am, sitting in a park on the outskirts of the city reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintanence (an amazing read!), when starts the first Wave of kids.
I’ve landed back into the most captivating country of them all – India. This conglomerate of a country has given me so much – a deeper introspection about culture and it’s place in the individual and society, to the way our cultures create an identity, a home within us.
On the way north from Ho Chi Minh City, a major hub in the mountains of southern Vietnam is a city known as Dalat. The city was amazing, filled with a hostel-turned slumber party, wonderful new friends, and an interesting cultural experience.
While wondering the outskirts of the city with a hostel-mate, we stumbled upon a nunnery tucked into a quiet affluent neighborhood just north of the city.
This nunnery was so inspiring – it turned what we would call an orphanage into a home I felt gratitude just to be inside. The moment you stepped onto the campus, a feeling of ease and peace encompassed you. The nuns were incredibly accommodating, and getting to talk with them filled me with compassion and joy.
Every nun in this nunnery was at one point an orphan, either losing one or both parents. Instead of foster care or orphanages, a wise relative sent them here, to this peaceful and welcoming abode, where other nuns look after them until they are old enough to go to school, attending the nearby school systems for education. I met nuns of all ages – from the grandmotherly types, to 1 years old, a small child who is just beginning to understand the world around her.
Traveling and stumbling upon places like this that remind me why I was so set upon traveling in the first place, sacrificing time with friends, family, and home. I get the chance to learn how people all over the world live. To see what kind of lifestyle they lead. To see if they found joy in their lives.
To see if they’re happy.
It changes my perspective on what it means to lead a life worth living, and makes the sacrifices I’ve undergone worthwhile.
8 months passed. What have I learned?
onedigitalpath 