Happy Thanksgiving!

You are preparing cranberry sauce, and I am -- no joke -- eating a "Holiday Sandwich" from Starbucks (where I never go in the States, btw) on the 26th (yes) Floor of the Kerry Center in Beijing, where you can barely see the next building for the smog. I thought I was getting sick in Shanghai until I realized it was the pollution clogging my sinuses. Reiki has been amazing while here. Walking around big cities in China is almost like continuously smoking a cigarette all day long. I don't want to even imagine what the lung cancer stats are here, but maybe they're not accurate since there really is no pollution here, or swine flu, either :-). Actually the stats may not be accurate simply because there has been so much development in the last 5 years, even, that the pollution has gotten more out of control. I mean, I wish I could show you what I am seeing. I have pictures, and they look like I used too much flash. Well, imagine Pittsburgh again in the 60s, I s'pose, or a very foggy San Francisco day (except in SF the fog is white, not hazy pink/orange). I haven't seen the sun in a long time, although I know it is there.

 

Okay. Enough on that. I'm really writing to tell you all how very thankful I am to have you in my life. Sitting in a conference room at Qualcomm is far from sad or lonely (so don't think that; I will be digging up some expats later) -- it gives me the space in between meetings and coachings to finally sit down and breathe, now that the most hectic part of my work trip has begun. I think it was only hectic in my *mind, and now that I have two coaching sessions down, and two workshops (after today I'll have done 3 of the 11), that notion has disappeared. I am really enjoying connecting with people and even giving them one tiny bit of advice on their pronunciation or communication skills. What it all comes down to is confidence. They do not, and most do not, tell themselves how GOOD they are in English. It's only criticism and "I could be better" or "I don't understand that guy." Sitting one--on-one with these brilliant Chinese engineers is enough to create a bit more peace in the world. They are helping me understand their culture, and how I can teach them better, while at the same time I am helping them navigate in their English-speaking world with just a bit more skill. And if even a millimeter more of their chest is puffed out, and their smile is a bit bigger, and they tell me "I learned at least one thing," I have done my job.

 

I am honored to be here, and thankful that I have the family and friends I do, my health, my zest for travel, a heart bursting.

*Our minds are so amazing, crazy-making, fun-having, judgment-making, entertainment-seeking little beasts and beauties, aren't they? I find myself really doing a lot of work with judgment. Value judgments. Behavioral assessments. Re-framing everything a different way is the best experiment I can imagine doing. I say experiment because it really is practice, not toward a theory necessarily, but toward a way of being, a way of thinking, a way of holding oneself in the world, with love and the ability to see every single other human being as just exactly the same as we are, despite the (these are the silly goose little things I was working on):

 

-loogey-hawking (gross to hear during breakfast? Maybe...but that person really needed to get it out).

-people pushing and going as fast as possible (if I lived in a city of 25 million, I would try my best to fill any free space, too, and amazing how rarely people bump into each other)

-ignoring my request for a taxi (Was that true? I asked myself after 10 minutes and two questions at 7 this morning. My answer? Nope. I had not made my request clear, and he thought I was waiting for a ride.)

 

My point? All of this doesn't exist for just us, little Trumans, and nobody is right, or better...it's all just different, and just as interesting and comfortable. And what a great laboratory in the great world of practicing acceptance. It's fun to write and say the word "loogey" again, anyhow.

Fortune Telling, British Airways, and Sinuses

In no particular order, I have a lot of topic ground to cover! I have been too busy actually experiencing and working to sit down and write (which is not a bad thing 't all).

 

I'm now at the Shanghai Pudong Airport on my way to Beijing. On the way here I realized I had a big question: I'm not sure whether or not to fear H1N1 or the pollution here more. (I actually "fear" neither, but if I had to choose, I think I'd say the pollution is more grave. A vaccine doesn't seem to exist, either).

 

I think I exclaimed aloud at one point "Goooosssssh" in between breathing through my teeth. (I have been using my teeth as a filter for the particulate.) If I knew more Chinese I"d ask people if they wore masks for a. pollution; b. to prevent getting sick; c. to prevent making other people sick; or d. because they can. I'm thinking Prada might invent a sparkly one in aubergine for nighttime occasions (and it wouldn't be a copy).

 

Ironic: The movies the nicer hotels show are classics (Mel Gibson or Eddie Murphy are usually in one of them) from the 80s, yet on the street just below one can purchase a copy of "2012," which seems to still be in the cinema (I am using British English where I can just for fun and cause I can; I might throw a mask on, too).

I got to spend some wonderful quality time with dear Jerry Koontz, one of my favorite people in the world, while in Shanghai. He was kind enough to put me up for the weekend. I love his observations: one of them was always awe-filled and "How is it POSSIBLE???" referring to the speed and skill with which elevated highways and buildings are built. It does seem as though invisible elves are erecting these massive structures in a fourth dimension. Much of it is for the Expo, which will last for several months here in Shanghai.

 

Boarding for Bejing soon and a man just sat down at my table...the restaurant's way of telling me zai gian, I think! More later...

China, here I come! I will miss you, the city-that-doesn't-sleep, Hong Kong!

Excelsior!!

Qualcomm booked me at the Excelsior Hotel in Hong Kong...are you kidding me with this sweet coincidence? It's lovely.
Chatting with my brother now, work call in a bit, going running soon, and hope to catch some tai ch'i in the park before reviewing my workshop for tomorrow, finding my next bowl of noodles (I can see that eating could become a hobby here) and exploring SoHo.

Alchemy

(This photo is from last week and is dedicated to Jen Witeck: I brought the Side Kick to Australia and the diveboat.) :-)

I'm in Hong Kong!

Have you ever felt that 6 days were actually like 12, the same way you might feel a week has only lasted a day or two at times when you’re really busy? I am baffled by how time gets defined by our internal attitude, external responsibilities, how late or early we sleep…in any case, I’m now on Week 4 of this trip (of 8), and it seems as if I’ve been gone either no time, several weeks, or a few months.
I need to write Australia a thank-you note….I love her.

My last week there was one magical moment after another. Some stats:

Walks and runs through the Botanic Gardens: four
Trips to Bondi: two
Drinking games played: three (who says you have to be in college?)

Family sightings: this is possibly the best part of the week. Aunt Liz flew into Sydney on Friday. I ran to meet her at her hotel, and found her on her floor going down in the elevator across from mine the moment I arrived. [A really cool side-note: She is reading The Alchemist, which is a book that Claire searched for in four bookshops in Fremantle. It popped off an airport bookstore shelf for me last night and I am now reading it too. In college, I had a copy that got passed around and signed by everyone who read it for years. I actually got it back years later – what a treasure. I am thankful to Claire and Aunt Liz for bringing it back to me again!]

I digress (of course. It’s a blog. Who could possibly be interested in all this detail? You'll skim as you need :-)).

So Aunt Liz and I, delightfully reunited, start to stroll down the street. About five minutes later I feel a big hand tap me on the shoulder. Startled, I turn to my left, and there is Uncle Brady!! I don’t know many other cooler people than the Cotters. Wow! We strolled and had beers that afternoon, and spent a lovely day together the next day at the Botanic Gardens, Opera House and Darling Harbour. The surprise they cooked up to surprise Claire with her dad that next evening was so clever and thoughtful. Claire was still shaking when I met them all at the restaurant after the Big Reveal at the Fortune of War. She was having a hard enough time processing that her mom was there and her semester abroad was ending, much less that her dad had flown all the way to Oz for five days to surprise her! What an awesome memory. The four of us went to a couple more bars for more schooners, chats, story-telling and bursts of emotion.

Heartstrings pulled: all week

Weeks more needed in Oz: 52. Next time – Blue Mountains and high tea; wineries; more of Western Australia; Northern Territory; Catherine; Cape York; Noosa. New Zealand, too!

English dialects heard: too many to count (ever-fascinating to me). I learned that I can understand about 12% of a Newcastle accent, and delight more than ever in an Irish one.

What you are looking for: right in front of you. Today can be as bleak or brilliant as we choose it to be. We are only what our last thought was. My last thought was “wise up, silly rabbit” and an admonishment: “Remember that change is the only constant. Remember that you chose this. Remember that your whole 'personal legend' is happening, that all is meant, that this moment is perfect. It’s okay that to feel alone, to feel sad for a moment, to recognize this (big) transition not only from a 3-week working vacation to now a 3-week work trip but a whole new culture, language, set of challenges=adventures=growth opportunities." This is true for all of us.  I looked up at the Hong Kong sky this morning and burst into tears. I know that I am a good mimic, accent-wise, but didn’t know I could also be a fall raincloud in China. The sun just peeped through; my squall has also ended.

What I love is that a nine-hour flight is now kind of no big deal. It was exciting last night to realize, more than once, that I was flying from Australia to Hong Kong. The massive south land to Hong Kong! How craaaazy is that, that we can fly? And watch movies in the sky? And eat mango popsicles and chicken noodles and sip on a really good French wine?

I remember Hong Kong to be a vast and colorful and exciting web of marketplaces, sky rises, beautiful views of the Causeway, better exchange rates/prices, and a different, quiet, kind of friendliness. While in Australia at the airport someone would actually come up to and say, “G’day! Could I help you get sorted? You look a little lost!” and chuckle and “take the piss” out of you without even knowing you and then you feel as if you could sit down with that person and have a cup of tea and hear about the kids’ marks in school. Here I landed at 9:30 (but 12:30am in my body) and in my fog realized how large the HK airport is and how of the 30 bays for shuttle buses I had no idea which one might take me to Kowloon. All of this was with no “oh, god” or fear…it was just time for bed. So, re-framed it and made it the most recent adventure. I guess my point is that I felt very much on my own when I landed; everyone going purposefully her own way and getting on shuttle buses. I figured it out, no big whoop, and slept in a luscious bed in Kowloon overlooking a long street market. Breakfast was huge and $6 (a nice change from $12 for an egg and toast.) I am going to make some work calls and go off to explore. I teach in Shenzhen on Wednesday! Time to move the bottom of my suitcase (work clothes) to the top. See ya in Thailand, tank tops and flip flops!

I have many photos to post and will do so soon. Have fun today!

Oh, Syd can you Ney...

Lovely to be in Sydney for realz this time. (On Oct 28 I was here for 13 hours, and then headed straight to Perth after a bit of delusional sight seeing). I landed yesterday afternoon and was delighted to talk to the Information people at the airport…so very helpful. By the end I was “Miss San Diego” awaiting her coach to the hostel. Joel told me that the Jolly Swagman was not a good choice, but I must admit that although I believed him I stayed there anyhow as they had a free shuttle and a good price. A safe and relatively comfy place to lay my head (sans bedbugs) is all I’m after, plus friendly fellow/sister travelers and good tour ideas. Voila! I can practice my French (and have) and Italian (very slightly) and once I reveal myself as an English teacher, it’s all over. Oh! They say. My English is so bad! No, it’s not, I say. My French is so bad! No, they say, it eez no! C'est pas vrai! And so we have a fan club for one another and work on expressions and accents. I taught an Italian pilot to say “howzitgoin” and five minutes later, processes firing, he comes back with “You use the present continuous, no?” A+, Cap’n!

Upon my escape I head to bed and the tales of the youngins in my room: Ashley from Vancouver-ish, Jesse from Seattle, Christina, also Vancouver, a flight attendant. I can hear my 25 year-old self in their voices and comments and surefire way of speaking and pronouncing “Bondi Beach” Bondee Beach, although it is Bond “eye.” I keep silent because there is really no need to be right; and who is right, anyhow, but these happy Aussies around us? I have been having fun saying “Cairns” though—I ‘ve heard it several different ways: “Canes” with a hint of an r…”Cans” with no r…and Care-nnnz (mostly from my fellow countrypeople). I just say Czzzz.

Speaking of, I love it up there, and until this morning still felt like I was on the dive boat.

I am at Roy’s Famous (what’s the Famous part, I wonder?) in delightful Potts Point, Sydney, where I’ve been for the last couple hours. Today has been great. I woke up at 7, went running, ended up in the Botanic Gardens for hours, walking, reading about the Cadigal people (aboriginals who were here first), found my eyes leaking heavily with each sentence about suppression, devastation of culture, smallpox, and on and on, but hopeful about gaps getting bridged and peace being made, doing yoga (this was one my favorite spots to do it…this time, in downward dog, I could see the Opera House through my legs! After that I made my way back, did laundry, got sorted, and headed to Roy’s. I chatted on the phone to my new local friend, Shane; had a glass of red wine and some amazing pasta; a cappuccino; and now I’m uploading pictures, writing, and polishing my lesson plans. I'm down to protein in the morning, lots of water, some fruit, and a big meal around 3. Works like a charm for my wallet and my Hudson jeans. ;-)

I’m off to Hong Kong on Sunday, and until then I have a full plate of fun ahead. Tomorrow I’ll do the Bondi Beach to Coogee walk with Shane the restless sailor (this is a great story, how I know him; I met his good friends Tim and Michaelle at LAX on the way here, and they told me he’d be a great contact to know. Turns out they were very right, and he and his friend and brother were kind enough to share their potatoes, pumpkins, carrots and wine with me last night. An autumn feast! Perhaps it was early Turkey Day, since I'll be in Beijing on the real one. We had great discussions about cross-cultural observations and travelling); Thursday I’m off to the Blue Mountains (and a lovely Victorian hostel that smells much less like shoes than does the Jolly Swagman, with a purple bedspread and almost my own bathroom, lots of trees, and older people); Friday I have a conference call/lesson with one of my favorite clients from Qualcomm; and then I meet up with Aunt Liz for a walk and dinner! She arrives Friday and we are so excited to meet up. Saturday we’ll go to Hunter Valley winetasting, and Sunday I am off to HK, where begins my teaching and a succession of amazing hotels.

I find Sydney to be such a neat mixture of cultures, streetscapes, bohemian to bankers. I see a little of DC here, a bit of San Fran there, a tad NYC, splash of Seattle, and a whole lot of mellow, happy Aussies.

Still have to share about adventures in the Daintree Rainforest, Cape Tribulation, Wujal Wujal, Cooktown, and bush pubs...I saw a frolicking wallaby and kangaroo!!
Consistent things exist in every state, despite vast differences: toilets are the same everywhere (half- and full-button flush options); light switches, too; love of beer is everywhere; “G’day, mate” and “How ya goin?” and “No problem at all” – wonderful things to rely on no matter where I tread next.

Wish you were here!

Great Barrier Reef

I'm "knackered" at the moment so won't write much...but being in the Coral Sea on a really nice vessel with amazing staff, people from all over the world (I made good friends with a South African couple, Ivan and Shann, whom I know I'll keep in touch with), a good book, tons of exercise, yummy food, one (tall) glass of Cabernet Merlot, 100s of fish...(sometimes it was like watching a cartoon! I saw Nemo. For REALZ. He says hi to Aidan, Violet and Stella!) was an experience I'll never forget, and also one I'll definitely repeat. The weather was not great today (which is why I have to go back!) === very surge-y and windy. But yesterday...wow. I really feel like I'm on holiday now. There is not an inch of room for complaint. For those of you looking for a great experience, try Reef Encounter in Cairns.

Heading to Sydney tomorrow morning where I'll link up with friends of friends, and then Aunt Liz and Claire at the end of the week! A blessed and lucky girl am I.

The Esplanade

I am sitting on the patio -- yes, the patio-- of a McDonald's (only free wifi in town, or "wee fee" as my French hostel-mate calls it), overlooking the Coral Sea and listening to a blues guitarist play the Beatles (really well). He has two British flags behind him. He just said, "Kon ban wa" to two Japanese travellers (Good evening, I think).

Looking out at the water I am buzzing with excitement for diving this weekend. Going on the Reef Encounter for two days. It's getting toward the rainy season, so conditions aren't great, but I cannot be here and not go diving on the Great Barrier Reef!

Tomorrow is a tour to Cooktown -- 7 am til 9:30 pm. Really looking forward to it. I could stay here for a bit longer....so so chill.

Just a bit after 4:19 am....

So I said goodbye to Claire and her wonderful friends, who went down to Margaret River for the week, hung out with Rachel from the hostel for a bit, and left Fremantle for Perth Airport. I did have the chance to get one more stare-down for the road from Kath. [And oh yeah. Okay. Many of you have asked, "So...did you see him ('him' being a great guy I met in San Diego last year who is from Perth)?' and the end of the story is a happy one. The answer is no. Although I didn't get to see him, I was given a bigger gift, which was for him to tell me that he's now engaged and that he couldn't see me. I am so impressed with that kind of respect and love, and hearing that confirmed my feelings about him all along -- that he is a solid and lovely guy. Of course it was a bit of a bummer, but I don't want to live in Australia, anyhow! Next love story, please!] Landed in Cairns, Australia, at 4 this morning. It was the earliest (or latest?) I'd ever landed in an airport. Must not be curfews here. The flight attendant had the best way of expressing things. She said, "We're due to land just after 4:19 am, or very near to it." I got a kick out of how precise she was. And she was right on the money. It was probably 4:19:23.

In any case, a very odd feeling to go to bed at 5 and I hadn't even been partying! I'm staying at the Girls' Hostel, which I can already recommend to anyone going to Cairns (if you're a girl, that is). The rooms are clean, the building has character, it's right in the heart of the matter, and the best part is Dawn, the manager, who will book you as many tours and give you as much advice as you need. She set me up for the day by suggesting Kuranda, a rainforest village, which is where I am now. You can take the skyrail to it, or a bus or train; I chose the bus and will train it back (for reasons of vertigo that most people don't know I possess) and was thrilled I did because a.) beautiful ride and b.) a nice older gentleman sat behind me and gave me 17 minutes straight on Thailand, where I'll be in December. If I was sure 10 days there wouldn't be enough before, now I'm really sure!

I can already see that this entire trip is like a beer sampler...you try the smoky bacon-flavored one, and the pear-flavored fruity one, and know which one you want to order a pint of (or not). Rachel (who's from near Sydney and has been traveling for six months; just back from Egypt) taught me that last night at a tapas bar that was also a microbrewery in Fremantle...she always orders a half-pint of the "funny beer" so she's not committed just in case she's not into it. So I know that I'll be back to each of these places again, and do them differently -- much longer in each state.

Sunday I'll do a live-aboard dive trip to the outer Great Barrier Reef. I cannot wait. There is an option of two days and one night + two more days and a night if you are a "hostie." You can live on the boat and dive and snorkel for free the second two nights! Thursday-Saturday I hope to go to the tablelands or maybe all the way to Darwin and back...see...not enough time! I already know I'm changing my flight to stay here in Cairns longer.

All that and I'm cranking out my workshop handouts, too...so nice to have to much space in which to be creative. I LOVEWHATIDO...to the point of grinning and cackling out loud last night at the airport (I was writing a lesson on brushing up verb tenses; what a nerd, but I did have a lovely glass of cabernet next to me). I am really getting excited for the Asia portion of the trip -- teaching in China, Japan and Taiwan will be amazing.

Off to see the koalas!

Fremantle, Day 5

So, I changed rooms. I left a note for Kath: Thank you for sharing your space with me. Be well. The guys at the front put me in an 8-bed room that was entirely empty. I frolicked about for a while, deciding on which mattress was best, and did a cartwheel in my new palace. Amazing how expanding a shoebox by a power of 10 could give me such glee. It's the little things. For whatever reason I felt guilty leaving Kath and wanted her to be sure it wasn't because of the knife in the kitchen story, or the odd stare-downs she gives. Odd that anyone would put two people in a room that tiny, anyhow. I saw her this morning, and she stared me down some, and so I went over to her table to see if she'd gotten my note. She said she had, and that she appreciated having the room to herself once again, and turned up her radio. Resolved.

After one night in the palace on my own, I got two new roommates: Evelyn from Taiwan and Rachel from near Sydney. Evelyn works on a grape farm in Australia, and has a broadband wireless card on her tiny computer. Rachel has been traveling for six months. She just got to Fremantle from Egypt and is on her way to New Zealand. She is annoyed that Internet is so pricey here ("the scabs!") and likes her men with tadoos and a good beer-guzzling ability. In the courtyard I met Phil and Kath from the NW of England, traveling around Australia for four months. She was an ESOL teacher, and he, a graphic designer. Their biggest concern is whether to buy a car or not. It's all being put into perspective for me, life...seeing how busy we all get, how busy I make myself, how unavailable and occupied I "seem" to be...all of that disappears when you are traveling. It is almost uncomfortable, this feeling of "well, what should I do next?" and the answer is always "whatever you want," which for whatever reason is creating guilt today (you're saying "WHAAAT? I would give anything to be able to say that right now! Wine tasting or snorkeling??! What's wrong with you?!$*!") and a feeling of needing to be busy and maybe going to volunteer somewhere and finish up a lesson plan and go running and...and...and

It's a good lesson in knowing It Is All Good Enough. Being here right now, no matter what we are doing, or have to do, or "should" do, is more than enough, and a 1000 blessings. Be gone, Shoulds!

That brings me to needing to mention that the best thing about this trip is Claire. Claire is my bright-eyed, naturally leading, spirit-filled, beautiful, cool, strong and wise 20 year-old cousin, who is much more like a sister than a cousin. We are more alike than we really knew before this trip. I am sitting at Moore and Moore Coffee House again, adjacent to her. We are both doing work today: she has a paper to write, and I have several workshops to polish up before going to Asia. She just giggled to me: "I love days sometimes that you have so much to do that you can't think, especially if you have something fun to do later on." This from a girl who has a 10-page paper due to herself by 4. She just finished a big application to do an internship in Africa this summer, and I got to edit it for her this morning. "Did you ever procrastinate in college?" she asked. "Um, yes. I feel like I'm watching myself right now..." which led to a fantastic hour-long conversation that made me love her even more. These are the times we'll remember, not the A- or B+ , or the "perfect" handout (although those are important, too).

Although we could be anywhere having this conversation, we're not, and I am just now really wrapping my mind around the fact that I'm in Australia. Each day I realize how months are needed, years, really, to be able to experience this country. I have to stop myself from reading more about Western Australia and what I haven't seen yet, and instead make a good list of what to do next time I'm here (cause I'll be back!): Margaret River, drive down south and back again, up to Broome and the outback, Uluru. When I leave tomorrow night for Cairns it will be with excitement to see the Great Barrier Reef, Cape Tribulation, and to take a trip over the tableland.

As for today, I'll do some more writing, find a good yoga class (so far I've done yoga in LAX, on Cottesloe Beach, and on Bathers' Beach --doing downward dog looking at the Indian Ocean upside down was by far my favorite so far (and then to look up and see Claire just sitting there on the beach coincidentally with her awesome friends -- no joke! -- a pretty amazing day, yesterday), maybe go for a run, re-pack my bag, confirm my flight, and head to community dinner at Claire's dorm.

Or should I...