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| Free TIBET... |
| 04.26.04 (3:48 am) [edit] |
I parted with Gil so peacefully and with much love, knowing that we both had been blessed with each other and needed to move on to other things...
He was a great introduction to what India is to me and how it is me and how it works , how I work...how this place is powerful and will reveal things about all of that , things I thought were only dream games I play in my mind... but now its all becoming and true...
WOULD you be surpised that it took me from 4:30 pm until 7 oclock am the next day to finally get from Dehli to Dharamsala?... I took a bus with other foreigners that was supposed to only be 12 hours long but ofcourse, - NEver have expectations of what things will be like !
DRAMA #1:
I get my all my bags to where the bus is, some blocks and blocks away and the Indian worker for the bus tries to charge us 10 rupies each = about a quarter for putting out bags in the trunk! I Totally refused and everyone stood there arguing and screaming at the Indian company for trying to rip us off. The people from Israel were the most vocal, and the Indian guy would NOT put our bags in the trunk without pay- when its his DAMN job and we already paid a tourist price for our ride! So then he makes some Japanese guys, who are peaceful and just wanted to get going, climb the ladder all the way to the roof of the tall bus to put their own bags on the roof if they didn;t want to pay for trunk space!! What bullshit. And we are all screaming that we will call their boss and that is bullshit and we won't pay and he's refusing and laughing at us- like a big fuck you greedy tourists, what's a quarter to each of you- but a quarter to him from each is a whole month's salary so - give it up!... leave at 5 o'clock bus, WHAT? yeah right- try 6:30 by the time the Indian guy gives in from our great protest and our bags get in - although now we are worried they will do something with them while we travel...
DRAMA#2
We are on our way YEAH! ok seats. Grab mine in the back and met these four really cool Spaniards. I heard them talking it up and broke into their little circle quickly feeling so at home and so excited to be surrounded by the language, the attitude, the way ...
So its Lisa, Sol, Jordi, and Maria.
Jordi, 25, from Barcelona, doesn't speak a word of English- test, test, long haired blue eyed hippie looking dude who is a merchant (street seller) of artwork, clothes, and other beautiful things from around the world.
Sol, is 33 very beautiful and strong, also a merchant (street seller) from the country on the northern coast..she also does a lot of Henna art (fading tattoes) - as she has displayed all over her body, which she is teaching me to do.
Lisa is from England but thinks she's from Spain she says she is a Spaniard but is quite white in appearance, and a nice lady.
And Maria, also a street seller - another strong Spansih woman 33 ish long hair, beautiful, very open minded and down to earth - cool people... its nice to learn about their culture...
So to the drama part- well I bet you would believe that they scammed us further by shoving us all into a smaller bus than we were supposed to have and that left 2 paying customers without a seat ! They tried to shove 5 people in the long back seat with the 4 Spaniards but they WERE NOT having it. And the Israelis started screaming and getting into it- a huge mess. The 2 monks on the bus were just silent and watchful the whole time.. Hence another half hour of arguing here and also at the next stop we make about a half hour outside of Dehli when others get on the bus- who paid- yet now have no seat... oh Beautiful India businessss
Drama #2
The Spaniards are awesome. Throughout the whole journey we chat it up and laugh ... at some points we try to sleep but its hard to sleep in the back of the bus with all the crazy bumps... One guy from the UK, 36ish, in the front took some bad pills and was high on something and we had to stop for him a couple times and at one point people carried him to have his own 2 seats because he was so spaced out and about to faint or something.. These Tibetan men on the bus were so strong, and cared for him so well, my first introduction to a culture I would fall in love with.
DRAMA#3
We stop almost every hour- so the driver can get a cut of the money the vendors make on the tourists- what odd people and faces we encounter on the radd- always hassling you to buy drinks something anything- even after you screamed NO the 20th time, no joke.
So now its dark out and we all keep wondering why we keep stopping and the trunk where the bags are keeps getting opened...? While we are all half asleep- my stuff ended up safe, my bags fully fully locked - I wonder how everyone else made out... shady business...
The Spaniards are stir crazy... they have been vibrating and bumping their heads for hours!- the whole time from the bumpy ride and they are giddy and laughing and trying to put a good face on what could otherwise be an annoying experience..how fun-, I lobve people like that! I know that spirit! They are actually quite hysterical from all the shaking and its so hilarious.
[b]The Foothills of the Himalayas[/b]
The drama is over -- day breaks and we hit the foothills of the Himilayas like breaking into some dream some dream - as we are all very worn and in a meditative sleepy state- We watch in awe, speechless the sun rising over the snowcapped mountains that are just little foothills - just a glimpse of the power and beauty of nature of the immense Himalaya Mountains... darkskinned Indian Santa Claus looking men in bright robes hike the mountain roads with carved walking sticks at early dawn, chickens and birds stir all over, the "untouchables" as are called the lowest class of Indians in the caste system, darkfaced, torn saris ( Indian dresses/robes), children slung on their backs and waists, and footless handless toothless men lurk about... and the beautiful faces of the old Tibetan women and men - there is something so bright in their eyes - like there is something they have seen, that they know and they can't but help even carry their knowing of truht and all that is pure and true in their eyes...
Later that day when I finally get to meet and speak with Tibetans I trutly get to see why their ways create those eyes of the Tibetan.
I end up rooming with Jordi when we arrive. We have breakfast and nap.
I wake up 2- to not miss a thing.
I wander around a little to get acquainted with the area.
A large parade of Tibetan youth color the streets with huge signs, screaming Free Tibet! and Free the Lama! As it turns out -- China has stolen a 6 year old Tibetan boy- who was a Lama- which means he is in the Lama family- a spiritual Buddhist light, Lamas, like the Dalai Lama, the eldest Lama, are the closest things to Buddha walking on earth. So Communist China stole the little Lama 6 years old, and no one knows where he is. These people are stripped of their land and have been pushed around and abused by China for many years because they want to become independent country from China. They ARE a different more spiritual people and I don't think China can handle that - and so The highest Buddhist light - the Dalai Lama - had to walk over the Himalayas miles and miles to escape China from killing him off- WHY would they want to kill a man who is the ultimate Buddhist, stands for peace and love and compassion in every way I will NEVER know. And the people here are struggling to gain the land back that is rightfully theirs, and to gain freedom to be full Buddhists and free from communist China's sick ways...
I also found a Reiki Master and talk with him for an hour about Reiki and his teachings. I may take yoga with him as well. He's a great man. He has a strong presence, at peace, and glowing dark Indian skin- which is unlike the Tibetans who partly look Chinese but are a total thing of their own- no doubt.
I ate my dinner at Chuyki's. The 2 young Tibetan cuties that work there sat down with me and ate their meals they worked for. I ended up staying the night until 1 in the morning speaking, smoking, laughing, dancing with the Tibetans. An older Tibetan man sat down at the table too. The young Tibetan named Karma ( what a name!) said the older man was "The Doctor" of the community, he's a powerful man- with a great wealth of knowledge. I had deep conversations with him about his work and mine. He's actually The Tibetan Youth counselor for drug addictions, and HIV mostly...he has traveled the world working for 14 years and now resettled with his people. His work and his life story was astonishing... we went back and forth about the world its problems, its causes, Buddhism, spirituality, everything for hours...
All of this another one of those extremely meaningful powerful experiences that carry with it special divine messages I am so smiling about the whole time in a state of bliss even though we at times talk about the more sad issues about the hell our planet is going through- all mostly on the cause of the US, or atleast as their stupid macho "we are such superpower rulers of the earth" attitude and pushiness and greed tends to reflect.... but usually always does get into the mix of being the ultimate cause- or atleast no help to the worlds biggest problems as we destroy our planet- by having the taboccao, leaky Oil, and Pharmaceuitcal Corporations in complete control of everything due to their great wealth fed by corruption of fucking people over just to make the million dollar white men make another million...
I have now moved to my own room at the Yellow Guest House. There's a beautiful view of the mountains and the villagers below right out of my door, right from my window of my small room...
and I am contemplating staying here one month.
I will be teaching some Tibetan refugees English at the Youth Center and Karma also wants me to teach him everyday and he said I could get free meals at the restaurant if I do. What better way to learn about a people. When teaching is less work for me and more love- what better way could I spend my hours here than exchanging with this beautiful Buddhist community?
Many things are waiting just around the corner and its all so exciting and uplifting...
much love and peace to you all, Hope you are well! Let me know how things go.... Andrea...
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| India'sunandmoon.......... |
| 04.24.04 (3:48 am) [edit] |
I am on my way to Dharamsala tonight...
Can I truly express my experiences thus far with words...
I used to have faith and a love for words, but their power is nothing now in the face of the new language of energy that I have realized, which I just can't even begin to reveal to you.
I have been spending almost all of my time learning from and teaching Gil. He is the brightest light I have ever met in my whole life. We eat our meals together and consume each other and exchange mostly in silence and everything is understood with out words...
Words are puzzle pieces we throw at each other on the park bench as the night falls and the sliver of a moon becomes the hole of light that marks the climbing we have tried and the little breakthrough we have made to the other side of truth, and the puzzle pieces we have put together only seem to create the picture- the illusion of the life swarming around us...
the dirty children begging and pulling on our arms as we sit forced to pretend blindness but with very aware feelings of their presence... The young shoeshine/repair boys hassling for repairing shoes that they can do nothing for, women in saries lying around the park on their long dresses with their men sprawled out all over...odd dark faces, always trying to pull you somewhere, men trying to sell you one of the randomest things like a pen or sunglasses, useless weird things and only one of them?
We sit in the small plot of green park amidst the constant blaring of the car and rickshaw and and motos and tuk-tuk horns making every sick sound possible into a thick symphony because no driver uses their mirrors and the streets are chaos.... with shouts and horns and moos and ...there are other sounds... like this special drum that vibrates like the ommmm original vibration of life low and deep beneath it all right next to silence... and there's the twisting and easing of the Indian music winding its way up and around street corners and into you....its often too much to take in which is why it spills all around everywhere chaos...
In between our silence Gil relays an idea about India that I can't get out of my head... It is interesting how here heaven can be hell and hell can be heaven at the same time when you see things and when you look into them...
I feel something inside me growing so deeply ... this is so intense...
After Gil and I spit our puzzle piece words at each other to describe our Ways, I felt his bright light and his knowledge of the truth so hardcore - so bright and beautiful and powerful and true it had too much room enough for a coldness and a sadness and a hopelessness inside of it I had never felt coming from light before... it sucked out my innocence and made me empty not knowing what to fill that place with -....
We walked engulfed in more throwing of puzzle pieces that created more of the illusions we use to get at truth the sun's reflection on the sliver, crescent moon illuminated more by the darkness falling to shroud it....we walked in circles and circles with the original idea that we were searching for food, but Since I have been in India I have been living on love and light and knowledge and polluted air more than anything I can physically consume. Our circles and circles reflected our conversation so much we finally could walk no longer... and stopped for a rest....
I think I need more time here, but I don't know how to make that work and if what I think I need is what is part of what is becoming....
We took a tuk-tuk 45 minutes outside of Parganj to the richer neighborhood's cinema that was playing a movie Gil was told to see. It is called "The Butterfly Effect."
If you see this movie and you understand the spiritual power of India and the people that live here and how the foreigners who come here change so deeply and intensely spiritually it appears their eyes are floating whether they know it or not- then you might beable to understand how effected Gil was by this movie, and the moment, and the knowledge it gave to the both of us about us - and not us- the whole universe... he couldn't even touch me or look at me for a while and tears welled up in his eyes... and I knew all about it...
and it put a spin on the circles and circles we walked and talked all day long....
the little pieces Gil related to me all day somehow made the picture illusion dayGLOw that only struggled to imitate the light and truth through the crescent moon nail gripping on the sky we had made earlier....
maybe someday we completely climb through...
running to Dharamsala...
......much love and peace and love to you all....
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| deeper into BE-ing .... |
| 04.23.04 (3:02 am) [edit] |
Helllo people...
I am going to try something new here. Its called being on time and up with the times and living in the present instead of living in candyland and shit. I am not entering Laos as my last blog stated- dated ONE MONTH AGO. I have actually been through Laos and Cambodia and back to Thailand and out now into India! (I may try to recapture some of the stories from Laos and Cambodia that I caught in my paper journal) BUT for now its time to live in the PRESENT.
I left Karen and Brett on a bad note. It hurts to know that I am able to blindly hurt someone I love so much by floating around and not being practical and communicative. It being an unintentional, unconscious thing -that I am often often late and holding them up- is no defense for the lack of consideration for others that comes attached with it. I know it distracts me from my own ideals at times and I guess I needed to see how detrimental it can be firsthand - Even though I tried to repair it throughout the trip- at the end of the trip I flaked and flaked again. I am too many contradictions that I am trying to balance.
I left Thailand in a rush with a pain heaving in my chest about how time slips out from under my feet and I hurt my friends... Much props to people who can stay together on one path, becasue when we signed up to travel together - we didn't realize what we were getting ourselves into- this crazy acid trip with downs and lows and surreal visions of the foreign worlds that are actually MATERIAL - and then navigating them and balancing out 3 different energies and needed messages for our individual paths - always pulling me out of wack with the 2 energies that have made their paths one in many ways...
I arrived at the airport 2 hours too early, kicking myself because I could have made our ending time better and more reflective of the real love I have for my friends... I guess I can serve noone more than myself right now and so its good to be alone so that I am the only one left to hurt by my actions and lack thereof....
Into India....
I am now in India. I arrived in Dehli this morning at 5 and it took me 4 hours to get into Parganj, where I live at the Bright Guest House. Because no system is logical and smooth and easy in India, I spent my first 4 hours getting through the airport, waiting on a crazy long line shoving to the windowto get a prepaid taxi voucher and then a taxi, then finally driving out through the garbage eating cows and shit infested, and rickshaw and trinket cart and stall seller ridden streets to get to the Bright House. Its quite colorful here, and if you don't watch where you step at every second you might get some of that color on you... a rickshaw to the gut oblack and blue or the worst color to pick up is brown and moo gooey on your shoes...
While at the airport, in a sleepy haze, waiting for my plane at 2 am, I saw this Jesus looking dude pass by me and I said to myself "What's up Jesus." A little later he ended up having a seat next to me on the plane and we talked as if we have known each other for centuries... as he says we do.
This visionary Israeli Jesus character named Gil Solomon has been here many times and there's something deep and soft in his eyes that we discussed is also reflected in my eyes too. We decided to share a room and pass the time together for a while. Most of the time we have sat in silence and can understand each other deeply by speaking a language without words when we look into each others eyes - its a language I always said I wanted to invent and its one that he has shown me is possible for he is fluent in it also...wow.... I said India was for me alone and then fate sends me a nomad meditative Jesus to look after me... so odd! But even odder is how every moment I can unravel a divine message about my path... it all fits in ....
So I hear the Dalai Lama is in Canada and then the US. Ironically I come in part to see him and he's in my hometown. I spoke to my Reiki Master's Tibetan monk friend, Kuun Cho on the phone this morning and he says The Dalai Lama may be back in time for me to see him... I think i will spend one more day in Dehli so that Gil and I can visit the Bahai Temple and then leave for my 12 hour bus ride up north....
We'll see how things fall into place....
as they are....
much love and peace to you all... Andrea
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| HAVE YOU EVER...? |
| 04.12.04 (4:42 am) [edit] |
LAOS.... March 20thish
So we're off to Chang Khong Thailand border city and we meet some cool guys from Amsterdam on the bus who we end up traveling with through Laos for a little while...
The Mekong carves the border between Chang Khong, Thailand and HouieXay, Laos and our guest house sits right off the Mekong.
I know I will get more intimate with the Mekong starting the next day as it will be my main way of getting through Laos and Cambodia.
How exciting!! - this river has got some intense spiritual ties, you know, flowing from Tibet and feeding the people with Buddhism and trade for ages gathering along this lifeline.
When I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia I went to an excellent watercolor exhibit by Chang Fee Ming in the Petronas Twin Towers and he painted inspiring images of what I am anxiously waiting to see...
We chill with the Dutch guys for the night and discuss our travel plans, our most embarrasing moments in life- that I am debating whether I will devulge here or not--
OK OK --
I won't name names but I'll let you know some of the topics of conversations..:
OK Now
HAVE YOU EVER been so drunk that you started to pee in the wrong place in front of too many people, and parents, totally naked with your hands behind your head, watering the lawn as if you were a human sprinkler?
HAVE YOU EVER had an intense sex fest all over public places of your shared apartment thinking you were alone, only to find out a day later that your roomate was there the whole time, waiting to attend church -but too embarrassed or grossed out to come out of her room and leave?
HAVE YOU EVER been so constipated that you pushed too hard and out came not what you so hoped and sweated for but instead- the pink inner lining of your asshole, called pink sock, which you had to get a gloved nurse to reinsert...ouch?
When you tell these stories a certain type of bonding occurs... wow...
The stories could continue. These boys were fun, and so are we.... tomorrow we hit the Mekong in a speedboat together and more adventures unfold...
peace and love to you for now... Andrea
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| Happy Easter...!! |
| 04.11.04 (9:25 am) [edit] |
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Oh yeah you guys--- Happy Easter....hop hop...=:) =:) =:)....
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| CLICK YOUR MOUSE.... |
| 04.11.04 (9:21 am) [edit] |
DEar EVERYONE, PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT NOTICE!!
(Although its not right in line with the stories I have been writing bare with me for this one IMPORTANT blog posting)
I apologize if this is not the place to be sending postings- BUT I don't know where else to put this important information that I MUST get out to ALL....
My good friend Neal is doing peace work in Jerusalem - and is sending me these intense reports from the frontlines of his battles in Biddu Village, northwest Jerusalem. He is casually emailing his reports to a massive amount of friends BUT MORE EYES NEED TO READ WHAT IS GOING ON!! I know we could be carrying all this weight on our own, but we don't have to.
LISTEN UP!
I am emailing all of you a copy of the last story he emailed me (attached below)....AND I will keep emailing the list of people in my address book his most current stories unless you email me back and ask to be taken off the list... let me know.
AND I am asking you to let me know how we can inform as many eyes as possible of what is happening in this sick WAR.
I am not only asking for you to send his stories to everyone you know, but I am also asking you to get back to me on how we can make sure more eyes read this TRUTH perspective that MUST BE TOLD.
Reach out and let me know what can be done-- as this is the only way we can get the message out and around without money- THE LACK of money can not hold us back from listening to more than the news we get that tries to feed us lies that only tries to make us look good....
It is true that there has been many times in talking with foreigners-- as I am backpacking abroad right now- that I have been totally ashamed of saying that I am an American.
It's like "Oh, hello, you're from Hiroshima, nice to meet you. I'm from AtomBomb, I mean America", or "Hello your from Laos! Oh! Your brother has no legs? because the other day your brother stepped in a landmine the US planted on your soil, OH nice to meet you - yes I am American." etc, etc..should I go on?
People hate Americans out here- I have been battling people- Since recently I no longer take the America bashing and the sneers and the coldness from some people who ignore me after they hear where I am from -which I constantly get- And sometimes I am stirring and scraping and racking my brain against their arguments to find and show the good in it all- THEN I read Neal's stories and I think of many of your faces - and I gain some ammunition to prove the good in it all- and I will keep on non-violently fighting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I have no clearance to get this published from the man, Neal, - but any suggestions on how to get this out to more people --other than my annoying you for a moment to get you to click your mouse - not your pussy- sorry no offense or pun intended-- to do one of those what would normally be annoying chain letters to all the people you know-- would be appreciated by more people than you know people.....
So there you have it. I have said my peace. Now hear some of Neal's below....
I send you all ...much love and respect and peace ...
Andrea Techera
( FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW--- I am a former Bostonian and NU student, HS English teacher who is teaching English and backpacking in SE Asia. Currently I'm in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia and I am utterly depressed. I just watched the movie "The Killing Fields"- I Am recovering from being a little poisoned by the undrinkable water they washed my veggies with, and have discovered yet another email from my friend Neal... As if I need more reason than my friend Neal's reports to GET TRUTH IN MOTION and do all that I can every moment towards peace respect and love....)
Allright Check this OUT.
From: Neal Ahern
To: You all....
Subject: almost arrested twice, shot again, (2)12 hour demos---ohh biddu
Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2004 08:30:33 -0700 (PDT)
hello my friends, let me start by saying that i am ok, just a little tired. Today is now friday and the demos have been the past two days. Today the army decided not to work.
So things began early on Wed morning, soldiers began working before 6am. As we were unsure when they would begin again, the early start caught everyone a little off guard. The community gathered rather quickly and we made our way to the work site. A group of five internationals led the march with most of the older palestinians just behind us. As we approached the work area and the soldiers saw us (we were probably 20 feet away from them), without warning they began to fire tear gas directly at our heads, and from many directions. One of my friends was hit in the ankle, and everyone quickly retreated.
As the soldiers had been moved to violence so quickly, stone throwing was also quickly entered into the picture. After about ten minutes it came to our awareness that the army planned to demolish a home on the hillside near the wall's proposed path. A group of about 20 internationals and israelis as well as palestinians attempted to make our way up the hillside to the house. At this point soldiers had already taken up sniper positions on four of the surrounding houses and fired gas and rubber bullets at us on our walk down the street to the base of the hill where the house was. In front of the house was a group of about 40 border policemen who were guarding the house and preventing people from approaching it. The folks inside the house had now been locked inside by the soldiers, there were four of them.
We decided to slowly walk up the hill with our hands extended in the air. As we made it maybe 40 feet up the hill, and still about 200 away from the house, my attention was focused on the large soldiers directly in front of me and pointing their guns at our bodies. No sooner than this did the snipers begin launching gas canisters from our left side, shooting at head level. As the canisters zipped by our heads and we looked to our left, the border police in front of us then began to launch gas at our peaceful crowd, and eventually people dispersed to try again. we tried five times and each had similar results.
Around 1pm the soldiers began using live ammo at a group of stone throwers, and the unmistakeable, and not often heard, crackle and pop of this ammo echoed through the entire valley and off the stone walled houses. It reminded me of a little over a month ago when people were killed by soldiers using live ammo here in biddu. This time luckily only four were hit and injured, and no one died. There were many shots fired, we inhaled a lot of gas, in the late afternoon people were let out of the home that was to be demolished, and as of friday, there has been no demolishment of the house. There were over 100 soldiers and border police, 4 bulldozers, 2 backhoes, and 3 rock drilling crane things. The soldiers got a lot of work done, and the initial work for the wall is being completed faster than i have seen it yet anywhere.
The following morning we were to sit in the olive groves to await the heavy machinery which would flatten and destroy this agricultural land this day. Unfortunately it was only myself and one other international who awoke in time---i guess others were exhausted from the 12 hour demo, the incredible stress from breathing all that tear gas, and repeatedly getting shot at with multiple types of weapons and ammo. There were over 50 injuries on wed., most from rubber bullets.
So there i was, with an older man from the states, wandering with four journalists through an olive grove of about 120 trees, all of whose branches had been completely chainsawed off. While this sight was quite disturbing unto itself, it was complicated by the reality that this is what the army does so the trees can be replanted, even though it will take another 5-7 years for the trees to flower again, and their chance of replanted survival is slim to none as the wet season of winter has already ended.
Greg and i also strolled through a good size vineyard, which would also be completely destroyed as the day went on---it makes one wonder why the wall has to snake its way through all the agricultural fields in this valley--a path quite preposterous in my opinion. While waiting for the community to arrive, and hearing what we thought to be the rumbling of bulldozers in the distance, we decided to climb the hillside to peek to the other side and see if the soldiers were coming.
Well, we got just far enough up that when the police jeeps came popping over the hill's horizon, we were two far to get back down before they came over to us. As we saw them start to drive over to us, greg and i decided to walk off the bulldozed road that's been carved into the hillside, which is when we heard the horn beeping at us which we pretended was for someone else. They quickly caught up to us, started screaming "hey, hey," and as we turned around while still inching our way down the hill, they pulled out their guns and pointed them at our faces telling us to stop moving. I of course was really bummed as i figured we were both well on our way to getting arrested and deported, and really for nothing other than a little curiosity. I debated whether or not to just turn my back, duck my head and run as fast as i could, but i figured i would rather just be arrested, than arrested and shot.....so i opted for a different tactic......negotiation.
I made up some story about being a teacher with a fictitious organization, working in a neighboring village and that greg and i were just checking out the worksite. the policeman/jerk told us we had to come with him, and we couldn't stay in biddu. at first i was thinking arrest and after telling him we lived in jerus., he told us we had to go with him and he would drive us to jerus. We pleaded that we had to teach in the school, and then he asked for our passports which i reluctantly handed to him out of fear he would just take it. Finally he sort of believed our story, and then issued this stern warning..."If I see you two at this demo today, i promise i will arrest you both using any means necessary within my power. do you understand? Now get out of here and back to your school." "Phew", i sighed, we survived, barely, and now every moment in biddu is like bonus time, and of course i stayed at the demonstration.
People were slow in arriving, and the soldiers were quick to position themselves on roofs and in the fields so as to make it basically impossible save an invisibility suit (by the way does anyone have one of these) to reach the worksite and confront the bulldozers. While this confrontation would have meant getting arrested, and probably beaten, i had decided i am now willing to take this responsibility as my time here is disappearing quickly, and i would not be alone.
We attempted, israelis, palestinian village leaders, and internationals, to walk down the small dirt street at the base of the hillside to reach the worksite. Each time we were heavily tear gassed until most people couldnt see or move, and mostly everyone was bent over coughing while more gas canisters zipped over our heads. Several times i found myself yanking my friend out of their way. Its like i said, it was impossible to reach the site.
The second time a large number of soldiers start rapidly approaching us from both sides, cutting off our escape route, so we all panicked kind of, and just ran as fast as we could past a large chicken holding barn thing, with soldiers running along its opposite side, and as we got to its back and turned around, they were pointing their guns at us and telling us to stop. during the demos, we try to buddy up, and of course my buddy must have been the slowest runner ever, i don't even know if you could call what she was doing running. I thought she would be arrested, as the soldiers had basically caught up to her, and this would have been really bad as she is both the legal support person for ism, and the person i am turning my meager responsibilities over to upon my departure. This time, unlike the morning, we took the chance the soldiers would not shoot us if we ignored their orders and ran away from them--we lucked out and escaped into the hills.
In the hills the stones began to fly in response to the tear gas and rubber bullets. There ended up being over 35 injuries for the day, many from rubber bullets. At one point we found ourselves sitting kind of out of sight and near stone throwers which seemed kind of dumb so i moved into a grassy area to be a little more visible, even though the gas was about up to my neck as i sat down. I don't think i sat their for more than two minutes before two rubber bullets went zipping by my head, one on each side, i felt them whizz by and quickly got up and moved back to my original spot, and then under a tree where there was a tire i could lounge in and reflect on my close call.
several hours later, while standing again in the olive groves, a rubber bullet came firing through, i heard it hit an olive tree leaf infront of me and then wham, it went flying into my right rib cage---guess you can't jump out of the way of all of them. I had a little mark for several hours, but again no bruising, and again, i remain one of the lucky ones. The demo ended at 5:30 with the young people and myself (playing a medic role) chased after the fleeing soldiers while inhaling more than our daily capacity of tear gas. Many were having breathing troubles who i tried to help, the gas has been very strong lately.
I had many close calls of many kinds this thursday, which partially is the way it goes here, and partially has to do with taking a greater risk of arrest, which most times doesn't actually end up in arrest, but does involve moving a little closer into areas where soldiers dont want you to be. I am figuring out still whether i would want to accrue the legal costs of trying to fight deportation, as deportation means i can't come back for ten years. I don't feel at all that i need to be arrested to prove something, i just fundamentally disagree that those with the least privileges, and the most to lose and to risk, palestinians, should be the only ones risking arrest by trying to stop an illegal wall from being built on land belonging to my friends and illegally occupied by a foreign army. I know what i would do if this were my land, if i owned any land, back on the cape. I think most wouldn't just sit back and watch it.
When confronted with the grave injustices i see daily applied collectively to all of palestinian society, i feel it is my duty to act, to interfere in this process, especially as an american who is funding some of it. When i see the soldiers just taunting the palestinian boys, swearing at them, while they shoot at them and then laugh as they seriously injure one, like it is just some kind of game to those young israeli boys armed with guns, i want to throw rocks at them, at times i want to do so much more than throw rocks at them. It is unfathomable that they think they can act this way, and they think it because they know they can get away with it, and that might be the worst part of it all.
As we remain silent as a country in our condemnation of these collective forms of violent punishment, they become bolder, attacking anyone they wish, and many times without provocation. I do not have the answers, i just know when confronted by it, when witnessing it, i can no longer stand and watch. I would do the same for any of you, and i think you know that already, and if you don't now you do, I would do it for anyone, mostly because that is what i think it takes, people stepping up, accepting their responsibility in the madness that has become the world i know, and interfering non-violently, expressing that this isnt the world any of us want to live in anymore, and that we are drawing the line. I happily, and proudly, have reached this point, i have drawn the line for myself, and while i recognize i can't stop it by myself, and i am not alone even now as i write this in these struggles, i accept my role in both the problem and the solution, and i am doing my part as i have
come to realize that part in my short life here on this planet. i love everyone dearly, and will write again soon, actually, hopefully, will speak to you all very soon. sending all my palestinian cultivated love and compassion your way, your friend, son and brother, neal
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| Pink Elephants on Parade |
| 04.10.04 (4:26 am) [edit] |
Preparing for hardcore travels....
CHANG MAI, Northern Thailand
March 14th-23rd
Asia has also brought me closer to some beautiful nature AND
I have been spending time with animals and I love it.
ONE DAY :
In Chang Mai I also went to an Elephant Training School an hour outside of the city and spent time with the elephants AGAIN! This time they were treated a little better. I hung out with and fed babies and preganant ones- all aged elephants. I fed them sugar cane and bananas. They bathed in the lake and put on a little show.
The pregnant ma was having her first baby. They usually have 5 in their lives, 100kg at birth!- she was sweet. The Mahout tribe men get one elephant to watch for their whole life and they become really close! You should've seen how the elephant played with and loved up her trainer.
The Royal Elephants of Thailand- the King's Elephants are kept at this location- but noone can see them- They are strictly for the king- He gets the pink ones with white hairs!! ( no i didn't see them on parade unfortunately...)
I saw how they made paper from elephant shit- crazy! and how they make fuel from it as well.
I am so happy that I got to spend time with them again. In Krabi when Amanda and I rode them- i knew that they were being used and possibly abused. Here I felt that they were healthy and treated fairly. ..
There were also sick elephants here too because this place had a hospital. Some of the elephants had their feet blown up by landmines on the Burmese border planted by the good old USA. real nice huh? Such sadness! The things we do to others and no one knows, because they don't teach us the truth of what Americans do to others. The elephants were angry and I couldn't get close to the sick ones. Some had skin diseases. One baby fell down the mountain.
My favorite was baby sunshine and her ma moonshine. You'll see the pics soon enough...
Chang Mai was great. We had some AWESOME Mexican food and BAGELS!! Oh how we miss the little things!! Like GINGER ALE!! ahh! I miss it! I'll make the miss list soon! Its pretty damn long! Back to why Chang Mai was great-I chilled with monkeys and elephants. Did my Reiki course and learned how to energy heal and channel. Learned how to cook delicious Thai food. Visited some great wats. Spoke with some monks. Shopped for some awesome art work- such beautiful treasures!! All of it. Getting ready for the hardcore- as we have heard things are not as organized in Laos, and Cambodia even less....and soooo
here we come!
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| Energy Healing in Chang Mai |
| 04.10.04 (4:19 am) [edit] |
To prepare for our hardcore travels....
CHANG MAI, Northern Thailand
March 14th-23rd
I took a Reiki course with this New Zealand lady named Caroline Usher and I will never be the same again. Please!! look up some info on Reiki to understand me further. It's beautiful. I did the first course in Chang Mai and I will do the second course in Dharamsala, Northern India- where the Dalai Lama lives...
Reiki is a beautiful thing and I am blessed that it fell into my hands-
Even though I feel as if I have been doing love, positive energy healing, and connecting strongly and intimately with the universal life force all of my life, now I know how, and solid details, and how to channel energy and heal myself and others....
The first minute I met Caroline she started talking about how she does Reiki healing on a sad caged monkey that the locals have in their courtyard nearby. She brought me to his cage on her motobike and that was how I met Lucky. He's a beautiful 2 foot tall black monkey. His arms were so long! And his little hands and feet so smooth and soft - just like ours- i swear- just longer...He was soo sad. It was depressing to see him. We fed him some carrot juice and and gave him Reiki and he stared back at us with his dribbly orange carrot juice beard. the locals saved him when his mom got shot- but he's pretty traumatized from seeing his mom die like that. They want to keep him there but he is too lonely and should be elsewhere- they don't love him like he needs to be loved.
My 2 sessions with Caroline have opened me up to a whole new world of energy and healing. It will help me infinitely.
This Asia Odyssey has been such a spiritual journey. Everyhting about it has helped me grwo spiritually, metally , physically-- rapidly but right in time and in line with my proper evolution. Asia is such a beautiful spiritual place - I can't believe all of the things I have seen and felt and learned on these levels.... makes me speechless, although most of what you need is the silence behind it all anyway... so ....
hope all is well with you all... i send you much love and peace always as i gather some extra out here in Asia....
Love, Andrea
I went to an Elephant Training School an hour outside of the city and spent time with the elephants AGAIN! This time
I took a Reiki course with this New Zealand lady named Caroline Usher and I will never be the same again. I did the first course here and I will do the second course in Dharamsala, India. Reiki is a beautiful thing and I am blessed that it fell into my hands-
Even though I feel as if I have been doing love, positive energy healing, and connecting strongly and intimately with the universal life force all of my life, now I know how, and the solid details, and how to channel energy and heal myself and others....
The first minute I met Caroline she started talking about how she does Reiki healing on a sad caged monkey that the locals have in their courtyard nearby. She brought me to his cage on her motobike and that was how I met Lucky. He's a beautiful 2 foot tall black monkey. His arms were so long! And his little hands, nails, and feet so smooth and pure black...just like ours- i swear- just longer...He was soo sad. It was depressing to see him. We fed him some carrot juice and and gave him Reiki and he stared back at us in pain with a carrot juice beard dribbling. I went to see him with K and B one more time before I left but he was NOT recepetive. He was screaming and crying and swinging around his cage. So lonely, maybe calling for another monkey.
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| Preparing for Hardcore Travels.... |
| 04.10.04 (4:10 am) [edit] |
CHANG MAI, Northern Thailand
March 14th-23rd
After Bangkok-
we moved right on up into northern Thailand to a city called Chang Mai.
There was soo much peace there- its undescribable. There is a beautiful wat on almost every street block and let me tell you that does something to the AIR...
and that's what I breathe - so there...
You may recall my "Watering the Buddha"- Holy Shit! story. Well, that little story took place in Chang Mai.
Here is the first time I got to speak with monks. I think i told you about the 2 we talked with. The Magic Trick Monk and the Inhaley Laugh Monk. With all of these wats its like - monks every everywhere... monks on bicycles, monks with umbrellas,monks playing chess, monks buying toothpaste, monks smoking cigarettes...hmmm?
Wonder what the deal with THAT is!? .... Young children monks sweeping and painting and building up the temple grounds... Its so nice to be surrounded by Buddhists.
We had a clean, large room- out of the smog and rough room in Bangkok. I spent some nice time recollecting before heading into hardcore travels in hard countries like Laos and Cambodia.
To prepare for our hardcore travels....
ONE DAY: We took a Thai Cooking Course!
Yeah OK- don't laugh- Andrea in the kitchen is funny! But it was so cool- i absolutely love Thai food. It was an Organic Farm Cooking School. First they took us to the market. DON'T be afraid when i show you the Thai food market pictures. They had some ODD specimens for sale. Fetal calves - umbilical cord and all for stew, all the bugs you could eat, and don't forget the ant eggs- which i found out is the special ingredient in the curry! and no more curry for me from that day on! just wait for the pictures!ahhh....
So anyway we bought coconut milk and rice for the meals we would learn to prepare.
They took us next to this huge beautiful organic farm, where we picked our own vegetables and herbs that we would cook with. Learned about them - so awesome! It was such a beautiful day and the school was very organized and natural. I can not wait to have a garden.
We made:
Papaya Salad
Red Curry Vegies and Chicken
pounding away mortar and pestel to make the sauces - HOT HOT chilies...
then stopped to eat what we made.
After lunch:
Steamed Banana wrapped in StickyRice and Coconut Milk
Fish Cakes
and ofcourse Pad Thai
It took a ll day long and was fulfilling - and tired us...
We slept and chilled afterward....more to come in Chang Mai!
Peace and love to you... Andrea
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| can't let it all slip by! |
| 04.10.04 (3:30 am) [edit] |
Helllooooo everyone!
slowly but surely trying to close the gap of time between now and that which I have fully reflected on from the past... So much absorption- need to make more time for reflection and so here it goess.....
SO Moving out of Krabi, March 10th-
I spent an extra day in Krabi to do a free climb with one of the rasta Thai instructors Teak- who could pass that up? - while the Boston crew traveled up to Bangkok. I did the Asian Wall this time. After having done the Daimond Cave Wall, which was the huge mountain that towered our bungalows, this wall was not too difficult-- although the night before I only got like 4 hours of sleep and I was a little bit of a weakling.
Teak is sweet. We traded stories and I watched hummingbirds and dragonflies and dreamed about what lies inside the cave holes in the rock above me laying on my back breathing heavy in between climbs... magic shit. Teak took me out on his day off how sweet he is!-- unlike Toby, another instructor that took a liking to me and we hung out -BUT- he turned out to be an ignorant fool!- misunderstood me and disrespected me- BUT I guess no real harm done and just another lesson to learn.
The bad situation with Toby put a headache in me -I even wore on my face all the way up to Bangkok. We traveled around the city shopping and visiting some really beautiful wats/temples.
We got an amazzing massage at Wat Po, where this huge massive reclining Buddha resides. I'll be sending along pics of these wats right up soon- and my stresed face--ha! I got this herbal steam bag rubbed all over me and walked around the city for the rest of the day tinted in yellow dust. Massaged my headache clear away...
Went CRAZY Shopping at the weekend market- Largest outdoor market in the world! Sent many beautiful things home and then got ready to head north....
Erin and Zac headed home and we were off into the north....
OK WAIT.
This shit is CRAZY. Can I just tell you? Man, do you even know that A WHOLE COUNTRY has passed me by since I have last written? I haven't even mentioned Laos and right now I am already in Cambodia. In less than 2 weeks I will be in India! So I have to get cracking on my accounts because too much shit happens in a day- I can't let it all slip by!
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| Helloo from Cambodia!!! |
| 04.06.04 (6:12 am) [edit] |
Helllloo People.
I have just arrived in Cambodia and wanted to let you know that I am safe and well. They say I can't access my hotmail account, I don't think its in all of Cambodia- but I will soon find out. I will be in touch- somehow- there's no internaional calls from here either! In 4-5 days I will be moving into the capital Phonom Phen and they should have calls and hotmail. Till then I will blog. More stories later...
much love and peace to you. Andrea
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