exhale

After the last session on Sunday afternoon, the mats were rolled up, pictures were taken and goodbyes said ("Some Lovin to the Lovin!" said John Friend as he gave me a hug on my way out).

My new yoga-pal Tanya and I walked out of the sports center at the foot of Taipei 101, which always, always amazes me at it's seemingly impossible height. The afternoon was muggy and warm, with soft gray clouds muffling the city-noise. We walked through a park where a group of people--Taiwanese and foreign, adults and children--were playing djembes and other hand-percussion instruments, while an old Taiwanese lady covered in scarves led a hodge-podge group of "dancers" through a warm-up.  We listened for a while and then walked on, through a group of meditating Falun Gong practitioners sitting with their legs crossed in total silence. Their matching yellow shirts said "Falun Gong is Good... Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." They rose together and began to do some slow, tai-chi-like movements with their hands. Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa) is a system of beliefs and practices originating in China, but dangerous to practice there because of the Chinese government. Many people involved with it in China are imprisoned or disappear, or worse.

We kept walking, and outdoor street fairs clustered around 101 competed for sound-space, with girls in fancy dresses advertising the latest model of Nokia or electric toothbrush or contact lenses, blurring into a loud "churr shuh cheee shaaoo" of speakers on full blast (that's what I hear when I hear people speak Chinese really loud and really fast).

Tanya and I said our goodbyes and promised to meet up, soon, to hang out. A nice volunteer traffic guard helped me find the bus to Chang Gung Hospital (near the place I live) so I didn't have to ride the subway to the stop I usually go to for the 920 bus). The bus ride was long, winding through a lot of parts of Taipei I'd never seen before. But I enjoyed it and enjoyed sitting motionless, after so much yoga. My back muscles were tight but my heart and shoulders open and relaxed. I sank into the bus seat and listened to some music on my iPod, music without words that sounded like it was from somewhere far away. Far away, or maybe very near to here. I thought of each of you, and missed you, and sent my love around the world to find you. Love pulls and pushes. Life bends and twists. ACL's tear and mend. Hearts stretch and heal. I sit and I soar.

All my love.

wednesday smatterings

Wednesdays are nice, hmm? You're in the groove of the week, but the weekend is in sight...

I'm just home from physical therapy, where I've been spending my Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings the last few weeks... and will be going for the next several months. I think it's helping, but I can tell I have a long way to go. I still have pain in my left knee and there are lots of things I can't do, like jump, run, walk for a long time, climb stairs, and an endless list of yummy hip-opening yoga poses that I miss like crazy. It's frustrating but I'm trying to stay positive about my healing process. I also have some residual fears when it comes to crossing the street... I'm absolutely terrified. If I see a car driving erratically my heart starts pounding and I get a fierce rush of adrenaline and anger. I have several flashbacks about getting hit--like I close my eyes and I can see the car hitting me and hear the pop in my knee. Like the pain in my leg, I guess the mental trauma will also take time to go away.

But on to happier things! I was contacted by a woman who found my website and is teaching a workshop in Taipei the first week of May, and asked me to teach! She's in New York right now but will be here this weekend, and we will meet to discuss the schedule and details. I'm really excited and nervous... it's been a while!

Also on the yoga front, I get to attend a workshop with John Friend, founder of Anusara yoga, for two days the weekend of April 24-25th. It will be so nice to hear some good instruction in English!

In the world of appliances and technology, I'm refrigerator-less and my computer is taking its last breaths, so I can't download anything or store cold food items. Argh. The repairman, who reeks of cat-pee, came on Friday night to check out the problem and said he would return Monday to fix it. Well, I thought he said that but he showed up with a big cart and TOOK the refrigerator. After he left I burned a lot of jasmine incense and poured sour milk-cheese down the drain. He said something about returning Wednesday so maybe today I'll get a new fridge, and maybe he's showered since I last saw him.

I have to buy groceries one meal at a time for now, which is kind of annoying. This morning I got:

2 heads organic broccoli
4 organic carrots
1 jar organic cinnamon powder
1 loaf whole wheat bread
2 bottles fresh-squeezed OJ (as in, I watched her squeeze the oranges)

...for about $6.50! Pretty good, right?

Kids, kids, kids. They're doing well and their English is improving, as well as how comfortable they feel with me. We have a lot of fun--and they've grown on me a lot since I started--when I missed my kids from my old school and thought I'd never like these ones as much, haha. But we're great friends now. Yesterday my 1st graders made masks from paper plates, and I took great pictures (but can't upload them to my computer). On Friday my 2nd grade levels are going to have a Costa Rica Day after reading the story "Fernando's Gift". We are going to color pictures about the rain forest, eat gallo pinto (black beans and rice) and listen to music from Central America. It's nice to have the freedom and support from my bosses to spice things up from time to time.

Happy Wednesday!

bathroom etiquette

I'm going to start collecting bathroom notices regarding this issue. These are from two different bathrooms in the stalls with the "western toilets," the ones you can sit down on. There are often SHOEPRINTS--dirty, muddy, wet SHOEPRINTS on the toilet seats! It is disgusting... if you must squat, use the squatters--don't stand on the toilet seats! There are usually ten squatter stalls and maybe one or two western toilets; I really don't understand the problem. But if all the squatters are occupied and you don't want to sit down for some reason, why can't you just hover? Isn't it easier and safer than getting up on the toilet and squatting--where you could slip and fall? It's just mind-boggling. Thoughts?

easter with my yoga-munchkins