c'est fini...

the trip is over. i am heading out to the train station to embark on the final amtrak trip back to cleveland. there is so much to say. keep your eye out for one last post upon my return; it will ideally include concluding thoughts, reflections, memories, and expressions of extreme gratitude.

for those of you waiting at this final stop on the trip: i will see you soon!

Namaste.

pennsylvania

as a perfect close to my trip, i have spent the past week with the lovely diana and her farm family in rural PA. i was lazy, happy, and extremely well fed. i explored, hiked, loved the animals, had weird dive bar excursions, cleaned horse poo, watched an amazing hindi movie, and all in all had a fantastic time laughing and being random with diana. i even had a long, full, rewarding visit with david while here! there's so much more i could write, but i am sleepless at 6am and have a train to catch soon. below are some pictures of some of the animals, me cleaning the poo in the horse stalls, and diana pushing the wheel barrow full of poo. it was invigorating. i'm going to invest in some overalls and change my name to bob.

Durham, NC - Glen Rock, PA

my last few days in durham, nc were pleasant, spontaneous, and fun-filled! on saturday evening matt and i had an improv photo shoot with a chicken-head hat (photos will follow in a few days). on sunday amy, matt and i hung out, and i was introduced to the infamous "bojangles" fast food restaurant. bojangles had a menu of biscuits served about 15 different ways, and sweet tea that could instantly make your teeth fall out (pure sugar water... it was horrific). i just ate their delicious fries with bojangles seasoning. took two sips of the sweet tea... made a face both times, despite every effort not to react. later on in the day we went to cookout for milkshakes. mmmmmm... i have never seen a milkshake flavor list quite like theirs, and after a tough time making a decision i settled on the strawberry cheesecake milkshake -complete with chunks of crust and strawberries, it was the real deal. delicious. went back to matt's house and played "imagine iff..." (a very fun game other than the fact that matt and amy's brains overlap sometimes...).
on monday i was back on amtrak riding up to baltimore. diana was on the other end and we shared our first hug in our own country (we had only seen each other in india, tibet, and nepal prior to this visit). and now here i am in her quaint home in rural pennsylvania, surrounded by animals (horses, cats, dogs, roosters...), delicious food, and the sounds of roosters roaming outside. it is a beautiful place! tomorrow i will go for a walk again and take some pictures of the farm.

greensboro, nc

spent the last three days in greensboro hanging out with ken & his very vocal kitties. on monday evening he showed me around the gallery where he works (after hours! which meant i got to see it all with no one else there... just us and the art, pretty cool...). the current exhibit is spectacular and i thoroughly enjoyed taking my time soaking it all in. The gallery also has a utopian children's art center. i was absolutely giddy and officially declared that someday i, too, will have such an establishment to let children run crazy through. there were so many different things to do and stations for all varieties of art. i wanted to shrink myself to about 8 year old size, kick ken out, and play for hours. instead, we ate pizza in the park and talked each other's ears off contently.
last night he introduced me to an even more utopian art space. i have never seen anything like it. i fell in love immediately. elsewhere. i suggest you check out what it is all about on their site instead of expecting an explanation from me, for several reasons including but not limited to: the fact that i could never find the appropriate words to describe this place and you are tired of reading my over-usage of the same handful of adjectives, and the fact that i am honestly too lazy to try to build up the vocabulary to tell you about it. you forgive me, right? go to the site. do it. imagine me there, and you will understand. it's (insert over-used adjective here: -amazing, awesome, spectacular, fabulous, ....thesaurus?).
tonight? chill. movie and pizza and the sound of the pants buttons hitting the inside walls of the dryer. cats purring in laps and north carolina finally getting some rain.
tomorrow: back to durham and super hero extraordinaire matt steere.

durham, north carolina

landed in north carolina on friday after a flight through all four US time zones, a little disoriented considering i also did not sleep the night before. there to greet me was the beautiful amy and her guy mike. it was so great to hug her! i love being welcomed by good friends!
we met up with matt and ate indian food, then moved on to a very cool coffee shop, francesca's (which happens to be where i am right now... ironically) and drank tea, ate cookies, and enjoyed each others' company. afterwards matt and i went back to his parents' house.... how beautiful!! surrounded by trees and gardens, a pond, and little outdoor kittens. their home is so welcoming and filled with love. his parents are amazing individuals, truly. they have all been so hospitable and welcoming and generous. i love them! and to be back on the east coast and amongst the green and trees and changes of autumn... ahhh, it is so nice.

on saturday amy and mike picked me up and we went to the state fair. what an experience! my goodness! southerners really go all out for their state fairs. this is no ohio berea fairgrounds deal.... this is southern culture at its finest. to begin with, it was HUGE, and there were so many people that you could barely move and constantly felt like you were being herded somewhere beyond your will. heavy southern accents amused me, mullet watch was in full force, and vendors sold everything deep fried. EVERYTHING. i am not kidding. here is an introductory list to what deep-fried foods were available (and this is the honest to god truth): deep-fried twinkies, deep-fried pb & j (yes, peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches... deep fried), deep-fried oreos, df'd candybars (reeses, 3 musketeers, etc), df'd cheeseburgers, df'd coca-cola (yes, its true), df'd cookie dough, df'd cobblers (peach , apple, cherry, etc), and more. i didn't eat any of it (except french fries... if those count), but mike tried almost everything as i watched in amazement. it was an unforgettable experience that sadly gave me a migraine later in the day (despite the fact that i had a great time).

we went to amy's house afterwards and looked at photo albums of her as a youngin'. cuter than hell. i loved it! then went out for middle-eastern food with her mother and stepfather.

my migraine took over at this point, and as matt and i were driving back to his house i threw up my falafel in his guilford college tote bag, and it tasted just as delicious coming back up... which made things slightly less unpleasant. crashed in bed promptly upon arrival at the homestead, and slept the headache off. feel awesome and rejuvenated now!

on sunday, matt and i just hung out around the house, talked, played ddr, did tai chi, meditated, and eventually watched clash of the titans before going to sleep. a good day indeed!

:-)

ATTENTION TREE-HUGGERS:

BE CAREFUL HUGGING TREES IN ARIZONA!!

desert botanical gardens

adam and i had a pretty important conversation today, and i was brought to the realization that our connection and friendship in the past existed within a context that no longer exists for either of us. furthermore, i realized for the first time that what brought each of us into that old context (the social scene we were a part of) was not the same motive or intention, but two very different things. this cleared up any dissapointment i was projecting onto him, once i realized that what i wanted him to be now was something that he never was. and now that we find ourselves hanging out after both having left the scene and lifestyle we were in when we were close friends, all of those old connections are filed away as good memories and these new ones are lessons of unconditional love. adam is family to me, a brother who i could never deny compassion and appreciation for. and we agree to accept our differences.

after talking about this over sushi and matcha tea, we went to the phoenix botanical gardens. wow. what a cool and fascinating place. i have never seen such phenomenal cacti in my life. it was a very awesome experience.

sedona, az

adam and i drove up to sedona today to enjoy the spectacular landscapes. the town itself is a tourist trap of people buying trinkets and knick-knacks from southwestern shops, beef jerky shops, and new age crystal shops. the views were worth it though. beautiful red rocks, cacti, and gnarly trees. we went for a mini hike and took some pictures (i pieced together a panoramic series of picks i took so you could get an idea of the view we saw... you can get a larger view if you click on the picture). at one point during our walk we spotted this baby tarantula-like spider with a missing leg. on the ride back to phoenix it was revealed that adam doesn't like 80's music. my heart broke for a second, but then i made him listen to 80's the rest of the ride home, and now he can't get 99 Luftballoons out of his head... ha! a convert!

this entry is merely a sidenote...

at the end of my trip i will have an empty apartment and will need some essential items (like a can-opener). if you'd like to help me achieve this, please see the posting i have placed on the left side of this page, beneath the itinerary.

i hope that anyone who is reading this is well and full of joy!

namaste.

phoenix

thursday, oct 11: danced the night away at a san francisco hipster club. nothing more fun than working up a sweat dancing to the cure, surrounded by great people.

friday: rain clouds in san francisco, all flights delayed, 6 hours in the airport, finally made it to phoenix and reunited with adam!

saturday: adam and i randomly stumble upon the Tour de Fat festival in Tempe, AZ and see the Handsome Little Devils, who put on a fantastic vaudeville performance! (click on the link to see a teaser youtube video of what their performances are like)

sunday: see Wes Anderson's new movie Darjeeling Limited. awesome.

i'm really happy to be hanging out with adam, and the sunshine here is quite nice, but phoenix doesn't score too many points in my book (especially after being in wonderful san francisco). it is somehow lacking some essence of life or culture that i thrive on. i'm determined to find it here before i leave... it's got to be somewhere! :-)

san francisco: day I

sunday: keir and i paint watercolor postcards in the park.

(pic of Berkeley's Cafe Gratitude -taken from their website)

monday: keir, gabbie, and i leave davis and travel down to san francisco. stop at cafe gratitude in berkeley, which i have determined is the greatest place on earth. a raw food / vegan restaurant that embraces its customers and employees with positive affirmations from every angle; menu items with names like "i am charismatic" "i am enlivened" "i am fulfilled" "i am treasured" etc. (take a look at the menu on their site), beautiful artwork with inspiration messages/quotes on the walls, and a staff worth crushing on. then to the golden gate bridge where we took pictures and walked in the breeze. i love having photographer friends (wait till you see the pics gabbie took of keir and i jumping in the air in front of the bridge! its so much fun being silly.)

later on, i checked in to san francisco's downtown hostel and then walked around the city for a bit. saw a sensational performance by a street musician (apparently he makes an appearance in the beginning of the "Pursuit of Happiness" with Will Smith) who knocked me off my socks. (i, of course, did not have my camera with me. alas.) in that moment, i fell in love with san francisco. wandered on and was magnetized to a highly inexpensive and extremely delicious indian food restaurant, where everything i ordered was perfectly delicious and mighty spicy (how i like it!). (and masala tea was free! mmmmmmm.....)

Davis / Placerville / Mini-Reunions

i haven't been allowing myself to take breaks to write (in my own journal or on this online one), so i might forget to write about something, but here's what i've been up to:

hanging out in davis still with becky and her beautiful roommates and friends. on wednesday evening we attended an event on the uc davis campus called "i love female orgasm." it was a very informative, witty, humorous, and well-attended talk delivered by a couple who travel around the u.s. educating college students about the female orgasm. they also write books and do a lot of other things (research, etc.) for this. it is great for women who have been brought up being discouraged to explore their own bodies, being discouraged to allow themselves to reach the same state of pleasure that men usually reach quicker/more often. you can read more about it at http://www.ilovefemaleorgasm.com/

on thursday keir arrived (keir is one of the counselors i had the privilege of working with at camp, a beautiful person, soul brother, and the significant other of becky's roommate gabbie) in davis. then the camp's fabulous cook, john, came too! and becky, keir, john, and i had a mini camp reunion and ate thai food. it was so wonderful to have so many of us together, and to see john (who is an an amazing person!).

on friday keir and i engaged in long-awaited conversation while gabbie and her mother danced in the kitchen. this conversation is one of the highlights of my trip, but how do you write about such things on an internet journal?? keir is a divine mirror. let's just say that much.

then keir, becky, gabbie and i drove to keir and gabbie's hometown of placerville. i really enjoyed this town a lot. we met keir's beautiful brother (who inspired me to pursue my curiosity about becoming a clown -yes, i'm serious) and ate at the coolest coffee shop i have ever been to. in the rear of the shop there was actually seating in the knooks and crannies of a mine. i was excited just to see a real mine. my excitement was escalated by the fact that they had little cafe tables and dim lights inside the mine. very cool. we, however, ate in the upstairs of the coffee shop, in a room that was basically the perfect, most beautiful, dance/yoga/concert/open-mic studio with a modest stage that had a couple of cafe tables on it. i walked in, drooled, declared that when i have my own home it will have one of these rooms, did a pirouette in the middle of the floor, and ate a vegan cookie. i was very happy.

we explored the town a bit afterwards, poking into a couple of neat shops (one of which was a tea shop that i fell in love with), and then hurried off to join in on keir's mother's african dance class. keir beat on the drums with two other drummers while his mother taught her wonderful african dance class at sacramento state university. gabbie, becky, and i joined right in with the rest of the students and had an awesome time.

going to have a chill weekend closing up this portion of my trip, and the next stop is san francisco!

(percussionist, keir's mom, keir, gabbie, me, becky - pose for a picture after african dance class)

Sonoma County Part II: Giant Trees!

this tree-hugger was ecstatic!


Redwood forests are magical and beautiful places. I walked through one (Armstrong Woods) with Becky, Ari, and Joey and was in awe the entire time. I felt like I'd been shrunk. I will definately come back to these forests again someday.
Later in the evening we went to a little cafe-type club (the picture shown is of the designated piano player for the evening), and Becky and Joey performed Cat Stevens' "Wild World" and my favorite Ani Difranco song "Both Hands." Her voice is amazing!!

Sonoma County

We spent the weekend in Becky's hometown (Monte Rio) in Sonoma county. She lives in a beautiful river community surrounded by giant trees -its gorgeous! On Saturday morning we ate at her grandmother's house, where I also got my first taste of a fig straight off the bush (delicious). After that we went to the vintage shop that her friend Ari's family owns, and tried on as many silly things as possible. In the evening we went up to the top of a hill surrounded by trees to the humble home of her friend Sam, where a "Barefoot Ball" was happening. In this secluded and beautiful residence, strings of lights hanging from trees illuminated a circled area framed by tables of delicious food, desserts, sangria and wine. Within this circle many beautiful friends came together dressed in suits, tuxedos, and fancy gowns -but barefoot, of course- and ate, danced, and shared conversations around the fire. (Becky took this picture of Ari and another guy jamming on their accordians). When it was time to call it a night we slept in sleeping bags under the open sky of bright moon and stars, and woke to the sun rising over the valley below. I loved every bit of it! I snapped a couple pictures the next morning as people were sitting around the fire and eating breakfast, but they don't do it much justice.

Davis, CA

ok, so i was having too much fun to stop and make a blog post, but i'm finally here... so let me try to summarize with some back-dated posts:

Davis has some cool things going on. During my first full day here Becky took me to a fabulous farmer's market where we ate scrumptious food samples and watched children play in a sprinkler system.

In the following days I found myself on the UC Davis campus during the first week of school (a little odd and surreal). Wandered over to the campus arboretum and sat with the ducks and looked at all the diverse trees and foliage, then hung out with Becky while she did some work for health education promotion at the college.

Becky's home and roommates are fabulous. She has grapes, pomegranates, and tangerines in her yard -all of which I am in awe of, so I am including some pictures.

buddha boot camp part II

The train ride from Chicago to Cali was AWESOME. What a beautiful route! I saw such gorgeous landscapes the entire way out (The Rockies, Red Rocks, Canyons, etc. ...wow, this country is amazing).

Anyhow, I have arrived safely in California, greeted by Becky's wonderful embrace, scrumptious food, and ice cream. Oh, and a shower! Whew!
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Below is the Vipassana meditation post I wrote while on the train:

As my rideshare provider, Brandy, and I turned the corner through a flat landscape of corn fields and dirt roads, we reached our destination: the Dhamma Pakasa Vipassana Meditation Center. The grounds were gently covered with pathways, ponds, trees, wildflowers, and occasional benches, boulder rocks, or tree stumps for sitting. All of this was surrounded by fields of tall corn plants (which transitioned from deep green on our arrival to dead yellow by the time the course was complete -furthering our lesson on impermanence and constant change). The air was still and clean. The wildlife content and active.

We moved into our rooms (a dorm building in which each person had a small room with a modest cot of a bed, and a bathroom and sink that was shared by two people), and I met my "roommate" who I would be sharing bathroom and sink with. Lisa was in her early forties, face decked in makeup, wearing an outfit that looked like she was heading off to the gym for a spinning class, water bottle in hand. Despite her cliche appearance, she was friendly and kind, and expressed to me that this was her first time she was doing this and that she was "psyched!" (she said this as if we were getting ready to have a week long super bowl party). An hour after that the vow of silence began, which also meant no eye contact or body language, and I was in mental isolation amidst a group of women who I did not know (though I, of course, made up stories about their lives and personalities in my head throughout the course).

The first full day of meditation was... hell. Any experience or drive I had with meditation went out the window and I thought "I wonder if Lisa is still 'psyched' " as I heard her sighing and shifting positions in her room on the other side of the wall. We were told to focus on the breath in the triangular area that consisted of our nose and the area directly beneath the nose above the upper lip. This was all we could do. In the act of sharpening my mind to focus on this one thing, I listened objectively to all the other things in my mind that began surfacing and disappearing. It was like a carnival funhouse of voices, all different tones and speeds, some speaking complete sentences or words and others spewing gibberish or weird mixes of language like two unrelated thoughts were mating with each other to produce something completely nonsensical. I went into camp counselor mode to try to moderate the situation. I imagined that controlling my mind was the same as walking into a room of rowdy ADHD children and creating some order. This method was the only way I could keep from being down on myself about what seemed like absolute insanity in my head. It mostly worked.

This continued into day two, and by day three the thoughts were still active but began to be more orderly. On day four we were introduced to the next step of the technique and my boredom began to subside. The focus was finally able to move away from the nose, and we began to slowly scan our bodies from head to toe feeling each and every sensation in our physical structure. The catch: we absolutely could not move. Whatever position we placed ourselves in on our meditation cushions was how we had to stay for at least an hour, observing our bodily sensations without reacting to them. This meant that any unpleasant sensation (like my right leg consistently falling asleep until it felt like it was 2 feet in diameter) should not create a negative reaction that we then experience aversion towards, and any pleasant sensation (like my armpit, which never got sore or fell asleep) should not create a reaction of clinging or craving. We were to meditate on the fact that everything, in the particles that make up our bodily form, is constantly changing and impermanent. We were to observe the sensations with an equanimous mindset, knowing that they will also change. In not reacting through craving or aversion, old subconscious conditionings of cravings and aversions could rise to the surface and pass away (as long as we didn't react to those either). This technique was extremely difficult, but equally beneficial.

My body hurt through much of it, and I made jokes in my head in order to deal with it positively. I invented a product and ad campaign in my mind for padded meditation pants ("Get some junk in your trunk if you wanna get enlightened!") after dealing with the ramifications of meditating for 11 hours a day on a bony rear end. I had hoped that my body would adjust itself by creating more cushion in my butt, but instead by butt just got tighter (meditation: the true buns of steel program) and my stomach created a protruding bookend to hold up my spine -not exactly the figure I'd like to have, but it worked.

Ultimately, 97% of my experience with this course was either too personal or too abstract to put into words, but I can tell you that it changed my perspective in ways that I never would have imagined. And at the closing of the 10 days, when we were able to communicate with each other, I found myself making invaluable connections with certain people, and even more invaluable connections with my self. I strongly recommend Vipassana, and will most likely do this again at some point in life.

buddha boot camp

dear beautiful people,

i am so happy and full of light!

sincerely,
jacqueline


p.s. my train boards in about five minutes, which is not nearly enough time to write all the things i want to share with you here. for now, know that i survived the rigors of the vipassana course. there will be a MUCH larger entry ready to be posted here when i arrive in california. i am excited to share as much as possible with you!

segment one

well, dear friends, the time has fast approached for me to begin my departure. i will be spending the next few days visiting with friends and family and getting my backpack together. i'll be arriving at the Vipassana meditation center on wednesday, september 12th, and will not be posting again until the course is complete. i've included the daily meditation schedule below, so you have a better idea of what my days will be consisting of. who comes out of the 10-day meditation at the end is a mystery... but i'm certain she'll make a post all about it when the time is right.

much love, light, joy, and serenity to all of you. thank you for sharing this journey with me!


Vipassana course schedule:

• 4:00 am Morning wake-up bell
• 4:30-6:30 am Meditate in the hall or in your room
• 6:30-8:00 am Breakfast break
• 8:00-9:00 am Group meditation in the hall
• 9:00-11:00 am Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the teacher's instructions
• 11:00-12:00 noon Lunch break
• 12noon-1:00 pm Rest and interviews with the teacher
• 1:00-2:30 pm Meditate in the hall or in your room
• 2:30-3:30 pm Group meditation in the hall
• 3:30-5:00 pm Meditate in the hall or in your own room according to the teacher's instructions
• 5:00-6:00 pm Tea break
• 6:00-7:00 pm Group meditation in the hall
• 7:00-8:15 pm Teacher's Discourse in the hall
• 8:15-9:00 pm Group meditation in the hall
• 9:00-9:30 pm Question time in the hall
• 9:30 pm Retire to your own room--Lights out

pre-departure intro:

this web space is where i will be posting occasional entries during my trip around the united states.

after countless semesters of academic obligations, i have reached a point in my life when i have the fortunate opportunity to travel to some new places and visit with friends who hold a special place in my heart. i'll be doing so on as small of a budget as possible, taking buses, trains, and planes with a modest backpack on my back and some granola in my pockets.

the venture starts internally, as i begin the trip with a 10-day vipassana meditation course in illinois (10 days of silent meditation from 4:30am-9:30pm!). next on schedule is a train out to california to visit with the lovely becky fein; then up to mendocino county to reunite with long-lost friends from my days at kent state. down to san francisco will follow, for a visit to a city i might just fall in love with, and to nurture my friendship with my kindred brother keir. after san fran i hop on a plane down to phoenix arizona to reunite with my pal adam. 1 week in phoenix and then i am off to north carolina to have some fun with camp friends matt and amy, and squeeze in a visit with some SIT (study abroad) friends while i am there. the last leg of the trip will be spent in the pennsylvania countryside with my study abroad friend diana, where we will eat good food, ride horses, and end the trip on a beautiful note before i hop on amtrak back to cleveland!

i'll keep you updated on all my ventures!