new zealand

Let me just say that by the end of the India program I hit a wall - emotionally, academically, physically, spiritually. I attribute this to both the intensity of all that we experienced in India, as well as the fact that it was incredibly overscheduled. By that final week, I kept needing open alone time and space to process, but we kept continuing to have our next guest lecture, our next field visit, our next meeting to figure out logistics and group dynamics. Continuing to be deprived of natural processing, reflecting time, I withdrew further and further from the people around me just to cope. I sat by the river one morning listening to Mo Leverett (did any of you see him in WestCo's basement last year?) which was incredibly healing.

We left India with kinda of a weak last hurrah and celebration. I felt much deep growth on this program, some of it very clear to be, some of it still coming up to the surface. For one, I feel a lot more connected to the "nature," to the concerns of the environment. I still don't really like the word "environmentalist" though.

New Zealand has been so cathartic: Bay Area climate, tons of open time and space, rivers, hikes, beaches, able to walk where ever I want on my own, sparse, yet stimulating classes, lectures, and visits. I think many of us are recovering from nearly being run into the ground in India.

But what am I going to do for vacation? Fiords? Surf trip? Tramping? Wwoolfing on a winery? Too many choices.

(Yo, where are the wilsons from in nz? So much of this country reminds me of Peter and his family-books, humour, spirit, ourdoorsiness, tai chi stuff. So many pakeha kids kinda look like Luke.)