Back in Kuwait

This is the first August I have been indifferent to return to Kuwait. Last year I was so excited, the year before, I was surprisingly happy to be back. This year, well, I guess I am just ready for something new. My current projects include seeking yoga teachers and Arabic tutors.

Summer seemed so so long and so full of things. Istanbul, oh Istanbul, the best trip. I met up there with my dear friend Karen who works at another American School in Kuwait, plus her sweet daughter (who is 18) and her cousin and another friend from Karen's school. I also met up with Bashar, who I met in Syria. The trip was a great mix of hanging out and seeing things and sitting around drinking coffee. After a few days with Karen and her crew, they left and it was me and Bashar and then his friend Emad (from Aleppo, Syria) and Emad's girlfriend Ruth (from Holland) joined us for a few days as well. I laughed so hard and had such a fun time it was almost unbelievable. We spent a considerable amount of time at the markets where the guys bought stuff to sell in Syria. The bargaining, the exchanges- so hilarious. Ruth and I nearly killed ourselves laughing at them.

It's definitely one of those "had to be there" situations...but trust me...Ruth was like finding another sister in this crazy world and Bashar was a perfect gentleman.

To be fair, dear readers, Bashar (known as Bashir to his friends and family) is someone you all must meet. He plays a significant role in my life at the moment. Firstly, he has been kind and gentle to me in Syria and Turkey, phoned me almost every day I was back in Canada, and then hosted me again in Syria (I went just to visit him) from August 14-23. Some things you should know...he is funny, simple and good. He values me most for my humour and simplicity, the exact things for which I want to be valued. He works as a salesperson, speaks several languages (Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, a little Greek and Turkish). We got along right away and talked for two hours the second day I was in Damascus.

Anyway, I guess he is my boyfriend. He keeps aslking me to marry him and I keep dodging the question, laughing, since, well, what else can I do? Now, I know we in the west are suspicious of Muslims. Trust me, he is good. Time will tell the rest.
Here we are at Crac de Chevaliers, the fairytale castle near Damascus.

Going back in time

I am at the internet cafe again. Tomorrow I head into Athens to fly to Aleppo, Syria. I am still at the Sunshine House- check out their website if you like- http://www.thaimassage.gr/. There are a few other people- Takis and Kerys who run the place (Takis is the main teacher and inherited this house and land on Evia from his family), their children aged 27 months and 7 months, some wwoofers (willing workers on organic farms)and a couple other folks. A family who is friends with Kerys and Takis arrived today with their kids. It's still got this summer camp vibe to it, like we're getting ready for the next batch of kids to arrive. I helped out around the house today, cleaned up my cabin for the next residents, ran some errands with Charlotte,(she assists with running the programs and makes all this delicious food every day), swam in the sea, played with the kids, biked to the internet cafe...so nice.

It's hard to believe 2 weeks have passed since I arrived in Greece. And about 3 weeks ago I was taking my conducting class in Winnipeg with other fabulous teachers and students. I have definitely found great paths to follow to be constantly surrounded by these incredible communities of people who are full of life, joy, passion and courage. The universe does take care of us...

My time this summer has been spent as follows- June 13- 22 in Istanbul (that's a different entry), June 24-July 18 in Saskatoon, July 18-25 in Winnipeg and then back to Saskatoon for 2 days before heading to Athens. It's been good and I've realized I need more time in classes and having specific things to do. I did not enjoy lazing around- I felt bad about myself, even though I did enjoy watching the TV series House.

I did have an excellent time catching up with friends and family. It was great to visit my grandparents at the farm a couple times, and spend some time with my mom. It was pretty cool to see my brother and his family again. My nephews are growing up quickly as kids do. They are hilarious. Last summer, I met little Thomas just hours after he was born. This summer, I videotaped some of the first steps of this large baby who is now a whole year old. It's nice.

So, next post will be either about Syria or further back in time to Istanbul. I want to wait until I have my own computer hooked to the net so I can show pictures.

Yassos...

Freddo

Hello everyone- the lovely young girl who works at the internet cafe just brought me a delicious freddo- Greek Iced coffee. I love these things- espresso, ice, sugar and cream. Yum.

I spent a couple days in Athens before heading to the island of Evia for a Thai Yoga massage class. My friend took the class last August and loved it so I decided to follow suit. It was structured as follows- half an hour of meditation in the mornings and evenings, an hour and a half of yoga and qi gong, three delicious, organic vegetarian meals, 6 hours of instruction and massage practice, and siesta times involving some quick trips to the beach, the internet cafe, sleeping and reading on the hammocks in the yard, visiting. It's quite fabulous.

Ths massage course was harder than I thought it would be for me. I have often given massages and been appreciated for them. Since there was so much focus on the technique, I often lost my intuition and had to work hard on the technique. After some more practice, I will be able to combine the two more again. Actually, I did improve immensely over the 10 days and I cannot wait to practice on friends and family. It would have been nice to do this before coming to Canada, but there's next summer. And then I will have lots of practice and be quite skilled by then. Indeed.

The place where I took the course is called the Sunshine House and the teachers were wonderful. There is a lovely yard and the folks in the class were wonderful and fun. I feel like a new person. We stayed in little cabins like summer camp- me, two Autrian girls and a Vietnamese woman from Paris. I gained good spiritual insights and feel like I am proceeding on a good path. I am also inspired to learn more yoga, qi gong, naturopathic healing based on Indian and Chinese medicines. I suppose I gained motivation to practice yoga in a more specific way, as well.

One of my Austrian roommates gave me a haircut this morning. I wanted a trim but it turned into a full on chin length bob. Again. This haircut is like home- I always return to it. As it emphasizes my giraffe neck, I will simply wear my scarves more often.

My freddo is finished. I have another day at the Sunshine House, just hanging out and enjoying reading and visiting, meditating and practicing. Life is good. Then I am off to Syria to visit my friend/tour guide/ boyfriend who I mentioned two entries ago. I will post about June and July (Istanbul, Saskatoon and Winnipeg) over the next while and hopefully incorporate some pictures.

Love and light.

Enjoy summer.