17 August 2008

Year of Magic Ends ... Sob! Sob!

In Santa Barbara the school year is about to start and it's time for me to get my bohemian, undisciplined behind plugged back into 'the system'. Ah, such is the life I've chosen. But, boy, what a year it's been!
Last night me and my pal Premi attended an event at the Global Institute in Santa Barbara. A 21 year old student had just returned from a stint in India and gave a slide show presentation about it. She had spent some time on Vandana Shiva's farm in Rajasthan learning how to harvest rain and run a sustainable farm. She also talked about her travels through Tamil Nadu and Kerala so it was fun for me to hear her perspectives on places I'd been to. Later, when I chatted with other folks, I was surprised at my impressive knowledge of India. Before my trip there I hardly knew the names of Indian provinces and towns. And now I can talk about South India with incredible ease. I realized last night that the month I'd spent in India was truly a special time. Yes, there were many challenges that made every act a chore, but there was so much to feast your senses on too. I'm so glad I finally made it to the motherland. When I returned from India I read Michael Wood's book THE SMILE OF MURUGAN. This is a guy with a deep passion for Tamil Nadu and in his book he gushes about the temples - most of which I had visited. He gives tons of wellresearched information about each temple in an endearing style. I wished I'd had the book while visiting those temples. The book gave me a whole new appreciation for the Tamil culture.

We are having one heck of a terrific summer in Santa Barbara this year. It's been a long one too, since spring was warmer than usual. It's been fun hanging out at home most of the time. We actually got to eat most of our fruit. Each week something new is ready for picking. Right now, our yellow peaches, big and juicy, are ready. I seem to spend a lot of my days dealing with summer produce. I hate making jam. Who wants to be in the kitchen sterilizing jars in a big pot of water when it's sweltering outside? We've made tarts, pies, and sauces with our fruit and they are in the freezer awaiting the winter months!

I'm definitely not ready to enter the real world again. I've got manuscripts that need loads of work and I hate to have to put them aside. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy being a teacher. I am committed to stimulating young minds. If I didn't have to do idiot things dreamt up by bureaucrats, I'd love my job. Tbh I'm a little nervous about resuming my job. I fear that my year of travel and writing has turned me into a radical. We'll have to wait and see ..

No comments: