puffy white whisp of a cloud: the sky hog

holy hell its been a month. i find it hard to force myself to sit down and be diligent about writing when the sun in shining shining and there's so much to do.

i uploaded some shots a while ago of my trip to taranaki - it was a good time. i stayed at the taranaki environment centre and worked alongside graham and val for a week. it was really relaxing, and nice to get some last minute chill time before my classes started. oh yeah, if you've seen the pictures then you'll know what im talking about, but there was this ridiculous festival called AmeriCARna. you can only imagine what sorts of fun that was. felt like i walked down the street in inglewood, took a wrong turn, and somehow ended up in upstate new york. there were vintage cars, rural NZ cover bands playing classic american radio tunes, and plenty of 'authentic american hot dogs and hamburgers' to boot. what a deal. i tried my best to keep from laughing.

then classes started as soon as i got back to wellington. the courseload works a little differently here, so im only taking three: gender & development, maori society and culture, and an education course called 'youth and life challenges.' theyre all pretty fascinating. the maori course, which im taking to fulfill a cornell requirement, is interesting enough, but just jam-packed with too many americans. luckily, all of my professors are really dynamic and most of the students are engaged in discussions etc. we've been talking about some pretty meaty issues in both my education and gender courses, but there's not quite as much fire as you'd see back home. one thing ive found upon living here for a while now is that the political discussions are really lacking. as in, most of the time quite nonexistent. the kiwi political scheme isn't too fascinating and the government hasn't pumped billions of dollars into a war machine, so i guess there isn't that much to get all fired up about. what a drag. but no really, my friends and i try to squeeze war, politics, radical rebellion, etc. into the casual bar talk and it just doesn't work. before you know it you're back to classic film noir, catchy lines from arrested development, and recounts of the last time wren was completely pished. so it goes.

last weekend i was lucky enough to have a little getaway. my friend gabi and i rode out to wanganui, about three hours away. we camped out right next to the wanganui river for a couple days and watched as the reflections of shooting stars shot back and forth along the slow flow of the midnight water. we chilled out with some ducks, gorged on banana bread until we could no more, and sat with our backs against an enormous, receding cliff, watching the sun set on our own private beach. rutabega bay was what we decided it should probably be named. it was our bay, after all. we could look in both directions all the way to the horizon without catching sight of another wanderer.

since school started, weekend trips to rutageba bay included, all has been well. ive managed to find a great group of other crazy international students and we seem to manage to have a good time every day. we've been exploring wellington and there's just so much here. i went on a bike ride yesterday, and although the winds whipping through the strait were a little tumultuous, i got to see so much of the city that i didn't even know existed.

i also made it to the bike co-op last night. i tried to go last week but my friend graham hadn't opened up shop yet. its a lot like home - the place is run out of the back room in the anarchist collective downtown. the house reminds me so much of watermargin; sights, smells, and all. packed from head to toe with posters and flyers of rallies in days gone by, books of revolt, and other such treasures. they have a free radical library open to the public and put out delicious bread and veggies that they liberate from wasteful dumpsters for the needy grabs of passersby. are you taking notes?

in our drunken midnight rambling explorations of the rolling wellington hills, we've managed to locate a couple worthwhile, exciting sanctuaries (aka playgrounds). like, make-you-jealous-that-your-childhood-wasn't-so-divinely-priviledged-with-such-amazing-structures type playgrounds. and yes, of course, with 100 ft long ziplines included. fantastic.

hmm i cant think of what other fruitful endeavors we've had. oh, did i mention that we're going to samoa? yeah, we've got a two week long mid-semester break in two weeks. original plan was the hot, golden (and now ablazen) aussie coast. but it's so damned expensive. so instead we're flying out into the middle of the pacific. honestly, do you know where samoa is? google it, please. its roughly the size of rhode island. except its actually an island. we've rented two thatched-roof huts on the lonely beach, staying for a week. woohoo.

alas, the sun is shining shining and there are no clouds in the sky. well actually, there's this one tiny little whisp of a cloud over there. that bastard, how dare he. pollute my nice blue sky with his puffy, white, puffiness. anyway, im tired of staring at this screen. im going to go on a little trip. be back in my head tomorrow. photos will follow.

but while you're waiting, enjoy these: http://picasaweb.google.com/wrenar/ExplorationsInSunlightAndOtherThings#

Chiapas Chronicles #6

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well. It´s been awhile and there is so much to say! I am on an internet cafe so I might not be able to finish everything I want to say! I also won´t be able to attach any photos for probably about three weeks since I wont have internet access. I am thinking of doing a slide show of all my pictures, serving some food i learned to make, and telling more about my experiences when i get back if that is something people are interested in.

The week of March 2nd was my last week in Chiapas and also my 21st birthday. On the Saturday before I was in San Cristobal with all my friends at the MSN house there. They bought me a pinata as a surprise and a cake. Then we all went out for fun! It was great, a little sad to be so far away from close family and friends, but also a lot of fun. There was none of the typical 21st birthday crazyness because it is already legal for me to drink here, but that was actually pretty nice. I will send more pictures of the pinata, which looks a little bit like me. Apparently when my friends were carrying it back to the MSN house it was the only time traffic stopped to let pedestrains go by and everyone kept screaming at them, "oye! wheres the party???".

The last week at Oventic was wonderful but also very emotional. A friend bought doenuts for me on my actual Birthday (which was a monday) and we shared them with some of the little kids there. After that the kids followed me around everywhere telling me how much they LOVED my birthday and asking me if i had anymore sweets. They knew i had a huge bag of candy from the pinata in my room but i couldnt let them have as much as they want because in Zapatista communities giving indvidual gifts, even a lot fo candy to a small group of kids, is frowned upon. Also, when they even have a sip of cola they get insanely hyper so i cant imagine what all that candy could have done. I ended up giving out the big bag of candy at a party we had later (ill explain below).

The kids overall though are really amazing at Oventic. They are incredibly independent and seem to have very few hang ups. They share well and dont seem to fight much. One girl, Esther, who has grown up in Oventic was saying how she wanted to learn guitar. A girl on our program asked Esther if she would like a little guitar for her to practice on (we had bought one as a going away present for the whole community). She said she didnt want for herself but if she could share one with everyone, that would be nice. Seeing these kids grow up like this, in a big community constantly surrounded by other kids and being really independent, really makes me think about what i want for my kids when i have them someday.

Some interesting things from the week. There are always young people coming in and out of Oventic and our last week there there was a guy from the Landless Movement (MST) from Brazil. It was really cool to talk to him about whats going on in Brazil and if i ever want to go there and study with MST i know someone who can hook me up with contacts. This week we also sang a song about abortion and how it is womans right to chose for herself if she wants a baby. Cool!

On the thursday before we left my program made a big feast and got a band for the whole community. We spend the entire day chopping vegatables and meat (beef and chicken). In the end we had a huge feast with everyone with lots of meat stew. I ate the chicken one which was pretty good, with huge chunks of chicken, cabbage, calabacitas, potatoe, and other veggies. We ate it with choppèd chili, tomato, and onion with slices of lime, tortillas, and hibiscus juice. YUM! everyone there liked it a lot because meat is really rare for people to eat there.

The weekend before i left, on Saturday, we celebrated International Women´s Day at Oventic. I woke up on Saturday to the sounds of tons of people everywhere! Mostly Zapatistas but some Mexicans and internationals were there, many actually camping overnight in Oventic. The feeling in the air was like a music festival, with stalls of delicious tamales and corn and people selling thier wares. There was a big speech by women, all in ski masks and bandanas covering thier faces. Then began a day for sports events (soccer, basketball, and volleyball), cultural events (poetry readings, music, ect,), and political events (speeches). of course only the women are allowed to participate in activities, while men can watch and cook, clean, and take care of the kids. I wanted to be on a soccer team, but didnt have time because i had to leave on a bus from San Cristobal later that day. The referees at the games were all women and all very good referees! It was impressive to see. The security at this festival was all Zapatista military, who are the best security people ever! They all wore ski masks (men and women but only men were doing security because only men are allowed to work on that day!). They were very relaxed and nonconfrontational, while also maintaining an attitude of seriousness.

Leaving Oventic that day was extremely emotional for me. I looked out across the festival, with all the amazing women, bands of kids, the food, the beautiful mountains. I know I would like to go there some day but I know if would be for my own personal experience because there is nothing the Zapatistas need from me! Staying there has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The people and thier amazing spirit, thier struggle, thier strength, and thier history have all been great gifts for me to see. It brought tears to my eyes when we sang one of the songs for the last time "lindo oventik"
ya yo no puedo vivir fuera de oventik
porque lo que mi me gusta es construir
no me voy fuera de aqui
siempre listo a resistir
y si el mal gobierno nos quiere destruir
haremos en todos partes mas oventiks
oventiks mas oventiks
siempre muchos oventiks

I dont know if i can express in words how magical, how revolutionary, how just, how powerful, and how beautiful Oventik is. All i can say is that I would encourage everyone to learn more about the Zapatistas and thier struggle, because is it a powerful one and full of deep love for community and the world. I want to write more but my time at this internet cafe is running out (or at least my pesos are!). I will try to write back soon about my experience on spring break and being here Tlaxcala with my host family. Very different, very cool!

much love, Marlena

Tiger Reserves and the Wheel of Dharma

This is going to be long. Profuse apologies.

I think around three weekends ago, Flavien (my roommate), Shayoni, Siddarth and I went to Corbett Tiger Reserve. Corbett is around six hours from Delhi, but we ended up getting stuck in a jam Friday night, and spending the night in the car on the side of the road, finishing our trip around 7am the next morning. We ate paranthas stuffed with alu (potato), gobbhi (cauliflower) and eggs (don't know the Hindi word) with some yogurt and drank coca cola from glass bottles.
Siddarth had arranged for us to stay in a cabin in the middle of the jungle, which was a really great idea. Most of the hotels were on the edge of the park along the river, which was pleasant but also very commercialized. We loaded up an open air jeep and drove about twenty kilometers into the middle of the forest. Along the way, there were elephants, monkeys, deer and wart hogs. The room was in the middle of a fielded clearing with a panoramic view of the mountain range and the surrounding trees. Five guys stayed in house next to us and helped cook us amazing meals and drive us around on jeep safaris. We never saw Tigers, but it was still worth the trip.
There was a beautiful temple about five kilometers from our place, and it was covered in vines and flowers and large tropical plants which only confirmed my "Little Princess" conceptions of the Indian jungles. A moat filled with rainwater edged around each stone monument and landing, circling around to the middle of the temple where a cascading waterfall provided holy water to cleanse one's body before prayer.
On our last day, we decided to check out and go to Nainital to see the lakes at the top of these amazing mountains. To get there, we had to drive about an hour up winding roads through the range, ending up in the city at night fall. The lake was bordered with shops, restaurants and temples, all lit up in bright colors and highlighted by the full moon above. We found a candle shop, which apparently Nainital is well know for, and bought super kitschy candles for our apartment and friends. They had a picachu candle which I was unable to resist for 50 rupees (about a dollar). My camera had died at this point, so theres no pictures of Nainital, but you should really google it because its absolutely enamouring.

The following week I organized some more site visits and finished up some more ILO editing for my supervisor. I was able to fit in some dinners and drinks with some friends, attend a wedding, and make a last minute decision to go to Dharamsala.

I was looking for courses or lectures on Buddhism in Delhi, when I came across Tushita's website. Tushita is a semi-monastic community in the hills of McLeod Ganj which offers courses on many aspects of Buddhism, especially catering to westerners. McLeod Ganj is the seat of the Tibetan Government in Exile and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I chose to take a nine day residential course on basic Mahayana Buddhism and meditation. Venerable Tenzin Chogkyi, a nun from California, ran the course with unrivaled enthusiasm and patience. Even if you don't buy into the karma-rebirth notion, you have to admit that those nuns and monks seem pretty happy...We were in complete silence outside of the class room--which really helped to keep us focused on the Dharma (teachings of Buddha). I'm by no means ready to take refuge or anything, but the Buddhist perspectives on compassion and actual love are quite compelling. I think I walked away from the experience with a greater idea on how to help my family, which was my main reason in going anyway.
Outside of class, Tushita was a peaceful place to just exist. We were surrounded by pine trees and views of the lower city, with snow-capped mountains towering above us. Monkeys were everywhere and made it really difficult to concentrate. The food consisted of bread with home made peanut butter and honey, baby bananas, clear-broth vegetable soups with cabbage, a form of kale, red beans, carrots and spinach. Dinner usually consisted of the bread, some sort of vegetable dish and tofu which always tasted like cigarettes. On the next to last day, I was ecstatic to see what I thought was paneer (cottage cheese, basically) in a yellow curry sauce, and took way more than necessary with my brown rice. One bite in, I was disappointed to learn that it was cigarette tofu and sweet cinnamon sauce. I couldn't waste it, so I ended up eating that, and returning to the table to find something I could cover the horrible taste with. I thought I saw spicy curry ginger soup (like the Thai soup) with carrots and potatoes, so I put that on top of my left over rice. I quickly discovered that the Thai soup was actually sweet cream, mangoes and oranges.
An annoying lesson in impermanence and mindfulness.


When the course was over, I found a guest house in Dharamkot with a group of three travelers I had met--Yoshi, Denali and Gina, all from California. They had been traveling literally everywhere in Asia, and were really great company. We hung around McLeod Ganj and ran into other friends from Tushita, watched a candle light procession of monks, nuns and laypeople on the 10th which was the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising. Most of my class mates stuck around to hear His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the 11th speak at his temple in McLeod Ganj. We had to buy little radios and find the translation channel, as he spoke in Tibetan. At the beginning of the ceremony, there was deep tonal chanting from the monks at the front of the temple. It sounded quite ominous, to be honest. Something you might here at the pivotal moment in a horror film or Eyes Wide Shut. The Dalai Lama used a lot of metaphors and anecdotes, including one where people are eating shit? Not really sure where he was going with that one...still, quite an inspirational person. Just looking at him you can tell he's genuinely happy--impervious to attachment, anger, or jealousy. At one point in the talk he asked "Where are the Mongolians?" And after a while, a small group at the back waved their hands. He then said, "You cannot understand me because there is no Mongolian translator, but welcome to you anyway." Great sense of humor.
After the talk, I wandered around a while, playing in the streets with the few Indians celebrating Holi--we were covered in yellow, green and pink paint by the end of the day. Around 6, I loaded up my pack with dried mango, home made chocolate, granola bars and raisins and jumped on the bus to Delhi. I mistakenly sat in front of some Japanese (I think) tourist who kept talking to each other rather loudly and laughing hysterically every fifth word. They kept asking each other, "Are you strong?" I have no idea what they were talking about, I thought they maybe meant drunk...but later context clues disproved this theory.
The bus broke down two hours later on the side of a mountain. John Lee was right when he told me that it hasn't really been an adventure until you are riding in a shaky bus on the edge of a cliff. We waited about an hour, and another bus came. This was fine, until about five hours later when the bus halted in the middle of a really bizarre city, where we were instructed to switch buses once more for Delhi. The next bus was completely packed and some Nepali woman kept tapping my shoulder and telling me to put my seat up, which made it nearly impossible to sleep...I'm sticking to the train from now on, if I can help it.

I'm back in Delhi now, and will probably stay put for a while. I think I need some time to decompress.