Whirlwind...

I did do a lot more writing about the Kailash trip that was sent to Isha, and mailed a copy to the ashram...we'll see if I get any response. I don't feel that I need to blast negativity onto this blog, so I won't post specifics, but if anybody wants to read the 7-page single-spaced letter, I can send it on no problem.

I need to do a lot of writing in the coming weeks, but for now...

I have no words that can even come close to expressing the gratitude that I feel for the Nepalese and Tibetans that were part of the trip at Kailash. It breaks me that we had to leave the Tibetans at the border and that because of current security regulations in Tibet, I will probably never see any of them again. Thoo-jay chay big time my brothers.

The Nepalis - thank you for providing me exactly what I needed, without fail, for my time in Kathmandu following the trip. Giving me what I needed, when I needed, just like how it was during the Kailash trip - space, resting place and space, distance, affection, food, listening ears, smiles, laughter, and always, always, acceptance and unconditional love. You were my Gurus for this past month, and the lessons that have been shared will not be forgotten. New lessons are being discovered daily. Dhaanyawad from every ounce of my being.

I was definitely in a major funk after the trip, and struggled during the days in Nepal, and spend a lot of those days just sort of lying around, getting up to eat good food and wandering a bit, and then sleeping for many hours on end. The last day in Kathmandu, it all came together though. Over the course of the afternoon until the following morning until I arrived at Tribhuvan airport, there was a whirlwind of a mini-hike up to a Kapan monastery, shu-chiya (my favorite Tibetan yak butter salty tea), veg chow mein, the cutest dog ever in the tea shop, rounds of raakshi and chhang and that innocent, wise smile coming from the most beautiful people I have ever met. It ended with Jony, Rajendra's beautiful, shy but naughty (in a good way) wife, cooking Japanese food with Jasmina, my Bosnian friend who I connected with 6 months ago in Tamil Nadu, India, and myself - we did some ginger soy chicken (I was the only vegetarian there) - tofu and eggplant, green beans in sesame (goma-ae), some ferns, daikon oroshi (grated radish dish) etc...I was totally surprised by how elaborate of a delicious Japanese meal we could make with the limited ingredients. And of course, it was dere mitosa - very delicious - because it was all prepared with so much love.

30 hours in Delhi, thank you thank you thank you Iona for your perfect blend of groundedness and hilarity and everything else. Psychedelic aura, I love you.

Then the crazy journey began - Delhi - Dubai - JFK - Port Authoriy Bus Terminal - Lenox, MA - White Mountains, NH. Exhausting. Utterly.

And the funniest thing...I was so stressed about coming back to the US, all the culture shock and tensions with various people from the past etc...and it's like, all of them got wiped away as soon as I landed. For sure the culture shock is there, in so many ways, but the friction I anticipated largely isn't present (yet, at least). So that's nice and refreshing...we'll see how it all unfolds...