Wouldn't it be awesome to live here?

Wouldn't it be awesome to live in this house and wake up to that view every morning of every day?

Nepali round houses along the Sarangkot-Naudanda hiking trail with Machapuchare in the distance

Amid a Confluence of Cultures in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala

It felt foreign yet familiar. In that Indian city high up in the Himalayas I found myself in the midst of a confluence of cultures, so exciting in its rarity and heartening in its spontaneity.  The temple of the Dalai Lama, just a few blocks away from McLeod Ganj’s main square, was teeming with visitors, but it was one of the most serene places I’ve been to. Its majestic prayer wheels never stopped turning, constantly set in motion by pilgrims from different corners of the world.

From where I was seated in that nondescript noodle house, I could see some women in woolen chuba or in Indian sari, Tibetan monks in maroon robes and travelers in head-to-foot Gore-Tex pass each other along the store-lined streets surrounding the square. Used to hearing the mantra om mani padme hum reverberating through the town, I felt delighted when, in the middle of tasting my first ever hot momo soup, the Black-Eyed Peas’ Bebot started playing. "Filipino, Filipino. Filipino, Filipino. Hoy pare, pakinggan n’yo. Heto na ang tunay na Pilipino."  How surreal, I thought.  In that place, at that moment, I never felt more alive.

Left with the liberty of all those books

I realize that lust stands high in the list of deadly sins. And yet lust--the tightening throat, the flushed cheeks, the raging appetite--is the only word accurate to describe the sensation I felt that morning, as the painted door closed and I was left with the liberty of all those books. 

~ Geraldine Brooks, March, 2005

Lately

I’ve been rather preoccupied with several things lately – my Nihongo classes, our trip to the island of Boracay, my changing jobs and the never-ending travel plans, that always acts as my pick-me-up.

I did not expect the amount of time that learning Japanese demands.  I have to study incessantly for if I don’t I would fall back and it would be impossible to catch up and relearn everything.  The amount of words to memorize is just staggering.  I study almost every day, but I still cannot understand the dialogue in Japanese movies without English subtitles.

I am still trying to adapt to my new workplace.  I’ve been here for a week now and the culture is way different from the old one. The funny thing is that was mistaken for a fresh graduate.

My siblings and I recently went to Boracay where we celebrated the 18^th birthday of our youngest sister. Spending several days on the beach made me yearn for the mountains. Climbing a volcano in Indonesia is next on my list.