For
those of you who don’t know, I have just returned from a month long trip to
Australia. I have been blessed to go so far. Of course there were financial
issues. A six month trip in India does not make it any easier to get away again
a year later. There was a lot of worry, a lot of doubt and scrambling with four
jobs to make it happen. But I am so glad I did. What a beautiful country, what
a quirky and generous group of people. And it was warm! (I just came back from
an hour long walk, in minus 15, where I was convinced that my toes were going
to fall off.) Sadly my tan has already faded away. This trip meant that I got
to spend some important time with important friends. I went to the beach, I
took a surf lesson, I went snorkeling, I hiked, I explored. There were hostels
and good coffee and wine and crazy critters and awesome accents. It was the
perfect escape from January and it did my soul a whole lot of good.
This
post, however, is not a recap of my Australian adventures. I would love to have
coffee with you and tell you all about it if you want. Or you can check
out my friend Emily’s blog. capitalist-hippies.com
I spent my first two weeks in Australia with Emily.
We had a really great time. I think she does an excellent job of describing our
experiences and she is the inspiration for this next part.
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This
blog is a promise of sorts to myself and anyone else who is interested. When my
time in Australia was ending I was feeling the end of trip blues. Who can blame
me? Oh great, I have to return to real life and leave the wonderful land of Aus
behind. My friend Naomi asked me what I was excited about back home. I threw my
hands up in the air, I groaned, I fell on the couch in despair- Nothing! It’s
cold there. She waited. Well I have a lot of work lined up…it will be good to
be busy…I really do like my job.
 |
| This is how I felt getting on the plane to Canada |
I
work for a children’s theatre company, we tour around to different schools in
the province, we spend a week in each school and at the end of the week we have
created a performance with the kids. That’s my usual summary. But it’s so much
more then that! Every week I encounter brilliant and overwhelming creativity
from these little minds. I witness kids finding their voices, stepping out, and
stepping up. Each week is different- I get to time travel, fly, and fight
monsters because a tiny human invites me into their world. Their world is
beautiful. Their world is huge, and adventurous and anything is possible.
Most
of the work I have lined up is out of town. I am going to see a lot of Alberta.
That’s a lot of motels, a lot of small towns and most likely a lot of snow. Two
weeks ago this did not seem exotic to me in the least. But part of the reason I
enjoyed Australia so much was because I was excited as to what adventure lay in
store for me that day. What juicy detail could I write home about? That
excitement made me more open to beauty and more present for delightful moments.
Well I am going to keep seeking and write about my experiences in this blog. I
leave on Sunday for Chauvin, Alberta. I am still travelling. As our yoga guru
in Aus liked to say “ Everyone is on a journey.”
So
what do I write home about now? The kids are open to adventure and so am I.
.tiff)
