Before coming here I had heard about the female peace corps volunteer in the phillipines who went hiking by herself and was kidnapped and killed. I used to think to myself how stupid this girl was for going by herself. I now realize why she went by herself. In the peace corps there are times when you want to just go off on your own and be in your head and there are other times when you want to be with people…but who will you go with? I went hiking by myself today, and this girls story popped into my head, and I ended my hike earlier than I wanted. I was hiking in a safe area that was completely visible to the whole town, but where I wanted to go would have been much higher and not as visible. I was bummed that I didn’t go, but I felt like it was worth it. I don’t think anything would have happened, but I need to start adjusting my actions to being in a place that I do not know. One of the hardest parts about being here is reading people. When I’m in California, I usually feel relatively safe and when walking around long beach at night, I do not feel threatened. This is due to my ability to feel out situations and read people. Here it is a different story. Because I do not know the language and am still learning the customs and cultures, I can not read situations the way that I can at home. I can not understand most of the language that I hear when walking the streets of Sukhbaatar. It has been an awkward adjustment to go from my hardass long beach self to this vulnerable American in Mongolia. I feel like I can manage myself a lot better at home because I am accustomed to the way things work and can use my intuition to feel out a situation. Here, it is simply guesses. When I go out at night with my friends, I won’t go home unless a strong male walks me home. Luckily, I have one who lives right near me. Even when I am with someone walking home, it is a nervous walk every time we pass by a group of guys or any drunk guy. We are obviously foreigners and everyone around here knows there is a group of Americans around. People automatically assume that Americans have money and want to talk to us or mess with us. Luckily, I haven’t had too many scary encounters, but it is just a weird feeling to always have your guard up. If something is going down in long beach, I know how to remove myself from the situation or how to avoid it all together. Here, I have to rely on watching the people around me. I am probably making Sukhbaatar seem to be more dangerous than it is, and I don’t mean to freak anybody out at home about my safety. I assure you, I am safe.
Another interesting observation from Mongolia is the way they view people of different races. Mongolians are not racist, they just don’t have the knowledge. As a group of Americans, we are made up of people of all different backgrounds and ethnicities. Any black male volunteer is expected to be Michael Jordan, a few of the Indian volunteers have been mistaken for African, anybody from America without white skin is misunderstood. A Vietnamese volunteer is told over and over again that she is Mongolian. I was talking to a Mongolian yesterday (who knew excellent English) and he was telling me about when he was rejected for his US Visa. He said, “maybe it’s because I’m Asian,” I assured him that it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s Asian, as there are many people of Asian origin in the states. People around here say they know what it means to be Jewish, but I have heard from other volunteers that they really have no clue. I really feel lucky to have grown up in a place of such diversity. America is a beautiful place with all the people of different backgrounds coexisting and sharing their knowledge and culture with others. I am not going to claim America to be perfect, but I am grateful for the opportunity to have my eyes open to all different things at one time.
We are really fortunate to have access to the American way of life. I have now visited met people in Israel, Costa Rica, and Mongolia who have wanted to get visas to the US and have been denied. I do not know anything about how to get a US visa or the selection process, but it seems to be difficult.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
just a lil fun
The world works in mysterious ways
I walk around and try to figure it out
But I am left in this curious haze.
The earth turns so fast,
I have trouble simply counting the days.
My mind moves and moves
But only leaves my eyes with this over glaze.
I wander through this life,
Searching for the end of the maze
But I think half the fun is the complicated chase
Maybe only death will bring the end to this phase.
If this is truth, I choose to stay in this curious stage.
One day I will find myself reading the right page.
For now I am content with my meager wage
While I am acquiring the tools to break out of this cage.
I walk around and try to figure it out
But I am left in this curious haze.
The earth turns so fast,
I have trouble simply counting the days.
My mind moves and moves
But only leaves my eyes with this over glaze.
I wander through this life,
Searching for the end of the maze
But I think half the fun is the complicated chase
Maybe only death will bring the end to this phase.
If this is truth, I choose to stay in this curious stage.
One day I will find myself reading the right page.
For now I am content with my meager wage
While I am acquiring the tools to break out of this cage.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Labor Camp
7/9/07 Labor Camp
I just got back from spending about 3 days at labor camp for Mongolian children. Labor camp is not as intense as it seems. The kids do work in the fields, but it is not like this is all they do and the work that they do directly benefits them. This was my first time being in the deep country. It was absolutely phenomenal. The scenery, the kids, the energy, it was all amazing! There was the ‘horse man’, the goat and sheep hearders, a miners rest camp, a customs rest camp and the camp that I was at. This camp was used as a part of my training and a time to do life skills presentations, practice games in Mongolian, practice teaching English, and a chance to hangout with the kids. These are all the reasons the peace corps sent us there, but I got way more out of it than these aspects. I went on an AMAZING hike though one of the thicker forests of Mongolia, I tried airag, and I had mares milk while it was still warm from the horses body.
Mongolias forests are thinning out, due to everyone cutting down the trees. It is something that is sad, but you can’t explain to somebody why it’s not good to cut all the trees down when cutting these trees is his lively hood. It’s how he eats, how he builds his home, how he stays warm in the winter. My stomach was bothering me that day and I almost didn’t go on the hike. At the last minute I decided to suck it up and do the hike because I didn’t know when I’d be back in this country paradise. For the record, I’m soooo glad I went on the hike and got to see a view of Mongolia that can’t be duplicated! We started out filling our water bottles in the river (fresh mountain water). It was this moment that I knew the hike would be amazing. There was no trail, the destination was up. We picked our way through bushes and around trees, finding our footing wherever we could. This hike was not as hard as I was expecting, due to the soft ground, covered in green nature. On the way up we picked strawberries and ate them right off the plant. They were tiny strawberries, but were amazing! As we continued the climb, we ran into a pack of wild horses. It’s funny, the hearder puts a bell on his horse and then falls asleep. They graze and when he awakes he rounds them up again. I snapped a few photos and appreciated the beauty of this scene and we continued on our hike. When we reached the top, the view was amazing and worth the swarms of flys around our heads. We sat and talked about peace corps for a little while and then headed down, eating strawberries on the way.
There is a guy in this part of the khudoo, that is known as the “horseman”. Every summer a horse hearder brings his horses here and the horses are milked every two hours. During one of these sessions, we walked over and watched the horses being milked. There is a lady who sits a little further away with a bucket of the milk and people from the mining rest camp walk out to get a glass of milk. I was a little nervous, but I tried the milk anyway. I don’t really like milk, but it was seriously the best milk I have ever had. Mares milk is really sweet, almost with a hint of coconut flavor. The milk was still warm from the horses body, which wierds me out when I think about it too much. If I could just take some of the milk and stick it in the fridge, it would really be the best refreshment!! After drinking the milk we were invited into the family’s ger where we sat around and drank Airag. This is a Mongolian alcoholic beverage. It is not very potent and is given to children on a regular basis. The customs of drinking alcohol with Mongolian are interesting. They had a beautifully carved pail that the airag was in. The horseman filled a wooden bowl with the white substance and handed it with his left arm crossed, and right arm extended to the oldest male guest. At this time, the guest drinks as much as he wants and passes it back to the horseman. Even if the guest only takes a sip, the horseman adds more to the bowl and hands presents the bowl to the next guest. I had been warned about the effects of airag on your stomach and was not feeling well that day. I took a few sips and was surprised that it was not as sour as I was expecting. We sat and enjoyed the airag with the horseman and he told us that his horse had won a Naadaam race. The prize? A washing machine. It is interesting to be in the middle of the country, in a ger, and see a washing machine. You can tell by the amount of horses that this man is well-off.
It is so exciting to be learning all these different customs of Mongolian culture. Trying new things really adds an element of excitement to life that is vital to general happiness. It has become a part of my everyday life, to encounter something new and interesting. I think that when we are “home” we are in our comfort zone and often forget about the importance of new experiences. As in a Fiona Apple song, “I’m good at being uncomfortable”, it is this uncomfortable state that helps keep us on our toes. I can only hope that I will continue to constantly try and learn new things throughout the rest of my life. It is easy to fall into the comfortable and the average, but I want to take this moment to encourage everyone who is reading this to take the time to try something new….even if it’s a little uncomfortable.
By the way….I also saw my first goat being skinned while I was in the countryside. I thought it would be much more bloody and graphic, but it was almost like they were taking off his jacket.
My time in the country was truly amazing. It really is an awesome and meaningful way of life. So much of Mongolia is wide open spaces! It’s something I feel I have missed out on living in Orange County my whole life.
Labor camp was truly a great experience. I slept in a ger, got to experience the countryside and got to hang out with Mongolian kids. It’s so nice to finally be doing activities with kids. Only in an atmosphere like this would you hear an American from Milwalkee say “get your goats off my field”…..only to solicit the response, “those aren’t my goats” from a boy about 13 years old. Chasing goats and cows is actually a useful past time in the country.
I just got back from spending about 3 days at labor camp for Mongolian children. Labor camp is not as intense as it seems. The kids do work in the fields, but it is not like this is all they do and the work that they do directly benefits them. This was my first time being in the deep country. It was absolutely phenomenal. The scenery, the kids, the energy, it was all amazing! There was the ‘horse man’, the goat and sheep hearders, a miners rest camp, a customs rest camp and the camp that I was at. This camp was used as a part of my training and a time to do life skills presentations, practice games in Mongolian, practice teaching English, and a chance to hangout with the kids. These are all the reasons the peace corps sent us there, but I got way more out of it than these aspects. I went on an AMAZING hike though one of the thicker forests of Mongolia, I tried airag, and I had mares milk while it was still warm from the horses body.
Mongolias forests are thinning out, due to everyone cutting down the trees. It is something that is sad, but you can’t explain to somebody why it’s not good to cut all the trees down when cutting these trees is his lively hood. It’s how he eats, how he builds his home, how he stays warm in the winter. My stomach was bothering me that day and I almost didn’t go on the hike. At the last minute I decided to suck it up and do the hike because I didn’t know when I’d be back in this country paradise. For the record, I’m soooo glad I went on the hike and got to see a view of Mongolia that can’t be duplicated! We started out filling our water bottles in the river (fresh mountain water). It was this moment that I knew the hike would be amazing. There was no trail, the destination was up. We picked our way through bushes and around trees, finding our footing wherever we could. This hike was not as hard as I was expecting, due to the soft ground, covered in green nature. On the way up we picked strawberries and ate them right off the plant. They were tiny strawberries, but were amazing! As we continued the climb, we ran into a pack of wild horses. It’s funny, the hearder puts a bell on his horse and then falls asleep. They graze and when he awakes he rounds them up again. I snapped a few photos and appreciated the beauty of this scene and we continued on our hike. When we reached the top, the view was amazing and worth the swarms of flys around our heads. We sat and talked about peace corps for a little while and then headed down, eating strawberries on the way.
There is a guy in this part of the khudoo, that is known as the “horseman”. Every summer a horse hearder brings his horses here and the horses are milked every two hours. During one of these sessions, we walked over and watched the horses being milked. There is a lady who sits a little further away with a bucket of the milk and people from the mining rest camp walk out to get a glass of milk. I was a little nervous, but I tried the milk anyway. I don’t really like milk, but it was seriously the best milk I have ever had. Mares milk is really sweet, almost with a hint of coconut flavor. The milk was still warm from the horses body, which wierds me out when I think about it too much. If I could just take some of the milk and stick it in the fridge, it would really be the best refreshment!! After drinking the milk we were invited into the family’s ger where we sat around and drank Airag. This is a Mongolian alcoholic beverage. It is not very potent and is given to children on a regular basis. The customs of drinking alcohol with Mongolian are interesting. They had a beautifully carved pail that the airag was in. The horseman filled a wooden bowl with the white substance and handed it with his left arm crossed, and right arm extended to the oldest male guest. At this time, the guest drinks as much as he wants and passes it back to the horseman. Even if the guest only takes a sip, the horseman adds more to the bowl and hands presents the bowl to the next guest. I had been warned about the effects of airag on your stomach and was not feeling well that day. I took a few sips and was surprised that it was not as sour as I was expecting. We sat and enjoyed the airag with the horseman and he told us that his horse had won a Naadaam race. The prize? A washing machine. It is interesting to be in the middle of the country, in a ger, and see a washing machine. You can tell by the amount of horses that this man is well-off.
It is so exciting to be learning all these different customs of Mongolian culture. Trying new things really adds an element of excitement to life that is vital to general happiness. It has become a part of my everyday life, to encounter something new and interesting. I think that when we are “home” we are in our comfort zone and often forget about the importance of new experiences. As in a Fiona Apple song, “I’m good at being uncomfortable”, it is this uncomfortable state that helps keep us on our toes. I can only hope that I will continue to constantly try and learn new things throughout the rest of my life. It is easy to fall into the comfortable and the average, but I want to take this moment to encourage everyone who is reading this to take the time to try something new….even if it’s a little uncomfortable.
By the way….I also saw my first goat being skinned while I was in the countryside. I thought it would be much more bloody and graphic, but it was almost like they were taking off his jacket.
My time in the country was truly amazing. It really is an awesome and meaningful way of life. So much of Mongolia is wide open spaces! It’s something I feel I have missed out on living in Orange County my whole life.
Labor camp was truly a great experience. I slept in a ger, got to experience the countryside and got to hang out with Mongolian kids. It’s so nice to finally be doing activities with kids. Only in an atmosphere like this would you hear an American from Milwalkee say “get your goats off my field”…..only to solicit the response, “those aren’t my goats” from a boy about 13 years old. Chasing goats and cows is actually a useful past time in the country.
Darkhan Days
7/9/07 Darkhan Days
I just got back from a week outside of Sukhbaatar. This was my first venture out of my training community and was possibly my best week so far.
It started out with “Darkhan Days” or “Mid-PST”, as the peace corps refers to it. This is a time that is designated in the middle of my preservice training for all the people of my group (M18) to come together in Darkhan and do some of the administrative parts of training. It is also used as a sanity maintainer and is a good time to socialize with other Americans who have been going through all the same things. This group of people is my training group and we will continue to come together throughout the next 2 years. They are the people I came with, the people I will swear-in with, and the people I will close my service with. We got to Darkhan on July 4th and everyone was ready to be “patriotic” once night time rolled around. There was a ‘trainer vs. trainee’ basketball game, and the peace corps arranged pizza and hot dogs for dinner. Keep in mind that these were Mongolia pizza and hot dogs, and the better things to eat were the Monglian food. There were a few current volunteers that were passing through Darkhan and participated in our training and came to hang out for 4th of July. It was a good time, and it is always nice to talk to the current volunteers and hear what they have to say. It’s also nice to see different faces, other than the ones of the people I am training with in Sukhbaatar.
During these days in Darkhan, I had to give a presentation to a group of ‘at-risk’ youth. They were supposed to be involved in the Juvenile Justice system, but that didn’t work out. Instead they were from an orphanage in Darkhan. I was kind of nervous for my presentation, but I had planned it so I would have to do minimal speaking. Until I get more of the language down, this is going to be the way I do things. It’s fine by me, I’d rather do things more activity based anyway. After all the presentations, we walked the kids back to the orphanage, and got a tour of their home. This really was a nice orphanage and I was quite impressed. The kids were amazing and put on a show for us. Traditional singing and dancing is such a significant part of Mongolian culture that literally every child has a list of songs and dances that they can do off the top of their head. As it turns out, these were the kids that had performed at our opening ceremonies. After a full-on performance, we went outside to hang out with the kids. On the way to the orphanage, we had each made special friends in the group of kids and it was so much fun to play with them. I played soccer for like an hour in the scorching hot sun, until our trainers decided we had to go. They really had to pull us away from these kids! After all the classroom work and training that we do, it was soooo nice to actually get some time with the kids. Mongolian kids are AMAZING and really well behaved! These kids were so happy to have us there and we were so happy to be there. After this time with the kids, I declared this day the best day of training. It continued to be the best day, as I went back to the hotel and to a long, hot shower! The feeling of taking a shower after such a long time without one is something that can not be put into words!!! I was exhausted that night and had my roommate lock me in my room while everyone else continued to celebrate 4th of July…again. The days in Darkhan were nice, but by the end, I was not sad to leave. The people in my sector stayed an extra day because we were going to be heading out to the khudoo (countryside) to work at a summer camp. On this extra night, we saw fireworks….which was really exciting!
I just got back from a week outside of Sukhbaatar. This was my first venture out of my training community and was possibly my best week so far.
It started out with “Darkhan Days” or “Mid-PST”, as the peace corps refers to it. This is a time that is designated in the middle of my preservice training for all the people of my group (M18) to come together in Darkhan and do some of the administrative parts of training. It is also used as a sanity maintainer and is a good time to socialize with other Americans who have been going through all the same things. This group of people is my training group and we will continue to come together throughout the next 2 years. They are the people I came with, the people I will swear-in with, and the people I will close my service with. We got to Darkhan on July 4th and everyone was ready to be “patriotic” once night time rolled around. There was a ‘trainer vs. trainee’ basketball game, and the peace corps arranged pizza and hot dogs for dinner. Keep in mind that these were Mongolia pizza and hot dogs, and the better things to eat were the Monglian food. There were a few current volunteers that were passing through Darkhan and participated in our training and came to hang out for 4th of July. It was a good time, and it is always nice to talk to the current volunteers and hear what they have to say. It’s also nice to see different faces, other than the ones of the people I am training with in Sukhbaatar.
During these days in Darkhan, I had to give a presentation to a group of ‘at-risk’ youth. They were supposed to be involved in the Juvenile Justice system, but that didn’t work out. Instead they were from an orphanage in Darkhan. I was kind of nervous for my presentation, but I had planned it so I would have to do minimal speaking. Until I get more of the language down, this is going to be the way I do things. It’s fine by me, I’d rather do things more activity based anyway. After all the presentations, we walked the kids back to the orphanage, and got a tour of their home. This really was a nice orphanage and I was quite impressed. The kids were amazing and put on a show for us. Traditional singing and dancing is such a significant part of Mongolian culture that literally every child has a list of songs and dances that they can do off the top of their head. As it turns out, these were the kids that had performed at our opening ceremonies. After a full-on performance, we went outside to hang out with the kids. On the way to the orphanage, we had each made special friends in the group of kids and it was so much fun to play with them. I played soccer for like an hour in the scorching hot sun, until our trainers decided we had to go. They really had to pull us away from these kids! After all the classroom work and training that we do, it was soooo nice to actually get some time with the kids. Mongolian kids are AMAZING and really well behaved! These kids were so happy to have us there and we were so happy to be there. After this time with the kids, I declared this day the best day of training. It continued to be the best day, as I went back to the hotel and to a long, hot shower! The feeling of taking a shower after such a long time without one is something that can not be put into words!!! I was exhausted that night and had my roommate lock me in my room while everyone else continued to celebrate 4th of July…again. The days in Darkhan were nice, but by the end, I was not sad to leave. The people in my sector stayed an extra day because we were going to be heading out to the khudoo (countryside) to work at a summer camp. On this extra night, we saw fireworks….which was really exciting!
Ech Mod
7/9/07 Ech Mod
On the day of my friend’s birthday, one of the few weekend days that I actually had plans, my ech (mom) decided to take me to the ‘ech mod’. I had no idea what this was, but I made sure I’d be back in time and went anyway. I realized it was something to do with Buddhism and that is all that I knew. My ech, her son, and I set out for the ech mod, which literally translated means ‘mother tree’. This was my first visit outside of sukhbaatar and my eyes were glued to the beautiful countryside. We drove down a dirt rode, turned down another dirt road, and then another dirt rode. I haven’t quite figured out the direction system in Mongolia yet. Anyway, it was obvious when we had arrived. We drove up to this large tree that was blocked off by Mongolian holy scarves and a wall made out of packs of soil or rice, or something. We walked through the entrance, and after asking for permission, I started snapping pictures. The smell of this holy spot was terrible, but it didn’t take me long to figure out what it was caused by. As I snapped photos, I watched my ech and her son take out a bottle of vodka, a bag of rice, and a bottle of milk from their bag. The proceeded to walk around this enclosed area and kind of spray the contents of their bag onto this tree, covered in blue scarves. I put down the camera and joined in the activity. I walked around and through this tree throwing rice onto it’s scarf covered branches. My ech flicked milk on the scarves, and the son flicked vodka. Years of this practice was obviously the cause of the rancid smell of this holy tree. When looking, it is obvious which scarves have been there a while and which were recently tied on. After about 5 minutes and 3 laps around the tree, we got back in the car with our leftover supplies and drove to another tree….I cannot remember which family member it was…..either the child…or the younger sibling. It was much small, had no leaves, and only the bottom was covered in scarves. After practicing the same rituals as at the ech mod, we climbed back in the car and arrived at the second ech mod. I’m not real sure why there are 2 ech mods, but with my limited Mongolian, it was easier to just listen than ask questions. On the way to the second ech mod, I tried to ask why these trees were holy, but I received an obvious answer…..ask Unro (my English speaking doo…younger sister) when we get back. The second ech mod was large with more blue scarfes. We walked around it 3 times, tossed the remaining of our rice, milk, and vodka on it and headed back in the car to go home. During this whole ritual, my ech was telling me how good I was for tossing the rice. I’m not exactly sure what this specific ritual means, but I assume it is like an offering. When I got home I asked Unro about the significance of these trees. She couldn’t explain much, but she basically told me that a long time ago a lady died there (pregnant, I think). Not trying to confuse her, I took this answer and proceeded to my friend’s birthday celebration.
During this experience with the ech mod I was quite fascinated. I don’t know the full significance of these trees, but it really seemed like an appreciation for nature. These trees were in the middle of the beautiful countryside. I’m not sure if it was a forest, but there were other trees around. In my limited explanation, my ech told me it is bad luck to move the tree. I think of the quote from a Nelly Furtado song, “I see G-d in the earth and the trees”. The phenomenon of nature is something that is very difficult to grasp without believing in a higher power. I think whether a person believes in a higher power or not doesn’t really matter, but one can not deny nature and science. I thought it was really neat to see the appreciation Buddhists have for nature. I once asked a friend if he was religious, he responded, “I believe in nature”. I think this was a brilliant answer and is as simple as you can get, and completely makes sense. The earth’s energy is something that can not necessarily be explained, but it also can not be denied. There is something that makes this world go round and work as it does, it is this energy that is the basis of my belief in anything.
There is an energy between people and nature that is only obvious when out in physical nature. I think it is key to realize this connection even when in the concrete maze and planned out mass that we live in the U.S. In Orange County, for instance, even though every tree was planted and ever grassy area rolled out, the natural ways and energies of the world are still evident. In Long Beach and LA, where the greenness is limited, I think the natural energy is almost more obvious. The different aspects of these cities and all the different people bumping into each other create an energy that draws people’s attention and locks them in.
…I have lost my train of thought, so I’m going to stop with a simple observation…
THE WORLD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS…
On the day of my friend’s birthday, one of the few weekend days that I actually had plans, my ech (mom) decided to take me to the ‘ech mod’. I had no idea what this was, but I made sure I’d be back in time and went anyway. I realized it was something to do with Buddhism and that is all that I knew. My ech, her son, and I set out for the ech mod, which literally translated means ‘mother tree’. This was my first visit outside of sukhbaatar and my eyes were glued to the beautiful countryside. We drove down a dirt rode, turned down another dirt road, and then another dirt rode. I haven’t quite figured out the direction system in Mongolia yet. Anyway, it was obvious when we had arrived. We drove up to this large tree that was blocked off by Mongolian holy scarves and a wall made out of packs of soil or rice, or something. We walked through the entrance, and after asking for permission, I started snapping pictures. The smell of this holy spot was terrible, but it didn’t take me long to figure out what it was caused by. As I snapped photos, I watched my ech and her son take out a bottle of vodka, a bag of rice, and a bottle of milk from their bag. The proceeded to walk around this enclosed area and kind of spray the contents of their bag onto this tree, covered in blue scarves. I put down the camera and joined in the activity. I walked around and through this tree throwing rice onto it’s scarf covered branches. My ech flicked milk on the scarves, and the son flicked vodka. Years of this practice was obviously the cause of the rancid smell of this holy tree. When looking, it is obvious which scarves have been there a while and which were recently tied on. After about 5 minutes and 3 laps around the tree, we got back in the car with our leftover supplies and drove to another tree….I cannot remember which family member it was…..either the child…or the younger sibling. It was much small, had no leaves, and only the bottom was covered in scarves. After practicing the same rituals as at the ech mod, we climbed back in the car and arrived at the second ech mod. I’m not real sure why there are 2 ech mods, but with my limited Mongolian, it was easier to just listen than ask questions. On the way to the second ech mod, I tried to ask why these trees were holy, but I received an obvious answer…..ask Unro (my English speaking doo…younger sister) when we get back. The second ech mod was large with more blue scarfes. We walked around it 3 times, tossed the remaining of our rice, milk, and vodka on it and headed back in the car to go home. During this whole ritual, my ech was telling me how good I was for tossing the rice. I’m not exactly sure what this specific ritual means, but I assume it is like an offering. When I got home I asked Unro about the significance of these trees. She couldn’t explain much, but she basically told me that a long time ago a lady died there (pregnant, I think). Not trying to confuse her, I took this answer and proceeded to my friend’s birthday celebration.
During this experience with the ech mod I was quite fascinated. I don’t know the full significance of these trees, but it really seemed like an appreciation for nature. These trees were in the middle of the beautiful countryside. I’m not sure if it was a forest, but there were other trees around. In my limited explanation, my ech told me it is bad luck to move the tree. I think of the quote from a Nelly Furtado song, “I see G-d in the earth and the trees”. The phenomenon of nature is something that is very difficult to grasp without believing in a higher power. I think whether a person believes in a higher power or not doesn’t really matter, but one can not deny nature and science. I thought it was really neat to see the appreciation Buddhists have for nature. I once asked a friend if he was religious, he responded, “I believe in nature”. I think this was a brilliant answer and is as simple as you can get, and completely makes sense. The earth’s energy is something that can not necessarily be explained, but it also can not be denied. There is something that makes this world go round and work as it does, it is this energy that is the basis of my belief in anything.
There is an energy between people and nature that is only obvious when out in physical nature. I think it is key to realize this connection even when in the concrete maze and planned out mass that we live in the U.S. In Orange County, for instance, even though every tree was planted and ever grassy area rolled out, the natural ways and energies of the world are still evident. In Long Beach and LA, where the greenness is limited, I think the natural energy is almost more obvious. The different aspects of these cities and all the different people bumping into each other create an energy that draws people’s attention and locks them in.
…I have lost my train of thought, so I’m going to stop with a simple observation…
THE WORLD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS…
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