Entry Eight: A Year of Travel, A Year of Haikus

新年快乐 – Xīnnián kuàilè !!! Happy New Year!!! I just figured out that the Mandarin word for fast – 快 – kuài – is put with a word for happy – 乐 – lè – to make a wishing happy (like Happy birthday! Happy Christmas!) So a literal translation of Happy New Year in Chinese could […]

Entry Seven: Live for the Spark of Life

Three months in, twelve to go. I want to be the unattached Buddha that is ultimately present in every moment of the day – especially as here I am, in this adventure! – but it is difficult not to swell with longing for my family, for my friends that are like family, for the wild, […]

Entry Five: American Treasures

“As a writer, I know I carry all the accumulated moments of my life” – Natalie Goldberg, The True Secret of Writing, Connecting Life with Language The title of this blog resonates with me even more so when I am away. My dreams roam the blizzarding mountain passes we drove into the Rockies when I was […]

Entry Four: The Blessing of Adventure

This post is late, as I was sick. I was sick, last week was hard. At any given moment here, I am dazzled by leaving everything I know and also cursing the craziness in me that caused me to leave everything I know. And so is the blessing of adventure. Inside Me When I am […]

Entry Three – Bamboo / Beilun

When I first arrived, I was scared to spend time outside my hotel room. I was scared to look different, to not be able to communicate, to get lost, or to – unaware – do something unpolite. It’s been a month and I love being outside. I love trying new sentences and stumbling my way […]