Room in hostel
In the hostel here around the corner from the airport shuttle which I'll catch to Blagnor around 10:30 am for my 2:30 flight to Istanbul. The woman at the desk just let me use her computer to print out my boarding pass. My roommates are two college students from Montreal who biked here from Paris (10 days!) and are headed to Barcelona tomorrow! They were napping all afternoon and now headed out to fix their bikes. The back rack broke off! Would you believe their family vacations in Wellfleet! Camping at the Audubon Sanctuary? But not this year as they will spend the summer biking around Europe.
Guess I'll write about my day here, Judy, and you could just use it for the entry! I got all packed up last night as we had to leave around 8 am to drive a long way over to New Hamlet (someone told me the community is 75% women and 25% men! So men and Thay live in Upper Hamlet, and the sisters live in Lower Hamlet which is a walkable mile or so, and New Hamlet which is quite a drive, maybe 20 minutes. ) There was a big bus to take most of the people over, but Doug got a car as we were headed to Marmande to take me to the train after Thay's talk. He needed a driver as his MA license expired and he is in the process of getting a French license which will also be good in the US. But it's a very difficult test which 4 multiple choice answers for each question, and sometimes 2 or 3 answers are all correct. If you only pick ONE correct one, you get the question. Phap Dan, a German monk, former psychiatrist in lay life, is helping one of the Vietnamese brothers get ready and trying to allow him to take it in English, rather than French. Doug liked that idea!
I had never been to New Hamlet. Thay just had his 1,000,000 LIKE on Facebook, so when they visited Facebook headquarters last fall in CA on the US tour, they asked him if he would do video answers to some of the questions that people have posted there. He wasn't due to give a talk at this retreat that is going on, but did this Q and A. Sr. Dedication had culled through the 1,000+ questions to find some that could be applied to lots of people. So she and Doug sat on chairs next to Thay to read him the questions. I never know in advance when Doug is going to pop up in front and present something!! He seems to be everywhere! In fact after the session, when the walking meditation, which was supposed to be led by Thay but all of a sudden Sr. Annabelle was leading it! She's been with Thay since the 80s I think! Anyway all of a sudden a sister came over to Doug and he went running off to see Thay. He has another project he wants Doug to do! He just got back from coordinating pretty much single-handedly the 3 week Spanish tour in Madrid and BCN! I had hoped he'd get a break! I didn't even ask what the project was!
I got to see Sr. True Dedication, who didn't go to Spain and had had a wonderful visit from her younger brother. Her family was not too happy when she decided to ordain so she said it's great when family comes and can really understand more of what her life is like! Anyway, we laughed about her Star Wars acting stint. I told her I thought her costume was great until she turned around and I said to Doug, "Is she wearing a curtain?" sure enough!
Finally Doug came and we headed off with Br. Dan driving us. He had picked us up there on Monday when we arrived at PV. We got to Marmande in time to buy my ticket and cross the street to an Afro-Caribe restaurant and order wonderful fruit smoothies and vegetable curry. But of course we didn't have time to eat it so the restaurant would keep it warm while they carried my bags down and up the stairs to Track 1 and even loaded me onto the train! Of course, I always get weepy when I leave Doug but he puts up with it! I got great hugs from both of them and they hopped off just as the train started to move! BTW, he told me he had spoken on the phone with Pep, one of the main organizers of the Spanish retreats. Pep had given me great hugs but speaks no English. He wanted Doug to tell me I was great to have along, that I always seemed to show up where I was supposed to and not rely as an added burden to the organizers. That was a lovely thing to say!!
I got off, with a couple of delays where the train just stopped for ten minutes or so in the middle of nowhere, with no explanation, the train in Toulouse, got a map from the info place, and trudged maybe 30 minutes to this hostel. An Asian guy just came in at 9:30 to take the last top bunk. The bikers did some cooking in the room (never been in a hostel where there is a fridge and stovetop and a sink right in the room - coffee maker and microwave!) I'm not cleaning up! I grabbed some chicken and fries and salad on the way here, since I didn't eat lunch except for the smoothie.
I did walk over to a little cafe and had a dessert and glass of red wine, and stopped in Carrefours, a French market chain that I'd only been in in China! I needed some deodorant. The little travel one I had was really irritating my skin (gee, it's probably 10 years old!).
So,all set for Istanbul and the last leg of my adventure begins tomorrow!
A couple of months ago when I talked with Doug on Face Time, he was working on a fund-raising website for a project here at PV called Happy Farm. It was begun by Stuart from Scotland who has been living here for four years or so. Its purpose is to provide organic food for PV.and do some experiments in Permaculture, which I understand to be agriculture that keeps being sustainable and learn about Mindfulness living at the same time. There is a four week retreat on it and Daisy (remember my Vietnamese friend from BCN?) came for this last week. So I walked down the hill to see it close up. Just as it started raining, of course! Daisy and the others have been camping (I have a luxury bunk bed!) and it's been quite chilly.
Anyway I had met Stuart out walking when Doug and I had gone cherry-picking the night before. So now he came over when I was taking photos and offered to give me a tour of the highlights of what they were doing. Then he gave me a ride back UP the hill to Upper Hamlet and then gave me this lovely t-shirt with Thay's calligraphy that says "Happy Farmers change the world." I want one that says "Happy teachers change the world" but haven't been able to find one yet. If you go to plumvillage.org and do a search for happy farm, you can see the website Doug helped build and the video that has Doug in it explaining what they are doing.The site was very helpful in raising funds to support the project. Very cool!
So I got to spend the evening with Doug in the office and we called Judy and George as their birthdays are back to back on the 19th and 20th. We talked to Uncle George in the office first and couldn't get over that Doug was calling from France! He's doing well and only has six more weeks of treatments. He told us Judy was at home with some cabinets that didn't get installed properly so we then chatted with her. She didn't recognize the number but answered when she heard Doug's voice leaving a message.
She told us the fun they had had with Kerry, Jay and the kids meeting in Mystic, Ct, for lunch at an Indian restaurant. She said Kerry and Jay are looking fantastic and the kids were delightful! The waitress brought out some bells for Sarah to put on her waist for belly-dancing! At first she was resistant until the waitress went away and then shimmy-ed away! I told her I had bought a red and black flamenco dress and flower for her hair. They both love to dress up!! So everything seemed good with them and they were delighted we had remembered and called!
Doug also showed me a video of a skit a few of the monastics put together for New Year's Eve! It was hilarious! Star Wars with a Mindfulness slant! Phap Linh was Darth Vader, Sr. True Dedication. Made a LOVELY Princess Lea with long plaits, as she called them, wound around her ears! Phap Lai, also from the UK, was a hilarious blond-wigged Luke Skywalker! Michael, used to be Phap Son, played some other evil guy (I never saw the movie so it was tough!) and Phap Yung was Yoda! The costumes were terrific, light sabers (they kind of got bent!) and of course had a happy ending!! The crowd loved it!
This morning had a lovely chat with Miles who is headed home to London. He talked about his parents and growing up with his mom working two jobs to raise him and his brother. But,his dad died recently and he just put his ashes in the river the day before coming to the Spanish tour. lovely man!
Pilar came to escort us to the train via the metro and brought more FOOD for our trip! Let me tell you, these monastics are NEVER lacking for food! Fortunately we rode Line 3 directly to the train station and had just a bit of walking with all our luggage. Doug and others had left their larger bags in storage at the University and someone in the sangha was going to ship it back.
The train is so quiet and VERY comfortable. We had maybe four hours through beautiful rolling hills with the snow-capped Pyrenees in the distance. Phap Linh pointed out where his dad and step-mom, whom I met last time I was in PV, when Dylan was ordained as Phap Linh. We had a lovely hike then with his parents to a nearby old chateau. I remember his step-mom asking how I had first felt when Doug was ordained as Dylan's dad was having a hard time with it. He had completed Cambridge, was having some success as a cellist and composer and getting some recognition. But he felt that was not the right direction for him. And seems very fulfilled with his choice. Everyone I've talked to of the monastics has taken a different path and different reasons for their choice of this kind of life.
Windmill farm
Very tired monk!
Tired monk
Phap Yung on left and Phap Linh on right (Yoda and Darth!)
We pulled in to Toulouse and had to wait maybe an hour for the next train. Three of the monastics were waiting with two cars at the station for the hour or so drive through luscious vineyards and fruit orchards to Plum Village. Doug searched around to find me a vacant room. I'm all settled in for my two nights. Doug didn't come for dinner at 6 so I ate a bit. There are a few people here for a week long retreat that ends Friday.
Saw Doug after dinner and met a few more familiar faces. Then he and I headed off for a walk to Thenac, not really even a town with a church and cemetery, one or two homes and a building he said is being renovated into a B & B. Then I saw the cherry tree he was after. I ate many handfuls of delicious right off the tree cherries, and for Doug, that was his dinner! Hope we don't have belly aches!
Doug and me under the cherry tree!
He got me a temporary Wi-Fi password from computer monk and so here I am in the Registration Office typing away. 5:45 meditation tomorrow! Hope I make it!
Friday I packed my stuff and left it in the storage room. The woman at the desk said she was sure I could get a room but check later! So off I went to try the aerial tram again. This time I made it! It was a short high up view but don't really think it was worth the wait in line. I did get some great shots from the top of the tower while I was waiting. The tram crossed the harbor and left me half way up Montjuic. I just headed down, harder on my knees! To the metro
Tram built for Olympics
Harbor with Montjuic on right
W hotel, beach with sand imported from Egypt for Olympics
Looking towards the city
Oh, I forgot, there is a walled garden up here that sisters had mentioned so I walked through that in the a.m. Nothing was in English but I gather it was a rich persons home up in the cool hills from the city, with lots of pools and an AMAZING maze, and a boxwood garden. Turns out it was free for Seniors!! Doesn't happen very often here in Europe.
Box garden
Tonight was our final session of the retreat. We met first Ina big hall for songs and thank yous to all the organizers. Leon, one of the organizers, was given the first certificate that they read aloud. We would all be given one in our individual groups (Daisy and I, of course, didn't get one as we had switched groups. I don't think I was ever even registered for the course, just a gate-crasher!)
In our group we each shared, except Kim, something that happened during the week. I shared my frustration at not being able to get an answer about the room!!
Others shared some practices that they would take home with them. Daisy shocked us all, by saying (she had shared this with me earlier) that she wants to be a nun in Plum Village and be a teacher. I heard later that she had shared this with a few other monastics in our group. She said her parents (she's an only child) aren't too thrilled. Her dad is trying to figure out how to break the news to the mom back in Saigon. Daisy had told me she had spent some months in Vietnam in a monastery but it had a lot of strict rules, and she didn't feel it was a good fit and she wants to teach and be involved in the Happy Farm. This is a new project this year in Plum Village that hopefully I'll see when I get there (Daisy headed thereon Friday so maybe I'll see her there.) I think the idea is a big organic farm where interns can come to work and take the ideas home with them. I know Doug worked on their fundraising website and video this winter.
At the end of our session when pretty much everyone had shared, Daisy said she wanted to share a song. She is so quiet and you can hardly hear her speak. But all of a sudden out of this little 35 year old Vietnamese woman came the most beautiful voice, singing in English song! We were stunned like on that talent show in the UK when Susan Boyle all of a sudden came out with this soaring voice!!! Daisy's wasn't quite like that but it shocked all of us! Sr. an Nghiem said, "You want to be a nun? We'll have to talk!" Everyone laughed.
Our group each received their beautiful certificate and then we headed outside to meet the bigger group. Somehow I feel I've already written this but maybe it was just in the picture captions. Anyway the entire group of educators met outside in the parking lot and we each had a leaf and a tea light candle. A big circle was formed and several PV songs were sung. Then we all slowly walked down many steps towards the Metro stop, silently (first we were chanting and humming along with Anja the violinist, but then we were silent!). We stopped on a grassy spot near many sports courts where kids were playing on Friday night! We got a few stares as we all hugged goodbye and those taking the metro headed off.
Very moving
Candlelight ceremony
Back at the dorm I sat outside with Doug and a few monks and chatted and passed around food, there's ALWAYS food! I finally could tell they kind of wanted to talk "business" so I headed up to my room, now on the third floor at the very far end. But it was still nice! I ended up paying E103 for the three nights. I guess the BCN sangha paid for the 10 nights I stayed in the other room! That was really nice and unexpected! They have been so incredibly welcoming and gracious to me, I think because the Spanish sangha REALLY loves, respects and appreciates Doug and how much he had to do with Thay finally coming to Spain.
Doug is outside with the monastics having ANOTHER meeting! There has been one at least once a day, maybe twice! Glad I don't have to sit in.
Yesterday we all trooped down to Cataluyna, a square to meet Shivacami, who lives here in BCN, and was arranging the spot for our beach day about an hour train ride north, where the beaches are cleaner. We had to switch to a different station from the metro and were on our way, sitting on the right side so we'd be able to see the sea.
Bathroom and gelato were the first stop when we detrained (is that a word?) My favorite chocolate and pistachio! We then walked for quite awhile along the beach to find a semi-private cove. The sand was pretty course and ROUGH on my feet! The trains were whizzing back and forth on a raised bed above the beach. Finally we settled into our spot and three monks were in the water before I could set my stuff down. Sr. Dao was one of the first in. They mostly swim in their under robes, all brown pants and shirt. Three of them swam way out to a buoy. I inched my way in as it was quite cold but eventually refreshing, although my hands were tingling/aching the whole time. Sr. Mai, the young French nun who lives on Hong Kong and insisted on carrying my bag all day, came in and we swam together for awhile. Doug finally came in but then swam out to the buoy when I went ashore.
Monks and nuns a'swimmin!
In t-shirt - Michael Schaumberg, Phap Son. I stayed in Ibizi five years ago with his mom. Translated for Thay.
Shivacami, Sr. Dao's daughter, went to Mt. Holyoke, Getting married in NY this summer, born in ashram in India. She arranged our beach outing.
Lunch - avocados, olives and olive oil, bread, hummus, fruit, goat and sheep cheeses, etc.
Shivacami had brought a sheet (why didn't I think of that as I had an extra bed in my room, I didn't even think of a towel but Doug had one for me) she had an umbrella but we all sat in the sun to get warm! Sr. Mai's teeth were chattering, but she has no body fat for warmth. We took turns going up the rocks and behind bushes to change. I made it just before a train came rushing by and a group of tourists walking. They would have gotten a green underwear show, and more! I noticed in the next cove over was a couple swimming and sunbathing in the altogether!
Bread, pates, veggies, cheeses, Pellegrino and juices, chips etc. were passed around. Michael and Elena seemed to have brought most of the food. They aren't staying in the dorm so probably had access to a supermarket. It was lovely! I kept my ham and cheese on bread sandwich that I had swiped at breakfast hidden away! Had it for dinner at 12:30 am when we FINALLY returned to our rooms!
All of a sudden monks were chasing Phap Lieu, small Vietnamese/French cardiologist monk around (he had already been swimming and changed) and they threw him in! He must have made some wiseacre remark! Anyway, he had no dry clothes so Doug took off his shorts/zip legged pants and gave them to him and he put on the brown ones. He said they were pants and shirt that Dad had bought him in October when they went shopping at EMS. New shirt, pants, shoes, new jacket! He just loved them! Anyhow they saved Phap Lieu!
We headed back towards the train as Doug and Phap Lieu were having a dinner meeting with some guy who wants to sponsor their Wake up Tour in South America next fall. The rest of us were heading for the free museum night to the Joan Miro museum on Montjuic. BUT of course we had to climb, cling, climb up to the highest patio in this little town (see pictures) for lovely views. Doug stayed by my side to offer his arm strength for me up and especially down as my knees giving me grief and it helps.
Love it!
Photo op!
Phap Lindh in hat, Sr. An Nghiem, black sister, Sr. Mai carried my bags, Br. The, from Paris, mom teacher, dad Lebanese
Phap Lindh on HIgh ledge
We had a short wait at the station, pit stop, and brief look at the final fit all game BCN was playing against Athletica Madrid - it was 1 to 1 then. I asked someone when I got back to the dorm. They lost 1 to 1 with no overtime as they had to WIN to move on to I guess European contests; this was just national title!
Doug and Br. Lieu left us at Cataluyna and we talked Br. Lindh OUT of the long walk and took a metro to Parallel and then the funicular up Montjuic was included! We had a short walk to the Miro and of course, there was a line waiting outside. But we had food! I'm telling you these monastics are never at a loss and always have a stash with them. And I don't know ANYONE who can consume as much as Br. Lieu!! and he's so slight; I don't know where it goes!!
Looking down side of Montjuic
Looking up! Museo of Antiquity
Anyway we munched our way through the line, not long, and then stored all our bags in lockers. European system is cool; put in a euro and when you take it out gives you your euro back! I suggested we set a time to meet back at the lockers as it's difficult TRYING to keep everyone together and keep on moving!! So everyone split up and we wandered. I really like Miro's work as it is colorful and fanciful. Relatives of a friend of mine have in-laws who are art patrons. They gave their son an ORIGINAL Miro and they put it in their children's playroom with all the other childlike paintings and it fits right in! A thief would never know this was an original valuable piece of art!
I had never seen his sculptures and tapestries but he was very versatile! I especially liked the display of works he did around Barcelona - a mural to welcome people at the airport; a mural on the ground in a circular mosaic on La Ramblas; to welcome Pelé who come by land; and a statue, a model of which was in the museum outside overlooking the sparklingly lit city, welcoming people by sea! Maybe the original is down by the harbor somewhere - not a lot was in English so I was figuring it out on my own. He apparently lived until the 1980s, was constantly in conflict with Franco and his regime and ended up on Majorca, was part of the whole Surrealist movement. I'm not sure even what exactly that is, except Dali was thrown OUT of the movement, and the stuff is rather weird! But I enjoyed it!
We then headed toward the fountain display and crowds were seated at top by the beautiful Museo of Antiquity and we stopped at various levels on the way down to watch. It seemed the show went on every 15 minutes, with different selections playing while the main fountain at the bottom danced and lights changed colors. Sr. Mai grabbed with her strong arm, besides carrying my bag! as we headed down lots of stairs. At the bottom we all met up, passing food around again! And then finally I was ready to head home. So Sr. Tri from Australia and I took the metro home, and to bed, after my ham and cheese sandwich!! Slept like a rock!!
Dancing fountain
My plan for today was to go off early, before the hoards of tourists, to see Gaudi's Casa Batllo, one of the houses he was hired to renovate back around 1904. It's amazing, especially when I think of the Victorian style homes that were common in the UK and US around the same time. He was truly a visionary!
As Sr. An Nghiem said, she had visited the day before, it doesn't have a straight line anywhere! Well, first off, of course I was in a rush, as usual. I had spoken to two sisters at breakfast and they were planning to go as well. I suggested I go ahead (one of the sisters hadn't even come to breakfast yet) and I would wait in the line to get the tickets. Then we could go in together.
So I hopped the metro, come out with the Gaudi house right across the street, and realize I had COME without any money or credit cards,,, I couldn't believe it! I had no choice but to go back home, 8 Metro stops away! I was hoping the sisters were moving mindfully and hadn't left yet, as I had no phone to reach them. Huffing back into the lobby, I ran into Valerie who told me what room they were in. When I knocked, Sr. Ttri Nghiem from Sydney, answered and said relax, they weren't quite ready and we would go back together! Crisis averted! I pictured our paths crossing on the metro, them waiting for me thinking I had already bought tickets, and I wouldn't know whether they had already gone in or not! All that thinking for naught!!!
Sr. said she had been advised to pay the extra 3 euros to get these video headsets that show you what each room looked like when it was furnished (Gaudi designed most of the furniture as well, curved oak dining chairs, tables, beautiful stuff!) The video headset was amazing! You would stand in a room, press the number and as you turned around, it would show you all sides of the furnished room. Because of so many people going through, there is now very little furniture there. The house is still privately owned but the family allows it to be a museum.
Sr. Dao in first room. she's the one whose daughter is here
Some of the furniture Gaudi designed
Fireplace with room on right for couple and on left for chaperone!
Everything in this reminds you of water, the ocean, sea life. Even the floor on the outside patio undulates rather than completely flat! He had some amazing features to add light and air through venting and skylights. The outside structure reminds you of a dragon, probably a nod to St. George who slew the dragon, patron saint of Catalonia. I'll put captions on the pictures to try to describe them. I would have LOVED to live in this house!!
That five floor atrium looking up!
Central atrium the height of the building, maybe five floors!
The revolutionary arches in the attic
Railing that looks like a dragon spine
Outside top of staircase, top of dragon
More chimneys
Lights appear one color from one side and different from the other room
Colors in the atrium were lighter in lower levels and got darker to cobalt by the roof level.
Weird special video
laundry sinks in attic
Looks like a modern bath today!
Stairway to roof
Water feature in a room on the roof
Details on the roof
Largest Attic room
Attic room
the skylight from the rooftop
Doesn't really show the undulating flooring
hand rails conform to the grip of your hand
Patio garden
This usually had seasonal flowers in this planter
Thursday. May 15
In the afternoon on Wednesday, after seeing Gaudi's Casa Batllo, I left the sisters who were going to lunch with Sr. Daughter. I headed I to the Gothic quarter, the old city that had originally been enclosed by a wall and gates. I first passed the wonderful music hall that is an architectural wonder in its own right. I had gone to a wonderful Catalonian guitar music concert four years ago when I was here. So this time I just took a couple of pictures of the outside.
I then went to the square in front of the huge Gothic cathedral. I wandered around behind the church and found the square I remember from my previous bike tour here where they said guerrillas or people opposed to Franco during the Civil War in the 30s had been lined up and shot! the bullet holes are still in the walls.
Where revolutionists were lined up and shot by Franco regime in the Civil War
Further wandering brought me to narrower and narrower streets called the Call, which was the old Jewish Quarter of the city. There were some signs in Hebrew, signs for a synagogue, and little shops selling yamulkes and other Jewish paraphernalia. At this point I ran out of battery life and that took half an hour or more to find a photo shop.
As I walked along these narrow streets I stopped by a shop with an interesting sculpture in the doorway of a woman seated in a paper leaf dress! An English couple came out and said I should really go in as it was most interesting! I did. it was a jewelry shop, very high end, but they DID have the most interesting sculptures down the middle of the shop (see photos).
interesting sculpture
Map of quarter
At this point I was getting tired so headed to the pier, that was completely renovated for the '92 Olympics. I wanted to ride the long aerial tram across the harbor to Montjuic where most of the Olympic events took place, a high hill, behind which they hid the new harbor or industrial port. I could see the tower and kept walking towards it but at the end, there was a huge water gap between me and the tower!! I gave up to come back another day. I took the metro back for a small rest before the 6 pm night session.
The theme that night was conflict and conflict resolution. their formula is called "Beginning Anew". This involves first "watering the flowers" meaning tell the person all the wonderful, positive things about themselves. Then you can tell how you feel about either what you've done or said or what the other person has done or said that has caused the conflict. Then you do deep listening to help understand each other.
We were told to find triads, groups of three people and go find a spot to meet. The time guidelines were very strict. Each person could have five minutes to explain their conflict (or didn't have to talk at all -that was always an option. ) I ended up with this Chinese woman (married to a Swede and has her doctorate and teaches at a university there!) and Kim, with dyed red long hair, looks Asian, from the UK who said she would just listen, not share. So I went first. After I explained for five minutes, we stopped to breathe and then they could "water the flowers" about what I had shared. Turned out when they talked issue in their entity amazing to share that personally in!! What are the chances of that? Kim ended up sharing after all! It was pretty amazing to share that personally to people you had just met. but that's the trust that is built up in a retreat like this!
You can tell Valerie is used to facilitating groups like this to handle conflicts. She was really focused and kept us so.
When I returned to the dorm, I knew I had the room only until Friday and tried to find out if there was a room I could get for the last three days. She said it looked like they were overbooked but ask Sondra in the am. When I check on the internet, it looked I like every place I tried was booked for the weekend!! I may be sleeping on a sofa somewhere.
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