Heading into 2552...

Here in Thailand the year is 2551, and the new year is celebrated around the time of Buddha's enlightenment in mid April. On local calendars and within the country this is the recognized date, but as a part of modernization and the desire keep up with the rapidly changing world, they have introduced our western date onto their calendars as well. So, new years was celebrated here on December 31st, but I think it's really just an excuse to party. The Thai people love their festivals and celebrations, extending holidays for at least a week. Street fairs, markets, parties and live music all begin 3 to 4 days before the actual holiday and usually trickle on for a few days afterwards. Usually it's hard to tell which day the holiday really falls on. Many people travel into the cities or out to the hill tribes to be with their families, so they really like to use the holidays as an extended vacation. I love this way of bringing people together because it creates such a warm and festive feel for many days at a time.

I spent new years eve up at You Sabi organic farm with a few of my friends (the same farm I stayed about a month ago), and it really was the perfect place to bring in 2009... or is it 2552?! We made lots of yummy Italian food (which was a real treat because it's something I have not had since back home) drank some wine and danced the night away. There is a really great community of people living on the farm, so it was nice to welcome in the new year surrounded by so much love. I spent at least an hour before and after midnight looking up at the incredible night sky, watching shooting stars and making my intentions for the year to come. After new years eve, we stayed on the farm a few days longer to enjoy the peaceful and beautiful surroundings. I spent my days reading and writing, doing yoga, taking long walks around the farms, laying by the reservoir, and watching the sunsets. It really felt like the perfect way to bring in 2009... and I must admit, I have a feeling this year is going to be amazing!

So what else is new with me??? Oh, I forgot to share with you a really fun opportunity I've received these past couple of weeks. My friend Joanna teaches humanities to young monks at the Buddhist University, and she went out of town for the holidays so I've gotten to sub her class. I have been teaching an intro to psychology class, and they've really enjoyed it so far. The monks have all moved to Thailand from Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam in order to receive a higher education, because it really isn't possible in their home towns. I have the third year students, so they are only a few years younger than me, but no one seems to mind. The class periods have been two and a half hours long, so at first I was a bit nervous at not having enough material to teach. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that they all speak fluent English and are really great at engaging in deep discussions. They ask amazing questions, challenging even my perception of psychology... which is great, because I think it's important to constantly question our own beliefs. Our first class we spent an hour and a half talking about the self and the ego, which may sound a bit boring to some people, but I find it really interesting. My BA is in psychology, but since I studied at a western university, the approach is pretty different to the way it is viewed here in the east. I am very interested in the mind, body, soul connection- something that these monks explore daily through their meditation practices- so we really do share similar views on psychology. Last class we talked about the universality of emotions, and how they truly are the thread that strings all human beings together. When we feel sad or scared and think we are all alone, that can not be further from the truth, because everyone has felt these same basic feelings at some point in their lives. Emotions bring us together, so they must be experienced fully in order feel compassion for ourselves as well as others in our lives. Their homework for class was to people watch... something they had never heard of before! I had them sit on the temple grounds or out on the street somewhere, without judgment, try to observe what emotions people were feeling as they passed by. Even though we all experience the same basic emotions of fear, sadness, anger, happiness, love and excitment, we all may express them a bit differently, so it's nice to understand how behavior plays into our feelings as well. They all thought this sounded like a very interesting experiment! I'll have to let you know how it plays out!

Love to you all! I hope your new years was spent surrounded by lots of love and joy!
Talk to you soon!
April