Hi Friends - Here's a lovely story from my Mom, the woman who helped me write my first stories. I saw a lot of me in the old man, the sense of judgment and entitlement and wanting things to go my way. And strong reactions when they didn't. Fortunately, I have had plenty of teachers who have helped me along the way to let go of some of those ideas that were getting in my way. I wish I had interesting stories to tell you. I'm working a lot. Which might be bad, but since it is all yoga related, I'm [View Full Entry]

---

---

If there is one thing I love about travel, it’s shopping. And if there is one thing you know about me, you know I am being facetious. Shopping is the last thing on my list. But as a visitor in Bali, I quickly learned that my raison d’etre was to spread my money around as quickly and broadly as possible. It began at the airport and $25 USD for a visa. I handed the guy $40 and got back a handful of Rupiah, the local currency. As I got my bag, a money changer was waving at me from behind [View Full Entry]

---

---

No matter where I live, it seems someone is trying to scam me. Friday night after class I was sitting by the entrance to the Shanghai metro when at precisely 10pm, twenty people rushed the entrance and set out blankets and boxes of stuff for sale. As I sat marveling at the scene of people trying to make a living, a guy saw me put down my empty water bottle. I saw him coming and gave it to him, asking by the way, how much he gets for each one. He had a huge Santa sack of them on his [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hi Friends - It’s been a while. I’ve been flat out at it here in Shanghai, teaching my 12 or 15 classes, applying for further certification and working up a proposal to revamp the teacher training. But last week wrote much of this next story for the Hangzhou entertainment magazine, one of two English-language publications in town. Just to fill you in, I came to Shanghai for a week and except for one day to retrieve my worldly belongings, have been here ever since. The upside is all my classes are in English and I can really tell people stuff. [View Full Entry]

---

---

The Quest I’m writing today from the train, on the way to Shanghai, the start of yet another transition. I’ve been offered a job as director of the Y+ teacher training academy and I’m traveling with a suitcase full of books and all my ‘winter’ gear. The job offer came two weeks ago when I was visiting with the current director, Rachel Hull. She’s an Australian teacher whom I met during my year in Byron Bay. She taught part of the teacher training that I took back in 2003 and has been here since last March. She got the program started [View Full Entry]

---

---

Sometimes just a random comment can challenge an entire way of thinking. No, I’m not talking about Steve Colbert’s scathing address to the White House Correspondent’s Dinner the other day, I’m talking about a guy I met the other day. He’d asked if I’d gotten out and seen much of China in my six months here. “Not much besides Shanghai,” I told him. “I’m waiting until my language skills improve.” I knew the lie of it before I even said the words. The truth of my homebody status is that despite all the travel I do, leaving [View Full Entry]

---

---

There ain’t nothing that causes a fight quite like a bad shoe shine. Mine started last week near the train station, a sketchy place in any country. I was headed to Shanghai for some R and R and had time for lunch before catching the train so I was wandering around looking for adventure. I found it next to a back alley, beside a woman who was selling fried bread. I was looking for a chance to practice my language skill (or lack…) when a guy started talking to me. I didn’t get most of what he was suggesting but [View Full Entry]

---

---

I’ve had a vision for some years about creating a ‘salon’ in my home, a place where interesting people can come discuss interesting subjects. But for years, it remained only an idea. Then last weekend, I finally made it happen. It’s not a big leap, really, I gotta believe it is a very old idea, something only a little newer than cave men gathering to compare the tastes of deer versus bison. “Stringy,” says Og. “Gamey,” says Thak. With the Xi Hu Salon I hoped to get past the modern caveman conversation, the one I often find being shout [View Full Entry]

---

---

It wasn’t quite a fistfight, but the dudes were shoving each other over by the garbage can. The old men caught my attention this morning when I was sitting by the lake listening to John Friend on my iPod. This famous yoga teacher was instructing students to open to grace and be grateful for the ability to practice yoga. To my right, a 70ish man in a suit coat sprinted, as well as he could, to the trash can. Only he took second place to another old man wearing a winter jacket. They were both carrying plastic shopping bags, the kind [View Full Entry]

---

---

Between dancing with lady boys and a run in with the Red Guards, I’d say Scott had the full China experience. There’s nothing quite like being accosted whether it be out of fear or love. We found the lady boys at a Thai restaurant called Banana Leaf. I had the day off, Scott had returned from Beijing and having finished our 90-minute oil massages, Scott and I walked over to the flagship branch of this growing chain. It being Women’s Day, the place was packed. We faced a 20-minute wait for a table, but five minutes into it, I saw [View Full Entry]

---

---