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Published: September 2nd 2006
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Hookipa
Jenny, Sonja and I at Hookipa Beach surfing at sunset Staying and working at the Tropohouse, a Bed and Breakfast in Maui, has been a unique learning experience for me so far. "Tropo" meaning a confused state induced by living in the rainforest, is a perfect name for this place. Although I was in a confused state before I entered this house, my daily routine has sent me into an even more haywire state of mind!
I wake up in the morning, make the coffee, set out breakfast and then I take the rat caught in the rat trap I set up the night before for a ride in my car and release him or her into a far away sugar cane field. At first I was really grossed out by these rodents, but for a while I warmed up to them and saw them as lost pets. However, now I have absolutely no tolerance for these creatures and want them off the property! After all these years of growing up in the city of Chicago, I never once saw a rat and now that I am living in the country of a tropical paradise, there are rats everywhere. It just doesn't make sense. I don't let my
Dancing around the car
Jenny and I doing a photoshoot with our new car, simplicity...isn't she beautiful! furry little friends throw me off too much because after driving two minutes from the Bed and Breakfast I am blessed with a magnificient view of the volcano extending up into the clouds and out into the ocean.
Fortunately, there is a girl named Jenny who is my age and is staying at the Bed and Breakfast as well. She knows a lot of peple here and has invited me everywhere with her so far. Even so Maui has been both hard and exhilarating. It has been challenging because I am here all alone, but it is exciting for the same reason. Now that I don't have Rachel by my side, I have to be more socially proactive make new friends.
Since I have been here, I have been dancing three times a weekat a Soul Motion Workshop. I dreaded going to the classes at first, but I absolutely love it now. Before this Soul Motion workshop I did not know how to dance with anyone. I was too concerned with how I looked and thought only about performing. Through this free flow workshop I have learned how to let go and be able to connect with people
A Beautiful Bunch of Ripe Banana
Bananas from the gulch in the backyard of the tropohouse that I pick when they are ripe. in a way where all parts of me are invloved, even my clumpsy, injured, restricted and akward parts. Hopefully I can traslate this dance practice into the dance of life and not be so afraid to enter relationships, interact with people and make more friends.
In addition to dance, Maui altogether has been freeing. One example of everyday life here was when I went to this amazing waterfall with Jenny. The waterfall looked so much like it was fake that I felt like I was at a hollywood movie set. As I manuevered my way through the bushes and vines of the jungle, I felt like the characters in Fern Gully and The Jungle Book. After Jenny and I jumped into the waterfalls and swam around in circles, we drank from a fesh source of water trickling down from the side of the cliff. The sun was shining down on us through the trees and everything was fresh and perfect.
The more I slow down into life here on Maui, the more I am in tune with the daily miracles that happen all around me. The other night I was feeling really lonely and didn't know what to do so I went and sat on a rock at Hookipa Beach. I watched the windsurfers gracefully weave in and out of one other with the sun setting perfectly behind them. It was a picture you would see in a magazine. As if this experience weren't powerful enough, I turned behind me and there was a full double rainbow stretching all the way across the sky.
A couple weeks after living at the Tropohouse, Jenny and I decided to buy a car. Luckily I hadn't seen the car before the deal was sealed because, if I had, I may have said no. Simplicity, the name of our automobile, has a painting job that is far from simple. She is a 1990 Toyota Corolla with pockadots and zebra stripes and she runs wonderfully.Because of simplicity, I get more looks in town than anywhere else but I guess it's good because she makes me feel important.
It's these little experiences that add up that make me feel fine about being here. Sometimes I feel like I am in the wrong place because I am "supposed" to be travelling in other countries. Although travelling has been a big challenge for me, a lot harder than I ever imagined, thinking about settling somewhere for a while almost even scares me more. The thought of committing to a job, a place to live and having the same everyday routine sounds boring to me. I am supposed to go to Asia in September, but who knows which way the wind wiill blow my sails.
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