Day 17, February 14, 2009 – Saturday – Valentine’s Day
In the morning I made Valentines for Jonny, Sean, and Tina. After some random morning events, a large group lunch at solar kitchen, and a field session with Sean and Tina, I walked over to the Supermind conference. I heard the last two presentations of the day – on the experimental mind and synthetic thinking. The topics were interesting and the speakers shared interesting stories, but I felt that certain areas should have been delved into deeper. The questions afterward brought out some interesting new characters and ideas. I felt like I should have been at the podium explaining my philosophy on how to bring Superman down to physical manifestation in this world. Tina drove Sean over to the Youth Center, so Sean lent me his bicycle. Shortly after hopping on, the chain came off and I had to walk the rest of the way. The Youth Center held the Love Circus, an annual festival with rides, good food, live music, and a great community atmosphere. I met some awesome people, including Nyle, two Johns, and Krishna. Nyle and I spoke for about 45 minutes on the supermind, Daniel Pinchbeck, psychedelics, shamanism, the transition and evolution of consciousness to higher states, 2012, and much more. One of the Johns I met was from Monterey in California, and we talked for a good bit about how he is a guide on the Himalayas and how amazing Auroville is. The French Reggae band came on at 9pm and rocked out hard, tons of people were dancing. Afterwards the kids started up their own dance party in the back, first in the chill area, then around the fire pit. Epic night indeed. I didn’t really talk to Tina at all since I was getting weird vibes from her. Matthias pulled me aside and told me about this shaman lady who lives in Auroville and he gave me her basic info. I definitely have to contact her! Matthias and I had an incredible conversation that night and we really bonded over our mutual distaste for decadence and the general attitude at parties. He gave me props when he found me reading at the love circus. We talked a little about how we feel disconnected from most people since we are so spiritually inclined and how it’s so hard to find others who can relate. Matthias is very wise considering he is 19. He drove me home, and as I arrived at 4am Jonny was just waking to start his day.
Day 18, February 15, 2009 – Sunday
Waking up in the morning I felt hung over despite not drinking the night before. Five hours of sleep really doesn’t cut it for me. After meeting Jonny at Matrimandir we went to La Terrace, got a snack, and napped in the shade on the roof. After lunch Jonny took me inside Matrimandir for the second time. We tried to find out why there were certain streaks of light coming out of the gigantic crystal ball that aren’t supposed to be there. We inspected the meditation chamber and the roof and the sunray-mirror system but we couldn’t identify the cause of the mystery. After meditating in the inner chamber, I left for a chill session at Sean’s. Dining at Ganesh bakery, Sean and I met this shaman dude named Hue and we had an interesting conversation. I hope to see that guy again. Afterward, Sean and I walked to Discipline to play a board game, but as the current was off we had no light so we walked back taking turns placing the huge board on our heads. We saw some beautiful horses on the way back, including a white one that came out of nowhere and was about ten feet away. I felt like it was Tina’s spirit animal, her presence, since I had seen her every day for the past seven days and today was the first day without her. I couldn’t even finish one round of the game as I was so tired. Lukas came back and took my spot while I passed out hard.
Day 19 – February 16, 2009 – Monday
There was no work since one of Jonny’s Tamil worker’s grandparent died and so all the wood workers were having a ceremony. Despite the dreary circumstances of my free time I was finally able to go to morning yoga again. Ursula, a fellow yoga-mate, brought me to solar kitchen afterwards. I ate with Jonny and Rosa, an elderly Russian lady who works inside Matrimandir cleaning and beautifying. When my ninja crew arrived I switched to their table. All of the negative energy I felt from Tina over the past three days dissipated when she greeted me with a silly grin and pleasant conversation. Sitting next to me was Edo (sp?), we met and had a nice little chat. After moving logs and spreading dead leaves over the bases of new trees for shade at the Youth Center, I hitched over to Repos beach and read poetry by Rumi while waiting for Sean and Tina. Sean came, and we chilled on the beach. Tina joined us with a lot of energy and ready to swim. We ran and jumped into the ocean, which gave me the burst of energy I needed to get out of my lethargic state of super-chill-mode. We played some epic games in the warm, salty water. I picked Tina up to throw her and as she launched forward she kicked her heel back and nailed me in the balls, paralyzing me for five minutes. After more beach chillage we went to Pizzeria Trattoria. Matthias Matse chilled with us there for a bit – I really like that kid. We’re on the same page. Tina, Sean and I tried to get into Matrimandir after, but as it was late and we were obviously not there to work we had to go to the fields instead for a chill session. Sean drove me home to Newlands after we said farewell to our third mate, the gypsy.
Recently I've gotten some very good feedback that I am doing too much summarizing. I mean, I am mostly copying from the bullet points in my journal. I was told that my writing should be "more poetic," which is great. I just don't know how to do that without spending a considerable amount of time writing. I'll continue to summarize my days, but I'll also do a monthly rundown of my experience with more fanciful rhetoric .
Monday, February 23, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Finance Degrees Come in Handy
Day 14 - February 11, 2009 Wednesday
In the morning I helped out my German friends set up their new home in Discipline by covering ditches laid with water and electricity pipes, and digging a new ditch to their distant bathroom. After a solar kitchen lunch break and chill session with Tina at La Terrace I returned to Discipline for more ditch digging and to sandpaper the wooden planks of the huts. I hitched a ride to Repos beach and meditated while Sean swam, then went to Pizzeria Trattoria for a Wood Co-op meeting. I shared my story with Paul, and he followed suit. When Glenn arrived, Paul quickly summarized my standing: "He studied finance at NYU and then he found spirit, so now he's working for the wood co-op instead of Merrill Lynch." Funny, he cut through all the bullshit and went straight to the core. Manimaran took me to solar kitchen after the meeting and I met Tina at La Terrace. Super buzzed from espresso I was bouncing with energy, so when I met Tina on the roof we had a very funny, energetic chill session. I was unusually funny, and when Sean, Lukas, and his mother arrived I continued to make everyone laugh. The highlight of the day came after - Sean, Tina and I walked to a field for conversation, beatboxing, freestyling, a mini yoga session, and a personal meditation. I felt the presence of the Oversoul, of Atman, or everyman, during my meditation.
Day 15 - February 12, 2009 Thursday
Today I did payroll on excel and mixed-level yoga under Tatiana with Tina. We had snacks at her place after and tried to go o ut but her bike light failed and she had to get it repaired. We lost energy and decided just to sleep, so I walked home. I felt a weird vibe around Tina, something was off. I was in a pretty bad mood walking home but getting two hitches helped lighten the mood.
Day 16 - February 13, 2009 Friday
After breakfast at Town Hall and a short walk to the Stock Home, Manimaran took me to the Wood Co-op meeting in Botanical Gardens where we are setting up our new office and wood storage location. After, I dealt with bills in the Stock Home, followed by solar kitchen lunch with friends. Back at the Stock Home I accounted for expenses until 6:30pm. We completely caught up on a month's worth of work in one day. Damn it feels good to be a gangsta. I had dinner at Kailash with the krew, then chilled at La Terrace with Sean, Tina, and Karl. The four of us walked to a field and chilled, had some ice cream at Richie's, then drove off to Shrima beach for a big kick it session with about 15 people, a campfire, music, and naked dudes swimming being chased by girls with cameras.
In the morning I helped out my German friends set up their new home in Discipline by covering ditches laid with water and electricity pipes, and digging a new ditch to their distant bathroom. After a solar kitchen lunch break and chill session with Tina at La Terrace I returned to Discipline for more ditch digging and to sandpaper the wooden planks of the huts. I hitched a ride to Repos beach and meditated while Sean swam, then went to Pizzeria Trattoria for a Wood Co-op meeting. I shared my story with Paul, and he followed suit. When Glenn arrived, Paul quickly summarized my standing: "He studied finance at NYU and then he found spirit, so now he's working for the wood co-op instead of Merrill Lynch." Funny, he cut through all the bullshit and went straight to the core. Manimaran took me to solar kitchen after the meeting and I met Tina at La Terrace. Super buzzed from espresso I was bouncing with energy, so when I met Tina on the roof we had a very funny, energetic chill session. I was unusually funny, and when Sean, Lukas, and his mother arrived I continued to make everyone laugh. The highlight of the day came after - Sean, Tina and I walked to a field for conversation, beatboxing, freestyling, a mini yoga session, and a personal meditation. I felt the presence of the Oversoul, of Atman, or everyman, during my meditation.
Day 15 - February 12, 2009 Thursday
Today I did payroll on excel and mixed-level yoga under Tatiana with Tina. We had snacks at her place after and tried to go o ut but her bike light failed and she had to get it repaired. We lost energy and decided just to sleep, so I walked home. I felt a weird vibe around Tina, something was off. I was in a pretty bad mood walking home but getting two hitches helped lighten the mood.
Day 16 - February 13, 2009 Friday
After breakfast at Town Hall and a short walk to the Stock Home, Manimaran took me to the Wood Co-op meeting in Botanical Gardens where we are setting up our new office and wood storage location. After, I dealt with bills in the Stock Home, followed by solar kitchen lunch with friends. Back at the Stock Home I accounted for expenses until 6:30pm. We completely caught up on a month's worth of work in one day. Damn it feels good to be a gangsta. I had dinner at Kailash with the krew, then chilled at La Terrace with Sean, Tina, and Karl. The four of us walked to a field and chilled, had some ice cream at Richie's, then drove off to Shrima beach for a big kick it session with about 15 people, a campfire, music, and naked dudes swimming being chased by girls with cameras.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Bringing Shamanism to Auroville
Day 10 - February 7, 2009
Waking up wasted in the morning and almost late for work, I run into town and hitch a ride to Matrimandir to make it on time. The guys I do wood work with are warming up to me. After lunch at the Indian pavilion with Jonny, I meet up with Karl and Lucas at the solar kitchen, then chill at Kailash. Sean, Tina, Lucas, and Matthias roll to the beach. A native from Chennai sits down with us, I open him up to conversation, and he shares a story about how he works with EZ1Trade making 400 calls a day from a call center scamming people out of $240 dollars. There are over 200 people in his office, and they scam people all over the US and Germany, getting them to agree to a free calling card for three months and in a voice recording that speaks too fast to understand they end up agreeing to pay $240. We recorded an hour of our conversation with this guy. I feel like giving it to the US media :) I chilled at Sean's hut before heading to the Youth Center for pizza night, where there was a big kick it and plenty of incredible pizza. I played the cube with Tina, had a great talk with Hannes about philosophy, then went back to Sean's with Karl and Lucas for Harold & Kumar 2.
Day 11 - February 8, 2009 Sunday
I had dreams of surviving a tidal wave, accepting and coming to peace with my impending doom right before the wave hit. I was knocked back hard by the wave but I rose to my feet unscathed. Waking at Sean's and walking / hitching home, I did some laundry before heading back to the solar kitchen for lunch with Sean, Karl, Christian, and Jonny. I went to Kailash with Karl and chilled with the Kailash crew till Sean came, then we went to the beach. Tina met us there - we swam, talked, and had chicken fights. Karl left and the rest of us went for ice cream at Richie's. Sean and I went to the banyan tree for meditation then walked around Matrimandir before heading back to his place. We picked up some food along the way and cooked pasta in his community kitchen, where Karl and Tina met up ith us again. Afterwards we walked to Sean's hut and chilled and listened to music. I shared my New Brighton Beach camp rap with them, which is about 8 minutes long. Everyone but Sean and I left, so Sean and I had a graffiti writing contest before falling asleep.
Day 12 - February 9, 2009 Monday
In the morning I had dreams of some sort of academic competition, but I don't remember much about it. I walked and hitched to Matrimandir and used the internet before Jonny picked me up. We did wood work in the Light area, then I went to solar kitchen for lunch with Toby and Karl. Chilled briefly at Kailash with Karl, who drove me to the Visitor Center where I meet up with Tina and Sean and discuss beach plans. Sean takes me to the place he'll be moving into on Sunday, Discipline, where we sandpapered the floor for three hours to get all the white paint off that he and Karl spilled on the floor while painting the walls. If only they used newspaper to cover the floor... Afterwards Sean, Tina and I went to Repo beach. Sean's bike kept failing along the way so we got there late and the sun was near setting. The three of us had dinner by the beach, then rode off to Jan David's to pick up a drum for a spirit journey. When we got there, Oliver suggested we to the spirit journey at the beach and spend the night. We got some blankets and rolled out to some new beach I haven't been to yet, a little north of Repo. Under the FULL MOON I led a spirit journey for Sean, Tina, Oliver, Eva, and Joachim. We chilled for a bit afterwards, then Oliver, Eva, and Joachim left. Sean, Tina and I slept on the beach under the stars and full moon.
Day 13 - February 10, 2009 Tuesday
Waking up in time for the sun rise and truly uncomfortable from sleeping on a thin blanket in the sand, we chilled for a bit as Tamil guys walked past us staring. We drove to Repo beach for breakfast, then Sean dropped me off at Matrimandir. I read my book, waited for Jonny, and was privy to a native woman picking up cow dung with her hands and throwing it into a bush. I walked to the Stock Home and met up with Manimaran, who introduced me to the Tally accounting system. Soon I'll start working on the finances and accounting aspect of the wood cooperative rather than the physical labor. Walking up to Jonny at the solar kitchen, I greeted him. There were two other people at the table. He hushed me with his finger and pointed to a sign right by the table saying that we were in a silent area. Cool concept, but really embarrassing for me to walk in and talk. Jonny dropped me off at Matrimandir and I walk to Discipline. A short hitch along the way really helped as the sun scoured my skin. More scrubbing and cleaning at Discipline. Lukas came back from his one week trip to southern India with his mother and he met us there. After work we chilled at the bakery by Seans, then Karl dropped me at Sean and Lukas' hut, which they all call a "capsule." We walked to solar kitchen for dinner, I hitched my way to the banyan tree, meditated under another seemingly full moon, then walked home for the first time in three days.
Waking up wasted in the morning and almost late for work, I run into town and hitch a ride to Matrimandir to make it on time. The guys I do wood work with are warming up to me. After lunch at the Indian pavilion with Jonny, I meet up with Karl and Lucas at the solar kitchen, then chill at Kailash. Sean, Tina, Lucas, and Matthias roll to the beach. A native from Chennai sits down with us, I open him up to conversation, and he shares a story about how he works with EZ1Trade making 400 calls a day from a call center scamming people out of $240 dollars. There are over 200 people in his office, and they scam people all over the US and Germany, getting them to agree to a free calling card for three months and in a voice recording that speaks too fast to understand they end up agreeing to pay $240. We recorded an hour of our conversation with this guy. I feel like giving it to the US media :) I chilled at Sean's hut before heading to the Youth Center for pizza night, where there was a big kick it and plenty of incredible pizza. I played the cube with Tina, had a great talk with Hannes about philosophy, then went back to Sean's with Karl and Lucas for Harold & Kumar 2.
Day 11 - February 8, 2009 Sunday
I had dreams of surviving a tidal wave, accepting and coming to peace with my impending doom right before the wave hit. I was knocked back hard by the wave but I rose to my feet unscathed. Waking at Sean's and walking / hitching home, I did some laundry before heading back to the solar kitchen for lunch with Sean, Karl, Christian, and Jonny. I went to Kailash with Karl and chilled with the Kailash crew till Sean came, then we went to the beach. Tina met us there - we swam, talked, and had chicken fights. Karl left and the rest of us went for ice cream at Richie's. Sean and I went to the banyan tree for meditation then walked around Matrimandir before heading back to his place. We picked up some food along the way and cooked pasta in his community kitchen, where Karl and Tina met up ith us again. Afterwards we walked to Sean's hut and chilled and listened to music. I shared my New Brighton Beach camp rap with them, which is about 8 minutes long. Everyone but Sean and I left, so Sean and I had a graffiti writing contest before falling asleep.
Day 12 - February 9, 2009 Monday
In the morning I had dreams of some sort of academic competition, but I don't remember much about it. I walked and hitched to Matrimandir and used the internet before Jonny picked me up. We did wood work in the Light area, then I went to solar kitchen for lunch with Toby and Karl. Chilled briefly at Kailash with Karl, who drove me to the Visitor Center where I meet up with Tina and Sean and discuss beach plans. Sean takes me to the place he'll be moving into on Sunday, Discipline, where we sandpapered the floor for three hours to get all the white paint off that he and Karl spilled on the floor while painting the walls. If only they used newspaper to cover the floor... Afterwards Sean, Tina and I went to Repo beach. Sean's bike kept failing along the way so we got there late and the sun was near setting. The three of us had dinner by the beach, then rode off to Jan David's to pick up a drum for a spirit journey. When we got there, Oliver suggested we to the spirit journey at the beach and spend the night. We got some blankets and rolled out to some new beach I haven't been to yet, a little north of Repo. Under the FULL MOON I led a spirit journey for Sean, Tina, Oliver, Eva, and Joachim. We chilled for a bit afterwards, then Oliver, Eva, and Joachim left. Sean, Tina and I slept on the beach under the stars and full moon.
Day 13 - February 10, 2009 Tuesday
Waking up in time for the sun rise and truly uncomfortable from sleeping on a thin blanket in the sand, we chilled for a bit as Tamil guys walked past us staring. We drove to Repo beach for breakfast, then Sean dropped me off at Matrimandir. I read my book, waited for Jonny, and was privy to a native woman picking up cow dung with her hands and throwing it into a bush. I walked to the Stock Home and met up with Manimaran, who introduced me to the Tally accounting system. Soon I'll start working on the finances and accounting aspect of the wood cooperative rather than the physical labor. Walking up to Jonny at the solar kitchen, I greeted him. There were two other people at the table. He hushed me with his finger and pointed to a sign right by the table saying that we were in a silent area. Cool concept, but really embarrassing for me to walk in and talk. Jonny dropped me off at Matrimandir and I walk to Discipline. A short hitch along the way really helped as the sun scoured my skin. More scrubbing and cleaning at Discipline. Lukas came back from his one week trip to southern India with his mother and he met us there. After work we chilled at the bakery by Seans, then Karl dropped me at Sean and Lukas' hut, which they all call a "capsule." We walked to solar kitchen for dinner, I hitched my way to the banyan tree, meditated under another seemingly full moon, then walked home for the first time in three days.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
New Freckles
Day 6 - Tuesday, February 3
Meditated by the banyan tree, then lunch at the Indian pavilion (bharat nivas). Explored the Tibet pavilion, USA dorm, exhibition center, the Canadian shamanic statue. Next I meditated in two of Matrimandir's peripheral petal chambers - gratitude and progress. I was unusually grateful for the rest of the day... and spiritual progress jumped to a new level: after meditating in the chambers I tried an open-eye spirit journey for the first time. I am reading a book on shamanism right now that suggested doing that, and it worked. I am now able to walk with a foot in both worlds, as shamans do. One in ordinary consciousness where I can deal with the affairs of daily life, and one in shamanic consciousness, where my spirit roams with my power animals and their vast wisdom. After my open-eye spirit journey I hung out with some ninjas in a drum circle, went to an Indian dance performance at bharat nivas, chilled at Sean's, then rode home on my bicycle with another open-eye spirit journey.
Day 7 - Wednesday, February 4
Started the day with a yoga class, then had lunch aat the solar kitchen where I met this German girl named Anna. I talked with Unkele (sp?) about shamanism and spirit journeys during lunch as well. Afterwards I went on a spirit journey under the banyan tree, followed by groceries, a nice bike ride without destination, solar kitchen dinner, and a kick it at Sean's. While at Sean's I had the idea to start interviewing people over lunch, asking first for introductions, then theirrelationship with spirituality, how they feel about Matrimandir, what utopia means for them, and how Auroville can be the perfect community.
Day 8 - Thursday, February 5
Slept at Sean's so I had to ride home in the morning, get my super-ghetto bicycle fixed, then prepare myself for the day. I met Luca and Teresa at solar kitchen over lunch. Cute couple. Definitely not legal in the US though.. he's 21 and she is 16. After I kickedit at the Kailash dorm house with Karl and worked out. Tired and sweaty we drank a beer then drove to Kuilapalayam for ice cream. I met up with Jonny at Matrimandir and went on a spirit journey under the banyan tree and asked my power animal how I could make Jonny a happier man. He seems happy but I can tell from his energy that something is underneath his smile. When I saw him after my journey he seemed pooped out, so I definitely asked the right question. My power animals gave me a special acorn to give to him, and when we got home I made some delicious pasta for us. Then I went to the visitor center for an event called the Living Room, which is every Tues and Thurs from 7pm-10pm. I met Thomas, who was chill. The two girl organizers ditched Thomas and I for their friends downstairs. Definitely not going to that event again. They totally could have brought us down to join them with their friends. I rode home in the dark and slept under the stars with the mattress Jonny set up for me. Despite having a mosquito net I awoke during the night to burning itches on my left arm. I couldn't go back to sleep until an hour or two later I ran cold water over the swollen bite marks.
Day 9 - Friday, February 6
Got some breakfast with Jonny and met his buddy Fabrice. I like him, he immediately brought our conversation to spirituality. Most of the day was spent doing wood work, cutting trees and lifting them into the rundy cart for transportation. Hard core lifting. We could have used six clones of James Williams. I now measure a tree's weight by assessing how many James Williamses it would take to lift it. After solar kitchen lunch solo, I made plans for the night with Karl. More wood work followed by a beer run with Karl (24 pack of 16oz "strong" beer). Then Jonny took me our for pizza in Kuilapalayam. One of the best pizzas I've ever had, that's for sure. Three dollars for a full, delectable pizza with five ingredients. Win! Jonny dropped me off at Kailash where I kicked it with Karl and Lucas. Sean met us there and we drank some beer, listened to music and had a jolly time. We left for the Eucalyptus field and kicked it there with about ten other people. I met Shanti, a cool dude who was blasting beats from his car. He's lived here his whole life. He gave me a 32oz Budweiser even though I had one of the strong beers in my hand. The guards came and told us to turn down the music. A few minutes later we all bounced to this isolated spot where there were about 40 people. There was a campfire, beats coming from Shanti's car, and mysterious music coming from some place closer to the woods. Shanti and I went on a beer run with Karl, Teresa, and Luca, dancing in the car in drunken mania. Shanti picked up more of his Buds, I brought the rest of my 24-pack, and we returned to the party. I thought everyone would have left without our music. I was surprisingly mistaken. Then I located the source of the mysterious music from the forest - about 80 feet from the campfire was a small room with a DJ and a bunch of kids dancing. The playlist was excellent and some of the girls were gorgeous. Drunken dancing ensued. I stumbled home afterwards.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Settling In
Jan 31
After getting ready for the day and jotting down my dreams from a night full of crickets and birds chirping, I rode into Kuilapayam, a small village 4 minutes from my hut. There I bought an adapter to plug in my electronics. I explored the area a little bit before heading to the Pitanga building for a morning yoga class.
I met up with Sean and some of his buddies for lunch at the Solar Kitchen. Sean and I decided to journey to Puducherry, a city about 15 minutes from Auroville. There we explored the third-world shops, got some ice cream, meandered through the fish market, and took plenty of photos. There was a small shop full of ancient, broken fans and a man sitting on the floor repairing them. I have no idea how someone can make a living out of that.
Back on the bike we noticed that the back tire was flat, but we quickly found a repair shop. There was an alley next to the repair shop with four young boys playing with spin tops. They were playful and tried to show off their moves, so I showed them some of mine (without using the toys). Soon I had a crowd of twelve kids and three adults, and I had a great time playing with them. The father of three of the kids told me to take pictures of his wife and children, and bragged about how he had sex with his wife and, clicking his tongue, popped out another kid. He couldn't speak English for beans but it was fun trying to talk with him anyway.
After Puducherry Sean and I went to the Auroville beach. At 4pm the place was packed and still very warm out. I can tell I'll be hanging out there a lot. A couple natives joined Sean and I for a chat, and then all their bros came and joined us. A drummer came up and played some beats for us and about ten of us danced in the sand. When the drummer asked for money the natives covered for us.
Sean and I had a nice dinner by the beach, and on our way out we noticed the bike was flat again. We each hitched rides back into town and met up at the Visitor's Center for the 9 o'clock French reggae concert. There were about 300 people, including fifty or so dancing in front of the stage. I was surprised to see so many beautiful girls. This really is paradise. I felt my heart opening while dancing; I am realizing more and more than I may not want to leave.
After the concert about twelve of us went to a field and played a drinking game. It was pitch black out other than the stars, moon, and a flashlight.
Feb 1
Meetings, chillage, beach, and a kick it at Sean's house where I got Sean, Carl and I to freestyle.
Feb 2
Meetings, hanging out by the banyan tree, and discussing my potential work opportunities.
Just started work today. it seems that the majority of my work, at least for the next few weeks, will involve cutting up fallen eucalyptus trees, loading them onto a huge cart with 7 Tamil natives, and taking them to our wood storage center which will be processed later to make new buildings and shaz. I'll also be helping out on other projects soon. I already have a few on new ventures to start up here, like a recreation and event center with events going on every afternoon and evening. Another thing I thought of would be to set up a volunteer center with a roof over a smooth floor to pitch tents under so that new volunteers can come and check out the place before deciding where they want to live and work in the community. This would help Auroville bring in more volunteers and organize them properly.
After getting ready for the day and jotting down my dreams from a night full of crickets and birds chirping, I rode into Kuilapayam, a small village 4 minutes from my hut. There I bought an adapter to plug in my electronics. I explored the area a little bit before heading to the Pitanga building for a morning yoga class.
I met up with Sean and some of his buddies for lunch at the Solar Kitchen. Sean and I decided to journey to Puducherry, a city about 15 minutes from Auroville. There we explored the third-world shops, got some ice cream, meandered through the fish market, and took plenty of photos. There was a small shop full of ancient, broken fans and a man sitting on the floor repairing them. I have no idea how someone can make a living out of that.
Back on the bike we noticed that the back tire was flat, but we quickly found a repair shop. There was an alley next to the repair shop with four young boys playing with spin tops. They were playful and tried to show off their moves, so I showed them some of mine (without using the toys). Soon I had a crowd of twelve kids and three adults, and I had a great time playing with them. The father of three of the kids told me to take pictures of his wife and children, and bragged about how he had sex with his wife and, clicking his tongue, popped out another kid. He couldn't speak English for beans but it was fun trying to talk with him anyway.
After Puducherry Sean and I went to the Auroville beach. At 4pm the place was packed and still very warm out. I can tell I'll be hanging out there a lot. A couple natives joined Sean and I for a chat, and then all their bros came and joined us. A drummer came up and played some beats for us and about ten of us danced in the sand. When the drummer asked for money the natives covered for us.
Sean and I had a nice dinner by the beach, and on our way out we noticed the bike was flat again. We each hitched rides back into town and met up at the Visitor's Center for the 9 o'clock French reggae concert. There were about 300 people, including fifty or so dancing in front of the stage. I was surprised to see so many beautiful girls. This really is paradise. I felt my heart opening while dancing; I am realizing more and more than I may not want to leave.
After the concert about twelve of us went to a field and played a drinking game. It was pitch black out other than the stars, moon, and a flashlight.
Feb 1
Meetings, chillage, beach, and a kick it at Sean's house where I got Sean, Carl and I to freestyle.
Feb 2
Meetings, hanging out by the banyan tree, and discussing my potential work opportunities.
Just started work today. it seems that the majority of my work, at least for the next few weeks, will involve cutting up fallen eucalyptus trees, loading them onto a huge cart with 7 Tamil natives, and taking them to our wood storage center which will be processed later to make new buildings and shaz. I'll also be helping out on other projects soon. I already have a few on new ventures to start up here, like a recreation and event center with events going on every afternoon and evening. Another thing I thought of would be to set up a volunteer center with a roof over a smooth floor to pitch tents under so that new volunteers can come and check out the place before deciding where they want to live and work in the community. This would help Auroville bring in more volunteers and organize them properly.
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