Fireworks!
I'm finally getting to my post for the 4th on the fifth since just now the house is settling down. Turned out to be a very full, busy, good day.
I woke up at 8AM feeling groggy from going to bed at nearly midnight and having taken some melatonin to be sure I rested better than I had Wednesday night. My back hurt, I felt slow and a little nauseated. AM and I got up and went to New Seasons to get some shopping for the day in ahead of crowds. We wanted to get things done early too so we would have food to take out to the monastery for the Fourth of July, pan-Buddhist picnic.
AM checked in with me if I still wanted to go all the way out to the picnic; I had to admit I didn't look like I felt like I was up to it. But I pressed on ahead with the cookies I wanted to make and AM worked on making some potato salad. We realized that it would work best if he stayed home -- AM wanted to clean the house and get some things done that wouldn't otherwise get done if all three of us went to the picnic. CK and I ended up heading out to Clatskanie together, enjoying the day of food and sharing.
CK's mother phoned while we were out at Great Vow, leaving a worried sounding voice message. CK had sent her a letter on Wednesday telling her mom about our relationship. On the drive home CK and I talked a lot about choosing a relationship path that is so widely different from the cultural norm. Not only does it require us to be very creative and painstakingly honest, but it becomes a challenge to everyone we meet and share this information with.
I've been moving forward to tell members of my Zen community about my relationships and the state of things. On Thursday my therapist noted that the responses I've gotten must be very validating. I hadn't recognized it as such at that point, which isn't out of the normal for me. Now, after a couple of days I'm starting to feel that. The idea that I'm really going to be able to be truly authentic and the world won't blow up in my face. It is so hard to relax into idea, the instinct to brace for impact, to make myself small, is so ingrained.
CK ended up talking with her mom for a while, sitting out in the car so she'd have quiet. KW and D came over. We got together veggie brats, tofu & tempeh burgers, AM had made more potato salad, I sliced up some watermelon. All the while I worried that the conversation was going poorly, worried that CK was having to suddenly defend something that is a source of happiness and nurturing in her life. After nearly an hour I couldn't stand it and tried to peer inconspicuously out the dining room window into the car. I felt huge relief when I finally was able to confirm a genuine smile on CK's face.
Fireworks of a personal nature. Lighting something, throwing it up into the air and hoping the world greats it with appreciation. There's a chance that you'll throw something up and it will go all wrong; either a dud or sparks flying dangerously close to important things. There's also a chance that everyone will have a glimpse of the true possibility in the world.
Fireworks and Thumbprint Cookies
I'm finally getting to my post for the 4th on the fifth since just now the house is settling down.
Attempted the chocolate thumbprint cookies from Vegan with a Vengeance and found that the recipe didn't really work the way it was described in the cookbook; luckily I've done a bit of baking. I opted to put the very batter-like cookie dough into mini-cupcake paper liners and I ended up with something that was rather like a brownie. CK doesn't care much for jam and there are strawberries & cherries in season, so I put a few chocolate chips in each "thumbprint" and then pressed either a half berry or cherry in each brownie/cookie. They looked lovely and tasted delicious. Unfortunately we forgot to take a photograph of them, although we did discuss that we should take pictures of the dishes I make.
So running late I made it over to CK's and she did the driving out the Clatskanie. We listened to Gigi, Mimi at Dalo's was playing her when we had dinner on Wednesday after yoga, and then some of David Sedaris' new book. We got out the Great Vow just before meal chanting began and enjoyed the afternoon there very much. We ate lots of food, walked around the property, played mancala, talked to people, and then made our way back home.
Chanting, O My
Tonight I sat in the front of the zendo and chanted service. I didn't look at anything but the chant leader materials, I just tried to think about projecting my voice, and I didn't pass out. I was very nervous when I found out via the Dharma talk that the chant we're doing had changed last week while I was in Canada and was NOT the one I'd been practicing!
Afterwards several people told me how well I did. CK commented on this as well and asked if I was able to take note of the compliments. I noted that right now I'm still feeling the anxiety of being in front of everyone, not only that but using my voice in front of everyone, and the general relief of being done! She noted that afterwards I seemed a bit like a balloon that had been let go of, all the air rushing out of it, and deflated. I agreed I felt pretty drained.
There's the part of me that is just so uncomfortable with using my voice in a public way. All through the first sitting period I'd periodically hear my Mother, Aunt Jean, or Grandmother's voice telling me that I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket -- a refrain I heard through out my childhood an adolescence. Even after voice lessons, singing in the college choir, the masterworks community choir, and having to do a couple of solo recitals it never felt easy. Those two solo recitals caused me nervousness to the point of illness, just the same as when I read my personal writing or poetry aloud. Thankfully I was able to mostly get rid of those voices during the second zazen period.
Then there's the general disconnect I feel in a group. I have a group of friends I feel comfortable with after over 10 years. Even in that group there are things people didn't know about me, especially about my struggle with PTSD, until just the past year! Trying to look at that with CK on the drive home from the Dharma center I noted that the one group I did have constant, my family, I was invalidated, unwelcome, and often maligned. I have never felt the feeling of belonging in my family that most people describe. We moved so often when I grew up that I also felt like I never got the hang of being with a group -- every time I'd get close to feeling comfortable I'd move away.
To get out in front of a community that feels like I belong, even if that belief seems a little shaky and uncertain, felt enormous. When I started to chant I could hear nothing for a moment but my ears ringing. Then I heard my voice, settled into a sutra I do know even if I didn't practice it. I may be deflated, but I didn't explode into a poof of anxiety.
And now, having resolved the 99% full /home on my production web server (Monday I must look into why my backup prune script stopped working) I'm going to go to bed and try NOT to dream about being in front of people or my family!
Combating Excuse Number Two
Clearly excuse Number One for not writing is, "I don't have anything interesting to write about."
I don’t want to write boring entries
My Tuesday evening yoga class was filled with four new students, one completely new to yoga; eight total signed up. I found that the community center had not adequately alerted students that the class started a week later, fortunately no one seemed too upset over the confusion. So far my Sunday class has been very small, only three people registered with some drop-ins showing up. Usually the Tuesday class is that way.
Although my back had been aching after the drive the past couple of days I was pleased to find my energy somewhat improved for tonight's class. It helped that I've worked from home the past two days. Tonight's class was more energetic than Sunday's because I was feeling better.
I restarted a blog in part to put travel narratives, restaurant reviews, and that sort of thing somewhere and the LiveBlog application on Facebook was not working for me. I also thought it would be a good way to try to get back to keep a journal. I'd been doing pretty well for a few months last year, but as spring progressed and my family grew to include my relationship with CK, I find it harder and harder to write in my journal. I thought perhaps putting it in a blog, which allows me to type would encourage me since I type very quickly.
However tonight I found myself as resistant to writing again as I did going to meetings again. It isn't as if I still want to be away from the routine of my life, there were many things about that routine I was missing last week up in Canada. I believe I resist writing sometimes because I have nothing interesting to say about my day. I like to write about things when I find them interesting or at the very least, entertaining. It is the daily humming and drumming that is hard to get back to, the tedious underpinnings of living.
I'd like to be interesting but there's laundry to be done, vacuuming is desperately needed, the cats need claws trimmed, somehow I'd like to fit in making baked treats for the Fourth of July out at the monastery, I'll be at CK's tomorrow night, then zazen with a meeting for the refugee outreach beforehand, I'm supposed to chant after service on Thursday & I'm terrified inside, I have a therapy appointment Thursday... And I'm not even giving thought to all the tasks on the work list that have come back into play or the rather busy weekend ahead of us.
Details rushing around. The white-noise of how life gets lived. On holiday or retreat you either have none of those details because you're outside of the routine on holiday or in retreat you have a very specific routine that takes care of all details so the mind can be empty of them. And I don't find them all the most interesting things... I can certainly pick out the things I find most interesting on that list and I'd really like to let all the work, chore, tasks lists fall to the side so I can focus on those, but life needs to be lived (which is another way of noting that there's a mortgage to pay, etc.).
So maybe that's why I don't want to journal sometime. I feel I've got nothing to say but the mundane lists that buzz around in my head, that I have to settle again and again. The routine of writing a journal becomes just another item on just another list and when I am not actively entertained on some level by the task, I don't want to do it.
Returning to Routine
Today I have been finding it interesting to observe how I chafe a bit at returning to my routine. Given the high level of anxiety traveling causes me, getting ready to go & the initial journey, I'd think that I should welcome the return to the routine. Yet I found myself feeling a little bit of irritation at the play of emails and meetings.
It isn't that I still want to be on holiday. I was wanting to get back to yoga classes, Zazen, tasks around the house & garden -- but to get back to my job today was challenging. Chafe is the right word. Like I was rubbing psychically against the routine of it, the ever growing task list, the talk of the contract negotiations in August, just the usual stuff.
My strengths lie not in the usual stuff of my job although those day-to-day tasks provide excellent practice for cultivating patience, compassion, deep listening, and even just the practical organization of tasks. So very useful just not always compelling. I've felt like I've ended up at this place due to skill, but not on purpose. I'm doing what I happen to have good aptitude for, not what I actually feel I should be doing.
I told my teacher once that I didn't feel very connected with the Dharma in what I do to make a living. Not that I feel that I'm working in a path that is unethical, I just do not feel as connected as I'd prefer to be. I said when I teach a handful of beginners how to do yoga I feel that connection deeply. Of course that's obvious and he immediately pointed out to me however remote, my job did connect me to people in important ways.
After some interesting discussions with CK and AM I think I can see this differently. I feel deeply connected to the Dharma when I am with yoga students because I am teaching. I do not have nearly the opportunities to teach in my career and that's why I feel the lack of connection.
This is something I am somewhat aware of and have discussed with my manager, but it isn't something that much can be done for. Although she would like to move me to doing more coaching and project management, I'm really needed to keep doing the programming that often leaves me feeling somewhat drained. The atmosphere has tension to it with many recent, downsized retirements, inter-team conflicts & personal clashes, and every couple of years two summers with contract negotiations in August. Yes, excellent practice for being with things just as they are.
I think that feeling of resistance in getting back to the job routine is having spent a week away spending time on building the foundation my relationship with CK by traveling together for the first time. She is full of encouragement and determination that a path to my becoming a teacher as my career. She and AM both know that what I do now is important, but not what I really should do with the rest of my life. To move back to the early, slow, boring steps is what chafes a bit.
Home Again – PDX – June 29, 2008
I'm feeling tried out still from the trip down from Vancouver yesterday. We started off the morning feeling mostly rested, chatted with the flat owner, wrapped up our packing and the remaining dishes, then packed up the rental car. Our plan was to park the car, walk in Grandview Park one last time, have some brunch, and pick up some treats to take home.
Upon entering Grandview Park we discovered that we were stumbling on one of Vancouver's two Pride festivals. Although there is a large festival in August there is also an "Eastside Pride" held at the end of June. The vendors were just setting up so we headed on to have brunch and figured we'd go back through after we finished.
We had thought to try Cafe du Soleil which is right by the co-op bookstore, we had hoped that the sandwich board outside showing the "vegan soup of the day" meant that there would be good brunch options for vegans. Unfortunately the choice was another tofu scramble and not much else. Since we wanted to pick up some halva to take home we opted to have the tofu scramble at Sweet Cherubim instead. Again, the experience wasn't disappointing. If you're ever planning a visit to The Drive, check out Sweet Cherubim, everything we tried on any day was delicious!
After brunch we purchased our halva to take home and wandered through the Eastside Pride festival. We even managed to get some questions answered about Zip Cars and will keep them in mind for future trips, especially when we fly into a city and only need a car for a day or so. We were pleased to see that there was a tent doing outreach for new foster families. Then we climbed into the rental and headed east.
It took longer than expected to get over the border, especially since we crossed back into the U.S. via the Blaine border crossing. We had headed east out of the city in Canada highway 1 but lacking a printout of the exact route back to Lynden, Washington we allowed ourselves to be tempted by the signs reading "U.S. Border Crossing" and followed them. We soon found ourselves in a line up promising to be at least 50 minutes, although we ended up there for a bit longer than that.
Once at the guard station we were told our information was incorrect on the documentation needed, however, since the Canadians had let us in we could re-enter the U.S. after being handed a printout that told us what we should have done. We didn't get asked what we'd purchased or anything much beyond where we'd each been born and what we'd been doing in B.C.
By the time we were hitting Seattle it was about 4PM; we were tired and hungry. We thought to try to hunt down a vegan place I'd eaten at while doing basic yoga teacher training in April 2006. Around Everett I'd suggested we could also pop off in a business area and hope for a Thai place. In going to turn about to try the other one-way street for the vegan place I spotted a sign for Araya's Vegetarian Thai! We turned around the car, found parking, and went inside.
The inside was welcoming, spacious and they'd just turned on the A/C (it was in the 90s outside). We found out that all dishes were vegan, the only non-vegan thing was that you could choose to have cow milk in a Thai tea or coffee. We ordered vegan Thai tea and were delighted to discover it was served with coconut milk -- delicious. We had just missed the buffet, which is very well reviewed, so for a meal we ordered the green papaya salad and orange tofu. The salad was exactly what I wanted -- refreshing and citrus-y. The orange tofu was rich, but the citrus note kept it from becoming cloying. It was served with steamed brown and red rice.
Eventually we got home at 8PM, got the rental car unpacked and turned in. AM, CK & I made our way over to an old favorite, Vita Cafe, for tempeh BLTs, salads, tortilla soup, french fries, and drinks. Somehow, despite the exhaustion of the long, long day in the car, I didn't get to sleep until past midnight.
Today a phone call woke me up around 8AM. I was groggy and had slept a little fitfully. I sat out on the deck with AM and Bodhi writing until around 10AM before going over to the community center to teach my Sunday yoga class. Only three students today so a quiet class. I was very gratified that a new student had practiced the thing he'd found difficult during the first class; sitting.
After that AM and I went over to SE Portland to pick up a 94 pound bag of concrete that he'd found on Freecycle. While driving over towards Trader Joe's we went past a Bike Gallery shop on Woodstock. AM, CK & I have all been talking about a bicycle for me. I haven't been in over 12 years, especially after my lowest disc in my back herniated. It is both difficult for me to have pressure on my tailbone and sit bones, but leaning forward is also hard. Despite all of this we have all thought there might be bikes that would work for me. Knowing all of this AM pulled over and we went in. I ended up trying out a 2009 Trek 7000. AM said that within moments of figuring out my balance again I had an enormous smile on my face.
Then a bit of shopping and home to meet with some people coming here to pick up an old dog house and planting shelves AM had listed on Freecycle. CK came over later for dinner and we all were able to enjoy a beautiful lightening storm while eating on the deck. Afterwards she and I walked up to the rose garden in Penninsula Park with Bodhi who is learning how not to pull my arm out of the socket when on a lead. The roses, all either in full bloom or just passing full, were headily scented and so vibrant. We discovered that the parks district is rebuilding the sunken entrance to the garden to include some ramps. It will be great to see this beautiful garden made more accessible even if it does mean changing the original construction.
Vancouver B.C. June 27, 2008
I rose earlier than CK and wrote some blog entries. I was happy to see the sun shining warmly after the chill and damp the day before. I sat on the sofa in the flat and wrote while CK continued to rest. Just as she was coming down the hall a small, gray & black stripped tabby nosed around our patio. I felt a pang of homesickness, missing our respective cats being cared for at home.
Friday was our official "down" day before the long trip home on Saturday. I had picked a neighborhood that was vibrant, full of little shops and lots of good food for us to stay in. We had determined that we would spend our last full day in Vancouver exploring our own neighborhood more.
We had already discovered that there were several good markets featuring good produce, bulk foods, vegetarian/vegan items, nut & seed butters -- all things we cook with and had searched for during the week to make dinner, breakfast, etc. We also had poked our heads into Womyn's Ware and were visiting Sweet Cherubim regularly. Friday would be the day for buying gifts and a night market later.
We started at Paranada, a store featuring hemp goods, trinkets, jewelry, t-shirts, etc. I picked up some shirts, a great recycled silk hat (too warm for summer, but good for hikes in the autumn), some earrings, and CK found some excellent hand-made incense. Many things were on sale, which made for economical purchases, and everyone in the store was attentive & friendly without being pushing at all.
We poked our heads in a few more shops, making our way down to Cafe deux Soliels. We found that it suffered from the trait of being very heavy on egg and dairy for the menu choices -- something we've seen in a lot of vegetarian places. We settled on a chai for CK, a latte for me
, and chatted while enjoying the artwork. The cafe boasts a stage, used for open mikes, speakers, and music, that is entirely done with chalkboard paint. The step up, the entire floor surface, and to about waist high along the back wall is chalkboard. During the daytime the stage is filled with energetic, dusty children enjoying the space. Each time we passed Cafe deux Soliels in the evening people would be spilling out onto the sidewalk.
We made our way through some more shops and then onto Harambe for lunch. For the past 8 years or so I've enjoyed Ethiopian food on Commercial Drive. Usually each time I'm in the city I, or my fellow travelers, will "re-find" the restaurant again. I believe, given the location, that it is Harambe although it might actually be Addis Cafe a couple of blocks up the street. Either way CK & enjoyed a very good, quick, reasonable lunch at Harambe. We settled on the vegetarian combo and were quickly brought a plate of spicy lentils, savory lentils, mild split peas, cabbage, green beans, carrots, spinach, and salad on injera with another plate of injera as well. CK ordered a Stella to offset the impending spice level and I ordered some fresh mango juice (really a delicious smoothie of fresh mango pureed with ice). Everything was delicious, the atmosphere was nice, and we enjoyed it throughly.
By the time we'd looped around the north end of The Drive we were a bit worn out from looking at exotic imports, lovely textiles, eco-conscious products, etc. We made a point to pop into Dutch Girl Chocolates which had been recommended in the Lonely Planet guide. It smelled wonderful in the shop and we were immediately impressed with the beautiful detail on the obviously handmade confections. The proprietor pointed out the dairy-free chocolates to us; I chose a pistachio creme in a dark chocolate cup and CK asked for a piece of the almond bark. Each of us found our respective treats to be very tasty.
We then went back to the flat and rested for a while. We had read about the night market in nearby Richmond, however, on public transportation it would take us quite a while to get there. The Richmond market has gone through some owner changes recently but still boasts thousands of people in attendance. That figure and the long transit time led us to decide to visit the much smaller, closer night market in Chinatown instead.
When we headed out from the flat to the transit center on Broadway we observed several bikes out. The number of bicyclists, accompanied by motorcycle police, quickly identified this as Vancouver's Critical Mass rides. As we strolled south down Commercial we eventually hit the full mass of riders waiting at Commercial and Broadway. We stood on the sidewalk and watched them all ride past before boarding the train into downtown. Later we'd see the same group ride past the night market.
We got off at the Stadium-Chinatown station and walked over to the market. It was a great evening for a walk and we generally followed the steady stream of people all headed in the same direction. The Chinatown night market is small but still manages to boast numerous vendors selling clothing, knock-off sneakers, handbags, toys, jewelry, knives, bamboo, art work, rugs, etc. We wandered up and down checking out all of the stalls. CK found a ring and picked out some bracelets. We also eventually settled on a jacket for me and a robe for her.
There were also several food vendors -- CK & I even found a vendor who was selling among other very non-vegan things fried tofu and roasted corn. The tofu was tasty although it was served with a sauce that seemed to be a fermented black bean base that was a little strange. The roasted corn was delicious of course, we even picked the ear we wanted right off of the hibachi grill!
After that snack I purchased a coconut for us. So refreshing -- just the top cracked open and a couple of straws inside. These coconuts are very young and mostly filled with water. I had been surprised at just how much we got to drink out of one coconut. Inside the flesh is thin and watery, not at all like the thick, hard fruit that comes from a more brown fruit. We tucked it in a plastic back and brought it back to the flat with us later. We got out spoons and enjoyed every last bit of this treat before heading to bed for the last night in Vancouver.
Vancouver B.C. June 26, 2008
We had stayed up a bit late the night before and slept in later before getting up on Thursday. After the stunning, sunny Wednesday we awoke to drizzle, overcast skies, and decided cooler weather. We both were feeling fatigued and my back was hurting a lot. Since we had gone to UBC the day before it meant that Thursday was dedicated to going to Stanley Park. CK & I both were very excited to visit the aquarium there.
We got ourselves slowly together and onto the bus downtown. Within a couple of minutes we were able to catch the bus to Stanley Park and fairly easily found the aquarium. We hoped that by starting inside that the weather might clear/warm a little. There were the expected groups of people all making their way to the aquarium, but when we rounded the corner we could see that “throngs” was a more accurate word. The line to get in stretched alongside the entire building! Screaming children ran to and fro. Hordes of middle-school aged pre-teens giggled, shrieked, and tried to look cool.
We thought to ourselves, “right, let’s have a snack now and maybe it will calm.”. We were unsurprised to find that everything “veggie” at the snack shack contained animal ingredients (cheese, egg whites) and settled for the food we’d brought ourselves. We picked a table a little away from the crowds of people and enjoyed watching the crows beg for snacks; one even hopped directly onto our table for a moment! We also saw a beautiful, black squirrel!
The queue did not get any smaller so with a sigh of resignation we made our way to the end to wait. We were immediately joined by what appeared to be a very stylish grandma, grandpa and their bored teenage granddaughter—from Texas. The granddaughter sent text messages to friends back home that she was standing lin line. The grandpa yelled at her for misusing her phone. Grandma talked business deals on her phone and ignored the two of them. Oh, and the only sideways glance CK & I have received (the “are those lesbians hugging in PUBLIC?“) was from the Texans…
Once we got in to pay we discovered part of the reason it had taken so long. Although there was a line requiring about a 15-minute wait and the potential to have 4 cash registers issue tickets, only two registers were being worked by bored, late-teens on summer job. We got through and into the body of the aquarium. The throngs outside all captured inside made for tremendous noise. We decided to start with the tropics area and joined the flow of people going that way.
What struck both of us pretty immediately was how poorly the aquarium did at providing information. We’d wait through the crowding to get a good look into a tank only to discover that often the species inside were not identified by signs. Some cases had no signs at all. Some had fewer signs than species displayed. No cases had any information behind the name of the species you looked at (e.g., where exactly they were found, the habitat, predators, prey, etc.). There were several obviously expensive, large signs with very compelling quotes from biologists who had studied a species or place, but nothing educational! This led both of us to find the aquarium rather underwhelming given the cost ($19.95/adult) and the huge crowds. Were this part of the aquarium better done that the cost and crowds would have been mitigated entirely.
Not to say that we didn’t enjoy what we saw. The seahorses were fascinating to watch (would have liked to know more about them). Watching a sea turtle swim in an enormous tank of sharks and rays is always enjoyable (again, no way to know what we were seeing exactly). The butterflies were very fun to watch as were the scarlet ibis (yes, one of the better parts did not have any aquatic creatures); but again no butterflies were identified with signs.
We did get to see the baby beluga whale born June 10, which was very nice. 
We also saw dolphins being fed. Unfortunately we were just underwhelmed and overwhelmed by the whole experience. Later, back in Portland we'd reflect that there were so many "messages" telling us to do something besides go to the aquarium, but we persisted in going as we were each convinced the other wanted so much to go there!
So much so that after catching the bus downtown we decided to forgo any visit to Granville Island (which we had discussed while watching the crows -- taking a sea bus) or pubs. We figured out where the train station was, got ourselves quickly back to our neighborhood, and fell into an exhausted nap at the flat. Upon waking up we weren’t up for making much food and picked up some take away at Sweet Cherubim. I finally made cupcakes, we played a couple rounds of Spite & Malice, and went back to bed.
Vancouver B.C. June 25, 2008
Wednesday found us spending the day at the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus. On the list were the botanical gardens and the museum of anthropology. We walked up to the transit area on Broadway and caught a bus out to the campus, through the Kitsalano neighborhood.
A quick note on transit. Portland has pretty good mass transit. Vancouver’s transit is fantastic. We’ve never waited more that 7 minutes for a bus or train. Usually we get to a transfer point and the bus or train is moments away. The transit has also been very direct. In some cases two transfers are recommended on the TransLink website, but that just is to give the option of not walking to a transit center. Usually we’ve walked to the transit point and caught either a single bus to our destination (e.g., UBC) or caught the Sky Train then a bus. For $2.50 you get a 90 minute window in which you can use any bus, train or sea bus (mini-ferries) to get around the city. Or you can pick up a book of 10 tickets for $19 at any 7-11, etc. We haven’t used the rental car once since arriving here! All told, using public transport the entire time we visited, we spent a total of $35 on transportation and made our way all over the city.
The ride out to UBC from The Drive took about 35-40 minutes, but since we had seats we just enjoyed looking at the people traveling with us and the changes to the neighborhoods. It isn’t though Vancouver is without big chains (e.g., Starbucks, MacDonalds, etc.), there just seem to be fewer of them. Many more independent shops, cafes, etc. Once again we were struck by how international the city is. We’ve heard many different languages here.
Once we got to the campus it was an easy stroll to the museum. The short walk took us past a really beautiful library, down wide avenues lined with big trees, through a charming rose garden, and to the museum. Nice people even took a picture of CK and I for free in the rose garden (**the $4 picture from Gastown did turn out pretty nice although we were totally hustled for that money).
The Museum of Anthropology at UBC houses an impressive collection of totem pole carvings from the First Nations tribes of this area. I was especially impressed a the display of these massive pieces; many are situated so a person in a wheel chair would easily be able to roll up to the very edge to appreciate the whole piece. These massive wooden carvings are housed predominately in the “Great Hall”, a soaring, glass fronted structure that looks out over the ocean and city. 
The glass also lets you see the carvings in natural light as well as overlooking an outdoor installation of a family house, mortuary building, and more totem poles. In several cases they’ve positioned the pieces so the viewer is able to tell how they were used. Some poles were just that, poles outside of a house or village. However, many pole pieces were the internal or external supports for a building. The outdoor installation is particularly beneficial in seeing the poles for how were used.
The museum also has an amazing sculpture by late First Nations artist Bill Reid. There is a rotunda dedicated to this Haida artist’s work. There are small silver and stone pieces and great information noting how Reid’s work changed from these smaller pieces, done in the tradition of his grandfather and uncles, to the larger pieces after he had been diagnosed with Parkinsons. The centerpiece of the rotunda is the truly magnificent carving of Raven and the First Men. We circled around this amazing, massive carving for quite some time just taking in the tremendous details.
This image now appears on the Canadian $20 bill.
After we finished up with the museum we were a bit hungry and decided to go down to the seashore to eat our lunch. We found the trail head down to Wreck Beach and decided to go for it anyway despite what looked to be many, many, many stairs and the note that the beach is “clothing optional”. We were right, there were a whole lot of stairs and on the way down we wondered if we made the right choice since we’d have to climb back up them. But we pressed on and were rewarded with an amazing view of the city, cargo ships being towed into port, and very few naked people! We enjoyed our lunch we’d packed that morning and watched ships go by.
During the climb back up all those stairs we decided that going through the gardens would be too much for that day. We opted instead to stroll along campus, by the Japanese garden and the Asian Centre.
We made our way then to the very large bookstore where we picked up a few things, then back to the bus.
We decided to check out Womyns Ware, a women owned/run adult “toy” shop, which is towards the north end of The Drive. During our stroll around the neighborhood on Monday night we’d spotted it and thought it would be fun to pop in. Amidst the impressive collection of toys for sale there is a good selection of books. This shop also rotates the art on display in the shop as a way to give local women artists another venue to show and sell work. I picked up a small, charming print entitled Lotus Shadow by the current artist, Michelle Kuen Suet Fung.
We then strolled back up, stopping in at one of the several co-op markets. Had a nice chat with the people in the shop, wandered up to the liquor store to pick up some beer, and then made our way back to the flat to make dinner. My cupcake baking plans were foiled again when I realized I didn’t actually have the oil that had been measured out in Portland. We opted to go back down to Sweet Cherubim and got treats (chocolate dipped halva bar [how can we get dozens of these back to Portland], a Bliss Ball [cocoa, almonds, and fruit juice made into a ball then dipped in chocolate], and a cocoa almond bar [nice, like a less sweet Larabar]).