I’m going to the meditation place tomorrow. I went looking for it today, but failed at finding it. I found the place on the map, but not the actual office I’m supposed to report to tomorrow. I plan to go back in the morning and hope to find some other lost looking foreign person that can help me find my way. I basically know where it is. I spent some time packing tonight. I’m still not sure quite what to expect or if I’ll be prepared. I don’t really need anything but clothes and toiletries. And a towel and some sheets. I’m going to leave my suitcase here and just bring my small(ish) backpack. I remember being able to shove more stuff into that backpack, but I suppose last time I traveled with just the backpack I was in Thailand so only had shorts and short sleeve shirts that I was traveling. I’m going to try to leave around 10 pm and in the morning I’ll finish packing. I’m mostly done so that’s good.

I woke up this morning and felt awake and refreshed (for the most part). It’s been so long since that happened. The 6 months I was in China and the 3 months I was in Istanbul I slept quite poorly. Every morning I woke up feeling like all I wanted to do was continue sleeping. This morning I woke up and was awake and ready to get up for the day. It was very, very cool. I think it’s partly this bed and that it’s pretty comfortable. I don’t do well on beds that are too soft or too hard. I’d take one that’s too hard over one that’s too soft though.

Yay, meditation retreat today! I tried to find an AA meeting tonight, but failed. I should have emailed to confirm the location. I found where the meeting was supposed to be without any problems. Once there, some guy told me the meeting had been moved to a different location. He gave me directions to the other location, but I couldn’t seem to find it. I turned around and walked back to the square where the NA guys hang out. There were a few guys from last night hanging out there. We drank tea and talked. It was nice. I really like all of them. They are so friendly and it’s nice to just hang out in a group of people. I hope to see more of them. There is also an NA convention in India in September. A bunch of the NA Nepal guys are going and I’d really like to join them. It’s on the beach area of India. I think they are going to take the train. I’ve been hoping to visit India and this would give me the opportunity to travel with some other people – at least for part of that journey. Thankfully it’s not for almost 2 months so I’ve got some time to think about it and organize a visa if I decide to go. I really think I should. It could be an awesome, life changing experience.

I’ve also been sending lots of emails to people – trying to reconnect. I’ve been hearing back from them little by little which is really nice. I need to get better about responding to emails. Some of these were nearly 3 weeks old which is simply unacceptable.

A teacher from a writing class I took a couple years ago gave me some great advice. She made the point that it’s sometimes hard to see how an experience or situation resonates with your being while you’re having it. It’s not until you step out of it that you can reflect more on how it’s affected you. I’m going to keep that in mind as I continue to ponder my return to the United States.

It’s inevitable I’ll go back. I talked to my mom tonight and told her I’m thinking that might not be until December. Now I feel bad because I know she was hoping to have me closer sooner than that. Things here are inexpensive and I think I could really enjoy bumming around for a while and learn a lot while growing and developing spiritually. I’m grateful for the fantastic opportunity ahead of me.

Ok, it’s time to go to bed. I’ll be getting up somewhat early in the morning and it’s getting late here. I will also not be updating anything for the 10 days I’ll be there because I won’t have access to the internet. It’ll be strange not to do morning pages, too. I’ve really grown to enjoy them and it’s about 11 months I’ve been doing them every morning now. I’m also really glad that I took up updating things on here, too. I missed several months while in China which sucks, but at least I’ve got them recorded in morning pages.

Time to be done! Goodnight KP!