Californication meets Tranpacificism

This was originally titled “What to do after Graduation?”, but I changed that to that last post (re end of college career), (Then “Passage..”) and now this is here more to tell you what happens for me immediately after graduation & my trip. I hung out in Arcata for a little over a week after Commencement and the related multiple days of packing up. (Links to Goodbye pics album)
The extra week involved visiting friends+hanging out in Arcata, Eureka, and then on the way down as well (Santa Rosa, SF Bay Area, Sacramento), and then I got home, brought all my sh*t in the house, and started unpacking, so I could repack, and have more space. I didn’t finish, oops. I was supposed to be planning my trip as well, and I neither did that, nor bought a Lonely Planet guidebook (there are two, India, and South India, one of which I bought last time (where is it?)), nor checked out the LP’s Thorn Tree Forum (recommended to me by John), or did any other sort of internet research. But what do I really want to do there?

Oh, what am I talking about, India, you ask? Oh yes, sorry, I thought I already told everyone. SO! My cousin Lakshmi is getting married, so my entire nuclear family has decided they want to go! Wow. My mom was already thinking of heading to India this year, but not until December, because that’s when her big family meet’s going to happen. (Family, and keeping in contact, is really important to my mom’s side. As opposed to my dad’s side..) So, that probably won’t happen now, ~$1500 (per person!) is a lot to drop twice in a year, so hopefully momz is okay with that. (Better once than never!) So, since this is only a # of weeks after graduation, so why not just go to India with the fam and.. Stay there! Yes, that’s the ticket! I called Eva, and apparently (contrary to my mom saying it was 6 months) my ticket is extendable up to ONE YEAR, and also without penalty! Good call on the airline choice momser! So I can keep changing my departure date per my whim. Ohh yes, that’s right, and nice! I didn’t have to pay all that much to tweak the heck out of my Australian ticket, but it was a bit more of a pain, and more $, so I ended up just getting it reissued once. (Maybe the fact that this is an e-ticket makes it easier? Dunno..) But I was thinking of cutting my trip a little shorter than that, and so I have it in mind to come back in time for HSU’s Commencement Ceremony (see pics from mine), but I’ll be waiting for someone to invite me to their graduation party before settling on that (*hint hint*). So, about this trip, I’m sure you’re asking for more..

I have these 3-4 areas/goals (expectations?) for my trip, things I’d like to do/accomplish before I leave. I’d like to 1) Reconnect with my roots/heritage, and hopefully in the process 2) connect with my spiritual side a bit more, while 3) being a tourist and see cool and neat places, and just have the experience of touring and living life, wild+free, 4) Check out the environmental scene, and potentially (ideally?) 5) Connect into the movement, organizations and folks doing stuff, and just generally have a jolly activist lifestyle here.

Most of these goals are of variable ease.. I mean, “finding myself” (this trip, and that phrase especially, seem so cliched!) , which really means making a true+deep spiritual connection, seems a bit tougher, but mostly they are within my abilities for sure. (Good little article on the spiritual tip, from the ‘Speaking Tree’ series, “Way to Spiritual Wisdom is through Heart.”)

[BUT!] In thinking about going to, say, a village in India, and trying to “help” and learn, I have to think about a piece that my friend Fernando Paz looks at very fondly. It is by Ivan Illich, and is titled To Hell With Good Intentions. Powerful shit. (High recommendations about Ilyich have come from many others, esp of the AZ (Accion Zapatista) folks. Will have to read him, and many others, at some point..)  More on all this later I’m sure..

Well, I feel like cutting this post a little short and ending it here, so PLEASE, if you have ANY questions/comments/concerns/etc, about my trip, life, ANYTHING, please comment on this post or email me. I’ll try to either reply back to you, or better yet cover some of ya’lls questions in a future blog post, so all can be enlightened. I’m sure many others share your questions. All for now, peace out! -@

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