hi from mexico city

hi all,

had a great time in NYC but unfortunately a kind of stressful departure. first of all i got lost in chinatown in over 90 degrees, great humidity and lots of traffic, both pedestrian and motor. then i found where i was looking for which was the stop for the newark express bus from chinatown to newark airport. anyway after standing there for about 15 minutes i noticed the small notice on the side of the bus stop which was not facing the pavement - i.e not visible to anyone waiting for the bus. so, it said that the bus no longer left from that stop and please go to the port authority station at 42nd street. so for those of you who know NYC just bear in mind that i had gone down to chinatown from east 19th street! for those who don't suffice it to say i had to backtrack and beyond. i was steaming by then from more than the heat. anyway, some deep and calming breaths later i was in a taxi heading for the bus station but we got caught in the most awful traffic. according to my nice taxi driver (bit unusual in my limited experience a nice NYC taxi driver but maybe i just had bad luck?!) the traffic was unusually bad so i jumped out at penn station and took the train instead. now here is where being a prepared kind of a girl comes in handy. my taxi driver was well impressed by my knowledge of ways of getting to the airport which did not include saying to him ¨oh what the hell, just drive on to newark. i thank the internet myself except that that is where i got the chinatown address from - oh well you win some ...

so, there in penn station i took the NJ connection and skytrain which cost 15dollars in case anyone is interested, rather than the amtrack which costs 40! good, eh. there on the train i met a young man from mexico who was in a worst state than me. actually i was fine by then, seeing the funny side and once i was in motion on the train i was cool (cold actually as the air conditioning was blasting like a manic fridge). so this young man had tons of stuff and it was all falling out, losing his ticket, dropping his wallet etc. i did sympathise. so, i gave him a hand, we got chatting and then it turned out he is a pianist and knows kavindu. so there you go, small world, eh?

course the airport was mayhem. i do think that a lot of the joy of airtravel has gone for me. i used to love airports, people watching and the sense of everyone with a story to tell. in fact i would often hear some of the storuies as i would chat to really interesting people in the queue or sitting in the cafe. now everyone seems hassled and the security measures are scary in themselves. it takes ages to get anywhere. ages to check in (even though i had done it on-line), ages to get through security and lots of travellers seem too tense to enjoy chit-chat. course i did manage some and enjoyed that. after clearing security i did what i often do which is look for the chapel. in newark it is actually called the meditation room though it is like a chapel unlike amsterdam's which feels more like a meditation space. anyway i sat in there for 15 minutes and it really did the trick. i was sitting behind a man in full tibetan robes - not a tibetan a westerner by the looks of him - and in front of a catholic nun. there were a couple of others there sitting quietly. it was a lovely atmosphere and i was delighted to find others using the space. i am often the sole user in many of the chapels i have visited. i do recommend it as a way of spending a quiet time in airports, especially now that there is such palpable fear and stress in the air.

so, add all that to my growing sense of horror at the airmiles i add up in my travels and my resulting awful carbon footprint and it just is not as enjoyable as before. i don't know where that leaves me in terms of the travelling i do and the work that i do in the various places i visit. i have long since stopped taking domestic flights and i try to cut down on european flights but it's the long haul ones that are causing me grief. i know you weigh these things up and on the other scale i do think i do some good in the places i visit but i don't know. i am increasingly uncomfortable.

oh well, more another time i am off for brunch with upekshamati now and then the rest of the day with the womens chapter. as i said at the beginning i had a great time in NYC and also in aryaloka for viriyagita's ordination. i have so many things to write about and so little time...