I don´t know where to begin! Life here is totally full, class runs all day monday through friday, and the weekends are dedicated to market, laundry, homework, and this weekend exploring! I´m desperate to see some interesting birds here, especially a hoopoe, this weird big yellow bird with a crest of feathers on its head. My classmates and I rented a car this weekend, and I went out early listening for the poo-poo-poo that apparently is the sound they make, but no luck. Other birds were around, but it wasn´t the perfect morning, a bit too windy and rainy.
Classwise, we have learned almost a complete full body massage that takes an hour, and we are now learning more strokes to add into it, some deeper ones using the forearms and then soon we´ll start learning some acupressure and polarity techniques. Time to start thinking about ordering a table! I´m also learning anatomy and physiology, or relearning it in some cases, and I´m totally fascinated with how much we know about our own bodies, yet how little we understand at the same time.
Well, more sometime, hopefully with pictures!
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Portugal!
Well. I can´t believe its been two weeks already. Class is going really well, about 8.5 hours of it a day, with a lot of hands on practice - at least two hours a day of sessions that we give each other. Sometimes thats great and sometimes its another student who´s really practicing and not getting it so its vaguely annoying, and hard to explain how to change it since we don´t know that much yet to give fefedback. But even if it feels weird or I have to say you´re pulling my hair five times, or your thumb is in my ear again, its still getting bodywork every day. We are learning a specific sequence that combines swedish, acyupressure, myofascial release and polarity, and probably other things too, but we dont get into the technicalities much at this point. We also learn anatomy, history of massage and theory.
Class is held in a villa about a mile from our apartment in town, which is a lovely walk once I get past the ugly modern condos. There´s lots of bird life and really cool varieties of plants and cactus and grasses. THe bird I most want to see is the Hoopoe, which lives inland from here.
The water is so beautiful and amazing, but the town has been swamped with really pasty kind of annoying northern Europeans. Only annoying in that they´re not particularly interesting to me and it creates a very british vibe, so that htere´s more pubs than portuguese restaurants. If I were travelling, I would have hit this town and said, get me on the next bus out of here. But its way less built up than say, Florida, and spectacularly beautiful once I turn my back to the development. The sea cliffs are amazing, full of changing color and texture and studded in the middle with an ancient volcano. Rocha Negra, black rock.
Classmates are fantastic, as is the quality of instruction. Theres six of us and I couldnt ask for a better group. We cover a range of body types, though not gender, all being ladies. We´re all studious students and have similar enough habits and interests that we bonded pretty quickly. I live with three others, in a three bedroom two story apartment. I have my own room, and the two who share a room were immediately giggling until midnight and then giggling again at dawn.
Borage
From class in Casa da Luz
Another rainbow with Casa da Luz in the back
Lagos, the bigger town nearby with a really cool old section inside a wall.
An old lady at market in Lagos, selling onions out of a bucket for 10 cents each.
Our dining room
Our view from the balcony
Sea cliffs
Luz, the town I live in, from the beach
Class is held in a villa about a mile from our apartment in town, which is a lovely walk once I get past the ugly modern condos. There´s lots of bird life and really cool varieties of plants and cactus and grasses. THe bird I most want to see is the Hoopoe, which lives inland from here.
The water is so beautiful and amazing, but the town has been swamped with really pasty kind of annoying northern Europeans. Only annoying in that they´re not particularly interesting to me and it creates a very british vibe, so that htere´s more pubs than portuguese restaurants. If I were travelling, I would have hit this town and said, get me on the next bus out of here. But its way less built up than say, Florida, and spectacularly beautiful once I turn my back to the development. The sea cliffs are amazing, full of changing color and texture and studded in the middle with an ancient volcano. Rocha Negra, black rock.
Classmates are fantastic, as is the quality of instruction. Theres six of us and I couldnt ask for a better group. We cover a range of body types, though not gender, all being ladies. We´re all studious students and have similar enough habits and interests that we bonded pretty quickly. I live with three others, in a three bedroom two story apartment. I have my own room, and the two who share a room were immediately giggling until midnight and then giggling again at dawn.
Borage
From class in Casa da Luz
Another rainbow with Casa da Luz in the back
Lagos, the bigger town nearby with a really cool old section inside a wall.
An old lady at market in Lagos, selling onions out of a bucket for 10 cents each.
Our dining room
Our view from the balcony
Sea cliffs
Luz, the town I live in, from the beach
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
The Countdown!
I'm leaving in ONE WEEK! For the next big adventure. I'm getting ready, getting all my supplies, clothes, gear, etc.... into one big heap, and then hopefully into two backpacks! I'm excited to be heading off on a big adventure, with lots of support from my amazing friends and family. I'm looking forward to being in a completely new (ancient) place, being near the other side of the Atlantic, finding new rhythms in my day, and most of all being a student again! We'll have eight hour days, five days a week, with enough time at lunch to go home and cook... and explore the town, Luz, and the sea cliffs ... Time to get to work and get some things done here!
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Happy New Year!
New birth year, new year...
Drumming in the new year with good family, good friends, with a 7 or 8 foot SNOW WALL!
Fortress to protect from the blowin wind and minus zero weather. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Good times, in deed. We are rich here!
Drumming in the new year with good family, good friends, with a 7 or 8 foot SNOW WALL!
Fortress to protect from the blowin wind and minus zero weather. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Good times, in deed. We are rich here!
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
News, in case anyone checks!
Well, Big news!~
I'm headed off to Portugal in 6 weeks for an intensive massage training; January 25 to May 8, or so.
Nick and I are again hosting our new years eve/my birthday party this year. cause last year was the bomb. So call me up if you want the low-down. Here's some pix from last years bash...
uh, and an owl.
I'm headed off to Portugal in 6 weeks for an intensive massage training; January 25 to May 8, or so.
Nick and I are again hosting our new years eve/my birthday party this year. cause last year was the bomb. So call me up if you want the low-down. Here's some pix from last years bash...
uh, and an owl.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Fall
Fall in full force
Leaves are splitting from their trees, drifting down, death and miniature death all around while the core of life remains
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