Packing Tip for Backpackers: 3 S's.

Planning on being on the road for more than a week or two? Remember these three S's while packing your bags:

1. Small passport-sized photos (at least 20).

After three and half months of traveling, my fat stock of these official-type photos is already rapidly dwindling. Why? Because I have needed to use at least four per month. Here are some instances of when:

a) Every new country's visa I had to apply for necessitated one or two small photos with the application. For example, on the Cambodian border, you can get your visa on the spot and don't need to apply ahead of time, BUT if you don't have passport-sized photos with you, you may be either charged extra or detained. It seems border officials need your picture on file in case you do naughty things and need to be identified.

b) For some courses or activities, you must submit photos. My massage course this week mandates that we hand in two pictures! If we don't have them, we must pay extra and wait to have them taken.

c) There WILL come other random-as-heck times when you will need passport-sized photos. Get them taken before your trip, or early on in a cheap country, and stash them in your bag. These photos save time, hassle, and money.

(Disclaimer: As you can perhaps see from the image above, the passport-sized photos I've been using these months are incredibly dorky shots from ten years ago in which I am sporting a secondhand mock-neck turtleneck. Hey-- these photos are for utility, not high fashion!)

2. Scissors (small but sharp).

(I had WAY too much fun doing a scissor photo shoot. Please forgive me.)

I looove my little scissors that my mother kindly donated before I set off! Some backpackers carry camping knives, but I find baby snip-snips perfect. First, there are always hairs that need to be trimmed, be they nose hairs or stray curls. Second, there are forever loose threads, oversized papers, or other items that must be carefully snipped. Remember those passport-sized photos? My wee scissors are perfect for cropping them to the different size requirements.

Most recently, I discovered a fantastic scissor application: modifying clothes! Snipping shirts or other clothing items proves surprisingly effective in enhancing your wardrobe, especially if you're careful to leave seams intact to stop fraying. As an example (sorry, it's kind of nasty but needs to be said), one of my two tee shirts rotted in such a way that the part under my arms instantly started reeking after two minutes of wear. The solution? Cut off the sleeves (leaving the arm hole seams intact) to produce a far less smelly tank top. Give it a try someday!

3. Soaps (of the very small hotel variety).

In about twenty percent of the places you stay while voyaging on a backpacker's budget, you will be given tiny bars of soap along with your ration of toilet paper. Whenever you are given two bars, or whenever you don't need to open the one you're given, stash the extra bar in your bag!

Why? Inevitably, the next place you stay will not have soap provided, and you will tearfully recall that tiny pink packet sitting idly on your former hotel's dresser.

I've stopped using soap on my body in the shower and am now using shampoo for whole-self-cleansing (streamlining, baby! ...and also I left my big soap in Tokyo), and thus it's a pain in the butt to get the shampoo from the shower and click it open every time I want to wash my hands. The solution is to pull out that hotel soap packet, using the whole thing for stays of three days or more, and snapping the bar in half for short stays. It's a small comfort that makes a world of difference in quality of life!

So those are my additions to a backpacker's packing list. I'm sure more items will be added as my months of travel continue on. Now, what are some offbeat packing suggestions YOU would add to the packing list?

The Results of the Level 1 Massage Exam...

When the director of your Thai massage school tells you that you have to walk two miles Friday morning to arrive in time for 8:30 am Tai Chi/Qi Gong in the far Southwestern park of Chiang Mai, you grumble profusely.

Once you're stretching your arms high above your head in the fresh morning air, however, and once you hear the birds singing in the bright green palm trees, all is made clear.

And it's all even better when three random Japanese tourists in inappropriately sexy clothing spontaneously join the exercises for half an hour!

Unfortunately, once we were all headed back to the ITM classroom, jitters filled the air. We suddenly remembered that our Level One Thai Massage exam was about to start.

"Massage school was one of the most powerful experiences of my life," confessed my friend Derian in Boston before I flew off to Asia. "You are pushed to connect with strangers in a way you never before realized was possible. It's really, really odd at first, but it's unbelievable once you get it."

These words bounced around my head as I kneaded the legs of my partner during hour two of our two hour massage exam. The room had gotten steamy with so much nervous energy, and sweat started dripping down my nose. I quickly swiped it with the back of my hand, then realized-- dammit!-- that the hand clasp rotation was next. The instructor grading me made some notes on her clipboard and I discreetly wiped my hand and focused on move number fifty-two.

As I tried to synchronize my breathing with my partner's to begin the abdomen presses around his navel, I realized how very much I've learned in the past week at massage school. Sixty-three moves, to be exact-- many of which I never would have thought beneficial, but are!

In "Cowboy Rides the Horse", for example, your partner lies on her back, and you push her feet and legs up with her knees bent. Then you sit on her buttocks with your knees! Move your knees up twice then down twice along the lower thigh, while you push the legs towards the head. Intense! And wacky! But amazing. Who knew?

Or what about all this touching of feet? In the reverse of Western massage, Thai massage begins with the feet and works upward. I have never touched so many feet in my life! But it's rather delightful to feel the different characteristics of each fellow human's (freshly washed) soles. You can really start to feel the energy coursing through.

As I massaged, I thought of my Thanksgiving-in-Thailand celebration last night, where I ate chicken-veggie stir fry and rice, all alone except for the company of a really fluffy puppy wearing a plaid shirt (pictured, left). And I liked it! Being alone and re-inventing historic holidays ain't half bad.

I thought of what a change taking a course is from bopping around crazy islands or patting tigers. Gazing around at the range of ages and backgrounds at ITM, I realized that I likely would not have had a chance to connect with such an assortment of great folks any other way. It's a good thing, isn't it, switching up travel strategies every few months!

And finally, as I massaged, I though of the fact that you're really not supposed to be thinking your own thoughts at all while you massage! It's a spiritual exercise that mandates physical and mental melding with your partner. And thus I shut off my bubbling mind and breathed in and out, in and out, feeling the body heat pass between my hands and the arms of the fellow human beneath my pressure.

The head rub came to a close, as did the hand-brushing of the body, and like that, I finished my exam. The instructor approached with a blank face and held out her hand. "You do six points of hand again on me," she commanded, and I shakily did. She marked several things in her scorecard, then disappeared.

My partner and I said "Kop koon ka" and "Kop koon kop" to each other: Thank You. And I waited.

I thought about how there was randomly a neon green snake lying dead on the sidewalk on my way to school today (pictured, left). What the heck was the story behind that? Weird.

The instructor returned with my score: a 92%. I passed! And I did well! Hooray!!!!

Of course, it is fully within ITM's interest to have all their participants pass each level, but I did work quite hard and I feel proud of my "A". I really do!

Everyone gathered round the floor as ITM's director, John, ceremoniously passed out the diplomas for those completing their time at ITM: from one week (for dabbling into massage) to eleven weeks (for massage teacher training). People embraced and took photos. Olivia and I get our certificates next week after we complete Level Two, provided we pass that test!

It's very exciting to think what we will learn next. And it also makes me giggle a little, because I'm sure something new will trump "Cowboy Rides the Horse". Stay tuned for details!

If you've never taken a massage course, I encourage you to consider it. Look at this photo to the left: here are two people from totally different backgrounds, parts of the world, age groups, and experiences, and yet see how comfortable and trusting they are, physically, with each other! They are just two of the wonderful people who have been training together at ITM for weeks, now, and the effects are beautiful. I like this picture!

We are an amazing species, us humans. I feel extremely thankful for this chance to explore our kind in new depth, thanks to massage.

How Thai Massage Class is Like Boston Public

Today is Thanksgiving, though you wouldn't know it in Northern Thailand.

Geckos are squeaking, the breeze gusts warm, and there ain't a turkey in sight.

But wherever we are, even kooky Canada with its October Thanksgiving, it's still that time of year to say thanks!

And this year's thanks goes out to the students and staff of Boston Public Schools. Everything during this year around the world is making me think of you. I feel so lucky to still be able to harass you daily via Facebook! All the way across our great earth, I miss you and send you love.

Here in Chiang Mai, Thailand, we have the final exam for our Level One Massage Course tomorrow. Eek! That's sixty-three twisty and mushy moves to memorize!

I began to realize today, as I crammed for hours after school for the test with my partner:

There are some very interesting parallels between Boston Public Schools' classes and the classes of ITM Massage School.

1. Both classrooms are packed with great folks from all over the world. This is a major plus of working in Boston or any other multicultural city: thanks to the worldwide experience of your students, you get to travel without leaving the city! Similarly (as the Thais say: "Same same but different"), ITM has a world map on its wall with heart stickers pasted on countries ITM-ers are from; the map is coated with hearts.

2. Both ITM and BPS use the Workshop Method of Instruction. In its simplest form, this goes: I do, We do, You do.

More complexly, first there is a Mini-Lesson: the ITM teacher shows massage steps #30-#43 on a model while all the students watch and take notes. Similarly, the BPS English teacher stands in front of the class and models a reading or writing strategy using an overhead projector or other visual device.

Second, there is Guided Practice: the ITM students each pair up and practice massage moves #30-#43 with their own hands while the instructor does the moves again on her own model, calling out each of the steps as the whole class does them together. Meanwhile, the BPS English teacher guides her class in trying out the reading or writing strategy from the mini-lesson together, using pencil and paper or wall charts. Hands-on, together.

Third, there is Independent Practice: the ITM and BPS students try out the strategy on their own, with the teacher(s) circulating to offer encouragement, hints, and corrections. Students can look back to the demonstration notes and handouts for help (as all us masseuses-in-training are doing in these photos!)

BPS also has a Share-Out, and both BPS and ITM have (oy!) Homework practice.

3. You have to be clean and neat, or you'll get made fun of.

In BPS, you have to have decent fashion sense, otherwise you'll get a raised hand and the comment: "Um, Miss-- your shoes do NOT match that shirt."

At ITM, you better shower well, moisturize, and wear clean clothes, because otherwise the up-close-and-personal experience that is Thai Massage will be a stench-y nightmare!

4. As part of the Workshop Model, both ITM and BPS use "Anchor Charts" of important concepts on the walls.

Having key vocabulary and ideas pasted a few feet from your face makes learning easier for both kids and adults!

Hung on top of its mirrored walls, ITM has charts of the muscles and bones of the body, and a list of the shorthand symbols used in our massage manual (pictured, left).

All over the walls of my classroom in BPS, I used a fat ream of neon-colored paper to post every English tip possible. To the right is a photo of the ever-useful "Grammar Guide Wall".

You'd think after four years of that bright sign in their face and my shrill nagging in their ears, students would have all perfected your/you're and their/there/they're, wouldn't you? You'd think.

5. And now for a DIFFERENCE: Group Tai Chi/Qi Gong/Yoga in the morning!

Ok, getting masses of surly teens in fashionable clothes to all do exercise in the morning would be, in the words of my former principal, like herding cats. Really angry cats with claws. That said, the fact that I have started every day at ITM with an hour of group Thai exercise is one of the main reasons I'm feeling so physically fabulous this week. It really helps get your energy zinging, your muscles loose, and your brain open!

Wandering around Southeast Asian cities, I've seen countless here taking outdoor exercise-in-unison breaks, and I would believe it has great benefits for the entire school. Teachers and principals: consider how smooth, flowing group movement could calm your students' minds and bodies today! Want to give it a try?

And now off to try to sleep through the resounding fireworks and karaoke (why are there fireworks and karaoke every day of the week?) to be fresh and ready for my massage exam tomorrow. Wish me luck, and in return I send you love and THANKS!

A Chiang Mai Food Scene Sonata in Four Parts

Part 1: The Blind Food Gamble.

Look at the menu pictured to the left. What would you order from it??

For week one in Chiang Mai, I resided in the heart of tourist world, and thus browsed menus and ordered food with ease. Now, however, I'm in the far North of town by the massage school, and words I can read are few and far between.

And just like that, we enter the culinary world of point, mime, and pray!

Wandering around last night, I was still hungry, thanks to that damn foot pressure point in massage class. I was craving chocolate, but sick of Cornetto pre-packaged ice cream cones from Seven-Eleven.

Then I saw an open shop with forty colorful jars of... stuff! And a blender! And some pitchers of... stuff! And lots of Thai writing.

"Sawaddee Ka!" I said to the friendly woman behind the jars. "What is this?"

"You want coffee flavor? Chocolate? Mango?" she replied, cheerfully.

"Yes, chocolate! But-- what is this?"

"You want chocolate, okay ka?" (Many Thai women have a super-cute habit of adding the feminizing "ka" after English words.)

"Um, sure. I suppose chocolate is chocolate, no matter what form it comes in."

The woman smiled then proceeded to pour into the blender: condensed milk, some sort of lard, chocolate syrup from a pitcher, and unidentified ice. Bleeeeeeend! Then she pointed to the rainbow of jars and said, "You take four. Which?"

"Oooh, goodie!" I said. "You show me the best."

With her carte blanche, the woman proceeded to gleepfully pile into the cup: corn flakes, red and yellow jelly balls, pretzels, and one faux Oreo cookie.

All this for only seventy-five cents, and a possible really bad future stomach ache! But chocolate is worth braving danger for.

Part 2: Blessed Food Ambassadors

I am madly in love with everyone at my massage school. They are so fun and good and kind and holy! Or maybe that Cat-Cow stretch we practiced today just released some dopamine from my spine and made me an effusive sop.

Regardless, the veterans who have been at ITM School for weeks now are champs at leading me and Olivia to quality lunch eateries. They graciously explain to us what to order and how.

It truly is a gift to lead a hungry, illiterate person by the hand towards good food! And it's even more of a gift that all the meals around here are less than a dollar.

Part 3: "Go-To" Foods.

I have developed some go-to meal staples while traveling in Southeast Asia to try to keep the vitamins pulsing through my six-foot self.

For breakfast, my love is fresh fruit, yogurt, and muesli, which is available anywhere slightly touristy for between $1 and $3.

The fun part is that every shop makes it totally differently. The hippie garden restaurant dyes its dragonfruit purple (pictured, right) and uses flax seeds in the muesli. The wildly popular Italian-Mexican-Thai place by the East Gate has the option of goat's milk yogurt, and inserts strawberries and grapes into the mix. And so on.

My staple for vitamin-filled lunch or dinner, or the answer for what to order when I'm undecided, is fried mixed vegetables with chicken, plus rice on the side. Okay, so the otherwise healthy veggies are likely drenched in oil, and the rice pile is Dr. Atkins's nightmare, but I always feel quite mighty after eating it all. Moreover, it's always available, no matter what tiny restaurant you find yourself in around here.

Part 4: The Best Dessert Ever!

The current OBSESSION: mango with sticky rice. Mmm!! The vendors plop the juicy mango on the rice, pour on sweet condensed milk, then sprinkle on some unidentified crunchy awesomeness. HOLY HEAVEN, I love it!

I trolled around the dark alleys for three hours the other night trying to find a nearby vendor for this ambrosia, but alas, it appears they are all clustered by the Night Bazaar across town. I had to settle for some really delicious chunks of papaya and pineapple from one of the many 10 Baht (thirty cent) fresh fruit bag vendors on the streets. Grrr, healthy dessert. I love you and hate you all at the same time.

And thus concludes my Chiang Mai Food Scene Sonata in Four Parts. I am abuzz with joy from everything activated in my core by massage school, and by the delight of staying in one town long enough to start peeling back layers of places and people. Yum, and yum again, on so many different levels! Happy eating, wherever you may be on this fine globe.

Thai Massage's Sexy Reputation

"A question, please," said my classmate Olivia shyly. "In Brazil we don't have this idea, but I hear that in America and Europe, Thai massage sometimes is, um... well... how you say..."

"Linked with prostitution?" I asked.

Olivia's face lit up and then flushed bright red. "Um, yes."

"Oh absolutely!" I said, thinking of all the joke emails from friends I currently have in my Inbox in reaction to the news that I'm taking a Thai Massage course. The majority of these emails go like this:

"Hoo boy! Which week do they teach you the happy ending?"

Oh my. Different kind of Thai massage, folks!

So here's the deal: there IS a ton of prostitution in Southeast Asia, and most famously, in Thailand.

According to a 2004 issue of The Nation (pictured, left), Thailand has an estimated 2,800,000 sex workers, comprising 4% of the population here. This is one out of every 24 people in Thailand involved in prostitution. That's a lot!

Sometimes the sex trade here is blatant, as in the "ping pong shows" and other yonically acrobatic displays on Patpong Road, or such as the fact that tuk tuk drivers will persistantly ask single male travelers, "You want boom boom?"

Most often, however, the sex shop display sign is more subtle, and reads simply: "Massage". How's an innocent traveling pup to know which are the real Thai massage parlors, and which are those that provide those certain special services at the end?

On day one of our (non-prostitution!) massage course, the lead instructor gave us the following advice:

"You always know real Thai massage. You know why? Because if clothes on, that's Thai massage. If clothes off, not real Thai massage. Easy."

He gave us a big wink and a smile, and everyone giggled. Prostitution is so prevalent here, everyone is always referring to it. For better or worse, these references are usually accompanied by chuckles and a sense of humor.

But let's put prostitution aside for a moment and talk about a certain racy facet of legitimate Thai massage: the positions are shockingly intimate! Check out some of the diagrams from my instruction manual to the right (artfully colored in as part of our homework) and imagine yourself practicing those moves without blushing.

About seven times in class today, our instructors had to say, "Now very careful this move, because now we get near the Michael Jackson area!" (Yes, that's right-- I'm representing this concept with a photo of a cucumber street vendor, left.)

Real Thai massage involves pressing your feet and hands everywhere as you lift and twist and push against the receiver's body. For many who don't know what to expect when they enter a Thai massage, the experience is less relaxing than they expected, and more like physical therapy.

One instructor explained: "Some call Thai massage 'Lazy Person Yoga'. Receiver lie there and masseuse pull the body into yoga position for lazy bum."

The stretching and twisting in Thai massage can be overly intense for some, and several tourists I've met have been injured by an untrained spine cracking move during a massage.

That's dangerous. But equally dangerous, in my scaredy-cat massaging hands' opinion is negotiating that "Michael Jackson Area".

"You don't go high enough!" reprimanded the French woman I was partnered with today. "Point three is all the way up here by zee groin, not down by zee knee!"

"Oh right," I stuttered, "I, um, forgot."

I've spent so much of my life NOT putting my hands all over random strangers that it is an odd thing to start practicing it daily.

It is a tricky task communicating enough with my massage partners to make the whole endeavor respectful... and respectable! But it is endlessly fascinating, and I am thrilled to be in this course. Stay tuned for more!

Day One at my Thai Massage School!

I have gotten a bevvy of queries asking for the scoop on Thai massage schools in Chiang Mai, and so scoop you shall have!

ITM Massage school was recommended to me by a number of fancy online sources, but also by a friend of a friend who studied here for a month and loved it.

Other popular schools in Chiang Mai (which is THE place to learn Thai Massage) are The School of Old Medicine and Sunshine Massage School, but others abound.

At ITM, the course advances in level each week, and you may do as many weeks as you wish. My fifteen-person Level One class lasts five days of seven hours per day, and about half of us are signed up return next week for Level Two, or Two and Three, or Two and Three and Four. (Me, I still don't know how long I'll be here!) Assisting the official instructors with the class are the veterans who have been training at ITM for over four weeks to be massage teachers. They wear cute matching T-shirts. The instructors wear tailored yellow.

The gong bonged at nine am as us newbies were finishing our payment and registration, and we all gathered to repeat a mantra and stretch our muscles so we could be ready to stretch the muscles of others. That's pretty cool, isn't it? Every day we get a free one hour yoga class!

At ten we had a fifteen minute coffee and tea break (beverages provided) and it became clear that ITM is a veritable mini United Nations. Milling around the steamy mugs of Lipton and Nescafe were truly fascinating people from: Malaysia, France, Thailand, Colombia, Sweden, Brazil, Japan, Russia, the U.S. (woo hoo!), Italy, India, and more! Everyone had that rosy yoga-induced glow and the radiance of a healthy and health-giving soul. Someone who is not yet identified (see photo at left) had ridiculously sexy purple high heels.

We all washed our feet in the classy foot washing trough, then sat in a circle around a rotating series of teachers who demonstrated moves one through eleven of Thai Massage from our manual using a volunteer.

"Wait," you exclaim, confused, "that sounds like you were learning a choreographed dance, or something!" Indeed, I hadn't realized this before, but (according to ITM), there is a specific series of moves in a Thai massage that one must follow. We all get little booklets with the steps illustrated and explained in shorthand, and it's up to us to take further notes as we watch the demonstration. It is also up to us to practice the many hours needed to memorize these moves.

Here is an example of the "choreography". These are the actual written instructions under Step 1 of Thai Massage:

- PP foot 1-2-3-2-1 and PPW foot
- PPW (arrow up) calf, PC knee
- PPW thigh (up arrow and down arrow)
- Reverse PC knee, PPW calf, PPW & PP foot 1-2-3-2-1

"What the blazes?!!" you holler. But in truth, it all becomes clear when you have been walked through the shorthand glossary at the back of the booklet (ex: PP = Palm Press), and when you've seen it all demonstrated.

But it's one thing to nod your head sagely as a master performs an art, and it's another thing entirely to pick up the tools in your very own shaky little hands.

Olivia and I immediately grasped each other to be massage practice partners for the day, as we had bonded at the foot washing station, saying our feet hadn't been this clean in the many months we've been abroad.

Like me, Olivia is a 28-year-old woman taking a leave of absence from her job to travel around the world alone, and like me, she is moving into her fourth month abroad. Unlike me, Olivia is from Brazil, has a glittering nose stud, and is a DOCTOR, which means she has a slightly better idea of what's going on under our massaging hands. Also, Olivia speaks Portuguese, and thus it's rather a challenge at times for her follow the rapid Thai-accented English instruction! But she does it with panache. She's so cool! I just want to squeeze her! And I did. All over her feet and legs.

For the next bunch of hours (interrupted briefly for lunch and then another lesson), we propped our manuals open with water bottles and snuck glances over at them as we performed the moves on each other. The instructors and instructors-in-training circulated and corrected our form and answered our questions. Half the time it was physically demanding, but utterly fascinating, and half the time it was (yeeaaah baby!) a free massage.

Olivia and I stayed until the end of the optional practice hour, and then promptly stuffed ourselves with cookies at the hippie cafe next door. I think we accidentally hit some reflexology "hunger" button in each others' feet.

We have been assured that tomorrow's class is "harder, but more fun, because it's less hand pressing and more twisting the person like a pretzel". I'll let you know. (I wish I hadn't typed the word "pretzel", because now I'm hungry again!)

An Ode to "Me-Cation" Hermit Time

"We'd take a last embrace, she whispering to me, "Jesus, what am I going to do now?" ...But the moment I left her my head cleared. It was another kind of music, not so croony but good just the same." (p. 170 in Henry Miller's "Tropic of Cancer")

Partially in celebration of Miller's wise words, and partly because I really freaking needed it after three months of hardcore travel, I have been a mega-hermit for the past seven days. If you've never tried it, read on and see if you might like to give it a whirl.

During our normal lives, it's a real challenge to avoid talking to people and take solitary time. In our jobs, we'd likely be fired if we spent a week of silence. A teacher could well get a solid kick in the shins from a moody adolescent if the young girl got the silent treatment instead of an explanation to question number three. For a parent, I imagine silence is even tougher, if not impossible!

But there may come a day, or even a blessed clump of days, when a "Me-cation" is possible: a vacation into your own fine self. Don't talk with anyone, don't answer to anyone's demands but your own. Instead, just listen to to the whir of your own brain. Do the solitary things that make you happiest, and silently observe the world around.

For me, my Hermit Week involved the following: Wandering Chiang Mai and taking photos, reading (Paul Bowles is crazy!!), typing (both emails and stories), working out, watching shows I love online, pondering life, and eating. I praise the earth and the sky for the opportunity to take this "Me-cation", because we all know that such a chance is rare!

Here are some of the sights around Chiang Mai I saw that made me smile:

1. A parade of absolutely miserable (but very colorful) schoolchildren.

2. Giant plush blueberries (?) walking with the kids in the parade. I think there was a walking artichoke, too, or maybe it was a durian fruit.

3. A sign in a pile of tiny stuffed elephants begging: "don't squeeze pls"! I wonder-- had there been a squeezing epidemic in the past that damaged previous wee pachyderms? Poor babies.

4. The most terrifyingly spiky-stemmed "flowers" in history. (They're like Medieval weapons! If you bopped someone on the head with one, your opponent would be toast.)

5. A man on a motorcycle scratching his nose deep inside his helmet. It looked like his head was a round onyx ball held up on a stick!

6. "Witty Ice Cream". As I put my tongue on it's icy chocolate softness, I could almost hear it sassing me. Don't worry-- I licked it good in punishment :)

Looking back on this week of solitude, a ton was accomplished online in terms of planning the upcoming Ghana leg of my trip (so excited!) but an even bigger ton was accomplished in the realm of my personal tranquility and sanity.

I've never really done this type of hermit-izing before, to this extent. There was always a friend to meet up with, or a work meeting, or an event to attend. But this experience has gotten me thinking: maybe it's worthwhile to carve out time for "Me-cation" journeys into our own selves more often, whether we are traveling or whether we are at home.

Several studies have been done proving that silent mediation in schools at the start of each day can boost productivity and tranquility in students. Similarly, other studies suggest that silent sustained reading during class time is extremely beneficial. I can say from experience that it is mega hard to make a room full of teens stay quiet for more than one eye-blink, but they truly need it. We all need it!

My favorite thing I saw during this whole silent Hermit Week is captured in the photo to the right.

Somehow, a seedling from the stunning magenta flower bush behind the fence had fallen into the sewer and taken root. Now-- oh glory of glories!-- there is a shocking pink and green flower arm reaching up out of the dark subterranean depths towards its parent! I love it!

I feel a bit like that rising plant now. After seven days of feeding and nurturing myself in my dark "Me-cation" cave, I'm now ready once again to reach out and re-embrace our wonderful world. My massage course starts tomorrow (woo hoo!) and I feel centered and eager to connect with great new folks and ideas in the morning.

Maybe you're traveling, or maybe you're at home, but consider making your next journey a silent slide into your own self. You're wonderful, and plus, when you come back out, you'll feel great!