Kochi, India
Well, I didn’t see too much of the country as I was working and studying in an acupuncture clinic… except for my last week. Apart from that I consider this whole trip and my weblog as an experience and description of my inner travel…
My body travels and my mind is on a trip!
Anyway, Sri Lanka is a fascinating country. Not only that it’s nature is bright and colorful but so are it’s people!
With the civil war going on one might get the impression that there is a religious or ethnic conflict. To me it seems to be a conflict over power rather than something religious or ethnic. At least in Colombo and Kandy all communities of different religious and ethnic background seem to live in relative peace and tolerance. Everybody I talked to condemned the civil war and feels betrayed by the government.
So someone seems to make some good money with that war going on 😉
At the clinic I worked at I learned a lot! Not necessarily about acupuncture but, well, about certain patterns of life and people. And of course about myself…
One thing I talked about already is that stereotype thing. People like to think in boxes it seems… I guess it makes life ‘easier’! That is nothing unique to Sri Lanka… at least not the way I experience other places…
The other thing is money and wealth. Many people seem to believe that if they had more money everything would be better. And then, of course, there is the ‘rich Western kid’ thing. From the Asian perspective all Western people are rich (what did I say about stereotypes?). For some funny reason, those who think all Westerners are rich have either 400 Dollar mobile phones or golden watches… so it’s not surprising to me they usually have little money ; )
One thing I learned about myself is that I cannot work for people I do not believe in or respect. That was perhaps the reason why, for example, almost all of my school teachers didn’t like me (apart from being a spoiled kid). I do not respect people simply on the basis of a titel, their family background, age or whatever. Respect is something you have to earn!
If you didn’t earn it *@&# off! At least I won’t bend over… maybe those who believe that golden mobile phones create happiness will…
Another thing I learned is that there is no point in continue writing this weblog for my friends back home to keep up to date. Some of them seem to be offended by the things I say about Vienna, being rich, about fear, love etc. Apart from that it seems to me that some people don’t really (want to?) understand what I am writing about anyway. Even some of my closest friends seem to be quite ignorant about me and my struggles in life. So for example some of them seriously believe that I am/was not confronted with racism and discrimination back ‘home’ on a regular basis. Others think I am on an extended vacation… aha… I mean are these people seriously reading my weblog or just pretending?!?
But most likely I am equally ignorant about their lives too… so what am I complaining about?
Anyway, Sri Lanka was a very good experience. In a way it was a period of transition after having left Iran. Since Iran I feel like I’m not searching anymore, which essentially changes the way I’m trippin!
So yesterday night I arrived in Kochi. Tomorrow I’m heading towards a meditation center to do my first ten-day Vipassana retreat (if it works out this time).
I’m really curious what India, by many considered to be the ‘Holy Land’, has to offer…
This morning it was a vegetable curry for breakfast…
I really liked it!
vox