I’ve changed residences again, this time spending a week in Concord house and dog sitting for Emmy while she and Annemarie are in London. I dropped them off at the airport and went back to Mill Valley for a program at the library about world travel. It was an interesting lecture by a man in his 70s who has spent the last 20 years traveling around the world both working and exploring other countries. Since the pandemic he’s been based in Micronesia, a place he thought he was only going to spend a couple of days at in March 2020 and ended up living there for two years! He’s been to 188 of the 193 UN recognized countries as well as many other places that aren’t officially recognized countries like Greenland and Vatican City. He only has five more to visit and plans to do that by the end of this year. He talked about the travels that he had done in the last year, focusing on around a dozen different countries in the South Pacific and Africa. During his travels he attended quite a few weddings, I’m not quite sure how he managed it, but apparently he was very well received. He had some memorable photos of himself with different wedding parties and he learned a lot about their cultures that way. He also tried to time his arrival in several countries for when they were celebrating their national holidays so he could see all the pomp and circumstance around those occasions and in fact, and one small country had a picture taken with the president! He is not somebody who stays in fancy hotels, preferring youth hostels, and other less expensive places where he can meet real people in those countries. I learned about a group called Nomadmania that offers tips and suggestions for world travel as well as organizing trips for people who want to explore around the world and do it in a less regimented tourist-like fashion.
On Thursday, I had to take my car in to get the alignment checked and found out I had a nail in one of my tires, so I was glad to get that fixed. I had coffee with an acquaintance who quickly became a friend. It was interesting hearing about the work she has done in personal property appraisal, and how she is shifting to a post-divorce counseling role, helping people with everything from redesigning their new spaces to letting go of losses and even setting up dating profiles! I just love seeing how people, especially women, reinvent themselves as they follow their interests and the positive difference it can make for others. She was a real inspiration. Winston and I had a lovely afternoon in the backyard. It was warm and sunny, he looked for lizards in the backyard and barked at people and dogs walking the path behind the house while I read and did some watercolor experimentation, which was really relaxing. After both of us had dinner I headed to Berkeley for a performance of Drum Tao, an internationally acclaimed Taiko drumming group from Japan. I love that Cal Performances offers inexpensive tickets too many of their shows if you buy tickets for at least two performances, so I was able to go for only $25. I found street parking relatively easily, which was a pleasant surprise and was glad not to have to pay the $16.50 flat rate they charge in the garage. I’m happy to leave those spots to people who can easily pay that rate and want easier access to Zellerbach Hall, though I was only a 10 minute walk from where I parked and it was fun seeing all the students eating and chatting, such great energy. Speaking of energy, Drum Tao was incredible! I’m bummed that they didn’t allow any photography during the performance, though I don’t think there was a way to capture all that was going on. The feeling of the drums vibration through the air and the ground, the movement of the performers, the sound of the drums. I love the fact that the two women in the group were the main ones to play the largest drums, their strength was incredible. There was quite a bit of dancing throughout the two hour performance. I guess they feel the need to change things up, and while it was impressive, especially some of the acrobatics skills, I would’ve been more than happy just hearing the drums. What a cool night.
