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Youth stepping up

January 7, 2009 By Practice, Youth

Today in our planning for the 2009 Food and Society gathering, one of our young core team members made a bold declaration.   She agreed to step up to be a target for any blame that might be generated during our work.   When I later asked her out of which practice her commitment came, she said it was from the Tibetan Buddhist Lojong mind training, in which one of the slogans is “Drive all blames into one.”

Trungpa Rinpoche comments on that slogan:

The text says “drive all blames into one”. the reason you have to do that is because you have been cherishing yourself so much… Although sometimes you might say that you don’t like yourself, even then in your heart of hearts you know that you like yourself so much that you’re willing to throw everybody else down the drain, down the gutter. You are really willing to do that. You are really willing to let somebody else sacrifice his life, give himself away for you. And who are you, anyway?

It was remarkable to hear my young friend utter that line with such clarity and conviction in a room of power and experience which was tasked with designing this incredibly important gathering.   Remarkable, but not at all out of character for the six young (20 somethings) people that are working with us on the core team.   We are lucky to have them.

Eating in San Jose

January 7, 2009 By Uncategorized 3 Comments

San Jose, CA

We’re planning a gathering of the good food movement, so naturally, the pursuit of good food is everything.   Since arriving here yesterday I’ve eaten in three places, all of them good for various reasons.

First, the Grill here at the Fairmont is crazy expensive, but if you cover your eyes and just order, the food is good.   I had a cabrese salad with buffalo mozzerella that melted in my mouth and some lamb chops cooked on the rare side of medium rare (which is how I like them).   Lamb was good, but the side order of creamed spinach was heavy and unpalatable.   Not to quibble but at 35$ for that entree, you expect a little beeter on the veg.

Today, lunch and espresson at Cafe Trieste near the hotel.   Good espresso, mellow taste and well made shots.   Had a heavy cream of brocolli soup and a nice salad.   My mate Tim had two orders of the quiche and reported good things.

Best of all though, tonight we hiked through the San Jose State University campus and ate at the Naglee Garage.   they’re a small place with seasonal food and all cooked in good time.   Tonight I had a winter salad of squash and pear and pecans, a cornish game hen with a maple glaze and a side order of kale, squash and bacon.   Lovely all round and capped with a desert of choclate and vanilla bread puddings which got shared around our table.   Worth a visit if you’re downtown here and only a mile or so from the hotel.

Open Space with parents and teachers in Haiti

January 6, 2009 By Open Space

John Engle writes about some of the work done by his colleagues in Haiti where last year 48 school hosted Open Space meetings to bring teachers and parents together.

In partnership with Concern Worldwide, our colleagues did open space meetings in 48 schools during the last two months. These meetings were organized so that parents could talk with teachers, which is very counterculture, about education of the students. It was an effort to integrate parents into the life of their children’s school and to help them in the critical role they play in their children’s formation. It was an opportunity to acknowledge and honor the parents as key stakeholders.

Virtually no schools in Haiti are free. Teachers are poorly paid and schools operate on shoestring budgets and are forced to close if fees are not paid. Often, parents failing to pay their children’s school fees, which is very common, is more about feeling alienated by teachers and principal than it is about economic hardship.

Of the 48 schools, 29 are in remote areas. 19 are in a very poor neighborhood in Port au Prince, historically known for violence. There were more than 3,000 participants in all during the last two months. More than 12,000 children go to these schools. Thus far, the outcomes of these meetings are extremely positive. Some of the stories like parents feeling heard and paying past due fees on the spot are quite powerful.

I can see doing the same thing in Prince George around the establishment of the Aboriginal choice school.

Today’s travelogue

January 5, 2009 By Travel 2 Comments

San Jose, CA

I’m in San Jose this week to help host a Core team retreat for the folks planning and executing the 2009 Food and Society Gathering, which will be here in April.   Here’s how I got here today.

  • Left BOwen Island last night on the 6pm ferry in the teeth of a southeasterly gale that drove sleet into the skin on my face.   Rocky ride across the Queen Charlotte Channel, but uneventful otherwise.
  • Grabbed a cab that arrived as I did and shared it part way with a lovely Finnish woman returning from a visit on Bowen.   It was snowing so hard in Vancouver that cars and buses were stuck on all the hills so we drove around looking for clear and free aterial roads to try to get me to my mother in law’s place in South Dunbar.   At one point it felt like we were just looking for the clean streets.   I remarked to my Persian accomplice that we were driving rather like Nasruddin, who seaches for his lost key under the lamp, because it’s light there.   The driver and I share a good laugh and some excellent conversation about Iran, Canada and Sufism.   The ride is an enjoyable 1.5 hour crawl.
  • Retire for the night but up at 4:45 to find a cab.   Get to the airport and it’s a disaster.   Lots of lines for all kinds of things, but mine are pretty manageable.   Check in for 30 mins, US customs is 45 mins (with a secondary approval for my work visa) security is a mere 15 mins.   IN Vancouver if you are an Air Canada elite member they give you a fast lane for security…looks like the regular lane was close to 45 mins long.   Lots of folks rescheduled on flights that were cancelled last night.   They were all tired and cranky, and it was kind of funny to see a planeload of sourpusses heading to Maui.
  • Flight gets delayed an hour once I’m through, so it’s into the lounge, where Air Canada has replaced the formerly excellent espresso machines with slow inefficient machines with too many choices that appear to download your coffee.   And then you get half a cup.   Went to Starbucks and bought something close to real espresso.
  • Boarded at 8:20, took off at 11.   Combination of a flight attendant stuck in the snow, delays at the SFO end of things and other stuff which I missed because I fell asleep as soon as I hit my seat.
  • Arrive in SFO at 1:00pm, figure I’ve burned enough carbon for one day so I opt for train to San Jose.   Two minute Air Train ride.   20 mins on the BART and an hour and 20 mins (including wait times) on the Caltrain.   Arrive in San Jose at 3:39, walk the mile to the hotel, in my room at 4:20.   Cost me $7.50 cents not including the Subway sandwich I wolfed down for sustenance.
  • So I’m here at the Fairmont, a luxery hotel in the middle of a strange city.   My first time in Silicon Valley, so passing through Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Sunnyvale and Mountainview was cool.   Passing by Redwood City was cool too, as my dharma teachings come from there.   One tip for the Fairmont…Internet access is $13.95 a day but if you sign up for their loyalty program when you check in, it’s free, and they give Aeroplan points and other useful perks.
  • Waiting for mates to arrive, then I’ll see about dinner.   Any recommendations, leave them in the comments.

The way to San Jose

January 4, 2009 By Uncategorized

God willing and this storm lets up, I’ll be bound for San Jose at 8am tomorrow morning, arriving in San Francisco at noon.   No promises to be able to meet up with any Bay area friends, but if you get this, I’ll be staying at the Fairmont (no it’s NOT my usual digs…).   Call me there at (408) 998 1900 and we’ll see what’s possible.   Be nice just to say hi, and who knows, I might have time.   Leaving Friday morning.