In The Bay Area

Tonight I find myself in Berkeley, CA. I'm in the company of friends Steven and Casey who are living and working here. Aña and I have known these wonderful people since living in Madison, WI. Steven is currently working towards his Ph.D. in environmental studies. Casey is helping to spearhead a non-profit organization to provide food and schooling for children of Haiti (http://whatiffoundation.org/). Haiti, if you don't know, is in rough shape economically and politically. Since being the first/only country with a successful slave-led revolution, outside forces have detrimentally manipulated its political system. The U.S. is mainly at fault playing sides throughout its history. More recently the U.S. has supported malicious dictator families like the Duvalier family, and military and parliamentary coups against democratically elected leaders. Currently Haiti is occupied by a UN “stabilization unit” that keeps the country under martial law and 80% of its people living in poverty. The “stabilization unit” has been charged with numerous human rights abuses.

We spent two days exploring the urban concrete jungle of San Francisco. A very strange environment to encounter after spending 10 days purifying the mind at a Vipassana meditation course. We used the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to get into the city from Berkeley not wanting to drive. Winding through the city we explored the Latino district, and the Japan Center before ending up at Golden Gate Park. The huge park contains museums, exhibits, fly fishing pools, a buffalo pen, and other interesting attractions. We went the California Academy of Science Museum for the Night Life event. This was the cheapest time to experience the museum and see a special planetarium event. The museum is also turned into a night club for singles and couples. Strangely out of place were several impromptu bars and three DJ's providing a unique ambiance. There is an amazing aquarium collection and the planetarium program is truly incredible. The one day a month program was “Update of the Universe”. An astronomer on the line from NY narrated the show and controlled the planetarium via laptop. We travelled through a three-dimensionally accurate portrayal of the current view of the universe and what we know about it. We went beyond the recorded galaxies, to quasars from billions of years ago, to the back ground radiation of universal conception. We only stayed one night in S.F. with a couple who we were couch surfing with because they were sketching us out. They were arguing and stressed out from the financial stress of home-ownership gone bad in economically tough times.

One bizarre random coincidence was running into two people we worked with in the kitchen at Breitenbush. Sean Gamble and Casandra who were driving through the city in a converted ambulance crossed our path at a random intersection. We had a quick thri

The second day in San Francisco we explored down-town and China Town. China Town is great! We found some goodies in some herb shops. We were enticed into one mysterious herb shop with their display of Ling Chi (Ganoderma lucida) mushrooms. A rare conch mushroom used to make a health drink; “The Drink of Immortality”. Luckily we still have a supply from the redwoods and were only observing. Then we found a place to taste over a dozen types of amazing green and white teas traditionally prepared (950 Grant St. if you're in the area). After a less then impressive lunch at a vegetarian restaurant there in China Town, we headed back to Berkeley. After getting off the BART in Berkeley it felt like we were going back to the country.

We sought refuge at a housing co-op we had been staying at with our friends Patrick, Pepper, and their wonderful house mates. We made some great food together before a party began to pick up momentum. When the party was growing beyond our desire we fled to stay with Steven, Casey, and their funny dog, Silly. Truly wonderful people with a wonderfully playful puppy! They would be strong contenders in the contest for the nicest people around. We drank a gallon of my mead together, some wine, and played Big Boggle until our brains were well scrambled.