day in the life in the mind of...

secret entry...5 things I learned in Cambodia

2009-07-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

1) Bun Thou is really funny. I mean, he's really hysterical. And he can tell Cambodian ghost stories with the best of them, even if they don't translate that well.

2) Contrary to what I previously thought, I can sleep anywhere. I mean anywhere. Even on stairs.

3) Infinity pool plus $2 lychee martini= HEAVEN.

4) Wait, scratch that. 4 hands massage for $22 for 2 hours=heaven.

5) If I click my mouth, I can make the same sound the geckos do.

6) It is better to bite bugs than to be bitten by them.

(that last one was free, no charge)

Angkor WHAT?!

2009-07-08T04:24:00.000-07:00

So, while I was skinny-dipping in the rooftop pool of the fancy Quay hotel in Phnom Penh, I managed to convince my friend Sony to come with me to Siem Reap, as that day he took his final exam for his bachelors degree, and had never been to Angkor! Sony had the awesome idea of bringing his moto on the bus to Siem Reap, so we wouldn't be dependent on tuk tuks, and have to pay a lot.

Sony and I have been getting along famously. Rather than arguing, as people who travel together often do, we've been disagreeing on whose BRILIANT idea it was to do such and such activity, because it was SO AWESOME. :)

Angkor is better than I ever could have imagined! It's not just Angkor Wat, that's only one huge complex...there's Angkor Thom, Bayon...there are tons and TONS of little and big ruins and wats all over, each one a little different. Thanks to our independence because of the moto (okay, THAT one WAS Sony's idea), we were abe to see a lot on the short time that we had there. I won't write to much about it, because the pictures are the only thing that might give justice to the vast awesomeness (in the eral sense of the word) that is Angkor.

After Angkor, Sony invited e to spend a night at his hometown vilage in Prey Veng Province. SO after we got back to PP, we were off on the moto for a two hour ride (and a short ferry) to see his mom and dad and younger brother. They live in a wood house on stilts, a very typical Cambodian house in the countryside. Everyone sleeps on the floor of the house (they had mosquito netting, which I am SOOO thankful for...as there must've been the largest amount of bugs in one place there than anywhere I've EVER been). The cows sleep at night in a pan just below the house...dog, cat, and chicken wander around. The bathroom is outback, and unlike Nepal, there's no running water to the kitchen or bathroom, so getting water means pumping it from a well into huge buckets and carrying them. Speaking of huge buckets of water, does anynoe know why it is that we humans feel so much more vulnerable re: bugs when we're naked? That said, I learned how to shower from a bucket. People have been doing it for ever, so...now I can, too. And believe me, you can't go a day here without showering.

Sony's parents are lovely, alhtuogh his mom speaks no English at all, and though his dad speaks French and Khmer (by the way, here Khmer is pronounced "Kmai") and teaches high school Khmer, he only has a few phrases in English. Which is more than I have in Cambodian, so...Sony was good enough to act as an interpreter. His dad was generous enough to tell me what life was ike for him under the Khmer Rouge rule. It's actually very similar to what's depicted in the film "The Killing Fields". His father was imprisoned for more than 500 days. His mother was forced to work in the fields. They could not talk to one another, couldn't really even look at one another, couldn't eat anything, even if it was available...save for the small amount of rice gruel they were given. Basically, they wer starving. His dad had to [retend that he could neither read nor write...he had to feign like he didn't understand things and wasn't educated. This saved his life. He described to me allof the different ways he saw people killed, the moost graphc of which was people being hangednupside down and being hit to death on the head with a big wooden stick. In fact, I saw evidence of this at the killing fields where many of the skulls were missing pieces. I asked him how he lived through such unspeakable horros and still managed to raise such a kind, generous son. He told me all of his children were great, but that it wasn't all the parents' doing. Sony has his own mind, and has been great ever since high school. In fact, Sony and I are constantly eating at markets, and from the beginning, he advised me to keep my "small money" in a seperate pocket for beggars. I haven't seen him turn down a single beggar who has asked him for money when he's had it. Not a single one. He also wants to start an organisation to help Cambodian children, and once it's off the ground, will lok to all of his foreign friends for help.

Sony's dad was in prison with hundreds of others. Today only aruond 20 live. He has written his story down, along with 4 other people, and hopes to one day publish it as a book, with the photos of himself and 4 others inside. I told Sony when that happens he MUST translate it so I can read it.

Anyway, it was a whilwind few days, bnut absolutely stunning in every way. I can't WAIT to get the photos up, but unfortunately the comps are soooo slow. Coming soon, probably on the 10th once I'm back in Thailand.

Love to everyone, and please! Write me! Tell me whjat's happening, I lvoe to hear it, even if it's mundane stuff like my parents write when they tell me what they had for dinner. I LOVE that.

love,

sar

Here are the pictures!
http://picasaweb.google.com/leibolicious

What these trees have seen; Cambodia and the killing fields.

2009-07-03T07:39:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that I seem to have gottena cold, I'm having a great time here. I don't know what they were talking about when several friends told me there's nothing to do in Phnom Penh. I love it here!

The day I got in, I went straight to the Bohdi Tree Guest House, which is lovely and emplys underpriviledged Cambodians. However, they were out or rooms with A/C, and I was on to another place called Her Royal Highness Hotel. They don't have a lift, so as the floors go up the prices cheapen. I'm in the 3rd floor (read, actually the 4th), and my clean, AC room with private bathroom and hot water? $15/night. I know! Anyway, insert your joke about her royal high-ness here. The hotel's not too far from the Riverfront, so I went for dinner and a massage ($6/hour). Afterwards, I wandered into a super modern-looking hotel (read: the standard downdown) and went up to the rooftop terrace. There's an infinity pool, $8 drinks, gorgeous view, and geckos on the ceilings, it's wonderous. More importantly, I made friends with a nice guy named Sony, who's one of the supervisors. Several free drinks and great English conversation later, Sony and his best friend BanThou were off work and I was hanging onto the back of them on their motorbike. We ate at a place that they love and come to regularly, and I see why. They had dishes of grilled beef and fried quail ($2 each) and they drank plenty of Ankgor Beer. I was stuffed, but happy to try the beef, and glad I did, because it was absolutely out of this world. It's served with a dish of pepper, sugar, and salt, and a dish of fresh veggies and limes. You squeeze the limes into the pepper, and dip the beef and veggies in this pepper sauce. A sort of Cambodian carne asada, if you will. After that, it was like 1 a.m., but they showed me to a club that they frequent. Now I'm not such a heavy partier, but this place was great! There were young people everywhere, smoke, laser beams, beer aplenty as well as this dried beef stuff sort of like beef jerky that they serve along with it. It was fun! We danced, made dancing friends, and then Sony drive me back to my hotel once I was peetering out (*finding* the hotel was another matter--I'd forgotten the name).

Today was a different story. I awoke late because I neede the sleep. and hired a tuk tuk driver, who, for $12, was to take me outside the city to the Killing Fields and to the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. What follwed was absolutely horrifcally, unspeakably horrifying. At the killing fields I opted for a tour guide. My guide, Mao Thel, was only 15 when the Khmer Rouge was in power in the late 70s. His mother and father, both doctors, were both burdered, and his sister and uncle died of starvation. He survived my working in the rice fields. There are over a hundred mass graves there. They're shallow, not deep, and although they've been excavated in 1980, there are still shards of bone everywhere you walk, unavoidably showing through the dirt, as if we need another reminder of the unspeakable horrors commited there, after seeing the thousands of skulls in the genocide memorial.

Another guy, Rith, who sells flowers and incense at the memorial, had 8 people in his family killed, including his grandparents, some by murder, some of starvation. Pith told me of how the problems live on. In Cambodian Culture, on the new year they pray to the spirits of the dead. His family had no where to pray because there were no graves, so they converted for their native Buddhism to Christianity.

There are beautiful palm trees everywhere. Mao Thel showed me up close to one of them. The leaves on the branches have thin, saw-like teeth on the sides of them. There are still marks on some of them. He told me they were used to cut the necks of Cambodians off. What these trees have seen. Thank goodness trees don't have hearts, I think they would have been broken 30 years ago. When I started to cry, Mao Thel walked up to me, gave me a half-hearted (or heavy-hearted) pat on the back, and told me it was okay. "Terrible, senseless," he said. Them who'd lost his entire family.

There is a school just next to the killing fields, just beyond the mass graves. When you walk around, you can hear the children singing, a creepy reminder that no matter how tragic the loss, the human spirit cannot be killed.

Photos to come. The internet cafe is closing, so I think that's where I will end for now. Tomorrow will hold more adventures, muss less somber.

Goodnight,

sara

a day in Bangkok...

2009-07-03T06:36:00.000-07:00

So, when I first got into town I took a bus straight to Khoa San road, because that's where everyone seemed to be going. Despite the fact that I had a watermelon/passionfruit smoothie that was to DIE for, I hated Khoa San Road. Tourists, bad motels that were dank and sorta gross...I didn't come all this way just so I could hang out with more people like me. Oh no...So I hired a taxi who agreed to take me around to different places til I found a hotel I liked. And what $30 can get you is a beautiful, modern, clean hotel with a king sized bed and air conditioning. Well, I'll be!

Thailand is more expensive than I remember it, but then again, the food is a million times better than my memory could recall. That's an EASY trade. Got a massage, a tom yum from the night market that makes the adjective orgasmic seem insuffient, and off to bed in my clean AC'd room.

The following day had me wking up late and off to the King'd Palace, which somehow I'd missed last time I was here. Of course it's phenomenally gorgeous. Met some nice guys from MI who were there for a destination wedding (good friends!!) and we took turns taking each others photos in front of the various wat stuppahs. After that, I noticed that there was some market/festival/busy happening going on around the corner, and far be it for me to miss a festival or a market (remember the living goddess, anyone?!) so I wandered around. For HOURS. I discovered a fruit that's called "sala" (pronounced just the way my name is pronounced) that's found in the jungle. It looks a bit like rambutan, but it brown and more spikey and also not as round but more oblong coming to a tip. I guess it's found in the forests. Anyway, it's super interesting, because I can't really describe the flavor. It's kind of like a tropical custard mixed with rotten banana, but a little sour as well as sweet--in a good way. They have them here in Cambodia as well. I LOVE them! Had some stupendous grilled, skewered, pork, and that was about all my tummy could handle given the heat.

Since I'd heard that The Mandarin Oriental Hotel was the place to hear good jazz, and got advice from someone on how to take the bus (Thailand is so easy to get around, it's brilliant. It might be the perfect country. Except, you know, for all the terrorism in the South). So I hopped on the bus, and lo and behold, a lovely, semi-English speaking couple in their 40s wanted to know where I was going to make sure I was headed in the right direction. I was, but when I asked where they were going, they said to the Chinatown Market. I replied that that sounded way more fun than the Mandarin Oriental, and they invited me along for dinner! What came next was a gastronomic revelation. I follwed them through the sweet vendors in the drizzle. They stopped along the way and got some steamed water chestnuts and put some in my hand. Delicious! After several blocks of restaurants and vendors that were all selling food that looked like it was to die for, we came upon a nondescript corner of food vendors. They knowingly went *right* where they intended, took their seats, and beckoned me over (I was staring at more fruit smoothies, of course, but they assured me we could order them from our plastic chair seats behind the vendors). One watermelon/lychee smoothie and a pretty good plate of Pad Thai later (whihc they'd ordered for me, fearing the soup would be too hot spicy and not knowing I don't really like pad thai, but this was actually very tasty), I was happy as a clam! The wife (we never even got each others'names, now that I think about it) had me taste her soup. THIS. STUFF. MUST'VE. BEEN. MADE. BY GOD'S PERSONAL CHEF. Holy awesome, Muriel! It was simple, and looked like nothing more than a bowl of brother with a few pieces of meat in it and some cilantro on top. Oh, but the flavor!!!! It was hot spicy, extremely black peppery, and meatily savory in that way that makes you want 5 more helping of mom's matzo ball soup. The kicker, however, was that the pork pieces in it were juicy and chewy, while either end of them was rendered, fried, crispy fatty goodness that magically stayed crispy, even while in the broth! I can't explain it, but even with the awesome Khmer food I had for dinner, I'm hankering for this stuff in a major way. Maybe there was crack in it. Or opium. Anyway, of course with this kind of miraculous adventure, I had to pay for dinner, but the husband was too quick and insistent, and I failed at my one mission. After that, it was dessert of grilled buttered bread with some kind of milk stuff in the middle (maybe sweetened, condensed milk?) that, even to my tummy full of noodles and broth, was magical. After that, the couple pointed me back to the way we'd come, and I was back on my way to the Mandarin. Thank goodness for small miracles, huh? What a phenomenal night. Ohhhhhhhhh, the broth. Must. Have. More. I feel that women who needs the greens from Into the Woods.

The Mandarin was more like a palce than a hotel, and the prices are about what we'd pay back home. That said, it's beautiful, and the singer who was there, Cherryl Hayes, is totally awesome. She was super cool between sets and hipped me to where to come for the jams sessions when I get back from Cambodia...

Speaking of which, on to Phnom Penh...

Travelling again...

2009-06-29T20:58:00.001-07:00

So, I'm stuck in the Hong Kong Airport for 8-12 hours, depending on whether or not I gt into an earlier flight to Bangkok. And to tell you the truth, I'm not the least bit annoyed about it! There's food, water you can drink (!!!), and air conditioning. It's kind of like heaven. Speaking of water you can drink, let's talk about water you CAN'T. It was my last day in Kathmandu, and Sajju and I were back at Boudha Stuppa checking out the Monastary and some wares. The monastary is the most beautiful thnig I've ever seen...I'll upload a video fo the paintings on the walls and ceiling later. Anyway, The monks called me over to get blessed...and as we all know from Friday nights, I don't shy away from blessing no matter WHO's giving them! In any case, they said some words in Tibetan, held a thingy up against my head, said some blessings, and then poured some water out of the thingy into my hand, and uttered, "holy water. drink". Well, I'm not one to be disrespectful but what was I to do in this predicament? They knew I was a tourist, they wouldn't be offering me Kathmandu tap water, would they? Or WOULD they?

I'd found myself in this predicament before. It was in the mountains, on the way to Phaplu. There was lemonade. Or lemon water. Of course this was made with water. I eventually kept control over myself, swigged my bad-tasting-but-safe-to-drink-boiled-water-in-my-bottle and turned my lemonade over to a Nepali friend who enjoyed it in two gulps.

This time I wasn't as keen. I slurped a little, then made a pretend slurping "noise"...but still got a good sip of it in my mouth. No matter...Sajju and I ent on to a very enjoyable evening listening to Lindsey Feldmeth give an opera recital at the Kathmandu Russian cultural center, then to dinner at a nice place called the Chinese House, then to say hello/goodbye to Mariano, and then I went to bed so I'd be ready for travel the next day. Unfortunately I awoke at around 3 or 4 in the manana to a rumbling in my tummy something awful. I had the shakes, and sweats, and the good ole' Montezuma's. One azithromyecin in the morning gave me an upset tummy but at least it's not beena day and a half of travel with the shits. Sorry...but that's what traveller's do...talk about about our poo.

Anyway, on to better things. I saw the Kumari live an in person, as it was festival day. The Kumari is a living goddess, a young girl picked as a goddess incarnate. But for some reason she loses this status once she gets her period. It's weird and seems cruel to the girl, but...I'd gone to the temple to see her but foreigners aren't allowed to go to see her, and no one's allowed to take photos. So when it was festical day Sajju took me around, and lo and behold! Who were they carrying in that chariot thingy? I darted through traffic across the street like a true Nepali (although a real Nepali wouldn't dart, just mosey...) and there she was! I ran along taking photos which you can see here, along with many others:
http://picasaweb.google.com/leibolicious/Nepal2#

We also went to Pushapati, which is a holy place for Hindus as well as the place where Hindus in Kathmandu go to cremate the remains of their loved ones. It was an appropriately gloomy, monsoony, rainy day, and Sajju and I were soaked. Death is sad any way you put it, and we looked on from above, so as not to be direspectful. I expected it to smell awful like they said it smelled at the concetration camps in Germany...but after getting used to the smell of burning trash in Kathmandu, burning flesh and wood wasn't too bad. It was, however, unbelivably morbid to have ashes falling down on us, mixing with the raindrops, and standing there soaking and feeling very odd abhout being so entraced by the circumstances surrounding other peoples' grief.

After a while, we had to get out of there. But then we saw monkeys!! Macaques, actually. Note the amazing picture of the baby monkey. Might be the best photos I've ever taken.

I've not mentioned yet what an interesting juxtaposotion of experienced this has been. During the day, I'm just Kanchi, wandering the muddy streets, sweating through my clothes and getting my fingers caked with dust any time I touch anything. By night...I'm still the same (albeit more bug bitten...i learned to wear long pants finally), but I get to hang with the biggest Nepali rock stars, the ex-pats, and the elite members of Napali society. It's fun, it's interesting. I should say, when I talk about rock stars, I'm talking about the group 1974 A.D., comepletely UNarguably THE biggest thing in Nepal. When I was talking with Robyn, a lovely guy who works in a tea shop in Thamel (that happaned to be across from whre I was picking up my laundry) and also plays guitar and sings, he literally gaped when I told him I'd be playing with Nirakar and Adrian from 1974 A.D. Not only had Robyn not gotten the chance to attend a real concert, but these guys were his idols, he even played me a song of theirs. So of course he came as my guest to the concert, which I sat in on, and was super fun. I even got all the Nepalis and tourist kids up on their feet dancing! Plus they were smoking hash in the audience (I could smell it from the stage), which made ME feel like more of a rock star than a jazz one, so that fun, and Robyn seemed to really appreciate it. Nirakar is a partner with the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory, and he and Adrian literally couldn't be nicer. They are not only the nicest rock stars I've ever met, but the most genuine (of course, next to Tom and Nick, who will always be my number 1 rock stars), kind, and friendly.
Pictures of them are up as well, I'll try and label who's who now.

After this, I'm in Bangkok for a couple of nights, then off to Cambodia and then back to Thailand, where I'll probably catch a train to Chiang Mai, as I LOVE it there.

See you in SE Asia!

Love,

sara

p.s. Rodney, I got you the trinket you asked for from Nepal, don't worry. It's being sent in a box to my folks house, so I'll give it to you in person when I get back. :)

Alternate Changes, Kanchi, and the neverending path to Phaplu...

2009-06-25T00:03:00.000-07:00

Life is full of alternate changes. In jazz, this adds more complexity to the sound of the chord. In life, I think it does the same. You might say the alternate changes make the chord sound darker. But no less beautiful. Perhaps even more so. The more you hear it, the more you get used to the sound, and to the trained ear , it's nothing less than gorgeous.

I expected my life to sound one way, and when it didn't turn out that way, it sounded different. Darker. With more complexity, you might say. But, I'm learning, in time, no less beautiful. And I hope, in time, it'll sound nothing less than gorgeous.

Part I
We arrived at the Kangel airport. Airport is using the term loosely, as it was just a strip on the side of a mountain, and I nearly had a heart attack when I realized that that's what we had to land on. No matter. Kangel, along with Mukli and everywhere else I'll be talking about, is in the Southern part of the Everest Region in Nepal, in the Solukhumbu district. After three hours of rigorous walking/climbing/trekking (let's not get into how I fell off the side of a hill and hung on to get pulled back up by one arm...or how I fell in the mud), we arrived in Mukli, and saw the health post on the way! At the place where we were staying, I was introduced to several people from the Young Stars Club. The club is a local organization that does things like provides locals with seeds for planting, classes on farming, hygiene, health. They've also started a local radio station, which people listen to on battery-powered radios, or, more often, their cell phones. People in Mukli have enough to eat. But learning how to grow more allows them to grow extra and sell it, to generate a little bit of income, instead of surviving solely on the subsistence living that they've been surviving on for generations.

The next morning (Saturday), we were up with the roosters to get started on installing the solar lighting system! Upon arrival I was greeted and honored with Khatas, white scarves from the Tibetan tradition. Many people were there, generally people who were on the health post committee or involved in some way. Yadav began by explaining the real cost of the system (my time, his time, my flight, all on top the actual cost of the system and the flight from Kathmandu to Kangel). He asked that two people from the Mulki community be there as we installed it so that if there needs to be any small maintenance in the future, they can do it themselves. I was thanked over and over by the committee chairman. It turns that I'm the first visitor of this kind to this community, because most tourists and visitors just want to go to Mount Everest of the Annapurna Region to see the mountains. They committed to upkeep of the system, and then the Young Stars Club committed to paying for any necessary upkeep.

You can see in the pictures, but it turns out that my training wasn't SO important, as there were a number of strong men happy to help. Once everyone decided where the lights should go, in what positions, etc, it took a while to get the first one done. But after that, the following three were up in no time! We were done by 4 'o clock or so, tired, happy, celebrating, and back home...

to see a goat get killed! It happened that the following day they were planning a big ceremony both to honor the villagers who had worked with the Young Stars Club in implementing some of their programs, and to celebrate me and the new solar power system. They only kill goats like this a few times a year, so it was a real honor. And kinda gross. And beautiful. And nice to be totally in touch with the food I was going to eat. This was no boneless chicken breast wrapped in plastic wrap. Check the photos, you'll see.

Part II

Nepali tea:
Tea Leaves
Water
Sugar
Cardamom
Cloves
Buffalo milk (you can use cow)

Boil, and drink! Yummy.

Nepalese Aloo Bandaghobi:
Mustard Oil
Potatoes
Cabbage
Mehti (Fenugreek)
Turmeric
Garlic
Coriander seed
Red Chilli

Heat mustard oil in a pan/wok.
Put in 1/2 tsp turmeric and a little mehti (fenugreek).
Put in sliced potatoes and sliced cabbage. Cover and cook a few minutes. Then add a little water (maybe 1/4-1/2 cup) as needed and cover to steam.

In the meantime, make the masala by crushing in a mortar and pestle (or food processor, I suppose) the garlic, dried red chillli, and coriander seed until it's finely ground.

Mix masala into the potato/cabbage mixture. Add a spoon of garam masala and cover to steam until cooked through.
Serve, with rice and Nepali pickle.

Nepali Pickle:
Mustard Oil
Tomatoes
Cumin
Mehti (Fenugreek)
Ginger
Garlic
Chilli
Garam Masala
Peas

Heat mustard oil in a pan. Add the mehti and a pinch of cumin seed and fry until mehti turns black. Add a little turmeric. Add tomatoes and a little water, and boil until cooked. Mess/mush tomatoes. Put in masala (ground fresh ginger, garlic, and chili), a pinch of garam masala, fresh peas and cook a few minutes with a small fresh green chili, split in two. Take off fire and serve with rice and Aloo Bandghobi.

Part III (an except from my journal)
I have not come on this journey to find myself. In fact, i've always known who I am. It's clear now that I spend more time in an attempt to ignore this knowledge rather than embrace it. You see, a spiritual journey is nothing but a vehicle. Hindus believe that every god has many vehicles, so that man can understand god. Lackshmi, goddess of wealth, presents on earth as a cow. So they worship the cow as Lackshmi.

When Yadav and I ate our first meal in Mukli, I was given a spoon and everyone else ate with their hand. When I asked why, Yadav said, "When you eat with your hand, you can touch and feel every grain of rice that comes between your fingers".
"So you can appreciate them more"? I asked?
He nodded, and mixed more dal into his baat.

I spend my life separating one thing from another. Dirst from clean, good from bad, Ab from Eb, jazz from classical, pain from pleasure, sweet from sour, beauty from ugliness, salty from bitter. I have spent the last 5 days being very concerned with the cleanliness of my hands and feet. Water is plentiful here. It flows as streams around every corner, and is coaxed with tubing into every kitchen and outhouse/bathroom. Why, then, are people so dirty? Don't they understand that they should be cleaner? I've walked around gingerly, careful where I sit, watching every step so as to avoid the unavoidable cow, goat, chicken, and water buffalo dung all over the ground. i've been careful not to kick up dirt, avoiding stomping too hard so that mud from the rain won't splash at my ankles. At some point in Mukli, as I sat by the open wood kitchen fire and stared at my new friends' feet, hands, the dirt in their clothes and under their fingernails... I looked at the floor. The floor was made of earth. Earth is dirt. The wood was being burned to ash. The ash was used to clean the dishes. our waste eventually turned into manure to feed the crops, and the crops, in turn, fed us. Why, then, do i spend so many of the waking hours of my life trying to separate that which cannot be separated? The language barrier stopped me from asking what I already knew the answer to. Why would I spend so much time washing off the dirt when the dirt is not separate from myself? Dirt grows food, which eventually becomes a part of us. Dirt grows trees, which we eventually cut down for our homes. Why, then, do I spend all of this mental time separating Ab from Eb when the two are one in the same? Musical, scientific manifestations of the beautiful force of the world, or what others call god.

I did not come on this journey to find myself. I've known who I am all along. I am you, you are me, and we are all connected, from the record studios in Hollywood to the wood and clay stoves in the mountains on Nepal. People around the world just have different ways of expressing this oneness.

From Nepal, and safely back in Kathmandu,

Sara/Kanchi/just a name

some nepal pics til i get back to kathmandu...

2009-06-24T01:45:00.000-07:00

managed to get these up yesterday before the internet went down. i'm currently stuck in a village in the mountains of nepal where's there's nothing but goats ( i trudged through the mud to another village that has dial up to get on this comp), so pray that the weather gets better for me so that my plane will come tomorrow (it's been cancelled twice now)...otherwise i'll have to walk for 3 more days and take a 10 hour bus ride.!

hope these pictures hold you over for now! a nwe, great blog is coming frmo kathmandu. hope you like the pics!

LOVE,

S

http://picasaweb.google.com/leibolicious/SaraSPhotos?authkey=G

Taste of Nepal.

2009-06-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

Namaste, friends!

where to start, where to start?

I feel like I've been so lax about writing since I've gotten to Nepal, I don't even know where to begin!

Here are some choice titles for this blog:

"Deedee, you are a little bit fat, yes?"

"If you don't know suffering, how will you know happiness"?...I hear ya brotha.

I stopped counting mosquito bites when I found more than 20 on just one limb.

Plane ticket to Nepal: $1500-ish dollars.

Entrance to Buddha Stuppa: 100 rupees ($1.25)

Anti diarheal meds, baby wipes, and 2-lpy toilet paper: PRICELESS.

Here goes:

I arrived in Nepal, and as I said before, have a lovely apartment, thanks for the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory. If you'er a jazz friend and you have nothing to do, you should come teach here. You'll have no other possibility other than to love it. Ranjan, the kid I told you about before, takes care fo the apartment, and lives in the flat one floor down. He has hot water in his palce, so I have to go down there every time I shower. This suits me okay, since there's no seperate shower stall, and showering means yuo get the whole bathroom wet...so mine stays dry, and he doesn't seem to mind. Well, I guess it's his job not to.

When I wake in the morning he comes up and asks me if I want tea. No? Water? Toast? Egg? Won't I take something to eat? The weather is so hot, it's tough to stomach more than just one meal a day. I'll go ahead and assume I've not turned to skin and bones because the above fat comment was from Ranjan. It's my favorite thing he's said, along with the phrase "mind blowing".

The day after I got here, there was something called a "banda". The Maoist political party was takingn revenge or something...someone got kidnapped and killed...therefor there were no roads open and every place was closed. No matter to me, as I was up at like 6 a.m. and didn't know any of this before the hot 15 minute walk from my place in Lalitpur to the Patan Durbar Square (Palace square). I'd stay I ran into Uttp, but I know he ran into me. Uttp is a Newari of Tibetan descent who works as un (unofficial) tour guide and part time Thanka painter. Unfortunately you're going to ahve to do with my verbal communications for a while, as I can't figure out how to get my pics down to a size that's reasonably uploadble. Suggestions are welcome.

Uttp showed me the Temple of Jaganarian. There are all sorts of kama sutra positions depicted on this temple, as young people who were to marry would come to it so they'd know how to have sex. We reasoned that that part is obsoltet now due to MTV. I couldn't get any good erasno why there was a horse doing a woman from behind, nor why all of the depicted positions were from behind. Put that in your pipe and ponder it...

Every temple we go to, we walk around clockwise. It's much more auspicious and for good luck. In fact, lots fo things here are auspicious, but the definitions of WHY they are so vary depending on whom you ask. It's pretty funny, actually. Most of the answers one gets are that you just do it, because it's good luck. I should mention that Nepal is a melting pot of Buddhism (people who came down from the Himalayas) and Hinduism (people from here, India, the lower part of Nepal, ie. Kathmandu valley). One man said it's like a masala (mixtuer of spices). So in fact most places you go have a huge Buddhist stuppah, next to which are several Hindu god statues...Vishnu, Hanuman...etc, in various incarnations, or vehicles (all of the Hindu gods have animal vehiclesn through which they are depicted). Uttm took me to the Goden Temple, the oldest in Patan, there was a gorgeous mandala on the ceiling that I think was from the 13th century!

Back at KJC (Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory), I met Nick Jost and Eric Slaughter, two jazz musicians who are at the end of their 3 months teaching here. They are absolute master jazz musicians, and it was a pleasure to hear and play with them. We're plannign to try and do a little mini tour of the midwest, as they're from St. Louis. I'm thinking the Bistro, Green Mill in Chitown, and a couple places ni Michigan. We gave a concert two nights ago in Thamel, the toursty distrcit of the city. The place was packed, hot as an oven, and totally jumping with both foreigners and Nepalis.

Yesterday we accepted an invitation do be on a radio show! Kantipur FM 96.1. Lovely! What I didn't realize was that it was basuically going to be the Sara Leib show. And for that matter, ot was a 2 hour show. For those of you have have been on the radio, you'll know...2 hours is a LOT of space to fill. By the end of, we were all torn up and in need of a rest.

Good thing the day before I found a massage parlor, where, for $8 U.S. I got a massage by a man so awesome that the very first massage was like he knew me...like a lover you've been with for a long time. It. was. awesome.

Then it was off to the Kathmandu Hyatt, where the boys had a gig playing a concert for the World Bank people. I'm not kidding. There was booze, food, and Laura (Nick, the bass player's girlfriend who'd also visiting) and I went to the Buddha Stuppa, a huge mecca-like stuppah just a few minutes wakl from the Hyatt. It was amazing! Wait til you see the pictues. People walking around it clockwise there times. Doing mindful prostration on the ground (they repeat this 108 times!!!!)...it was amazing.

The Hyatt is the only place I've been in KTM that a) has airconditioning and b) it like a hotalo you'd see in the states. That said, it's completely weird and out of place do drive from the rocky, uinpaved streets into a marble and granite palatial place that looks more like a clean temple than anythign else. THAT said, I was grateful for the AC. But the BEST part was the concert! My tummy was acting up, and there's no better place to have the runs than a fancy hotel (sorry for the gross detail), so Laura and I cam back in time for the concert, which was absolutely UNBELIEVABLE. It was a well known group here, a trio or sitar, tabla, and Sarangi, a sort fo Nepali violin, with four strings but only tuned to two notes a fifth apart. The tricky part is that tyou don't put your fingers on the fret, you use your fingernails. It's HARD! I tried... Anyway, this trio (the Sarangi plater had come to our concert the night before and was very complimentary) was joined with Nick on bass, Eric on guitar, and Mariano, the head of JJC, no soprano sax. The outcome was something so amazing, I wanted it to never end. It was the kind of concert you'd pay $65 to see at UCLA Live. AMAZING. The buffet afterwards (with cesear salad you could actually EAT!) was pretty sweet, too.

Now to today. Today was amazing. Yadav arrived to pick me up just as I rolled out of Ranjan's hot shower. People keep catching mere in my towel, which seems like it must be awfully inappropriate, but no ones ever seems to flinch. Anyway, today was the day that I was off to train to learn how to install my solar lighting panel system! Yippee! We were off to lotus energy company, Adam Friedonsohn's non NGO company that makes and distributse solar panel systems all over Nepal. The place was amazing. It was a plant, like the one my dad had for furniture when I was a kid. But this place makes solar energy systems that help people help themselves! They have systems for homes, more major systems, and even a solar vaccine erfridgeration system! Amazing. Maybe that's what I'll install next time I come. Or maybe YOU should come and install one! Anyway, a had a 2 or three hour lesson that involved using a wire cutter, remembering which wires weer positive/negative (red means positive, just like on your car battery), stripping wires, nails, scrwes, washers, electrical tape, light switches...etc. Do I have any technical knowledge? No. Did I get the system to work, and light up the lights we attached? YES. It was gleeful, exciting, and joyous, even in the extreme heat. So that was a success. Thanks to those of you who donated to this project as well...please see previous email if you'd like to. Your contribution will make a big difference, as I'm undertaking (read: underwriting) this myself, and it's a cost usually shared by a group. Plus you get to be a part of, and keep up by blog! Yay.

After the successful training session, it was off to the "monkey temple" ( i acn't remembr it's real name, as it's reALLY long and i left my postcards with the name at the apt) with Yadav's brother Ram, who, conveniently, is a tour guide!. There were monkeys (macaques, Linda), stuppahs, prayer flags galore. The place was gorgeous, and up at the top *once we'd walked around the whole thing clockwose, which I kept forgtting to do and had to keep being reminded of) there was a view of the entire Kathmandu valley, surrounded by mountains. Stunning. I strolled through shop after shop, and finally, exhausted we picked up my laundry in Thamel and I came back. That bring me here to the internet cafe. Tomorrow it's onto a place to Phaplu, where we'll stay the night before walking to the solar installation health center site. I'm excited that it's supposed to me much cooler up there. and supposedly there aren't mosquitos. Which is good because I'm scratching like a...someone who scratches a lot...like that monkey at the temple earlier.

Anyway...I'm exhausted and I have to get up early to catch the place. Be sure to donate at Paypal to saraleib@yahoo.com, and follow my blogs! Seeing as how there's no electricity up there, I won't be updating for 4-5 days. After that, I'll put up the picstures and the rest of the video (check my facebook profile for videos, btw).

Love you lots, and thanks for coming on my journey with me!

love,

sar

Name that city....

2009-06-14T07:02:00.000-07:00

3 cities. 24 hours. No. That's not right. 4 cities, 40 hours. Or something like that.

I'll start by saying that after I left you in the Hong Kong airport I sat in with some Philipino guys in a lounge band for several songs, met a nice Dutch guy who liked my voice and bought me dinner, and finally, FINALLY got to New Delhi, only to find that there were in fact, no showers, no food, no one particularly helpful, no ANYTHING. My ten hours would have to be spent in a waiting area with gaggles of people and it was, well...gross is kind of an understatement. Til I got the idea from an entreprenuring taxi driver to get a hotel, which, in my comeplete delerium, I did. An hour and a half of sleep and on gorgeous shower later wide awake in Delhi with 6 hurs 'til my flight. So I called the cab diver and he took me on a lovely little tour of new Delhi, with highlights including a Hanuman temple, a sweets shop, a Shiva temple, the India gate, and a gross liquor store (never mind that one, but they didn't have bottled water, so, let's say I was the only one not drinking).

The plane ride into Delhi was so stereotypical! I don't even feel right saying it. Babies cried, BO abounded, people talked RIDICULOUSLY loudly...I was at my wit's end. But all the time I at least smiled and chaclked it up to a culteral experience. Needless to say, this part fo the trip shoudl really be called, "how to spend $160 in 10 hours in Delhi". *sigh* Never mind that I had cramps the whole time. Damn.

Finally in lovely short 1 hour long flight to nepal I was sad again. Tired, listening to the Rescues, and writing song lyrics...but something happened as we descended into the Kathmandu Valley. I wish I coudl say what it was--I don't know. Saw mountains on one side, Kathmandu on the other, and I just got this *feeling*. It was going to be good.
I got in and Sunita was waiting for me with a sign. She is the assistant to Mariano here at the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory, which is totally amazing. The facilities are cool, clean, modern...they're running Logic Pro on a Mac, have practice rooms, a recording studio, and best of all? A bathroom with toilet paper.

Let me backtrack. I have a Nepalese number now. Skype me any time, I'd love to hear from you. As far as I can tell, my number is 098081552790 give or take the 0 at the beginning. The country code is 977, and mind the time difference. I'll try and set up the voicemail tomorrow. So Sunita took me to the apartments that KJC keeps for its teachers. It's in Lallipur. I was greeted by Ranjan, a lovely boy (actually, he's 18) who takes care fo the place in exchange for a room, paycheck, and free lessons. He was orphaned as a baby, and Mariano has taken him under his wing a bit. Essenially, I have my own apartment in Kathmandu, which is awesome. Bathroom, shower (i'm on the 5th floor wherethere's no hot water, but really it's so damned hot I wouldn't want a hot shower anyway), kitchen, balcony, air conditioning. Just kidding about the air conditioning.

Then it was off to see KJC and meet Mariano, who is lovely, and immediately was warm and awesome, and explained to me some things about Nepal, including the exeedingly high number of NGOs here, many (most) of which don't seem to use their money for much other than making rich people richer. I just hope HLF isn't like that. It's got a good repuataion, so I'm not too worried. Mariano also explained caste systems as they exist here today, and how Ranjan's life story is all too common here in Nepal. He subscribes rightly to making people be able to earn their living, as Raph always says, rather than a handout.

Tomorrow I'll have a rehearsal for our gig on the 16th, get in touch with HLF (http://www.hlf.org.np), and maybe see some sights/sites.

Oh, I forgot the whole point. Which is that I was considering changing my trip a day so that I might see the Taj Mahal on my way back. Now that I've seen Nepal, I have absolutely no intention of going back to India. Nepal is beautiful, the people I've encountered thus far are super duper nice, and everything seems to cost somewhere between 50 cents and 2 USD. The people are still poor but the landscape is nice and the whole city, is, well...pretty. Mmm...Nepal. I'm going to go back to my lovely apartment and collapse from exhaustion.

here re the pics!

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1020487007/a=21470763_21470763/fromupload=true/imagecount=42/videocount=0/

love,

sar

p.s. Kathleen, a concrete cell? Seriously?!

getting to kathmandu...

2009-06-13T02:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm in the Hong Kong airport for 8 hours after my 9 hour trip here from Sydney. THen it's off to New Delhi, where I'll have another 10 hour wait. Apparently you can pay $16 for a shower there, I think I'm gonna spring for it. :) If only I had an AMEX black card or was a business class member, I could shower and lounge around for free. Marc, this makes me feel less bad about all the travelling you do. They also have massage therapists in these places. I just keep telling myself how much a hundred bucks could get me in Kathmandu so I don't spend it here. Also...massages in Thailand will cost like $5 and I will get one every day. Every. Day. I've already made a pact with myself.

So with all this time, I figure I should catch up on blogging.

For some reason today I've been lonely. Maybe it's that I'd gotten used to the lovely company of Jane. Maybe it was that I watched "The Reader" (fantastic, by the way) on the plane and cried my eyes out. maybe this is normal. in any case, i appreciate that I have a place to write and people who will read it...even if it's not my partner. makes me feel less alone wherever I am in the world.

So...my last couple days in Sydney were lovely, and not quite as jam packed, which I think Jane and I both needed. We went to the Sydney Museum, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and a bunch of private art galleries that were lovely. AND we had Din Tai Fung! Even if Jane liked it but wasn't blown away. There's no accounting for taste (that's for you, Jane). :P I'm not sure if I just haven't been to a Museum in a while or what, but the art gallery of NSW was AMAZING! I mean, I went for the Aboriginal art, but ALL of the exhibits were awesome. Easten art, modern art too. will put up 2 pictures of my favorite works once I get to Nepal. Interestingly enough, I found that I like other Oceanic Aboriginal art better that Australian. Bornean and stuff from Papua New Guinea in particular. The Australian market is so saturated, apparently, with Australian Aboriginal art, that there's not much of a market for the other. Which allowed me to buy and post home some REALLY cool stuff from Papua New Guinea at less-than-antique prices.

Other interesting things about Australia:

They say "post" instead of "mail", when using it as a verb.
They call movers "removalists". I LOVE this.
When they say the word "no" it sounds like "noy".
They call pharmacies "chemists". This made for a fun picture when ther was a rainbow (gay-friendly) triangle next to a "chemist" sign that made it look like an ad for a gay chemist. I dont know why I found that so cute.

By the way, I'm not sure I've quite mentioned it, but I'm kind of in love with Sydney as a city. It has the bricks and house architecture of chicago, the neighborhoods of San Francisco, and the night life of New York City. What more could you ask for?

So on my last night, Jane and I met up with Linda's Jon (whom I'd already seen once in Auckland, as he was there on business while I was there), who'd invited us to a fundraiser for a Mexican Orphanage. Who could turn that down? The fundrasier was at a place called and RSL. Oh, but if we had those in the U.S. As I understand it, RSLs (something something League) are somewhat like shriners places in the States. It's in honor of veterans, and it's a membership thing, but nowadays memberships are extremely cheap, like $5 a year or something. They have food, cheap drinks (there are members discounts), and...wait for it...gambling! Also, they have a vending machine that serves meat pies. And event rooms. Our party/fundraiser was in one such room. It was the cutest thing ever. Basically we paid a fee, had drinks, and sat and played trivia by the table (tables of 10). Ours was table 8 and included Jane, Jon, me, and a bunch fo Jon's mates. Oh! That's another thing! Everyone in Oz is a mate. Even when they stamp your passport at the airport they'll say "Have a good trip, mate" or "cheers, mate!". It's so cute! Also, Jon's apartment is AMAZING. It has views of the whole city and harbor. Linda, you'd love it. Anyway, back to the fundraiser. There were questions like "spell 1999 in using Roman numerals" and things like that. And there were auction items. So basically it was a bunch of Aussies (the place was packed) throwing money around, buying drinks, and taking trivia! It was so fun! There was something really sweet about it. Like, people weren't going to raves and taking ecstacy. They were having fun with friends and playing trivia! Kind of makes me want to move to Sydney, if that's what my weekends would be like.

Anyhoo...this blog is no longer so mini. Off to bide my 5 more hours here. Pray to your god for me that I'll be able to sleep on the way to Delhi. And get hungry enough for some dumplings. Or duck. Or something like that.

Sar

insert blog title here.

2009-06-10T06:18:00.000-07:00

I've had several ideas as to how to title this blog entry:

"Kanga Bangas"
"Kangaroo chasing with Sara and Jane"
"Wallabys, Wombats, and Echidnas, Oh MY!"
"Dingoes Ate My Baby!"
"Can I spelunk in that?"
"Snow, kangaroos, and rainforest. All in 600 kilometers."
"I'm completely in love with Jane Withers. In a platonic sort of way."

I'm daunted even at the idea of starting this blog. let me begin by saying that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the ways Aussies say the word, "here". They say "hee-yah". There's something about it that makes me giggle and repeat it every time. So far no one's gotten offended. Thank goodness for that.

After getting through customs at the Sydney airport, I walked up to the baggage claim area, waited 45 seconds, and then my first bag came out. Let this be a lessons to LAX which take 45 MINUTES top get the bags out. Jane and the Withers family are friend with my friends the Solomons. Jane was penpals with Rachel Solomon (sister of my dear friend Sarah Solomon (Rosenfeld)), and she and Len have kept in touch. Lucky for me, she and her family are the nicest people EVER, and
there she was, waiting for me at the airport after my whollopping 45-second wait. Let me just remind you reader, andmyself, that it's winter here. And I'm freazing my face off. Not quite as bad as Auckland was in terms of temperature, but when you're wet and it starts to snow and you've been up since godknowswhen...brrr...

Anyhoo...upron arrival Jane took me all around city by car. We saw Bondi Beach, and Opera House, King's Cross. And at night we went back out to see the special light show going on around SYney this month, which includes art projections onto the Sydney Opera House. So when you see the picture of the Opera House that looks like the fish in Finding Nemo, don't be alarmed.

Yesterday was epic. EPIC. E-P-I-C.
We decided to make a go for what was to be a long day. First to see all manner of indigenous animals at the Featherdale Park. There were Wallabys, Kangaroos that I fed by hand, Koala bears that made me want to die of cuteness, and all sorts of crazy other animals like Echidnas and Wombats, parrots, cocktoos, dingoes, crocodiles...

Next we were off the the Blue Mountains, where me may have frozen our tits off but damn if we didn't have fun. The blue mountains are in the bush, but house an entirely different ecosystem, including rainforest, limestone mountains...

Speaking of limestone, after thr mountains we drove an hour and a half to the Janolan Caves. Well I'll be. These are the most amazing things I've ever seen. Well at least the most amazing caves I've ever seen. There are 300 or so of them, and tons that have yet to be discovered! Google it if you don't believe me. My photos uploads are taking their sweet time, they'll be up soon.

For now, we went to the Hunter Valley today. We ate cheese and drank wine. We woke up late. Then I chased kangaroos at dusk. Jane trusily stayed in the car where it was warm, and even made U-turns at my request.; And just so you know, U-turns going right are really different than the U-turns I'm used to. And slightly illegal.

For a FAN-FRIGGING-TASTIC video of my kangaroog chasing (and Jane's adept U-turning skills), click here: Or "hee-yah":
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/video/video.php?v=107933733759&ref=nf

Here's a link to all my pictures so far!:
http://www2.snapfish.com.au/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=977310007/a=21470763_21470763/

Tomorrow it's Aboriginal Art at the museum and some shops, and lunch at Din Tai Fing Australia (for goodness sake, I have to show Jane something, don't I?).

Lastly, I'd like to say if you're reading this and have the time, write me an email and tell me what you're up to. I'd love to hear, even if I don't have the time to write back to everybody.

Love,

Sar

fire fairies, magic, and the kindness of the human spirit.

2009-06-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

It's impossible to express the kind of lovely comfort, happiness, and gratefulness I'm feeling right now.

Roger Mannins and Caroline Lynn are two jazz musicians in Auckland. They teach at the University here, and they arranged with me beforehand to sit in on Rog's gig on Friday at the London Bar (Tierney, apparently you sat in there when you were here, too!). And then on Sat to give a master class and a concert at their house. Friday night was lovely. Craig and Frank, my new couchsurfing friends, showed up and we chatted while we listened to some great musicians play the first set. For the second, I sat in, and we just had a lovely, lovely time. Rog then picked up all of my stuff from the hostel and of we were to their house just outside Auckland, only about a 15 minute drive. The house is so lovely and quaint. There's a coal fire in the fireplace, there's always some tea on, and kiwifruit (both green and golden) are aplenty. But the best thing about it is their amazing daughter Milli. She's 5, brilliant, hysterically honest as most 5-year-olds are, and an artist like no other 5 year I've ever met. She can draw, fingerknit, and make all sorts of fun art projects.

Yesterday all manner of people showed up for the class--singers, instrumentalists, singer-instrumentalists. The piled into the living room and we had a nice long chat about where/why/how extensions are available, guide tones lines on the blues, and I even got to hear 3 of them sing and give them a bit of constructive criticism. They're all actually beautiful singers with big, powerful voices--many of them are students of Caroline and some of the guys from the band.

After the class people started showing up for a barbeque! We grilled sausages, had wine, beer, I made my jerk chicken...and we completely forgot to grill the lamb we'd gotten--it's all right, now we'll have it for dinner tonight. Everything was delicious, and the company couldn't have been brighter. Craig and Frank showed up, and all told there were probably 30-35 people here for the bbq and concert. Warm, smiling faces, and donations in the pot so by the end of the night I was able to pay the band a bit. Our bass player Tom Dennison is only 19 and has great time and feel. The concert was a hit, the students seemed to be inspired, and I unpoaded (sold) a bunch od CDs and signed autographs, which is lovely because those CDs were making my suitcase awfully heavy.

After cleaning up from the day, Roger, Caroline, Milli and I sat around the fireplace. Milli told me some stories she learned at school about the fire fairie and the wind brothers. I then concocted a tale of how the fire fairie and wind brothers are actually cousins, who sometimes get in an argument, and that's what makes the candle flame flicker. Milli liked it. It was a long day, and we all went to bed happy and smiling. Today it was morning tea, a bit of internet, and then I think they'll take me for a NZ adventure. All said, the people here are so kind, generous, warm, and lovely, it's a wonder to behold. I couldn't be happier or more grateful.

Signing off for now, and cheers from New Zealand. I'll speak to you next from Sydney, Australia.

love,

sara

P1000465 (1 photo), by sara leib

2009-06-04T01:48:00.001-07:00

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
http://www2.snapfish.com/fbshareredirect/p=86441244105206964/l=1920203007/g=21470763/redirectURL=viewsharedphoto/otsi=SPICBL/AlbumID=909132007/PictureID=31606938007/a=21470763_21470763/usercomments=I_xqd%20like%20to%20share%20my%20Snapfish%20photos%20with%20you.%20Once%20you%20have%20checked%20out%20my%20photos%20you%20can%20order%20prints%20and%20upload%20your%20own%20photos%20to%20share./counttext=1%20photo/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

new zealand #1

2009-06-04T01:37:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

As you know, I’ve just begun my trip around the world. If you’re on this email list, it’s either because I thought you’d want to be or because you requested to be.

As some of you may not know, Erin and I (and Erin ’s friend Ron) were in a car accident Saturday night. It was kind of a bad one, but we escaped relatively unharmed—until the hospital broke my nose. But that’s another story. Anyway, we’re glad to be safe and healthy. And sad about Erin ’s car.

As you can imagine, I was afraid that my plane flight to New Zealand was going to be horribly painful and uncomfortable. Luckily a nice fellow named Patrick heard my plea and sat me in a row all by myself (!!!!). Quantas is AMAZING. Like 60 movies, food, drinks (including New Zealand and Australian wine)…it was kind of like being in a flying hotel. Plus, I slept.

Upson arrival I saw the sun come up over the bay...

http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=909132007/PictureID=31606938007/a=21470763_21470763/otsc=SHR/otsi=SPIClink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

After getting here, I went to a couchsurfer’s place names Craig, who is absolutely lovely. I realized quickly that my coming and going, however, might be quite the pain in the ass for him. So I’m writing you from a hostel that’s nice. I like hostels, and this is the first one I’ve stayed in, but it’s pretty clean and the people are nice. And I can come and go as I please and all that.

The most exciting part of my day yesterday was when I ran into two girls from my plane on the street here in Auckland , and they decided to join me on my journey to try a find a plce called “5 below”. It’s just like the bar in the ice hotel! You have to put on huge parkas, boots, mittens…and you walk into a bar that has walls made of ice, ice sculptures, the bar is made of ice…the whole thing is ice! All the way down to the glasses that hold your drinks…also made of ice! Oh and there are couches (albeit hard ones) made of ice, too, and covered with animal hides. I’ve always wanted to go to the bar in the ice hotel, and now I don’t have to! It was lovely…here are pics to prove it.

Note that the glasses we're holding are made out of ice.

http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=909132007/PictureID=31606941007/a=21470763_21470763/otsc=SHR/otsi=SPIClink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

TodayI splurged and took a ferry over to Waiheke Island and took a wine tour. It. Is. GORGEOUS. Here.
http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=909132007/PictureID=31610794007/a=21470763_21470763/otsc=SHR/otsi=SPIClink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=909132007/PictureID=31610795007/a=21470763_21470763/otsc=SHR/otsi=SPIClink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=909132007/PictureID=31610797007/a=21470763_21470763/otsc=SHR/otsi=SPIClink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
A heron!
http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=909132007/PictureID=31606948007/a=21470763_21470763/otsc=SHR/otsi=SPIClink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

I've just eaten a not that good lamb gyro thing (I'm trying to eat as much NZ land and NZ green lipped mussels as possible...in fact I bought lamb at the shop and will make it tomorrow...yum.

Now I'm off to go and see Linda's friend Jon Capal! He's on business and Auckland and I'll stay with him in Sydney once I get there. I'm really looking forward to trying these fejoa and passionfruit flavored spirits they have here, so we're going to try and make it to a bar.

cheers!

love,

sar

angelique kidjo, live and incomparable

2009-03-27T00:35:00.000-07:00

friends of mine know i've been down lately. if this woman doesn't move you, i know don't what will. thank god for her concert tonight. it lifted my spirits 'til they soared. this is why I make music. for this kind of beauty. not sure if the vid will capture it, but at least it'll give you a taste. I screamed for her to sing "Batonga" and she did it as her encore. *sigh*.

Guate, round 2, Retaluleu and beyond...

2009-03-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

Guatemala:

Food and 23-year-old rum for 12 (11 1/2) people: $50.

Minor tornado during outdoor jazz performance: messed up coda and flying papers.

Warmth and generosity of Central Americans: Priceless.

That's my mastercard ad for the week.

First let me say that Don Zacapa rum *is* all it's cracked up to be. So smooth! The ride to Reu gave me a awful headache--bumpy roads mixed with lack of sleep and the air thick with heat. Got there and the hotel was historical and neat. And the weather was HOT!! And muggy. The concert went well, even though there were bugs and wind so rough that even our clothespins didn't work. Other than that, good.

This morning I fell asleep in the car on the way out of Reu, and when I awoke, I was in the chipper-est mood I've been in in a while. Not sure if it was because of the Thay book I was listening to on my ipod, the extra rest, or the gorgeous scenery outside of Antigua, but it was marvelous.

Fortunate as I am, Ivonne decided we'd stop in Antigua, both to find Jordan's thing and because it's Semana Santa, there were going to be religious processions! It was very exciting. I don't remember loving Antigua so much. Here are some pictures:

Here's a video of the procession:

Amazing, huh? I've been invited into homes. People here are so warm, kind, and generous. Also, they're never tasted Thai food. Next time I come (to sing at the National Theatre, the grounds of which are fantastic, by the way), I'll bring some Thai curry paste, if they'll let me in the country with it.

That's all for now. There's more but I'm getting sleepy. I'll be back tomorrow, and then back to realidad.

guatemala, round 2, day 3

2009-03-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

Gave a masterclass yesterday morning that was very successful. Even the pianist and bass player who were playing with me asked to keep the handouts I made. So that's good. Had a lovely Italian lunch afterwards and then managed to ditch the armed guards (they left willingly) and spent the day with my new friends, the young jazz musicians from the masterclass. They basically drove me across the city twice on a wild goose chase for Jordan Silverman's tapestry. Still haven't managed to find it, as it's apparently rarely found now, and made only in a special town hours away, but will keep looking.

Sat in with the musicians, Victor, Jacobo, and hung with Juan Carlos at their gig last night, and gave them some tips on ii-7 V7's, swing, and approaching improvisation, which they were very grateful for, as there aren't any jazz teachers here. Then Victor was was enough to take me to his home to eat a traditional Guatemalan dinner that his grandmother cooked. How those beans get so delicious remains a mystery.

Today will get to go tour the national theatre with Ivonne y Ana Rosa, the largest theatre company in Central America. Ten rehearsal and tonight, the concert. Have a great set list lined up, should be awesome, and crowds the past couple of nights have been sold out. Afterwards, a party with my new friends, Including Rosse, the great singer from Weds. night who attended the masterclass, and has a tip on where to get Raph's Ron Zacapa at a good price. Tomorrow, off to the town of Reo, and very much looking forward to watching the Catholic religious processions on the roads on the way. Will try and take photos. Off for now.

warmly,

sar

guatemala, round 2, night 1

2009-03-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

So the armed guards are so nice. Actually, they're not guards, They're national policemen. And my walk? It turned into a drive. In the police car. But whatareyougonna do? Ditch 'em? Anyway, I skipped my way around a mall, found a nail place that waxed my eyebrows for 35 quetzales (roughly $4-5), and Juan Manuel (one of said armed policemen) sat there and waited. And he followed me through a housewares shop. And took off his gun and had it locked away before walking through the metal detector after I laughed, pointed at a sign with a gun crossed out, and said "Uh oh, no armas" while I went into a bank to change money. All the while we somehow carried on a conversation, even though he literally speaks no English whatsoever (pat me on the back here or give me a cookie or something). Then he told me I couldn't walk back to the hotel (it's about a block and a half) because it was too "peligroso". Hmmm, we'll have to see about this manana. 'Cause there's no way I'm not going to the central market. I'm very appreciative of all this seguridad, but it's also very, VERY weird.

Went to the concert at IGA tonight, LOVED it. It was awesome. Then my driver drove me back to the hotel, followed, of course, by my two new besties, the armed policia.

I found out a bit more about my schedule here. Tomorrow morning I'll give a clinic on vocal improvisation (among other things), and then I get the day off to hopefully go to the central market, hopefully find Jordan a faja, find Raph some 23-year-old rum, and wander a bit.

Friday there's press in the morning ( I have no idea if it's radio or paper, my Spanish isn't good enough to have figured that one out), rehearsal, then the concert that night. Then Saturday, the whole bands gets in a van to give another concert in Retalhuleu, a place I haven't been yet and didn't visit on the last trip, so that should be cool, as it's near the coast. That's all for now. Gonna go plans set lists and get some rest. I'll leave you withtwo pictures. One of my very clean and hygenic (o higienizado) toilet seat in my hotel, thankyouverymuch to the OCD gods, and one is picture of me and Juan Manuel:

guatemala, round 2, day 1

2009-03-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

i got into my hotel no problem. was picked up at the airport, got to my room happy as a clam. I was surprised, then to receive a call to my room 10 minutes later saying that there was an officer looking for someone from the cultural center that's hosting me. I go downstairs to find that there is an officer who has been assigned to stay with me at all times, to keep me safe. no one is sure whether he's here for me or all the other artists performing at this jazz festival, but I think it's hilarious as two armed officers and a driver argue over it.

That said, I found my concert in a magazine in the lobby about "what's happening around town" (carlos santana was on the cover), and now I'm finally going to go for that walk, armed officer or no armed officer.

cheers!

:)

sara

twitter...

2009-01-24T13:11:00.000-08:00

Sara Leib has entered the 21st century. Inspired by my man Gary Vaynerchuk (http://tv.winelibrary.com.com) I've started a twitter account. Friend me up, follow me, say hello!

http://twitter.com/saraleib

warmly,

sar

My trip around the world! Do you know people in other countries?

2008-12-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

Hello friends!

I have just booked an around-the-world ticket for this summer. I'll be taking a trip around the world (!!) and I'm SO excited. This is not work, it's just for play (although I'd be glad to give a masterclass or a lesson here or there). Because of that, I'd like to reach out to you, my friends, and see if you know people in these countries/cities who might like to show show me around, grab a drink, or even host me for a night or two. I'll be going to:

Auckland, New Zealand.

Sydney, Australia

Delhi, India

Kathmandu, Nepal

Lhasa, TIbet (hopefully)

Thailand (cities undecided)

Laos (cities undecided)

Cambodia (cities undecided)

Vietnam (cities undecided)

Beijing, China

Ulan Battar, Mongolia (hopefully)

Helsinki, FInland

Rome, Italy (and maybe Naples and Florence and/or the Amalfi coast)

Madrid, Spain

Marrakech, Morocco

I'd love to get in touch with people in the places I'll be visiting. Please let me know if you know people! Also, if you've been to any of these places and can make some suggestions to me of places to visit and places to stay, I'd love to hear about it!

Thanks so much!

Warmly,

sara leib

something inevitable...

2008-12-10T01:05:00.000-08:00

Hello, my friends.

As I wrote this post at 1:06 a.m. from the warmth and safety of my living room, I want to let you know about the inevitable beauty of Los Angeles. Yes, it is, in its inherent being, a contradiction of terms. We have Michelin star restaurants and the only people who can afford to eat them either starve themselves or get surgery one they balloon out to a normal weight after eating. We have cool bars but you have to drive to get to and form them. This doesn't make sense. Yes, if you look really hard, we have great nightlife, from Hollywood bars you see in US Weekly to Reggaeton clubs, jazz clubs, Korean bars, cheesy bars where the hollywood agents go, cheesy bars where the hollywood assistants go...all the way to our bacon-wrapped dogs and of course, our in-the-know taco truck street scene.

But there's something about Los Angeles. In November when it gets dark early, and all-of-a-sudden the traffic patterns change. And at 6 o'clock and you're driving home wondering why the traffic isn't as bad, the sea of break lights in front of you looks less like a war of the worlds and more like a random work of art, blinking at unpredictable intervals. LA can be a good place. Early on this Wednesday, it is. Looking forward to Thursday.

mmm!

2008-07-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

guess who's excited about the long beach crawfish festival august 3rd?

...(here's where you pretend you don't know...)

*I* am!

mmmmmmmm!!

my date with new york food royalty!

2008-06-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

Somehow this week I managed to one-up myself in the yum department. Earlier this month I made jerk chicken like, five times until I got it so right that I keot having dinner parties with different people invited, just to show it off. The week began by my being a guest on Gary Vaynerchuk's Wine Library TV. Since Gary is my hero in wine, attitude, marketing genious, and coolness, this was, of course, the BEST. THING. EVER. You can watch it ( episode #494) any time at http://tv.winelibrary.com.

As if things couldn't get any better, yesterday I had a lunch date with New York City's food royalty, Jesse Sheidlower (OED Editor-at-large and well known NYC foodie) and Robert Sietsema (food writer for the village voice and various other publications).

Jesse and Bob had arranged for us to be on a certain train, Bob on the platform, and we'd meet at a specific stop and ride to Jersey City to eat at one of the many vegetarian Indian restaurants that line the 800 block of Newark Avenue. Once out of the subway and into the humid light of this late June afternoon, there the three of us were, Jesse looking proper in his khaki suit and blue polka-dotted tie with Oxford wing tip shoes, Bob in brightly colored shorts with vertical stripes and a shirt with horizontal stripes, and me, straight outta Los Angeles with a very casual skirt, tank top, and flip flops.

We followed Bob, who cheerfully pointed out every building, the nuances of its deterioration, explaining the history of the town like he'd written a thesis on it or something. Every restaurant, bakery, or pub had a story, 'it used to be a this-or-a-that, now it's an Irish bakery with great bread', 'look at that big stone wall that used to be the end of a bridge that doesn't exist any more', 'this block is more Indian, this one more Filipino'.

We arrived at Newark Avenue, the smells of incense and garam masala wafting subtly at us with a cool breeze or air conditioned air every time we passed by a shop. Bob pointed out all of the restaurants, detailing which ones were which, and we finally stopped at Sri Ganesh's Dosa House, at 809 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306. The place itself was simple enough, nothing fancy, with numbers on top of veneered tables, that we were meant to pick up and give them with our order, that way, when the food is ready, they'd call our number. Bob pointed out that we'd be eating Southern Indian food, allvegetarian but not Gujarati. We let Bob order for us, and what we hot were Butter Mysone Masala Dosa, Masala Idly, and Upma. What it tasted like was like nothing I've ever tried before, even in my native LA's area of Artesia.

Jesse and I sat down while Bob got us water and sambal. The Sambal, though related to the Indonesian chili sauce of the same name, was more like a tasty, spicy soup with onions and squash. The Idly was a soft, breadlike textured substance made of ground lentils and rice and topped with fresh cilantro, and served with a coconut relish that would make appearances with the rest of the food, too. The delicious Upma, was sort of like cream of wheat. It had lentils and black mustard seeds in it, and also was topped with fresh cilantro, and served with the coconut relish and a hot red sauce on the side. Bob explained that it, like wheat, was introduced to India by the English.

Probably my favorite of the dishes, and the restaurant's namesake, was the Dosa, an extremely thin crispy pancake, awesome by itself, and here stuffed with potatoes, that cam with the coconut relish and an unusually fantastic spicy peanut sauce. It was amazing!

All in all, I felt between Jesse's word knowledge and Bob's food knowledge, I was hanging out with the equivalent of man-cyclopedia's, only they were living breathing, and the opposite of dull, and said cuss words at their will.

This was one of the greatest and most informative food adventures ever, and now I can strive to bring this kind of awesomeness to my LA foodie friends. HOORAY!

the diva den

2008-06-20T16:08:00.001-07:00

went last night to hear my friends kathleen grace, kristin korb, and inga swearingen perform. All three of them are wonderful musicians, and together they've put together a show called "tales from the diva den". it was so great! if you haven't check them out, please do, you'll thank me.