your *free* dose of liz :: kosovo

Yoga, yoga and more yoga (with a bit of thai massage)

A gift from the universe, it turns out that Danny Paradise is in town this weekend in Amsterdam, so my days here have mainly been about doing yoga, practicing thai massage, and getting some errands done and seeing friends in between.

Amsterdam has a special place in my heart. When I reconnect with my bike that's been standing in the rain all these months waiting for me to return it's like I'm back together with an old pal. And seeing all these wonderful friends in relaxed circumstances one after the other...well, I could just never leave.

But helaas, London awaits, and the next week will again be filled with moving and lifting boxes, packing and repacking. Not such a big deal since I'll be back in Amsterdam in October again...but well, it's tiring, sniffing cardboard boxes all day.

Been awhile, back in Amsterdam

After 6 weeks of travel in the Balkans, X and I have moved all our things back to Belgium and are awaiting our move to London.

It's nice to the beautiful city spaces in Amsterdam and Brussels again, and especially inspiring to see clean, green fields of grass and forests. As I type this, the window washers have just dropped from above to clean my friend's windows as I listen to the drilling of housing development projects near by. Still, there is a sense of calm and peace here unlike I've had in a long time.

These next days are administration - bill paying and moving boxes and making contact with some people.

I'm going to buy a new camera in these next days. Hooray!

A brief but Wonderful Amsterdam moment

Touching down to the land of flatness, greenhouses and water, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief as memories and emotions flooded through my head. It's strange to have one foot in such an orderly, clean, just world, the other in chaos, crime and pollution. Don't get me wrong, Amsterdam is far from idyllic, but the Dutch have had a *long time* to figure systems of public policy out and the one they've got seems to work pretty well from all angles.

Today I have a doctor's appointment, seems my blood isn't getting any better for now so I have to make some new adjustments in life. Absolutely no alcohol, no problem. Making sure I have all kinds of shots so I don't catch something like Hepatitis, no problem. Taking some new alternative medications like Milk Thistle, Enzymes, MacroBiotics, no problem. I don't know that all this does anything, but I'm sure that by all the positive thinking my body will rebuild itself in some perfect form in a year :-) It's a good goal to meditate on anyway.

On a lighter note, Xav got back from Tunis on Tuesday and had some hilarious stories to share. Being the only white at the interview, getting interviewed by a panel where microphones were switched on and off everytime anything was said, staying at a 'luxury' hotel out of the '70s... that reminds me of a place I stayed in Mangalore, 800 rupies a night with someone to come just to turn my bedding down. But I digress.

I'm very excited to see Patrick and Gosta at Svaha Yoga, to sing with them on Sunday, and to see my friends, attend a baby shower, etc etc. I have to make sure my bike has full tires and that I can get money out of my dwindling savings! Tot zo...

where i'm going, where i've been

Been awhile since I've posted, and I blame that entirely on travel and being generally b*u*s*y. No good.

Here's a brief update.

I was in Amsterdam for a week which was fabulous. I loved seeing my friends, admiring the canals in springtime, sitting in the Westerpark, going to all my old haunts and feeling like I was living there again albeit for a brief time. I also saw Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds at the Paradiso - a real treat. I spent most of my college years seeing Dave perform in small cafes, then at bigger venues on the east coast, so to be in spitting distance of him once again with nothing but him and his guitar (and Tim Reynolds) on stage brought back many memories that even triggered some nostalgic tears.

The pity is that my iPod got stolen and I seemed to misplace 2 of my favourite rings that I've had for a long. long time. I'm trying to think of this as a lesson, that I became too attached to these material things, but I'm still hoping at least the rings turn up. Let go.

I flew back to Pristina and hopped into a taxi to go right into a yoga lesson - the first of a 5 module series I'm calling Yoga Basics: Creating your Home Practice. Then X and I were back in Macedonia on Friday night and on the horses all weekend. It was sunny and fantastic, though it's become a bit of a circus these days at the Cherry Orchard. Every family with children seem to frequent the place, it's almost like a zoo! The people look at the horses, rabbits, chickens and pigeons, and the kids hang to the railing of the riding ring which makes for an interesting session, especially when I'm riding Lasta, a white mare who spooks easily at any sound or small movement. It's ok though, I kind of like the excitement, my cowboy past life pops back into the picture and I become a girl with a whip and a mission.

In other news, I've now completed the essays I had to write for the Jivamukti teacher training and all I have to do is locate a scanner anywhere in this here town of Pristina to scan and email the 'agreement'. That's a tough task.

Lastly, I'm experiencing frustration when it comes to working with a local production company. We were supposed to shoot a commercial this week and the guy never gave me the storyboards, so now we're running a week late. This is par for the course here, which makes yoga especially necessary.

More soon.

Drop me a line! Skype: lizzieb2007

Another inventory.

These days I seem to be obsessed with the three bags I'll be taking to Kosovo. Packing, repacking, weighing with one hand trying to guess randomly the weight. What does 20 kilos feel like? A small baby? Each one of my bags feels more like a 5 year old.

Embarrassingly enough - the bulk of the weight is bath products! Yes, I suppose I'm a bath-o-holic. I have widdled away at the clothing I'm taking to the basics, but somehow I can't bear to leave that Kniepp's bath salts or my Aveda face wash. All in heavy glass bottles, of course. Between these bottles, my knitting stash, computer stuff and art supplies, there's not any room left save for a pair of knickers. Well, if I'm spotted naked running through Kosovo, at least you know I'll be clean!

My apartment has been swallowed up by the move. It's no longer boxes in the corner, but they seem to have launched a full on attack to conquer new territory, and they're winning. The good news in all of this, is that they are winning. Things are getting packed!

My Moving Stash.

my moving stash, originally uploaded by lizzieb.

In a week and some days I'm going to Kosovo, which entails giving up my  flat in Amsterdam. And starting the blog. And doing lots and lots of other things that I've been putting off for some time, including packing!

In fact, this blog has become my latest form of procrastinating. So if there aren't any real posts for awhile, it's a good sign.