This is my last blog update in English... My trip is over and it's time to go back to my "ordinary" life in Sweden (which of course isn't so bad after all :) and now it is much more convenient to write in Swedish since that is the language in which I think, talk and socialize back home... (however, if you my dear fellow volunteers want to continue reading this blog you can always put the text in google translate and you'll get the big picture :)
The last month of my trip was really exciting. Before leaving India I stayed in an ashram (Sivananda ashram in Neyyar dam) and I really enjoyed my stay there. We had 4 hours of yoga class everyday which was really beneficial, and the food was great. However, I found it a bit hard to endure the classes and talks about the gods, the chakras, etc etc and it was really hard for me not being my own master and decide for myself when to get up in the morning and when to go to sleep. But I can strongly recommend going there for a week if you are in Kerala!'
After one more week in Varkala, the lovely beach place in kerala, I went to Thailand were I met up with my dear Erik (after 3 months apart!). We went directly to an island in South of Thailand - Ko Lipe - and we ended up staying there for 2 weeks :) It is really a great little island with stunning beaches and nice restaurants and really good thai massages. A paradise for the two of us!
After that we went to Ko Samui (!) not for partying but for a silent meditation retreat that lasted 7 days. That, my dear friends, was the toughest part of my trip since Kolkata! Stuck in this retreat center, quite a small area with absolutely nothing to do during free time, in silence, for 7 days.... Everyday you had to get up at 4.30 in the morning to go to the meditation hall for a session of sitting meditation. Thereafter we had one hour yoga, which was a real blessing for me who wants to move and not sit all day ;)
Then breakfast, then some chores (i used to sweep the dorm) and rest, before the day's dharma talk and sitting meditation, walking meditation, sitting meditation, walking meditation, sitting meditation, standing meditation etc etc etc through out the day (in between we had lunch and chanting) and at 9.30 in the evening it was time to go to bed (which was really just a bed, no mattresses!) ... We were never able to talk, and it was really hard for me not to talk to Erik, not to touch him, not to get eye contact with him, during a whole week in silence... I wish I at least had some peace in mind because of the beauty all around (it was indeed a very beautiful place!) but the dharma talks disturbed me and I found it hard to focus.
If you have meditated before and want to deepen your practice, I could recommend going to this place. However, if you want to learn to meditate for the first time I wouldn't recommend the Theravada tradition which they have in Thailand... There are many other retreats, in Europe for example, where they practice zen or mahayana tradition, and at least I think that will suit me better.
After the retreat we went to an island in the Trang province called Ko Nghai, which was also highly recommendable! We celebrated a humble new years eve there before going back to Bangkok for some shopping and then finally we went back home.
Now I am back at the University, getting ready to continue my third year in Med School, and this is my first semester with clinical work! I am a bit nervous since I didn't study medicine for almost a year now, but I guess it will all come back to me pretty fast once I get started with the studies again.
In Sweden we have a saying Borta bra men hemma bäst which basically means "being away is good, but it's better to be home" ... well, we'll see! :)
