3 Settembre 2010 - le foto di gruppo della classe

Learn something new each day my mother would tell me.


And voila...Google Translate is pretty darn handy if you have something to translate into your first language.

In my case, below is what Google Translate gave me in Italian so I could e-mail the 3 Settembre group photo to my classmates. One is Russian and knows English - piccolo... WOW, what courage she has! And finally some photos from me LOL LOL...

I wish I could capture the fabulous expressions of each of my classmates and 2 insegnanti (teachers). Priceless..funny..great as we learn Italian grammar and practice pronunciation/conversation for four hours daily -- lunedi to venerdi. And Ray's favorite - verbi irregulari. And what a work-out as I'm ready for pranzo after class.

Yes...for inquiring minds who want to know LOL...my spontaneous enrollment in a one week Italian intensive language class. WOW, has it been three weeks already. Turned into me completing the full four week course. Thus continue to be in Napoli. Now in a self-catering appartemento in the Quartieri Spagnoli. Lively. Noisy. Interesting. Great to hear the language and use it. What fun that has been.

Will at some point fill in the gap between Oare, England 16 July and today...a dimani...

Baci & Abbracci for now!
Nina

====
Ciao,

Ecco le foto di gruppo della classe.

Tanto divertimento riunione ognuno di voi. Grazie a ciascuno di voi per fare il divertimento di classe.

Trust Olga tornò in Russia in modo sicuro. Meglio Lydia con i suoi studi di lingua italiana presso l'università. Felice per l'insegnamento Bretagna con i suoi studenti italiani. Buona fortuna con il tuo Yuki test TOEFL.

Si prega di rimanere in contatto. E se qualcuno vuole visitare San Francisco, hai un posto dove stare.

Italian Language Lessons Anyone?

OK, my last post was sometime mid-July and it's now 30 August 2010. So what the h--- have I been doing? And where am I?

Well, obviously NOT blogging. All sorts of reasons...a small item like access to internet. And much like all things in Life, it's about setting time aside to actually do X, whatever X happens to be. In this case blogging was far down on the list, especially since most of August, access to internet was not as convenient (in my room). Source decided to test me LOL. There was access only in the hotel lobby. Then to access at the local coffee shop that closed @ 1600. Then to an apartment where first my friends and I could not figure out how to access. Then we did, yet I had to sit on the floor since the cable was short. NOW I am in luxury.

Anywho, enough of the reasons...NOW is NOW. And today, Monday, 30 August, I woke up about 8:30 and wondered what I might do today. I am in Napoli, Italy. Arrived here on Friday, 27 August. Ferry to Capri? Train to Pompeii? Walk around Centro Storico? Then I daydreamed about after I return to San Francisco, I want to go to Guatemala and take a Spanish immersion course... Then thought, what about now? Hey, what about taking an Italian language course here in Napoli. And since I have the LUXURY of internet access in my room, I googled and voila. An Italian language course here in Napoli. AND an Intensive class starts on 3 August (since I am half-awake and thinking Wed is 1 August). LOL LOL LOL. So I call the school Centro Italiano. The person on the other end, corrects me saying they have a class starting today not 3 August as that has past. So I can attend tomorrow since today is a placement test and then class for two hours. Since it is 9:30.

So, now it is 20:20. And it was fun, since all eight of us are beginners. Our instructor is a hoot, very expressive in voice and movements. Class is from 9 to 1. And daily there is an activity. All activities are in Italian. So @ 1600 I took the tour of Centro Storico, which is the old part of Napoli. I did not understand what Bruno spoke of as he showed us various historic sights, yet it was good to just hear Italian and absorb the sounds. AND not get hung up on knowing what he said.

Well, that's all for today! I am getting the hang of this spontaneity. And learning Italian is something I've wanted to do, just did not set aside time to do it. Well, if not now, then when?

Come ti chiami?
Quanti anni hai?
Sei Inglese?
Sei sposato/a?
Perche sei a Napoli?
Dei quanto sei a Napoli?
Che lavoro tai?
Di dove sei?

Ciao!

Wed 14 July 2010 -- Life Happens

Well 14 July certainly was NOT what I planned either...which all goes to show...being with what is...being in flow is the best way to live. LOL ain't easy!

There I was - all set to head off from Oare (England) to the farmer's market in Marlborough (England). As I crossed the kitchen to put my tea cup in the sink, my right foot landed half on the floor, half on the recessed doormat. For some reason, a recessed doormat at interior door entrances are popular here in England. AND un-familiar to moi! Anywho, that un-balanced landing made my ankle smart, so I stopped to attend to that. All seemed fine. Then 45 minutes later - I was leaning over the sink to brush my teeth, and the next moment, excruciating pain went across my lower back, near my sacrum. OUCH! Triple OUCH! Not felt this much pain in a long while. At the time, I made no connection between the mis-step and what I was feeling. All I knew is that, I wanted to straighten up and sit down somewhere. AND that did not happen for few more moments. Which seemed like a darn LONG time.

Sooo...I went into panic, fear, oh-no-what's-wrong, etc, etc. Especially since in two more days I was off to my next destination. Albeit, unknown, yet I would be off, presumably via rail. And this was NOT helping. Then I took a deep breath or two or three (oh h---, A LOT), and made my way finally to a seat in the kitchen. Started asking Source Et Al for help and doing energetic healing processes. As I'd had a massage the day before, I knew that this was not totally physical. The re-focusing definitely helped me for the next hour or so.

Thus Life had other plans for me that day. I ended up taking it very easy walking around the Martinsell Centre. Taking it very s..l..o..w was definitely the message the body was giving me. And so I complied.

Happy to say that FINALLY e-mailed my Village of Dancing with Source energetic healers to explain my situation & ask for help. They did some awe-some work for me--from afar. AND another trip to the massage therapist in Marlborough the next day helped. PLUS following guidance, which was to seek out a chiropractor that weekend -- after I arrived in Aberystwyth, two day later on Saturday 16 July (yes, I now can not only pronounce but also spell this Wales town (or city) without looking it up LOL LOL LOL.

Yes, I found a chiropractor there in Aberystwyth. How synchronistic! Two doors down from the whole/natural foods store I found & inquired at. And grateful to have an appointment on Tuesday, 20 July, 4 hours before I took the rail to my next destination. AND found a chiropractor 1.3 miles from my friends' home in Tanfield on Monday, 26 July. 1.3 miles, Thank You Source.

DEFINITELY both visits were what I needed as I was out-of-balance structurally. Could feel it with each step, or a sit, or up/down steps. Oh well, it is what it is. And my set of circumstances was definitely un-balancing, so I needed time to slow down and ensure I took loving care of me. That's what my lower back tells me. Like right now, it's telling me I've been sitting tto long - time to walk, stretch, walk, stretch. Can hear the chiropractor advising me to do the military walk frequently. Look forward and walk with arms and hips swinging. Off we go...

Tueday 13 July 2010 Day of Grateful and Celebration

I woke up this morning (13 July). Staying at this beautiful and magical place called Martinsell Centre (in Oare between Marlborough & Pewsey here in England). And the first thing I asked was 'what am I doing today?' And the response was this is a day of grateful and celebration, so go journal about that. And then be in it for the rest of the day.

And believe me, that is NOT what I planned for today! And yet it feels very good to just be still and soak up all this fabulous energy from the beautiful nature around me. Also great to notice when I want to hurry up & go do what I planned for today (get on-line & figure out where I will be staying after I leave here on Friday). Yet when I take a couple of deep breaths & check in with Source, it feels perfect just to be grateful and celebrate. Right here. With the beautiful trees and nature all around me just loving me, with the overcast gray skies smiling down on me, reading a book, sipping on a cup of tea. Grateful, celebrating...the many downs and ups, joys and upsets, illness and well being, people and things, that brought me to now. Grateful and celebrating here now. So very blessed!

Cheers to you and wanting you to have your own day of grateful and celebration. SAVOR every last morsel of it! I definitely am!

AHHHH, lunch is served. And believe me - Nicola (the owner of Martinsell Centre) is an artist in the kitchen! Her vegetarian dishes are YUMMY! And lovely to have someone like her cooking for me.

Love & Hugs To Each of You!

crop circles - 9 July 2010

Well, yes, there's a delay in my blog posting. I'm writng now on 18 July from Aberystwyth, Wales. More on that later.

Crop circles! 9 July. What a GREAT experience. Being in a two-seater (pilot & passenger) plane flying over three crop circles near where we were staying - Oare (Martinsell Centre). From the air, so AMAZING to see them as they are VERY large. And to feel the energy as we circled over each of them. At some point, I'll post photos I've taken.

In the afternoon, we went via car to one crop circle - I think Olivier said this one was 4 days old. It was sunny and bloody hot! Which was fine as all that sun heated the earth & wheat field for that night we'd be meditating and sleeping in one of the crop circles.

The crop circle was quite large. And energetically - well my senses were not picking up much energetically, except when I went into the formation, I noticed I followed the flow of how the wheat stalks were laying down. I felt like I was in a labryrith after a while. Very peaceful, quiet, thought provoking.

They say that it's best to visit the crop circle soon after it is formed to gain the most from the energy there.

Meanwhile, we left that particular crop circle and returned to Martinsell Centre for a YUMMY and I do mean YUMMY dinner prepped by Nicola the owner. Looked at some awesome photos of various crop circles taken by our guide Olivier - such a gifted photographer!

Then it was time to go to the crop circle. We got there around 8:30. Mind you, where we are located, given the time of the year, it stays light until well after 9 pm. And starts getting light after 4 am. So we arrived at the crop circle when the sun was setting. And I was very happy it had been bloody hot that day as the field was still warm when we arrived from the hot sun.

We checked with Source and the meditation would be in the center of the crop circle. Thus we were sat in a circle within a circle. As I type this post, I am transported back to those moments during our meditation. Where I heard all the songs of the birds. The stillness of sunset. The energy of the meditation. The beauty of the sunset. The grayness of a partially overcast sky overhead.

We checked and we were to remain in the crop circle to sleep, so we put out our wool blankets. Thank you Source for the bloody hot day as the ground was still warm around 10 pm. We created a circle with our heads to the center and our feet to the outside.

As I settled in I realized I'd forgotten my earplugs - a necessary aid for moi, since noises like snoring keep me from falling asleep. Sure enough as soon as I fell asleep, folks were stirring. The dew was settling. And the temp was chilling. It was after 1 am and it was decided that it was time to leave. Bummer -- as I had just fallen asleep and wanted to see the dawn break in the crop circle. Yet I was ok to head back to the Martinsell Centre.

Definitely an experience I won't forget. AND would definitely do again. Interestingly enough, in discussion with Olivier and Nicola, few folks sleep in the crop circles. They often visit. Or meditate. Yet rarely sleep in them.

Yet another Source guided adventure!

Forthampton Court 2 to 5 July 2010

Arrived 2 July to Forthampton Court, Glouchestershire, GL19 4RD around 6 pm after a l..o..n..g (10 hours) flight plus about 2+ hour drive to our AMAZING accommodations! A wing of an estate house - the servants quarters-I think that's what this wing is. A charming couple are the owners. They graciously gave us a tour of their home yesterday 4 July and ended with bubbly to celebrate 4 July. Fascinating, interesting couple with the same to be said about the husband's family history. This place has been in the family for many, many generations. And is part of several estates owned by the family.

Anywho, it's now 5 July and it seems like I'm finally into this time zone. So peacful and quiet here in the country. LOVE it!

Traveling with a group (in this case there are a total of 9) is always interesting. I feel like a little kid - not wanting to sleep because I don't want to miss out on things. Especially since I'm in a new place. So many new things to see. Experience. Feel.

Like just now, I went with two of the folks to the grocery store Morrisons to shop for the group. That was an experience - being on the passenger side in the front seat! And NOT one I will do again, especially AFTER waking from a nice mid-afternoon nap! I agree with the driver - it's NOT fun being the passenger in the front seat. Not only seeing the left side of the road so close, especially on those narrow country roads. It's helping the driver remember to turn right and stay to the left. Or turn left and stay to the left.

Then there's the grocery store. How civilized (yes, I know Glenn, you'll like that I said that!). The checkers are seated! That's since the shoppers bag their own groceries! And the carts have a separate space in the front for things like large bottles of water. The types of tea were also different - like I bought a lime and ginger tea. LOVE touring grcoery stores when I travel to check out the similiarities and differences from the States!

Today was a lowkey day (no touring) so I was able to take an afternoon nap. Lovely!

Saturday, 3 July, we drove about an hour to Stroud to the farmer's market. That was fun. Although by comparison, the San Francisco Ferry Building farmer's market on Sat is HUGE! This farmer's market is the largest in England and it was quaint on the narrow street of Stroud.

Sunday, 4 July, Happy Independence Day! We went to Broadway in the Cottswolds to walk about and eat lunch. Then drove through Chipping Chamden & then home to meet up with the owners for a tour of their beautiful and expansive home. What can I say, it's so beautiful in that old way.

Well, the yummy smells are wafting from the kitchen next door, into this huge sitting area where I'm blogging. I'm hungry! So I will go into the kitchen to eat another yummy meal prepared by our fabulous chefs (my travel mates).

Ciao! Adio! Love & Hugs!

off on an adventure

13 June 2010...11:40 am

Well, I am living proof that with time, intention, self-love, lots of support from those all around me, one can return to well-being. That does NOT mean that all the medical tests don't yield the same results. Or the diagnosis from the MDs differ. Just means that my entire outlook is "well-being" and so it is. Plus I've released a lot of internal energetic emotional stuff that was no longer needed.

That said, it's time for the next chapter in my life...and since the beginning of the year 2010...I am in the midst of four BIG happenings. The last three I would not believe at beginning 2010 would have happened for me now. Just goes to show, ALL IS POSSIBLE!

continuing the healing work to clear out blocks and barriers to abundance (versus scarcity) in my life. Thank Moi for showing up! Thank You Source! Thank You Dancing with Source processes used solo! Thank You for all the exchange sessions with other gifted and amazing Dancing with Source Master Facilitators!

offering private sessions as a Master Facilitator of advanced energetic healing
http://dancingwithsource.com/master_facilitators/nina-chong.html

in relationship with a loving, supportive man. He's Extraordinaire! We're both grateful to have crossed paths.

embarking on an 8 week travel adventure where I don't have a planned itinerary of where I'm staying (and I leave in 17 days). Tom calls it my walkabout! Don't know much about walkabouts AND it sounds FUN, so I'm there!

No wonder I need lots of sleep! I know, I know - this coming from the self-proclaimed Queen of Sleep!

Anywho, ALL GOOD to stretch me in ways I've not been stretched before. Or if I was stretched that way before, NOW I can see if I respond in the way I am NOW or the way I was before. Either way, it's ALL GOOD!

So stay tuned to this blog...the 8 week travel adventure / walkabout really began at the beginning of 2010 when I said I wanted to travel from July to December 2010 to see friends I had not seen in a while. There's power in them words!

Ciao! Adio! XO! Laughs! Light!