ONLY one more sleep until my OBA internship starts ... :)

Fumi & Teresa at Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park

Hello my dear friends & family,

Oh, how TIME over the past few weeks & months has wonderfully passed ...

... some TIMES in a "full on", ... action packed, ... how the heck did I think I could do so much packing/moving out in so little time :)

I am ever grateful to all my friends (Colette, Laurelie, Jilly Peanut, the Chalmers sisters, Maureen the potluck phenom, and Maureen down near Okotoks, I need to mention Colette and Laurelie again, and my family who helped me with my moving out from my house & giving my larger furniture & books a home while I am away :)... Many thanks as well to Laurelie & Ollie for all they did to help me in my winding things down at Environment Canada :)

... friendly TIMES in a completely joyful & heartfelt manner ... as was the case during the many bon voyage get-togethers ... it was soooooo great to see all of you that came to my farewell gathering at Garneau United Place a few days before I headed "Down Unda" :)

Laurelie, Maureen, Colette, Mair, Neela & Ella, Stephanie, Cheryl, Jim & Carol & your little one, Colleen, Dick, Mary-Frances & Alasdair, Zoe, Shelley, David & Diane Chalmers, Bill & Marj, Jill & Ethan, Steve, Eva, & Gavin, Evon/Yvonne and Raymond, Kelly & Carl ... and anyone else who I may have missed in my recollection of our time together over tasty treats and great company!

... as well the TIME I enjoyed reconnecting with all my west coast friends & family during my hops from Victoria (Laura Christie, Ginger, & your new black cat whose name escapes me this moment), to Vancouver (Antonia, Kezia, Izaak, & Juneau), to Seattle (Basha, Andrew, & Xenia, WInston & Jasper), to Santa Cruz (Kristin, Claudette, Isabelle, Gabrielle & Therese, Joan, Margaret & Jesse, K & C's Gratitude Gathering Friends), Berkeley (Joanna, Fran, Gregoire, Peggy, & Julian) & back up to Portland (Rhea, Scarlett, & Hazel and Melany & Duncan) before finally heading up to Calgary for my day & a half "Work that Reconnects" workshop that Cheryl, Laurelie, & Colette participated in along with 9 other folks from Pincher Creek

... family TIME ... it was great to meet up with my Baba Borys out in Vegreville and the Chilkowich & Rasko clan back at my folks home ... plus my Uncle Bille who popped in (sorry I missed seeing you Auntie Shirley, Matthew & Simon ... Happy Birthday as well!!) at Fort Saskatchewan my last night in Alberta & to be able to meet up for a visit with Gail over tea before getting out to the Fort ... I am also quite grateful for the couple of visits I had out to Maryland earlier in 2006 to see my Mom, Doug, & Katrina and Tammie, Jeffrey, Roo, Boo, & Loo adn Inky too ... and my visits in/near Seattle with Xenia & Andrew :)

... a little out of sorts TIME, amid the packing & repacking during my final couple of days while I was at Laurelie's, awaiting for Dec. 11th to arrive ... many thanks for having me over Laurelie & for taking me to the airport and for your generosity in helping me make my way back "down unda" again!

phew! ... I must say, it could seem like kind of crazy TIMES when I list these things off ... but it didn't feel very crazy, it actually felt quite RIGHT to be with all my friends & family where we met up & to enjoy the visits we had the places we were :) :) :) Thank you, thank you, ... merci beaucoup, ... mahsi cho (Dene) ... ari gato (Japanese)

(I will try to add some pic's from these gatherings with my dear ones back in Canada & the U.S. but now that I am about to leap into my Outward Bound mode ... I am not sure how readily I will be able to do this.)

... recent TIMES over the past few weeks, time has moved along in quite a wonderfully "suspended" manner ... which has been quite delightful for being in the moment and enjoying the visits with my many, splendid Seed Mates as I bounced about down here in the "merry ol' land of oz"

As for the past week or so since kt & I headed down to the south coast (& really all the places I have met up with my dear friends & family around this amazingly beauty-filled planet), ...

some of the great experiences I have been enjoying are ...

HEAPS of loving kindness from everyone I met up with,
... HEAPS of great food,

COUNTLESS waves that have welcomed me each time to Gaia's (the Earth's) bounty of salt water, rhythms, peace & vigor,
...a few SURPRISE encounters with one red bellied black snake & a metre long goanna (pic's of the goanna, large lizard, to follow),

ENDLESS opportunities to recharge my being as we heve welcomed gorgeous sunsets over the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and as I have explored heaps of delightfully beautiful forests and mountains in all seasons of the year!


No Name Bay near Apple Bay at Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park

This new year of 2007 holds all kinds of new adventures for me and the new friends I am about to spend this Outward Bound Australia internship with. It will be great to ... explore new places within myself as well as elsewhere in Australia, ... to grow & test my limits physically, spiritually, and emotionally, ... and to increase my level of fitness & competency in the various outdoor leadership activities and disciplines that I am going to be immersed in ... backpacking, wilderness survival, rock climbing, abseilling (rappelling), ropes course, and canoeing, & kayaking (white water!), plus coaching, mentoring, facilitation, & experiential education, topped off with 4 wheel drive (4WD) driving on the left-hand side of the road and on tracks that only 4WD vehicles can go on ... YIKES!!

It's going to be one heck of an exciting ride & I look forward to sharing it with you ... so hang on, we'll see how things go ... I'll do my best to muster up a few updates at least on a weekly basis ...

If you don't see anything from me for awhile, don't panic, perhaps just send me some snail mail to:

Teresa L. Chilkowich
Outward Bound Australia
Naas Road
Tharwa, ACT
2620

AUSTRALIA

(I'll post whatever phone number I might be more directly reachable at once I know it)

I am really looking forward to reconnecting with our dear planet & the elements of the wind, sun/fire, water, and the earth in all kinds of new (and actually previously known) ways. I've already been tracking the moon more closely and will be thinking of all the great beings and loving kindness in my life, which I am soooooo very grateful for.

... Time to say "goodnight" so that I can get some important rest for my 1st day tomorrow ... it will get going as follows:

6 a.m. waking up to do my 15 minutes of greeting the day, doing my breathing exercises, & getting breakfast in my belly

7 a.m. heading off to the Greyhound bus station with Fumi after saying goodbye to John & & Julia

9 a.m. my bus leaves for Canberra from Sydney

12:30 p.m. arrive in Canberra & wait for pick-up at 1:30 p.m.

1:30 - 6:00 p.m. get together with the other 14 interns at a park in Canberra to get to know each other and solve a few riddles, plus any other interesting things we decide to do to learn at least 3 things about each other plus everyone's names ...

6:30 p.m. we are to arrive at the OBA camp ~30-40 km south of Canberra for the more structured part of our first day to follow ...

I'm not sure when I'll be able to post up another update but in the mean time, please know how very grateful I am for having each & every one of you in my life.

Fumi, & John & their lovely daughter Julia here in Sydney have been so splendidly gracious & welcoming for my stay with them this past week ...

"ari gato" my dear new friends, I am deely grateful for your loving kindness, comfortable bed, taking me 'to & fro' and for the hike with Fumi at Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park (where we saw the red-bellied black snake & the goanna), plus the absolutely delicious meals & baked treats (thanks Julia!!).


As well, dear, sweet, Claire & Noel, it was great to reconnect up in "Newwie" (Newcastle) and with you again Pheebs, here in Sydney :) Many thanks for having me up your way and for sharing your part of this sweet planet with me. It's great to know more about your home land and to have seen you in it! Also great to meet Marnie, Bethany, and the duck residents in your backyard ... Puddles and Gemima :) The concert last night was quite fun too!

Please know how very much I hold dear ALL of my family ties

... my family of origin (Chilkowich, Borys, Rasko, Tucker, ... in Canada & the U.S. incl. all the German 'au peres' of my nieces)

and

... my family of friends (Band Geeks, Bodhi Buddies, Seed Mates, Environment Canada, Health Canada (& other Gov't dept's (RTAB, NRCan, ...) friends & community groups all over Canada, Potluck Pals, participants of past workshops I have facilitated, Marilyn's Drum Circle, ... so many more ... I know there are even wider circles that I draw upon in my life but the lateness of the day (it's now midnight) & my need to get some rest forces me to add onto this list (to make it more complete) in the near future.

With that, I will close with one of Rilke's poems that Joanna Macy & Anita Barrows have translated from German (with a slight alteration added in by me :):

... Teresa's Seeds art "Widening Circles" ('spiral with a twist')

I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.

I may not ever complete the last one,
But I give myself to it.

I circle around Gaia,
her primordial womb.

I have been circling
for thousands of years,
and I still don't know:
am I a falcon,
a storm,
or a great song?

Rainier Maria Rilke
(translated by Joanna Macy & Anita Barrows,
altered slightly by Teresa L. Chilkowich)

Be well my dear, sweet loved ones,

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa & Sherpa Dog

aka "Sparkles with the Sun" & Plays like the Wind"