Day 14 Sunday
I went to Cambridge in the morning, and a random fellow in front of Smith Campus Center asked, "Is Harvard's graduation today?" I mumbled "I don't know" and continued. I did not appreciate such interactions, especially that early in the morning.
I enjoy the environment the teachers created, with flute music and inward-looking vibes. A girl later joined our two-student class, who I later found out was a reviewer of this particular yoga set. We did not have much interaction and the course ended a bit later. We received feedback from one teacher--I needed to make sure my back was straight and my hands were in the right positions during the transitions of postures. I wrote this later about this course:
It started raining and I entered a nearby Mexican restaurant. They had more offerings than I expected in the burrito I ordered. Some students soon filed in as well. I left and found that many booths were set up for, possibly, a certain university's graduation day.
I made a resolve for doing 40 days of this yoga practice in a row as prescribed. Changes in schedules are a lot for my mind to process these days since not everyone shares my schedule. But such changes will be inevitable when I start my archive research as well.
I left for Chinatown for an event on Queering Asian American History and it was raining even harder. My yoga mat was stored in a paper bag so I stopped at certain moments to preserve the bag. I entered the surprisingly well-furnished building hurriedly and poured myself a cup of coffee. Janhavi gave some orientation to the room as well as the organizers of the project of Queering Asian American history. I was surprised by the amount of information they gathered over the short two weeks in-the-making.
I added some of my own posts as well, such as the Asian-cast musical film Flower Drum Song and Chinese laborer relations with Native American women. After some discussion with our small group, I was reminded about caste issues by Anju, a new member of the Pao Arts Center, and added B. R. Ambedkar's accomplishments to the timeline as well. Some people chipped in their issues with the varied definitions of "progressiveness" and "organizing," since some Asian American causes were not always "progressive." Janhavi reminded us to center queer lives, as well as the fact that some of our ancestors were queer. I never thought of framing my ancestors into Asian American history or a history of sexuality, so it was very affirming to hear that statement. I spoke in the small group but not in the big group.
The discussion soon died down. I learned a lot about Southeast Asian communities as well as a short-lived queer-and-Asian-centered newsletter located in Boston in 1984. Although the newsletter is long-gone, it is nice that people are discussing the same issues again now. I had a first-hand experience of community-engaged history, and it was eye-opening and challenging at the same time. Disagreement is a sure sign that your research is relevant to the community.
Around 3pm, the groups disassembled and started cleaning the space. Walid also arrived and we contributed as well. I was so nervous that I forgot he was fasting and offered coffee, to which he denied. Later I remembered. I also bought some lychee wulong tea from my favorite tea shop. One bad thing was that many people were staring at us, which happens sometimes.
Walid fixed his bike and then went to work to befriend coworkers and serve the community. I watched some videos on youtube and some Golden Girls. I also tried to check out some of the people who have also participated in this event and promoted their work, but I did not find any of the groups very inviting as they seemed to be.
We later shared recipes when we were both at home. My roommates also graduated on this day. Shangliao and I discussed the Indian elections and how Chinese-language reportage on this issue sucked.
Day 15 Monday (also Malcolm X's solar-year Birthday)
Walid continued to watch recipes on Youtube in the morning at his place. We Facetimed and he later came to visit me.
Someone from college started engaging with my shared post on Yogesh Yadav's commentary on polls for particular no reason, other than him having too much time and wanting to man-spread on the Internet. I was angry, partly due to the lack of support for this area of interest. Walid comforted me and shared a quote about not losing one's inner peace over other's mistakes. I later found out that this person from college is a strong Modi supporter.
We studied Arabic at the Waitts Mountain park with an article about the singer Dalida. Walid took off his shirt for the first time in public (since I knew him). He joked that he could advertise his teaching job with a shirtless photo. Girls were noticing his presence at his new environments as well.
I flipped through my ArtForum magazines and I read a great interview by Raqib Shaw:
Also chatted with Amina a bit as well. We have come into regular contact since a change in the friend situation. She is interested in remaking her diary into a story about her travels in India.
In the evening, I joined my WeChat group's heated discussion on Google's move to limit their operating systems from Huawei's use. I voiced some of my opinions, such as the fact that the court in the U.S. recently denied Chelsea Manning's appeal, which does not make U.S. look good at all from the perspective of tech and human progress.
I went to Cambridge in the morning, and a random fellow in front of Smith Campus Center asked, "Is Harvard's graduation today?" I mumbled "I don't know" and continued. I did not appreciate such interactions, especially that early in the morning.
I enjoy the environment the teachers created, with flute music and inward-looking vibes. A girl later joined our two-student class, who I later found out was a reviewer of this particular yoga set. We did not have much interaction and the course ended a bit later. We received feedback from one teacher--I needed to make sure my back was straight and my hands were in the right positions during the transitions of postures. I wrote this later about this course:
Today I finished my two-day course on Surya Kriya, which is the foundation for Surya Namaskar (sun salutation). Ten years ago, I started my yoga journey at the Claremont Colleges. My teachers today, from Soma Yoga, were also fellow alumni. Still, I never imagined that I could fulfill the requirements that I did for this Isha Yoga course. A lot of yoga teaching in the US focuses on a certain body image, but I think it’s important to combine the non-physical aspects of yoga, which can help reduce karmic linkages of habits. #nonduality #karmaI said goodbye to my teachers and wished them well on their east coast yoga tour.
It started raining and I entered a nearby Mexican restaurant. They had more offerings than I expected in the burrito I ordered. Some students soon filed in as well. I left and found that many booths were set up for, possibly, a certain university's graduation day.
I made a resolve for doing 40 days of this yoga practice in a row as prescribed. Changes in schedules are a lot for my mind to process these days since not everyone shares my schedule. But such changes will be inevitable when I start my archive research as well.
I left for Chinatown for an event on Queering Asian American History and it was raining even harder. My yoga mat was stored in a paper bag so I stopped at certain moments to preserve the bag. I entered the surprisingly well-furnished building hurriedly and poured myself a cup of coffee. Janhavi gave some orientation to the room as well as the organizers of the project of Queering Asian American history. I was surprised by the amount of information they gathered over the short two weeks in-the-making.
I added some of my own posts as well, such as the Asian-cast musical film Flower Drum Song and Chinese laborer relations with Native American women. After some discussion with our small group, I was reminded about caste issues by Anju, a new member of the Pao Arts Center, and added B. R. Ambedkar's accomplishments to the timeline as well. Some people chipped in their issues with the varied definitions of "progressiveness" and "organizing," since some Asian American causes were not always "progressive." Janhavi reminded us to center queer lives, as well as the fact that some of our ancestors were queer. I never thought of framing my ancestors into Asian American history or a history of sexuality, so it was very affirming to hear that statement. I spoke in the small group but not in the big group.
The discussion soon died down. I learned a lot about Southeast Asian communities as well as a short-lived queer-and-Asian-centered newsletter located in Boston in 1984. Although the newsletter is long-gone, it is nice that people are discussing the same issues again now. I had a first-hand experience of community-engaged history, and it was eye-opening and challenging at the same time. Disagreement is a sure sign that your research is relevant to the community.
Around 3pm, the groups disassembled and started cleaning the space. Walid also arrived and we contributed as well. I was so nervous that I forgot he was fasting and offered coffee, to which he denied. Later I remembered. I also bought some lychee wulong tea from my favorite tea shop. One bad thing was that many people were staring at us, which happens sometimes.
Walid fixed his bike and then went to work to befriend coworkers and serve the community. I watched some videos on youtube and some Golden Girls. I also tried to check out some of the people who have also participated in this event and promoted their work, but I did not find any of the groups very inviting as they seemed to be.
We later shared recipes when we were both at home. My roommates also graduated on this day. Shangliao and I discussed the Indian elections and how Chinese-language reportage on this issue sucked.
Day 15 Monday (also Malcolm X's solar-year Birthday)
Walid continued to watch recipes on Youtube in the morning at his place. We Facetimed and he later came to visit me.
Someone from college started engaging with my shared post on Yogesh Yadav's commentary on polls for particular no reason, other than him having too much time and wanting to man-spread on the Internet. I was angry, partly due to the lack of support for this area of interest. Walid comforted me and shared a quote about not losing one's inner peace over other's mistakes. I later found out that this person from college is a strong Modi supporter.
We studied Arabic at the Waitts Mountain park with an article about the singer Dalida. Walid took off his shirt for the first time in public (since I knew him). He joked that he could advertise his teaching job with a shirtless photo. Girls were noticing his presence at his new environments as well.
I flipped through my ArtForum magazines and I read a great interview by Raqib Shaw:
I could particularly relate to him since I have also dedicated years into my trade, oftentimes alone, and yet many spectators just hate on my work, perhaps it serves as a target for their own insecurities and failures.It is very easy to classify something and put it in a box so you don’t have to think about it. It boils down to the fact that there are people who have different aesthetic experiences. I come from a very different culture. How many artists do you know that come from Kashmir? My work has a diasporic sense, of leaving but also carrying the memory of a culture. It is an amalgamation, a hybrid, a cocktail. The fabulous thing about it is, the more you look, the more it will reward you. But you have to have the psychological state to accept what you see and engage with it.
When a western art critic reads my work, they have absolutely no clue of the culture I grew up in, the aesthetic sense, the spiritual sense, the mentality. They don't have access to any of those things, and so what’s easiest is to call it decorative, call it kitsch, call it over the top. I’ve dedicated my damn life to this thing.
Also chatted with Amina a bit as well. We have come into regular contact since a change in the friend situation. She is interested in remaking her diary into a story about her travels in India.
In the evening, I joined my WeChat group's heated discussion on Google's move to limit their operating systems from Huawei's use. I voiced some of my opinions, such as the fact that the court in the U.S. recently denied Chelsea Manning's appeal, which does not make U.S. look good at all from the perspective of tech and human progress.
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق