Travels

Well, last night I couldn't sleep so I booked my plans for reading week.

Its going to be a fantastic week, two short but sure to be amazing trips.

Part one:
I will be traveling Saturday, November 12th by Eurostar train through the chunnel to Paris for 4 days. I am really excited, there is tons to see and do, but mostly I feel like Paris is part of the romance of traveling europe. I booked a place called the Young and Happy hostel, which is nearby Notre Dame, and close to the metro, so I will be able to see quite a bit. For some reason Paris, and France in general has never really lit my engines, but I am genuinely excited about this trip. I am going to embrace the no plans idea again for my time in Paris, see what seems interesting and what is happening.

Part two:
As if Paris wasn't going to make certain family members of mine jealous enough, for two days at the end of the week I will be headed back to Scotland. This time not for tourism, although I will try to see some of the historic sights of Edinburgh. On November 19th I will be attending a lecture by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. His Holiness will be conversing on "Ethics for the New Millennium" with professor Sheila MacLean, Director and the first holder of the International Bar Association Chair of Law and Ethics in Medicine at Glasgow University. I feel like this is an opportunity not to be missed. The Dalai Lama has meant a great deal to me since I first heard him speak at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor in 1994. He has inspired much of my thoughts and drive to help those who suffer. To approach not only conflict, but life, from a perspective of non-violence and compassion. His work is admirable, his life is epic, his laugh infectious and his smile contagious. I think this lecture/discussion also has great relavence to my intended course of research. The question of ethics when combined with the Dalai Lama's commitment to peace and non-violence could have great implications on the cultural effects on those subjects. I am almost in tears just thinking about being in the presence of this man again.

All I can say is that it is going to be an incredible week.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.
-H.H. The 14th Dalai Lama-