Being down under is a wonderful break from society. I feel cut off from the rest of the world and can really enjoy it. Not having a cell phone is nice because I’m not connected to outside stimuli and can focus totally on being in the now here at Crystal Waters. It is incredibly relaxing to be immersed within this community. While doing yoga the other day, I felt the most relaxed I’ve been in a really long time. I attribute that feeling to not having instant access to communication.
We have to plan our days ahead of time unless we want to walk back to the bunks because we can’t call anyone who may be at the bunks to grab something for you. Also we need to find where people will be. Someone said the other day when we were walking to the dining area and walking by the eco house looking for people, “If I had my phone right now I would text someone to see who is there.” We were only at the bottom of the hill but we still thought about using our phones to get in contact with someone. It turns out that everyone was at the eco center.
Nights are so dark and the stars are so bright. It is incredible to see the brightness of the sky when there is no light pollution. I thought the difference between Massachusetts and New Hampshire was something, but Australia is in a completely different league.
I also enjoy finding activities to do in my free time. Not having TV keeps my mind active. After class yesterday, before dinner Drew, Dave, and myself built a staircase made out of bamboo going down from the eco lodge to the dining area. Everyone had been slipping and it was getting dangerous because of the wet weather we have been having so I asked Max for some tools and he let us use some gravel as well. Everyone really appreciated the work we did and I felt proud we had done something for the whole group.