The Sojourn Continues

Here we are again, friends. The edge of another journey.
I am not heading off to India this time. But my travels and vagabonding seem destined to continue at least for the foreseeable future, so I might as well share the journey.

On May 29th I will be flying from Denver, where I have only been since the start of April, to work at the gift shop at The Lodge at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.

This is not my first national park hospitality job. In fact from 2007-2009, most of my jobs were exactly that. Seasonal work in the great national parks of the American west and southwest.
This time I will be working for a company that I have no experience with: Forever Resorts.

Many people have asked what working in the parks is like. I can tell you it sure isn't like any other job! There are unique challenges, and sometimes amazing rewards.

In the upcoming posts you will learn who my coworkers at Bryce are, where they are from and why they came to work there. You will discover what it's like to live in a college dorm room environment when you are well past college age. You will hear me talk about the trials and tribulations of dealing with tourists who give a whole new meaning to being on vacation!

It might be offensive to some. I will not be nice. But I WILL be real, honest, and hopefully entertaining.

In my next post, I'll tell you a bit about how I first entered this line of work, and what recent events have led me to go back to it.

Come with me on this rare glimpse into the world of a seasonal hospitality industry employee!

Pashupatinath Temple Burning Ghats Photography Books

As promised in my last post, I am very pleased to share my first travel photography book, which is now available via blurb!


Pashupatinath Temple Burning Ghats is a celebration of Impermanence, a core concept in Hinduism and Buddhism. 

Pashupatinath Detail Page at blurb bookstore 

Shot from a distance so as not to intrude on anyone's privacy, this 32 page photo essay chronicles a Hindu funeral ritual from a perspective of reverence.
(All images copyright 2011 by Tammy Winand)


The book has minimal text, in the form of photo captions, which seek to explain scenes many viewers may not be familiar with. I sincerely hope that, as well as being visually engaging, it will be a learning experience for all who view it.
                                                                          ~~~~~~~


I continue to work hard every day to incorporate the teachings of Buddhism into my everyday life, becoming more and more open to being in the moment and accepting life's challenges.


Many fellow dharma students have told me that my practice is patience. 


Transformation via dharma practice can be excruciatingly slow. Realizations come and go. You may feel "enlightened" and "get it" one day but soon realize that with every new major challenge you need the same help and lessons that brought you there.


We can only stay on the path, bringing ourselves back THIS moment repeatedly.

19 Days til Departure

Less than three weeks, now, til I board my flight for Mumbai.

It still seems very distant, removed, unreal.

My work season here in the Colorado Rockies just ended, and I am still living in my dorm room, not yet even entirely packed to return to Florida for the short rest in between adventures.

I am drained, emotionally and physically.

It has not quite sunk in yet (at least not completely) that I have survived yet another astonishingly difficult period of my life.

I have vowed NEVER to take on seasonal work in the park concessions system again.

I cannot pack for India until I get back and unpack in Florida...which is five and a half days from today.

So again, the theme is "limbo". I am stuck in some kind of middle ground.

Disconcerting.

Plans have been changed due to panic attack/mini-crisis, then changed back again. I now have all my inter-India rail tickets up until 31 December 2009...

I'll be ringing in the New Year on an overnight train between Delhi and Varanasi, and will start 2010 in one of the world's holiest cities.

It still does not seem real.