Always Learning

Last updated on: December 13, 2009 at 4:40 am by Justin Whitaker

Always Learning 2009-12-13T04:40:00-07:00 Justin Whitaker

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Sometimes I just don’t think I belong in America in the 21st Century. For one thing, I’m way too lazy for our “protestant” work ethic. 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year is insane. At my peak, about 3 years ago, I was both a University Instructor and a philosophy graduate student. At that time I think I was putting in anywhere from 65-80 hours per week. Eek.

These days my priorities are all over the place (something I’ll have to get in check in the new year), but I probably work 10 hours a week as a grader, spend about 15 hours per week studying Pali, and put about 15 hours a week reading/writing my Ph.D. thesis. Eh, perhaps not so lazy after all.

On the other hand, I think I’m too smart to be an American. That’s not an ego trip. I think most people reading this are too smart to be Americans too. But Sarah Palin’s book is the #1 Bestseller right now in this country. While our congress debates another many-hundred-billion dollar war funding bill, schools are closing, tuitions are rising, and young men and women that should be home with families and gaining an education are thousands of miles away fighting a war of revenge.

And yet I know there is no Shangri-La out there; no pristine socialist democratic meritocracy where diversity is cherished and discussion is a national pass-time. I’ve studied Tibet; it was a mess before the Chinese invaded. The 13th Dalai Lama fought for and accomplished some gains in modernization, but it was against some powerful conservative forces within his government. Serfdom and rural poverty, while not as pervasive as Chinese propagandists would like you to think, were rather commonplace in the first half of the 20th century. Just how bad this really was, and how corrupt certain ruling elites were is open to debate. All I know is that I’m glad to have been born in 1980 USA and not 1890 Tibet.

Bhutan is what I often describe as “what Tibet would be today if the Chinese hadn’t invaded.” It’s a peaceful Buddhist Himalayan kingdom. And for the most part it seems to be doing great. The king opened governance to an elected parliament, abdicated the throne to his son, instituted a policy of Gross National Happiness, and so on. But, like any other medieval civilization coming to terms with modernism, it has its problems. Alcohol, which had been banned as an import until the 1990s, has been a growing problem in recent years.

And, having lived in England, with many friends from Canada and Spain, I can’t say any of these nations have it all figured out either. Right now I’d honestly prefer to live in any of them, but that might have as much to do with my wanderlust than affinity with national values. But then again, these days it is hard to know just what our national values are.

But… On to the subject at hand: learning.

On Monday, one of the coldest days we’ve had yet this year, a (young?) Downy Woodpecker was knocking away at a tree just outside my living-room window. At first I was a bit worried. Shouldn’t this guy be hibernating? Or living far south of here right now? Or just anything to avoid being outside in 10°F?

Well, Tuesday night at meditation, one of our meditators happens to be a wilderness teacher and he informed me that no, these guys and gals are out and about, year-round. It is odd though, he added, to see them in town. Usually they are working on trees in the woods, far overhead. So I’ll count myself as lucky that this fella (guy or gal) decided to spend some time outside my place, just 4 or so feet off the ground.

The night before the woodpecker spotting, we made an Ethiopian dinner. It has been Julie’s idea for a while now that once a month we each pick a country for the other to cook a dinner from. She went first and picked Ethiopia, so here I am cooking (with much of her help). Check out this webpage for some great recipes (we made the Injera, Iab, Vegetable Alecha, and Dabo Kolo, all of which were very delicious – although I would recommend adding more Cayenne and salt to the Dabo Kolo recipe).

Next week Julie is in charge of a Chilean dinner. Thanks to Dani (below), I’ve fallen in love with Empanadas and can’t wait to learn to make my own.

A bottle of Ravenswood Zin, Dani and Marga (from Spain and suffering oh so much from the cold in MT right now), and Julie’s rings at Iza, a new Asian restaurant in Missoula. The four of us checked out Iza after enjoying last week’s “First Friday” art walk activities. It turns out that I used to be a radio DJ with one of the owners, Tobin, way back in the day. Food, service, and ambiance were all amazing.

So much so that we were all back again tonight; this time for a tea tasting, where we learned about Oolong Tea. I’m not sure, but I think I still have a pound of Oolong from my trip to China. Hmm. After dining, Tobin invited me to come back with tea and my fancy (I think) tea set from China.
And then there is the true measure of one’s nerdiness. Just how big is your Pali declination/conjugation/participial/obscure word chart? This one isn’t mine. I swear. It’s actually my friend Matt’s. And one of these days, when I’m not feeling so lazy, I intend to replicate it on a manila folder of my own. Wow, so beautiful.

And lastly, I’ve learned that cat’s noses can glow bright red if, and only if, you say “Rudolf” three times fast at them at just the right moment. Ok, it might not work with your cat, but Oliver seems to have it down, along with his GQ front-leg cross.

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