As Dust Dances...

Dear my friends!

It's Sunday evening, I have read my class readings for tomorrow's CSI Vienna class and I caught a sunburn in the incredibly strong Californian sun today.

It was a special day to me...let me show you why...

Well, I guess the story starts yesterday, when I probably had the worst day since I'm here. Basically nothing worked out.
I was so excited about spending the day in San Francisco with Celia, which is never a good thing, then you'll be disappointed if things do not work out the way you expect them to go. Which was what happened. Celia couldn't make it.
So I decided to go by myself, take the bus and do a little shopping trip to Frisco. I had to get some money at the ATM and when I arrived at the bus stop 2 min before the departure time, I saw the bus driving off without me.
I thought, Ok this can happen! - I'll take the train instead!
While I was buying a train ticket, I saw the train depart 1 min before schedule and me standing at the other side...watching it with my mouth open because I couldn't believe it!
Then I had to wait for the next train, 30min. The train ride was horrible because like the bus, it stops in every little town all the way down to Frisco. When I arrived there it was like 3:50pm and COLD..clearly, I hadn't brought a jacket because I thought it will be as warm as in Palo Alto. It wasn't since in the Bay, it is always windy.
I took the bus to Market Street, then decided to go to Haight-Ashbury to fix an appointment with the tattooer. The bus didn't show up for another 15 mins, it was cold and a lot of weird people where around - homeless, freaks, geeks, drunks, probable drug addicts. I didn't feel really save in some moments!
The bus ride took another 15 mins , but arrived in Haight Street. However, it took me a while to find the tattoo parlor of Derick Montez, since all the stores look the same there...I walked in and asked another guy, if Derick was there...The answer was "No, he's in Albuquerque!"...I thought "Great!...This was soooo clear!!!"...So I left again...sad and weird...
I thought I might need some recreational shopping and went back to Market Street. I went to a HUGE shopping center, which was awful. It took me ages to find the Vans store...however, I bought a nice pair of Vans for 42$!!

After this, I had a pretty bad coffee in the shopping mall, and then, pissed off and demotivated and lonely, decided to take the bus home. I had to wait for 20 min for the bus, it was cold and I was close to a freak out. On the bus, it was not warmer until I decided to close all the windows in the bus! As soon as I was home, I had dinner and then locked myself up in my room to continue working on a story I've been writing for some time..and feel asleep, trying to forget this totally wrong day.

I woke up in a better mood and went to Ann's Cafè with Till for another American breakfast. It was delicious! Even though the coffee was not as good as the last time. I had strawberry waffles and a cinnamon toast....RRRrrrrr!!


Then I went home to relax a bit and to talk to my mum...I had sent her an ecard saying "Thank you that you haven't disinherited me yet!"...and wished her a Happy Mother's Day...




And then I went to the Stanford Powwow. Powwow is a Native American word for a gathering of people and in this case it is a sort of dance contest of Native American tribes from all over the U.S. I didn't know what to expect, but I remained totally impressed. I arrived there and it was full of people standing and sitting in a large circle...some Native Americans were standing in the middle and singing in a native language. I found a place to sit down in the sun and watched what was happening. It was sooo cool! There was a commentator who talked and also explained what the happening. There were honoring dances for various families, for which natives just got up and danced one round in the circle, all together, moving to the drums of some live musicians who sang and drummed somewhere in the shadow. It was so amazing. They wore their traditional costumes, with feathers and adornments in such beautiful colours, head gear...I can't explain all the stuff I saw, so I add some pics and a video of some dances I have seen...

At some point there was a dance contest in the category of "fancy dancing" and five guys competed against each other. The judge himself was one of the most famous fancy dancers of the U.S. It was so interesting. I have never seen anything comparable before!! And the traditional, ideolized picture of Native Americans we get in Europe is just commercial bullshit. Sure they wear feathers and dance to drums and strange songs, but it is really magical! The songs are different, you can recognize patterns, varying speed...it was so interesting! And the little kids in costumes are sooo cute...and dance like the big ones...

I had a look around the area and found some nice handmade jewelry and rugs and painting and and and....there was a man who had a wolfdog (yes, it is a mix of a wolf and a dog) and showed them to people...they were totally calm and one could touch them...

But I couldn't resist the fascination of the drum, singing and dancing and went back to the dancing arena. I sat in the sun for another hour and took some more pics and videos. And got a light sunburn on my nose, my arms and my legs...

I would have loved to talk to one of the tribe members, get some more information, but I was kind of scared to walk up to them and I wouldn't know what to ask for real...
However, I was amazed that they were showing the flag of the United States...I mean to me, it kind of represents a power that has ruined or diminished most of their tribes and culture...the settlers have commited genocide among the Native Americans who now wave an Star Sprangled Banner, that for them didn't mean freedom. I don't know anything about their current status in the U.S., their social situation, but some years ago I did a course at university and we learned that it is pretty bad - alcoholism, unemployment, violence are very high among Native Americans...and I don't know if the state has done something to improve this...
I would have so many questions, but I was, like always, a chicken and didn't find the courage to walk up to one of them and address these things...
At some point, I felt kinda weird and went home...where I realized that I had a sunburn and a sunstroke because I feel asleep in the darkness of my room as soon as I laid down...

I talked to my landlords about the Powwow and showed them some stuff I bought (for my little sister) and some videos I have made...they were impressed, but did not really care...and I think this is the general attitude towards Native Americans and their culture...
Lynn told me she felt kind of guilty for the genocide the white forefathers have commited...and we compared it somehow to the feeling of guilt German speaking people feel about their Nazi past and the Holocaust....
However, I decided I want to learn more about Native Americans and will definitively buy a book on that subject...I think it is really important to raise the awareness...like we do in Europe about the Holocaust...here, people do not really remember this dark aspect of their past...which in my opinion, is really necessary...if only to pay some tribute to all the lost culture that has been killed with millions of Native Americans....