Where Did It Go??

Another week in the camp has come and gone and it feels that the speed in which time flies by has picked up tenfold. It was a very interesting week! Lots of rumors, tense even heart-breaking emotions, interesting developments and of course FUN, FUN, FUN!!!
Rumor: one staff member had to leave due to being caught having had sex with one of the students. Question: if that is true, how come that only one part has to take its leave while the other struts around campus enamored with self-importance? My point of view: it takes two to shuffle horizontally, being here means you should be 21 years or older so you are legally responsible for you actions, you know the rules so when you break them BOTH have to leave!!!
Heart-breaking: one of our students here has lost her 15 year old son a year ago under the most horrible circumstances you could imagine! After delivering her dialogue in Posture Clinic she was asked by one of the evaluators if she has kids. She said yes and actually the one year anniversary of her boy's death was approaching. That led to her being asked to try to deliver the dialogue to her dead son as if she was trying to teach the posture to him.She was shocked at first but did it anyways because she didn't really feel she had a choice.
Interesting: having to listen to Bikram’s unique points of view had one student lose the temper and actually voice his/her opinion. That didn’t sit well with Bikram and it is now pending if this student remains on campus or has to leave. We might find out tomorrow…..
Monday started off with a good class in the morning taught by Bikram. He shifted his teaching class to the mornings for the week, since he had to teach the Advanced seminar as well. At home I practice in the mornings and do love it. I’m not as flexible but I do concentrate better (and it just works best with my schedule), here I’ve turned around and like the evening classes better. I’m not as stiff and the whole class is not as painful (Pain and stiffness being recent developments). Bikram was, surely enough, disappointed in our morning performance. I guess he will always find something or someone that is not up to his standards, he is THE teacher after all! The evening we had a teacher that started of the new no-need-to-introduce-myself-tradition. Besides that, he was speaking so fast that you felt like being at an auction! No need to say what posture we were doing either! Biggest nuisance for me though: his ongoing copying of Bikram’s style!!!! Needless to say that I didn’t enjoy that class as many others didn’t either. Some did, or thought that it was ok. They knew that he, apparently, is a Yoga champion and due to that has automatically the ability to teach……. For me that only proves that being a champion doesn’t make you a great (or even passable) teacher!!! Some definitely should be kept from climbing up on that podium!!! Friday was the Highlight in two ways: Bikram’s class turned into one that was very challenging to stay calm in due to his continues comments about the role of the women and that of the men. There were so many emotions broiling up around me, very intense, very anti-Bikram. I had a hard time too, but always think that his points of view are pretty well known and he just LOVES to challenge. So I kept my thoughts to myself, other than joining in the Booh-choir just once, and aired my disagreement after class with my fellow yogies . The evening class was taught by Ida Ripley. FINALLY a voice from home!! Everyone loved that class and we were asked repeatedly who she is!!! It also was the first time that all the Victoria yogis were called out before the class started! Sure enough, Ida called each one of us out in class as well! I already anticipated being called out in Triangle, for Ida knows about my problems with this posture here in the camp. Instead it hit me in Head-to-Knee :” Leg up higher, Bettina!” Funny enough it was much easier with having it up higher and I finally could touch my forehead to the knee, thank you Ida!! Jane, Keir and Rhiannon got their names being called as well. After class I got asked if there is another Bettina in the camp. For how could Ida possibly see me where I was practicing? She just knew where to look!!!!! Thank you Ida for ending the week in such a good mood :D!!!
The whole week was spend with double posture clinics!! Now we only have three postures left and then they have to think about something else to do with us ;-) Most of them were fun, some long-breathed and some just plain boring. We are not allowed to cheer for our team-mates anymore!! That is so we pretend the real life circumstances in the studios where there is no clapping either. That had some of us quite upset; I just think it makes the classes boring. Thursday’s morning class was fun though, thanks to very supporting evaluators that tried to lighten the mood in whichever way they could. My delivery went really well and had the group laughing and the evaluators (and me) happy! Jane had a good run in Friday’s class, which was double good because Niecia (from our studio) was sitting in as well!
Friday night we got off! Sure enough we went over to the mall and spend the time, after having some yummy food, shopping. It was so much fun to just hang out, not thinking about the dialogue or for how long we might be kept up this time or to have to be back at a certain time. FUN!!
Yesterday was the usual routine: laundry, Pizza, groceries and speaking on the phone with my family! In the evening we went out to ‘the Gaslamp’. That is one area of San-Diego’s down town. Oh boy, the dinner was sooooo good! We went to an Asian restaurant called ‘The Red Pearl’ where I chose the green curry……. yummy, yummy!!!! After that we strolled through the lively streets and checked out every shop that looked promising. It felt good to just let the camp/yoga-bubble disappear into the background for a while! Today we might head out again, but I will have to see how far I am in memorizing the last postures before I go along. The weather looks promising and stopping by at the beach would be nice… we will see.
For a week now I have the schedule for my first class. I had the option to pick the time and, after thinking long and hard about the pros and cons, went for the first one available. Now I’m everything from excited to mortified!!!! That didn’t stop me though from buying a nice outfit for my fist class yesterday! Still….. the nerves…..OMG