Anna's Introduction

I am getting very excited about this trip. To be honest, I knew nothing of Morocco and nothing of the World Sacred Music Festival until I heard about this trip. Yes, I have wanted to go to Africa for years~ to Mali for the music, the culture, and because I speak a bit of French, to Uganda because I have been involved in their Bead For Life program (beadforlife.org), to Malawi with Masankho, and to Rwanda because I have a Rwandan friend who lives there.

And now I am going to Morocco, simply because my friend Lorrie is going, because I am passionate about Interplay, because Diane and I (with Lorrie) were in the same IP leadership training several years ago, so I know that anything Diane's involved in will be dynamite, and it's already evident that her daughter has her same wonderful energy (well, similar anyway), and because I have enjoyed being with Masankho whenever I get that opportunity!!

Also, after single-parenting my 2 sons (who now live in L.A.), when they left home 12 years ago, I started travelling a lot. I have been to India and Nepal 4 times (once with 65 women from around the world, dancing the 21 Praises of Tara with Tibetan nuns in Dharamsala and Bodhnath). I also spent several months in France, 2 months in New Zealand, a month in Vietnam with my teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. I stay with Servas host families (usservas.org) and camp when I travel, and I usually have travelled alone.

And now I am tired of travelling alone! It gets lonely at times and the planning takes a lot of time and energy (even connecting with the Servas host families). So this trip seems so very easy, with Sara Jane, Diane, Masankho, and our Moroccan friends doing all the planning! All I have to do is pack my suitcase! WOW!

I will say that I am a retired MSW Hospice social worker. I grew up in Florida and have lived in Asheville for 20 years now, and absolutely love these gentle feminine oh-so-green Southern Appalachian mountains. For 2 years now, I have been enjoying ballroom dancing (hard for me to believe, as it's so opposite IP). And Compassionate Communication (aka Non-Violent Comm.), the Enneagram (I'm a 7), and my Buddhist practice all enrich my life at deep levels.

I so look forward to June 3rd and meeting all of you interesting folks!

....anna