Similar to Day 1, this was a day of eating, listening, note taking, chatting, and hand raising. Excellent food for thought throughout, even on the rare occasion when I didn't really agree with what was being said in class. Why argue? I think it's better to consider differences in opinion to be deeper learning experiences than if we all held hands and sang together for hours on end. You know? There was actually a point where I looked around and thought, These people are kookooheads. Fortunately, it was at the end of the day, and time to move into the evening.
I may be vegan deprived in Taos, but what I'm beginning to see is that all vegans are not alike, and simply wearing that badge does not mean that we will be best buds. No problem! I actually am quite enjoying most of the people I'm meeting here. We have a lot in common, if not everything. And it's interesting to note that my own definition of "vegan" has been challenged and shifted.
Tonight we attended the Galarama, at Staver Locomotive. It was a very nice fancy-pants party in a great setting, with food, drinks, music, pretty lights, and a silent auction benefitting Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. I won the one thing I bid on. I got a canvas shopping bag, a t-shirt, an apron, and two small coloring books, all for five bucks. I know they were hoping for more, but there were lots of items that sold for adorably high prices. Basically, mine was a sympathy bid on something nobody else wanted. I'm a sucker that way. I was rescuing a sad little homeless prize bag. And who in this world doesn't need another shopping bag? Right?
One more day of intense vegan mind contortions, and then a lot of time for filtering it all through my own view of what it means to be vegan. I wasn't expecting such intensity. This is going to be good. It's already good.
