Hello and good night

It’s amazing how quickly the present moment takes over the past.  I am sitting here in an apartment in Vitoria-Gasteiz, some fluffs of white dog hair in the corner, a Spanish bocadillo resting peacefully in my belly, and I have to pull a couple layers of gauzy forgetfulness off of my memory of the farm/community where I spent the last week…even though I woke up there this morning.

I spent the last week with a community from the 12 Tribes of Israel.

I don’t know if you have heard of them, I hadn’t, and I am supremely unconfident of attempting to summarize the group, but basically they are a series of religious communes around the world who devote themselves to following the original covenant as they see it between the Judeo-Christian god and the (can you guess?) 12 tribes of Israel.

That being said, they are adamant that they are not a religion.  And I can clearly see a picture in my head of anyone from the community reading that last paragraph and shaking their heads, disappointed that I didn’t quite get it.

I am tremendously tempted to start telling you about them, and about my impressions and responses, but it is after 1:00 in the morning, my eyes are gritty with allergies, and I cannot do it justice right now.  So instead I’ll pick a purty picture fer ye’s and go to sleep.  But come back soon and read about them.

Let’s see…how about…a San Sebastian sunset last week…and…the plaza in Campeche, Mexico last August.

Good night.