San Pedro - English

I´m writing this blog from the basement of the Norwegian Seamen´s Church in San Pedro, the harbor of Los Angeles. It´s Thursday now and I´m enjoying myself here. The usual California weather, which is kinda like the Canary Islands during the winter, has returned after the storms. Apparently all the rain came at once this year. And ofcourse, it started when I arrived. I can practice here at the church and I have a room in the basement where I can live. A wonderful solution! So my days here have consisted of practicing and sight-seeing. You may ask what I´m practicing.. in the middle of a tour and everything. Well, I have an exam concert the 27th of May in Trondheim. I will perform the Scriabin piano concerto with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. And ofcourse, I didn´t get the time to learn it before I left... But the days here, and also the days I had in San Francisco, are really helpful. I don´t feel like I´m in a hurry anymore. I´m on track. 

There´s plenty of things to do here in the LA area. It´s a giant melting pot of cultures. You can seek and find everything you want really. I went to Montclair on Tuesday and visited the Vedic Temple. That´s an hour north of here. It´s been founded by an Indian spiritual Master called Paramahamsa Nityananda. They´ve made a wold-wide foundation called the Life Bliss Foundation. They have a number of workshops and programs on all levels. By all levels I mean everything from everyday "problems" to enlightenment - just like Buddah for instance.. And it´s all about dissolving your ego and the mind which is fed by nonsense for generations. Then you can bring forth your true inner nature - pure Being (Bliss). So it´s about seeking inward and bring out your true essence. I had a very interesting visit to the temple. They showed me around and informed me about their programs. I was told that the purpose of having a temple is to have a place to create and store high energy. It´s hard to explain if you´re not familiar with these things. But they see a temple as a big battery where they can go and "charge" themselves. And all I can do is confirm that the energies were very powerful and "high." Very nice experience. 

Yesterday I went for a drive to Long Beach, almost by chance really. I´m having abit fun with my GPS to tell you the truth. It has something called "points of interest." That means that I can seek a number of things, like restaurants, malls, parks, gas stations etc etc. It will then locate the closest ones. I can click on one of them and it will take me there. So I ended up in Long Beach because I looked for a Wal Mart. After this I searched for parks and visited a nice one by the harbor. Later that afternoon I visited a bigger park south in San Pedro. This is the southernmost point in LA, facing the Pacific Ocean. It was a bit too cold to sit and read, but it will get warmer from now on. 

I´ve already practiced for an hour today. But I´m thinking about going for a drive along the coast all the way to Malibu. I think that would be very idyllic on a day like this! It´s best for me to practice in the evening here, becuase the church is closed by then and I can have everything for myself. Tomorrow I´m heading to San Dieo for a concert in Solona Beach for the Norwegian Clan down there. And Saturday I will do a performance here at the Seamen´s Church. Then I have another week off. But my parents will arrive on Wednesday to LA for a vacation. They will join me across the continent to Florida. 

Enjoy yourselves wherever you are in the world!