I am here and I....

Article written in Jan for the Jeena Yahaan 2018 Brochure. 

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I am here and I...

I am here and I …am humbled.

What an amazing opportunity it is for me to go to UC Berkeley. Who would have imagined this significantly challenged autistic guy even going to college, let alone the #4 University in the world, a decade back. 

I am here and I...am in awe.

I am surrounded by brilliant minds and  learning from the best teachers in the world. UC Berkeley is steeped in history, tradition and world-changing accomplishments. Home of 16 elements of the periodic table (including Plutonium and Berkelium), 90 Nobel Laureates, even the site of a Nobel Prize Ceremony at Wheeler Hall. 

I am here and I...am inspired.

To protest, question and demand change is an unquestioned prerogative of Berkeley Students. 

This is where the Civil Rights Movement and where Free Speech Movement began. Berkeley is also the birthplace of the Disability Rights Movement. Ed Roberts started at UC Berkeley in 1962 even though they had no accommodations for the quite severely-affected-by-polio Roberts at that time. His efforts paved the way for others with physical disabilities and later individuals with developmental disabilities.  He started the very first Disabled Students Program in the US right here. 

I am here and I.. feel supported.

No one questions my intelligence or my capability to learn in a classroom with 1000 other students. A very significant shift from my special-education days. At Berkeley, I am met with courtesy and respect from Professors and students. Rather than a traditional narrow focus based on the confusing autism diagnosis, accommodations are made to work around my functional limitations and help me be successful. I am having fun too.

I am here and I.. am galvanized.

I took up Psychology as that is the study of the human mind and behavior. I plan to minor in Disability Studies. I want to use the knowledge I gain and channelize it into advocacy and research such that it will contribute towards improving the quality of life for individuals like me. Going to Berkeley will earn me a seat at the table. I can bring about shifts in attitude and change. I can be part of the decision making about us disabled individuals instead of others deciding our fate.  

I am here and I... am the tiny minnow.

I would be lying if I said Berkeley was not stressful. Academic expectations are high and the work pace is frantic. The campus is a vast ocean to navigate and I feel like a tiny minnow being swept along. I have felt out of my depth many a time. I would like to do a lot more but I can often feel just overwhelmed.

I am here and I..thank the cosmic hand.

I really wanted Berkeley. Undoubtedly the cosmic hand is at play in my journey though many of the solutions are still shrouded in fog. I can only hope that the fog thins out so the road ahead is clearer.  At the end of the day, we all wish to be productive and contributing members of society. 

Cancun Vacation

In front of Playa Delfines

Kan Kun

Cancun in the Yucatan Peninsula, was our New Year destination this winter.

The Mayans called it "Kan Kun" or the nest of snakes, the Spanish changed it to Cancun.

Cancun used to be an uninhabited area of beautiful beaches, snakes, mangrove forests and wetlands before it became the resort and theme-park filled tourist attraction of today.

Playa Delfines


The beaches at Cancun are absolutely OUTSTANDING and beyond expectations. The best beach by far was Playa Delfines.  It's a public beach so there are no towering hotel chain right behind you. The fine white sand is silky smooth to the touch, probably due to the limestone nature of the shore. The water was at a perfect temperature or around 75-80 C, neither hot nor cold, and a far cry from the usually cold beaches one finds in the US, especially in the Bay Area where I live.  It was shallow for almost 1/4 mile so one could walk all the way on the sandy floor of the sea, in just waist deep water and enjoy the waves breaking around your body. One can stand in that water all day long it seems, and I enjoyed a full 2.5 hours in the water without even considering a break.

The view of the sapphire ocean and the waves frothing and cascading one behind the other was an absolute delight. On the beach were cute little Palapas (huts) which offered some shade from those seeking shade from the not-at-all-hot sun.

The beach is home to lots of native fauna and flora. Above us, flocks of seagulls were playing around by forming patterns in their flight and swooping down almost to the level of the sea. A few just hovered in the air a few feet above the sea, almost like hummingbirds.  Herons, Egrets, ibis, spoonbills, and cormorants also flew overhead. An Osprey (seahawk) swooped down and caught a fish in its claws. This beach is also home to nesting Ridley turtles in season. Now that is something I would love to see.

Water Water Everywhere!!

The touristy part of Cancun is essentially a strip of land nestled between the Carribean Sea and the Nichupte Lagoon in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. The strip is just packed with resorts and hotels all catering to tourists. Come New Year, almost every other hotel had midnight fireworks, so from the balcony, you could see a series of fireworks launched from each hotel all the way to the horizon. It was an interesting spectacle.

There were also obviously lots of "touristy" beach activities to enjoy.

I went Kayaking on the morning of the Dec 31st in one of the other beaches on the Caribbean Sea. Little fish even nibbled at your feet as you stood in the waves near the shore, which was a little startling at first. The view was magnificent.

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In the evening, I got a chance to enjoy the hotel pool as well. 

Then it was  Parasailing SkyRiding on the morning of the 1st Jan above the Nichupte Lagoon. 

I had some extremely yummy and very authentic Mexican food in Cancun. I can't believe they don't have the same here in the US.  One was at the Tres Marias roadside cafe in downtown Cancun. I enjoyed some delicious vegetarian tacos while my parents went for a veggie burrito. The freshly made guacamole was the best I've ever had. We ate there twice as we enjoyed their food so much.

During our Chichen Itza tour, the bus had stopped at La Casona de Valladolid, in the town of Valladolid. The restaurant served up a buffet with enough offerings for even us vegetarians. The Cactus Salad was especially something new and quite tasty.

A Plunge into Mayan Civilization - Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza is a Kukulcan Mayan Archeological structure built around 900 AD and has made it to the list of the new seven wonders of the world. Many ancient civilizations such as the Mayans, were passionate and quite good at astronomy and their pyramids reflected astrological events. Serpents are especially important in the Mayan culture, even our tour bus has a giant serpent on the side. During the two equinoxes, the light and shadows effects are such that it appears as though a giant serpent is slithering down the central staircase on the north face of the pyramid. It is the great serpent, Kukulcan, descending to earth to visit us mere mortals.

There is a whole complex of temples and other structures around the central pyramid known as El Castillo. Inside is the famed Jaguar Throne. Unfortunately, visitors are no longer allowed to climb the stairs these last 12 years. It is a magnificent structure, but also the site to a lot of human sacrifices by the Mayans, which is a little disquieting. The Mayans sure went to great lengths to appease their spirit world. Archeologists are discovering connected caves, tunnels, and cenotes (natural sinkholes) as they attempt to unravel the mystery of their civilization and structures.

The South face of the pyramid shows both the restored and unrestored portions of the pyramid

Unrestored and Restored Parts of Pyramid

other structures in the complex

marketplace

Cenotes are subterranean natural sinkholes, filled with water and found all over the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The Chichen Itza complex itself has a Cenote called the Sacred Cenote. We visited another Cenote near Velocidad.

 

Shell Fossil embedded in ceiling of Cenote

A Giant Serpent on the side of the Tour Bus

Overall a short but very interesting vacation. Loved, loved it, especially the amazing beaches.