2009...highest highs lowest lows

Hard to summarize the past couple of months.
Harder to summarize the past year.
What a ride.

The tour is over.
Here are some photos of my travels:

INDIA

India was impossible to prepare for...it is everything I imagined, times 1000...the most extreme of all things, good and bad...I visited Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Agra and Srinagar. I met the kindest people and experienced incredible hospitality. I made lifelong friendships. I feel very lucky to have had a relatively well-rounded experience of India. Saw a lot. Not only from a tourist perspective. Saw things that most tourists will not have the opportunity to see...and ended up in an Indian tabloid, too! (You know you've made it when...?) The press clippings section of my website certainly became a lot more interesting post-India:


Which brings us to Kashmir:

KASHMIR

This place was magical, in so many ways...and at the same time, it was heartbreaking. The people I met and fell in love with so quickly have experienced hardships I cannot even begin to imagine. Growing up, living in one of the most heavily militarized areas in the world...whatever your political beliefs, you cannot disagree with the fact that it is incredibly horrific for any individual to experience violence and suffering...and there is such a rich and beautiful culture in Kashmir. Warm, kind people. The most beautiful mountains and lakes and nature. Which, of course, was the reason for my concert. The first EVER concert of Western music in Kashmir. I only learned this after speaking to some reporters. I had no idea. And I am so honored. I am only just beginning to integrate the experiences I had, and still making sense of everything I witnessed in Kashmir. There were so many intense moments - like the political leaders and the separatist leaders sitting together, in the same auditorium, to show their support for climate change awareness...having a cappuccino with a reformed militant separatist leader who now preaches non-violence...sharing stories and meals with my new friends in a luxurious houseboat on one of Kashmir's pristine lakes...I felt comfortable and safe the entire time, and will definitely return. There are so many things to see in this world, and we will never be able to experience everything. I feel so lucky to have been able to experience Kashmir and will continue to work with my new friends in Srinagar and do what I can to bring awareness and support to this incredible part of the world. And if you are ever in India, I would recommend a visit. It is a very special place.

If you would like to see what I've been working on with my friends in Kashmir in the area of Climate Change awareness, please visit Mercycorps.org/sayitspossible

ITALY

What is there to say about Italy, really?? I fell in love. In several ways. I postponed my return trip twice, and I think British Airways hates me now. But I don't even care. It was that wonderful. I also gained nearly 10 lbs eating pastries and pasta and pizza and everything made of carbs and fat and sugar. But don't worry. I joined a new gym as soon as I got home and half of it is already gone. (Everyone in LA can breathe a sigh of relief and put away your pitchforks. I left all the pasta in Italy. I pose no threat.)

I performed my music in sold-out opera houses, spoke to high school students about hard work and following your dreams, shared meals and conversation with some of the loveliest people I have ever met, visited Rome, Perugia, Fabriano, Monfalcone, Imola, Abruzzi, Venice, Bologna (and Rucce, population 30!)...and feel like I have another home away from home in this world, in Italy...I would love to call it home...maybe someday.

Oh - and if you haven't yet, please check out the video I recorded with Elisa, just above this blog. She is wonderful and kind and humble and TALENTED and I cannot wait to collaborate with her again! I think it was a special experience for both of us!

And now I'm back in LA, in my apartment. Coming home feels a bit like taking a shower and putting on dirty clothes. Not that I don't appreciate my life here, but so much has changed, I feel like I have changed, and I felt so happy on the road....in the US, in India, in Italy...so I will spend this day, the final day of 2009, cleaning out my house and my life and preparing for 2010, with the intention of traveling again very soon.

I am ready to bid farewell to 2009, one of my most difficult and most wonderful years. The tour was the highlight of my year, for sure - the way it all came about (you guys made it possible with your support - both financial and emotional!), the people who organized every show and took such wonderful care of me on the road - I have avoided blogging about the tour because it seems impossible to summarize everything that happened. I want to share every detail, explain every experience, open up my brain and let you see inside, so you can have a little piece of the many gifts I received in my travels...but those things are for me, I guess, and all I can really share are vague impressions and selected photos. (And some new songs which will certainly come after a year like this!)

I think I might like to be a journalist in another life. Go out and capture bits of the world and bring it all back. It's funny, because some of the journalists I hung out with in India talked about wanting to be musicians. I guess we always want something else. And that is a good thing...keeps us going...imagining and dreaming...

(I just sent out a group email. I hope there are no typos, but I suspect there might be. If you are not a member of my email list and would like to be, look to the right and you will see the mailing list sign-up box.)

And what else to say....I'm sure I will blog a lot more in the coming days, as I attempt to make sense of everything I experienced...and hopefully you guys will enjoy reading these blogs.

Please take good care of yourselves on this New Year's Eve. I am sending all of my love and good wishes for the coming year. I look forward to seeing some of you again soon, and meeting new people, and visiting both familiar and unfamiliar places...I have lots in the works for this coming year...things I cannot wait to share with you...decisions I am making, new people I am working with...everyone is excited and ready to help make 2010 my most creatively fulfilling year yet. And hopefully you guys will enjoy the results of this creative journey.

Thank you for giving me a reason to share it...

So much love,
Terra