This place is incredible. It was really strange at first and I was feeling pretty sick (sore throat) but now that I've begun to adjust and settle in, I'm really enjoying it! We had half a week and a weekend to get settled and get to know the area, buy any last things we needed, etc. My schedule for the next 6 weeks will be as follows:
6:30am: optional temple
7am: optional meditation with just our program in our lounge or tea & bread with our roomies.
7:30: breakfast
9-10: Tibetan language class MTWTh
10-10:30: tea break for whole campus.
10:30-12: MWF Buddhist Philosophy class, TTh Tibetan Culture & Community class
on Fridays after class we'll have a field trip for C&C class.
12:30-1:30: lunch break.
1:30-2:30: language partner work and/or practice work in class.
2:30 till dinner = free time.
Usually 7:30 dinner with just us.
We're also starting an optional yoga class for an hour or so on the roof of the "guest house" (which is where we eat and have most of our classes and where the "American style" toilet is! yay!) in the afternoons. And soon there'll also be an optional meditation before dinner with our philosophy teacher who's a Buddhist nun from Germany. Then Friday nights we have our roommates join us for dinner and then tea and movie night.
SOOO MUCH TEA! It's amazing! And it's always what we'd call a "Chai tea latte" in America--very sweet and made with milk. Addictive as heck too.
So on our first day on campus we took a walk around, through the 3 story guest house and the large classroom building which has ping-pong tables downstairs in the lobby. We walked past the boys' dorm (strictly forbidden for we girls) and around to the girls' dorm and into the temple which is BEAUTIFUL. The buildings are pretty tall (girls' dorm is 5 stories) and have many balconies and windows that have laundry hanging all over them. There are friendly and well-loved dogs and cats, and kids of staff running around everywhere. The student population is about 250 students. You can walk across campus in a good 5 or 10 minutes. There's a basketball court in the middle which is well-used and a large field where we had tea with our roomies and professor the second day.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We thought we'd be assigned roommates, but instead they decided we should all meet and choose for ourselves. We nervously approached an even more nervous-looking group of nuns and lay-women. We stood in a little cluster and Tawni, our lovely, glowing assistant-director (who was actually an Emory student in the first program here in 2001) introduced each of us Tibetan in turn by saying what we're all considering doing for our research projects and a little about us. She told them I was interested in doing something creative and possibly researching in the Tibetan Childrens' Village, and that I enjoy singing and dancing and entertaining everyone. (This is due to the bus ride out here which featured me wailing on my new jimbe while all of us re-mixed our favorite Beatles' and Disney songs). I didn't honestly know we were choosing roommates right then, but before I had a moment to think, a little grinning nun ran up to me and grabbed my hand and laughed nervously. I laughed too and we introduced ourselves while other people mingled and took their time choosing. Her name is Kalsang Wangmo and she's lovely. She's 22 years old and has been a nun since she was 16. She's here (like most students at the Sarah campus) to become a teacher and is from Spiti which, from the pictures, looks gorgeous--way high in the mountains.
And speaking of mountains, they're RIGHT HERE! We're basically in the foothills of the Himalayas, and every time we glance out the windows we're still in awe.
Hmm, what else can I tell you about campus? There are cows that punctuate the auditory sphere quite regularly, and the rooftops are definitely implemented as a regular chill spot. People often take walks after dinner. Showers consist of filling up a bucket from the "hot" water tap which basically secretes water that is a few degrees warmer than the rest of the icey taps, and taking it into a little stall that has one of those cold water taps in it. I myself usually bring in a bowl or pitcher for pouring and sing loudly to make use of my wow-that's-cold noises. And most toilets are little porcelain potties in the middle of a damp square of concrete with two raised blocks where you put your feet. Oh, and instead of toilet paper there's a little water tap and a small bucket. People told me I'd get used to it and I didn't believe them but honestly, it's not so bad. Especially since the program provides us with our own toilet paper (though we do have to throw it out instead of tossing it down the toilet...). The bad ones are in town where we're charged extra rupees (the "foreigner" price we call it--our pale faces earn us a higher price for everything) and there's usually no soap and the walls are really extra gross.
There's a bird nest above the sink in our bathroom so tooth-brushing is usually interesting in the morning: it's graced with bird song but plagued with fear of poop. Oh, and we brush our teeth with the water from our water bottles, and the water we wash our faces with is usually freezing since the "warm" water is only available during daylight hours since it's solar.
It might sound like I'm complaining, but honestly the whole there's-no-hot-water-or-sit-toilets thing is not only kind of adventurous and not so bad, it's also a great bonding experience for everyone on the program. We keep it light and end up laughing a lot. We're already way too comfortable talking about the bathroom and it usually comes up every meal.
So the first few days on campus I spent recovering from my illness and orienting myself. Then we had a talent show in honor of our arrival. We watched oodles of performances that ranged from traditional Tibetan song and dance to a guy liquidating to a modern mix. We were also expected to perform which was STRESSFUL! We pulled it off though. First we did a stomp while I sang a Tibetan song I'd learned when I was young. It was great. Then we all sang a modified version of "Let it be" with "His Holiness" instead of "Mother Mary," while I played the Jimbe. And finally we sang Kevin's "The 12 days of teaching": a spin off of the 12 days of Christmas. The whole cafeteria was cleared of chairs and 3 tables were set out in a "u" shape, behind which we were seated as well as the fac/staff, and then behind that were all the students, about 60 percent of which are in robes. It was dusty and noisy and lasted hours. We had a ball. We're still getting used to being treated like honored guests: it's insane! This program is really well respected, and a lot is expected of us.
We went to McLeod Ganj and...wow. We were escorted to the temple that's part of the monastery and the upper IBD campus. Room after room of sacred Tibetan art and meditation space left me speechless. When I placed my forehead to the Dalai Lama's seat (he wasn't there. every monastery has a special decorated seat reserved for his visits, whether or not they occur only...here they definitely do) I was filled with the most powerful energy. The tension that had been building within me the whole time since we started climbing the mountain in jeeps came out in tears and I walked around for about a half an hour crying in awe and ...I don't know what else. It was a lot of things. Part of me, I think, was amazed at the reality of my present state. I felt like my life had come full-circle. All the imagery that I had been surrounded by since childhood, all the things I'd looked to as a far-away place, was surrounding me and suddenly so tangible. I wasn't in Tibet, but I was pretty darn close. And also: I've known in theory for a long time about all the destruction that has come to Tibet and the religious places there. But here I was in a temple that was created for those in exile--it was easy here to imagine that which had been burned and shot and torn down right over the mountains. And also--I think I let go of a lot. I realized while standing there that the plan I had been formulating for my life had to change. I know that this place is part of my future. I don't know how. But everything in me was trembling as I looked out over the mountain-side city where people did laundry on rooftops and egrets circled. I don't know what my connection to this place is, but it's profound.
Well I bought a yoga mat and some comfy pants and ! a cell phone in town. My number is 9805693452. The country code (I think?) is 91. And I'm 12.5 hours ahead of NM time. Feel free to call! I called my Mum first, and she was heading for my Grandpapa's memorial. I still can't believe I'm the only grandchild that wasn't there. I missed not only the service but everyone being together in one place, including my new baby cousin! Sad, but at least I'm here and able to have deep meditation and connect with him and them that way.
Well today was the first day of classes and we have discovered that yep: Tibetan language is HARD! We've been practicing the alphabet and basic phrases since Delhi and are way ahead of schedule, but it's still a crazy language. I mean, there's a difference between the letter "cha," and "chha." Not to mention "dza," "sha," "shha," "tsha," and "tsa." *raises eyebrows* Class is fun though. Imagine a room full of us diligently repeating "Kha Kee-ku khee. Kha Shabqu khu!" time and time again after a lovely and patient monk who must think we're all impaired for not being able to say "nga" which is their word for I/me. whew!
So I'm going to read some of the 140 pages due tomorrow before yoga. Sending love and blessings.
xoxo
L
P.S. many pictures already taken, but I'll need to put 'em on a flash drive to upload them. stay tuned.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
From Praugpor, aka Paradise
Well our time in Delhi ended nicely. We went into the market and I ended up buying a Jimbe! I got a very good price and it's a very fine little drum. I have ALWAYS wanted a Jimbe ever since my brother Jason used to jam out on his. So then we all went back to the Y and had our last meal of the same stuff we'd eaten there every night- really good, but really HEAVY Indian food. At 4:30 we all got on the bus that was to take us to Pragpur --an Indian village where we would spend two nights before heading up the last 1/5 of the journey to Dharamsala. We sat in the bus for 14 long hours, never going faster than 50 mph, winding through countryside and slums, prosperous towns and a stretch of rotting corpses. It was overall a beautiful drive, and once the mist cleared we had our first dose of clear skies and clean air in India. What a sight.
Well the drive got to be a long one, so eventually the Jimbe came out as well as some other make-shift instruments and soon the whole bus was re-mixing our favorite songs from the Beatles to Disney classics. We also did some lovely freestyle-singing about drip drying on the side of the road and trying not to fall off a cliff or be spotted by the locals.
Finally we arrived in the village of Pragpur, and imagine our surprise when we are escorted to the most magnifiscent Indo-European style mansion with a fire in the courtyard out back and tea, cookies, and cucumber sandwitches being served. That was NOT what we pictured when we imagined an Indian Village! Turns out this man's ancestors were very well off in this little town and the house was beginning to crumble when he had the idea of turning it into a guest house. The whole town is quite midevil and gorgeous, full of happy people who will invite you in for tea and chat with you about their children. Our rooms are like mineature palaces with heated showers and gigantic beds. There are balconies and places to stroll, and every meal is catered. It feels kind of bizarre to be so doted upon, but we're all taking it in as our last (and in most cases our first) dose of this treatment before heading to where we'll be bathing in buckets. About 5 of us chose out some beautifully embroidered fabric from a very nice man in the market and then trotted over to the the tailor who made all of us beautiful salwars and cortas by 9pm. We sat and watched him work at first and a little crowd of men appeared at the door and made small talk while we waited. Someone brought us little cups of chai and we all accepted. What an incredible place.
At night the dogs and monkeys howl and there are a billion stars. In the morning the birds go nuts and caw and cluck and sing. Yesterday evening Geshe-la told us the history of the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics where we'll be studying for 6 weeks starting tonight. It was begun by the Dalai Lama when the refugees began to graduate from the schools he'd set up and many of them (less than 20 at the time, including Geshe-la himself) were looking to pursue higher studies within Buddhism. The second campus was begun a few decades later when the institute was out-growing itself. That campus, Sarah, is where we'll be--it's very peaceful and is about a 40 minute walk from "civilization." From the beginning the Institute has been controversial in its liberalism but has maintained its adamance about non-monastics and women being allowed to study alongside the monks. Pretty darn cool! There are about 250 students there total, so we'll definitely get to be close with the student population. Then Geshe-la led us in a brief sitting meditation which I actually found quite difficult because I was exhausted and half asleep. We had dinner which was divine as usual, and then began cleaning up before bed. I went to the lobby to see if I could make international calls with my calling card (turns out no phone in the whole VILLAGE can make international calls) and was on my way back to my "cottage" when my classmate Lauren told me to come to her room where we were gathering to watch the innaguration. I didn't even know we had television access, and we were all under the impression that the speech was happening in the afternoon in the US which would make it very late for us indeed, but no it turns out there was a COUNTDOWN to the end of the Bush reign on the TV station. We couldn't understand most of the commentary, but we sure understood the speeches. We cheered and got chills and, in some cases, cried. Almost all of us were huddled on the biggest bed you can imagine and for once felt so proud to be Americans in a foreign land. Maybe we'll stop telling the locals that we're Canadian now.
We're off now to Sarah and I'll have limited internet access there but I'll try to keep some posts going. I'm ecstatic to meet my Tibetan room-mate, as we all are.
Signing off from Heaven,
L
So last night after we'd had our lesson
Well the drive got to be a long one, so eventually the Jimbe came out as well as some other make-shift instruments and soon the whole bus was re-mixing our favorite songs from the Beatles to Disney classics. We also did some lovely freestyle-singing about drip drying on the side of the road and trying not to fall off a cliff or be spotted by the locals.
Finally we arrived in the village of Pragpur, and imagine our surprise when we are escorted to the most magnifiscent Indo-European style mansion with a fire in the courtyard out back and tea, cookies, and cucumber sandwitches being served. That was NOT what we pictured when we imagined an Indian Village! Turns out this man's ancestors were very well off in this little town and the house was beginning to crumble when he had the idea of turning it into a guest house. The whole town is quite midevil and gorgeous, full of happy people who will invite you in for tea and chat with you about their children. Our rooms are like mineature palaces with heated showers and gigantic beds. There are balconies and places to stroll, and every meal is catered. It feels kind of bizarre to be so doted upon, but we're all taking it in as our last (and in most cases our first) dose of this treatment before heading to where we'll be bathing in buckets. About 5 of us chose out some beautifully embroidered fabric from a very nice man in the market and then trotted over to the the tailor who made all of us beautiful salwars and cortas by 9pm. We sat and watched him work at first and a little crowd of men appeared at the door and made small talk while we waited. Someone brought us little cups of chai and we all accepted. What an incredible place.
At night the dogs and monkeys howl and there are a billion stars. In the morning the birds go nuts and caw and cluck and sing. Yesterday evening Geshe-la told us the history of the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics where we'll be studying for 6 weeks starting tonight. It was begun by the Dalai Lama when the refugees began to graduate from the schools he'd set up and many of them (less than 20 at the time, including Geshe-la himself) were looking to pursue higher studies within Buddhism. The second campus was begun a few decades later when the institute was out-growing itself. That campus, Sarah, is where we'll be--it's very peaceful and is about a 40 minute walk from "civilization." From the beginning the Institute has been controversial in its liberalism but has maintained its adamance about non-monastics and women being allowed to study alongside the monks. Pretty darn cool! There are about 250 students there total, so we'll definitely get to be close with the student population. Then Geshe-la led us in a brief sitting meditation which I actually found quite difficult because I was exhausted and half asleep. We had dinner which was divine as usual, and then began cleaning up before bed. I went to the lobby to see if I could make international calls with my calling card (turns out no phone in the whole VILLAGE can make international calls) and was on my way back to my "cottage" when my classmate Lauren told me to come to her room where we were gathering to watch the innaguration. I didn't even know we had television access, and we were all under the impression that the speech was happening in the afternoon in the US which would make it very late for us indeed, but no it turns out there was a COUNTDOWN to the end of the Bush reign on the TV station. We couldn't understand most of the commentary, but we sure understood the speeches. We cheered and got chills and, in some cases, cried. Almost all of us were huddled on the biggest bed you can imagine and for once felt so proud to be Americans in a foreign land. Maybe we'll stop telling the locals that we're Canadian now.
We're off now to Sarah and I'll have limited internet access there but I'll try to keep some posts going. I'm ecstatic to meet my Tibetan room-mate, as we all are.
Signing off from Heaven,
L
So last night after we'd had our lesson
Saturday, January 17, 2009
His Holiness...
Today we went to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak at a Global Conference on the state of Religious Affairs after September 11. He spoke mostly to the universality of the human condition ("we all have mothers. we are all predisposed to compassion) and the need for us to accept plurality and coexistence within religious communities. We sat five rows from the stage--right behind the VIPs and the Diplomats. It was amazing. He was all giggles and eloquent though thickly-accented English that was sometimes hard to hear if he wasn't close to the microphone. We feel so blessed that we got to see him by chance.
Afterwards we headed through market after market looking for a good resturaunt to eat. They were all so full that crowds stood outside on the already-crowded streets and sidewalks waiting for space. We were finally seated in a room that we had to walk through the kitchen of a big vegetarian south-Indian resturaunt to get to. The food was unbelievable and totally worth the 20 minute wait. We got giddy and lost track of time and before we knew it it was 4pm and our planned trip to the museum was out of the question. A handfull of people, including the directors and a student who has a 4 year old child, wanted to stay behind and rest, so we the young, reckless, responsibility-less ones set out on the metro for Old Delhi--a maze of shops colors and smells in tiny roads that are more like alleys where we'd buzzed through on peddy-cabs the day before. The twelve of us got there right as it was starting to get dark and set out on a shopping mission. We were looking for Cortas--short Saris that are fitted and ready-made. They're less hot and less expensive usually. It took a LONG time. We were definitely in Sari town, though most of the prices that were thrown our way were way higher than they should have been since we were a gaggle of westerners who didn't have our Hindi-speaking mother goose figure (Cynthia, the program director) with us. We got lost and found again, haggled over prices, held our breath in pockets of wretched air, and breathed deep near incense and frying snacks. Finally we haggled our way into a cheap rickshaw ride home.
Since lunch was late we'll probably wait a while to munch tonight, and then we're planning to have a "destress fest" in Carrie-and-me's room. We all need a good neck rub and yoga stretch after today's Saturday-crowds.
I keep looking in shop windows and wondering what I'll look like without hair--to the point where I'm always a little disappointed to see that I still have it. I have to keep reminding myself that in a few days I'll need it for warmth, but in a few months it'll be time and I can finally do it.
I'm starting to miss home a little--the people, the softness, the cleanliness, and the toilet paper--but I'm still in wow-this-is-such-an-adventure-mode, and so I'm in heaven. Meditating every morning and still unable to sleep through the night thanks to Jet Lag.
Anyway, much love and feel free to write. Blessings to all.
Afterwards we headed through market after market looking for a good resturaunt to eat. They were all so full that crowds stood outside on the already-crowded streets and sidewalks waiting for space. We were finally seated in a room that we had to walk through the kitchen of a big vegetarian south-Indian resturaunt to get to. The food was unbelievable and totally worth the 20 minute wait. We got giddy and lost track of time and before we knew it it was 4pm and our planned trip to the museum was out of the question. A handfull of people, including the directors and a student who has a 4 year old child, wanted to stay behind and rest, so we the young, reckless, responsibility-less ones set out on the metro for Old Delhi--a maze of shops colors and smells in tiny roads that are more like alleys where we'd buzzed through on peddy-cabs the day before. The twelve of us got there right as it was starting to get dark and set out on a shopping mission. We were looking for Cortas--short Saris that are fitted and ready-made. They're less hot and less expensive usually. It took a LONG time. We were definitely in Sari town, though most of the prices that were thrown our way were way higher than they should have been since we were a gaggle of westerners who didn't have our Hindi-speaking mother goose figure (Cynthia, the program director) with us. We got lost and found again, haggled over prices, held our breath in pockets of wretched air, and breathed deep near incense and frying snacks. Finally we haggled our way into a cheap rickshaw ride home.
Since lunch was late we'll probably wait a while to munch tonight, and then we're planning to have a "destress fest" in Carrie-and-me's room. We all need a good neck rub and yoga stretch after today's Saturday-crowds.
I keep looking in shop windows and wondering what I'll look like without hair--to the point where I'm always a little disappointed to see that I still have it. I have to keep reminding myself that in a few days I'll need it for warmth, but in a few months it'll be time and I can finally do it.
I'm starting to miss home a little--the people, the softness, the cleanliness, and the toilet paper--but I'm still in wow-this-is-such-an-adventure-mode, and so I'm in heaven. Meditating every morning and still unable to sleep through the night thanks to Jet Lag.
Anyway, much love and feel free to write. Blessings to all.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Greetings from New Delhi
This trip is already so awesome and crazy! Greetings and love from New Delhi. I'm safe and exhausted and excited and sweaty. I brought many clothes in preparation for the climate up in Dharamsala, but here it's about 70! There are monkeys, dogs, and dust EVERYWHERE! I like it here even though my eyes are burning and I'm jet lagged as well. I like the way that life and death and everything in between are right out in the open instead of hiding where you can't see them. Children chase foreigners like us in the street and say "hello...chocolate?...hello." The cars honk continuously as an announcement of their presence rather than an assault or warning. Corpses burn on street corners at night and there has been a continuous haze over everything since we've been here. We just got back from a trip to a Sikh temple, lunch in a market alley store, and a Hindu shrine. Grey buildings make the bright sariis and flowers littering one's field of vision all the more vivid. We'll be here for 3 days and then we go north to an Indian village and then further north to Dharamsala to the Sarah (pronounced Sah-rah) campus where we'll be starting school and settling down for 6 weeks. I've gotta run now. We're running out to go check out Old Delhi.
Blessings,
Lara
Blessings,
Lara
Monday, January 12, 2009
A Not-So-Graceful Start...
Sooooooooo Note to self: taking an anti-malarial pill every day when you're only supposed to take one every WEEK is really not fun. Especially once you get five days into it, I would say (though I haven't ventured further). Long story short--last night was hell. I thought I had a stomach bug and I've been super nervous about EVERYTHING! Turns out the side effects of accidentally O.D.ing on Melfloquine include mood changes, anxiety, and depression, as well as your body just wigging out. And here I just thought I was worried sick! Well three sleepless nights and a lot of fluid-loss later, I'm here smacking my forehead with my palm and hoping that I can sleep some on the plane. At least I won't have to deal with having a bug on the plane, and I sure as hell won't get malaria now! (bright side?) Any way, my liver function seems normal, thank God, and so does my heart rate, so I can leave without another hitch hopefully. Yeah reading the label more'n once has its perks when you're trying to juggle way too many meds.
I leave tomorrow morning before the sun to make a 7:am plane to NY. Then Wednesday is the big momma--that 12 hour flight that'll land me right in New Delhi. I still kinda can't believe it, and I haven't even really been able to make my good-bye calls and visits like I'd planned. Not the most graceful start to an adventure, but certainly bizarre.
Hope you all found this blog easily, and feel free to forward the address to other friends and family that won't find it on facebook (that'd sure help me out a lot).
I leave tomorrow morning before the sun to make a 7:am plane to NY. Then Wednesday is the big momma--that 12 hour flight that'll land me right in New Delhi. I still kinda can't believe it, and I haven't even really been able to make my good-bye calls and visits like I'd planned. Not the most graceful start to an adventure, but certainly bizarre.
Hope you all found this blog easily, and feel free to forward the address to other friends and family that won't find it on facebook (that'd sure help me out a lot).
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