Okay, I'm finally posting some photos, even though I've been home for over a week now. Hope ya like them!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Photos
Okay, I'm finally posting some photos, even though I've been home for over a week now. Hope ya like them!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Home again, home again, jiggity, jig
I've made it home! I'm back in Portland, enjoying the hot summer days at my favorite coffee shop. I think I'm pretty versatile, and adjust to my new environments pretty easily. I have yet to really experience culture shock.
I spent a few days in Delhi. It was a big shock, being in such a big city. And it was hot and humid there, with a little monsoon put into the mixture. We saw the Taj Mahal one day. It was as impressive as everyone says it is. We spent the other time seeing Delhi, doing a few touristy things.
Once I get my photos onto my computer, I'll put some up. I'll have to sort through them a pick a few choice ones.
I spent a few days in Delhi. It was a big shock, being in such a big city. And it was hot and humid there, with a little monsoon put into the mixture. We saw the Taj Mahal one day. It was as impressive as everyone says it is. We spent the other time seeing Delhi, doing a few touristy things.
Once I get my photos onto my computer, I'll put some up. I'll have to sort through them a pick a few choice ones.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Welcome to funky town
I feel like the only way to describe Leh for me is Funky Town. I'm in a very touristy part, which is probably affecting my view. If I was living with locals, I'd probably have a different perception.
There are tourists from many countries, all over Europe and Asia and a few from the Americas. My guest house is very nice, and it's fun now to hear the range of languages being spoken every day. Interestingly enough, there are a fair amount of Israelis here, and some shops have sings in Hebrew as well as English. But, like almost any part of the world, English is the international language. Sometimes I feel like I'm cheating by having English as my first language.
Yesterday I didn't do much besides Internet, as all the shops were closed. Normally, our guest house doesn't serve food, but since many restaurants were closed, they offered to serve us dinner, if we wanted. It is a couple, with their young boy and her mother, who runs the guest house, so it has a family feel to it. We had what I would consider a typical meal; rice, dal, and vegetables. We even got butter tea! I'd been feeling homesick for butter tea, and had yet to find it in any of the restuarants. It was a nice meal, more authentic than I'd had in any restaurant.
Today I wasn't feeling so well, so I stayed in and rested. I wanted to wake up early to walk up to a stupa that is up the hill a bit, but it was raining this morning, so that was out of the question. Mojun went out and found where the local markets are, and found some scarfs for a great bargain there. We'll head back down there tomorrow, where we won't be charged the tourist price and can get something closer to the local price. I'm pretty excited!
It's hard for me to believe that I'll be home in less than a week now. I still feel so far away, but being in such a touristy place makes me think of the Western world again. I'm excited to be going home, though, and seeing everyone. It's so easy to get to the Internet here, I could be on almost every day before I leave!
There are tourists from many countries, all over Europe and Asia and a few from the Americas. My guest house is very nice, and it's fun now to hear the range of languages being spoken every day. Interestingly enough, there are a fair amount of Israelis here, and some shops have sings in Hebrew as well as English. But, like almost any part of the world, English is the international language. Sometimes I feel like I'm cheating by having English as my first language.
Yesterday I didn't do much besides Internet, as all the shops were closed. Normally, our guest house doesn't serve food, but since many restaurants were closed, they offered to serve us dinner, if we wanted. It is a couple, with their young boy and her mother, who runs the guest house, so it has a family feel to it. We had what I would consider a typical meal; rice, dal, and vegetables. We even got butter tea! I'd been feeling homesick for butter tea, and had yet to find it in any of the restuarants. It was a nice meal, more authentic than I'd had in any restaurant.
Today I wasn't feeling so well, so I stayed in and rested. I wanted to wake up early to walk up to a stupa that is up the hill a bit, but it was raining this morning, so that was out of the question. Mojun went out and found where the local markets are, and found some scarfs for a great bargain there. We'll head back down there tomorrow, where we won't be charged the tourist price and can get something closer to the local price. I'm pretty excited!
It's hard for me to believe that I'll be home in less than a week now. I still feel so far away, but being in such a touristy place makes me think of the Western world again. I'm excited to be going home, though, and seeing everyone. It's so easy to get to the Internet here, I could be on almost every day before I leave!
Friday, August 8, 2008
On the road again
I've made it to Leh! But what an adventure getting back here.
The day that I last posted, there was no bus in Padum that would be going to Leh. So, the next day I was back again, to hunt down the bus. Lauren came too, which was a great help since she speaks the language and can talk to more people more clearly and directly about the bus situation. At first, there was no bus, not the usual bus that runs between Leh and Padum. We talked to a few people, and a man that Lauren trusts said that he'd book seats for Mojun and I when the bus came in and send a message to Sani to let us know when to leave. Then, we ran into a lama that Lauren knows who seems to know everyone, and he said that there was a bus leaving for Leh the next day. What chance! We went with him to meet the driver and book our seats. We had it all arraigned: the driver was leaving Padum at 6am, so he would stop on the road just below the nunnery at 6:30am and we would be down there with our bags, ready to go. It is always the most carefully laid plans that seem to go array.
By 2pm, Lauren and I were ready to head back to the nunnery, we'd finished everything that we'd wanted to do. But the bus doesn't leave until 4pm some days. We tried to find a ride back, seeing if any jeeps were heading that way. One man said he'd be leaving soon, but after waiting for half an hour, we decided that he wasn't leaving any time soon. So, we decided to walk back. With heavy bags. In the afternoon sun. Right, smart idea. On our walk back, we stopped at a house for tea and chang. That was a nice break in our walk back. After a bit more, we caught the bus. I think I prefer doing it that way; walking back a bit, stopping in a house, then getting the bus. Plus, it's less crowded after a few stops.
We stopped at another house in Sani for tea and chang. Another nice break before heading up the hill to the nunnery. When we got back to the nunnery, we told Mojun that it was time to pack up, we're heading out the next day. Of course she was already mostly packed. I had to pack all of my things still, organise and sort out what I wanted to leave with the nuns. I left them all of the school supplies that I had brought, and gave Lauren my medicines that I felt I wouldn't need for the rest of the trip. She can administer them out to the nuns and villagers as needed. I can always get more cold medicine, but it is much more difficult to get out there.
We had our favorite dinner that night, momos, or dumplings. The nuns gave us socks as a gift, and Lauren was translator for the evening. They're such wonderful people, I miss them all so much already.
The morning of our departure, we woke up early to have some tea and have plenty of time to walk down to the road. We started down at 10 minutes to 6, the nuns carrying our bags for us. At about 6, we saw what looked like our bus roll on by, not stopping. The nuns tried to run after it, but it didn't stop. So there went our ride. Who knows why it didn't stop, why it came 30 minutes early. We decided to wait down by the road to see if we could catch a ride to Kargil, where we would certainly be able to find a bus to Leh.
After a bit, a car came by, but he was asking way too much to take us to Kargil, about double the price of the bus fare to Leh, and double the price for a local to go to Kargil. We let him continue on. Then, just around 6:30, another car came along. He accepted the local price for us, and would help us find the bus in Kargil. The nuns and Lauren piled in the jeep as well, to make sure that we'd get past a certain spot. This spot is where the Zanskar taxi union blocks the road and sees who is going in and out. As we're not local but getting the local price, the taxi union was not going to be pleased about this.
I'm glad that the nuns and Lauren came along. The man who was working that day was not pleased at all. He didn't want to let us go through. First the driver was arguing with him, then the nuns all got involved, then the driver turned off the car and got out, then two nuns also got out. I didn't know what was being said, but I figured that I should look very sad and convey that it was essential for us to get through. Eventually, Mojun and I got out. Lauren said that if we cried, we would probably be able to get through. But the driver and the union man walked into a little hut before I could work up the tears. But we made it through!
About half-way through the drive, we stopped at one police check point where there is a lunch spot. And there was our bus! We were able to get on, and paid the jeep driver a bit less, although I probably should have bargained for a cheaper rate. I was just happy to be on the bus that was going all the way to Leh.
The bus ride was not so bad. It's slower, but that's okay. We spent the night on the bus, as we stopped about an hour past Kargil. We made it to Leh yesterday afternoon, and then took a taxi up to a guest house that Lauren had recommended. It was booked up, though, so we drove from guest house to guest house until we found one with rooms. Our guest house is nice, clean, and a bit outside the center of town, which is nice. It has a shared bathroom, and we're on the first floor, not much of a view. It's also pretty cheap. The family that runs it is very nice, and when we came back from our early dinner last night, they invited us in to watch the opening ceremony for the Olympics. I didn't think I'd have the opportunity to watch that!
Many stores are closed today. From one shopkeeper, I got that a lama was killed on this day some years ago, so they all remember him today. I'm glad that we found an Internet cafe that's open. It's also pretty fast, not too expensive. I'll probably be back before I head to Delhi on the 12th.
The day that I last posted, there was no bus in Padum that would be going to Leh. So, the next day I was back again, to hunt down the bus. Lauren came too, which was a great help since she speaks the language and can talk to more people more clearly and directly about the bus situation. At first, there was no bus, not the usual bus that runs between Leh and Padum. We talked to a few people, and a man that Lauren trusts said that he'd book seats for Mojun and I when the bus came in and send a message to Sani to let us know when to leave. Then, we ran into a lama that Lauren knows who seems to know everyone, and he said that there was a bus leaving for Leh the next day. What chance! We went with him to meet the driver and book our seats. We had it all arraigned: the driver was leaving Padum at 6am, so he would stop on the road just below the nunnery at 6:30am and we would be down there with our bags, ready to go. It is always the most carefully laid plans that seem to go array.
By 2pm, Lauren and I were ready to head back to the nunnery, we'd finished everything that we'd wanted to do. But the bus doesn't leave until 4pm some days. We tried to find a ride back, seeing if any jeeps were heading that way. One man said he'd be leaving soon, but after waiting for half an hour, we decided that he wasn't leaving any time soon. So, we decided to walk back. With heavy bags. In the afternoon sun. Right, smart idea. On our walk back, we stopped at a house for tea and chang. That was a nice break in our walk back. After a bit more, we caught the bus. I think I prefer doing it that way; walking back a bit, stopping in a house, then getting the bus. Plus, it's less crowded after a few stops.
We stopped at another house in Sani for tea and chang. Another nice break before heading up the hill to the nunnery. When we got back to the nunnery, we told Mojun that it was time to pack up, we're heading out the next day. Of course she was already mostly packed. I had to pack all of my things still, organise and sort out what I wanted to leave with the nuns. I left them all of the school supplies that I had brought, and gave Lauren my medicines that I felt I wouldn't need for the rest of the trip. She can administer them out to the nuns and villagers as needed. I can always get more cold medicine, but it is much more difficult to get out there.
We had our favorite dinner that night, momos, or dumplings. The nuns gave us socks as a gift, and Lauren was translator for the evening. They're such wonderful people, I miss them all so much already.
The morning of our departure, we woke up early to have some tea and have plenty of time to walk down to the road. We started down at 10 minutes to 6, the nuns carrying our bags for us. At about 6, we saw what looked like our bus roll on by, not stopping. The nuns tried to run after it, but it didn't stop. So there went our ride. Who knows why it didn't stop, why it came 30 minutes early. We decided to wait down by the road to see if we could catch a ride to Kargil, where we would certainly be able to find a bus to Leh.
After a bit, a car came by, but he was asking way too much to take us to Kargil, about double the price of the bus fare to Leh, and double the price for a local to go to Kargil. We let him continue on. Then, just around 6:30, another car came along. He accepted the local price for us, and would help us find the bus in Kargil. The nuns and Lauren piled in the jeep as well, to make sure that we'd get past a certain spot. This spot is where the Zanskar taxi union blocks the road and sees who is going in and out. As we're not local but getting the local price, the taxi union was not going to be pleased about this.
I'm glad that the nuns and Lauren came along. The man who was working that day was not pleased at all. He didn't want to let us go through. First the driver was arguing with him, then the nuns all got involved, then the driver turned off the car and got out, then two nuns also got out. I didn't know what was being said, but I figured that I should look very sad and convey that it was essential for us to get through. Eventually, Mojun and I got out. Lauren said that if we cried, we would probably be able to get through. But the driver and the union man walked into a little hut before I could work up the tears. But we made it through!
About half-way through the drive, we stopped at one police check point where there is a lunch spot. And there was our bus! We were able to get on, and paid the jeep driver a bit less, although I probably should have bargained for a cheaper rate. I was just happy to be on the bus that was going all the way to Leh.
The bus ride was not so bad. It's slower, but that's okay. We spent the night on the bus, as we stopped about an hour past Kargil. We made it to Leh yesterday afternoon, and then took a taxi up to a guest house that Lauren had recommended. It was booked up, though, so we drove from guest house to guest house until we found one with rooms. Our guest house is nice, clean, and a bit outside the center of town, which is nice. It has a shared bathroom, and we're on the first floor, not much of a view. It's also pretty cheap. The family that runs it is very nice, and when we came back from our early dinner last night, they invited us in to watch the opening ceremony for the Olympics. I didn't think I'd have the opportunity to watch that!
Many stores are closed today. From one shopkeeper, I got that a lama was killed on this day some years ago, so they all remember him today. I'm glad that we found an Internet cafe that's open. It's also pretty fast, not too expensive. I'll probably be back before I head to Delhi on the 12th.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Final Days
I've come to Padum so soon because I need to find out about the bus back to Leh. Since it has no regular schedule, and only leaves once all of the seats are sold, I simply have to come here when we've heard it might be here to buy our tickets. Hopefully we'll be able to find it and buy our tickets today, I don't really want to come back here again. We'll see!
Things have been extremely busy around the nunnery. Khondro held a second puja last Friday, which means lots of cooking and the nuns are busy all day. Having her at the nunnery was fun, but exhausting for all of us. I can tell that the nuns are very tired now. On her last day, the villagers had a small party in her honor at the monastery, where there was singing and dancing. She gave a speech, but it was in Zanskari, so I don't know what she said. It was fun, and we got to sit up front, as one of her guests. She left early Monday morning, which meant that we all got up early to cook her some food and say goodbye. I was really tired at the end of the day, and fell asleep while waiting for dinner.
We did have a few quiet days at the nunnery, though. On Wednesday, Khondro took all of the nuns with her to Dzon Khul, the monastery that I'd already visited. A few stayed the night with her. She came back on Thursday afternoon, and it was busy again at the nunnery. On Wednesday, while only one nun who is took sick to go with the others, we had three visitors. One of our visitors is a woman from the French-speaking part of Switzerland. She came up to see if she could stay for a month or so at the nunnery, doing a retreat. As no one who could make such a decision was there, I had to send her away, asking her to come back the next day, when everyone would be back and they could decide. Once she found out that I speak French, we were conversing in French. It was really fun for me to be able to practice my French. The next day, she came back, and the nuns decided that she can stay. She came into Padum today with us to buy supplies for her time here. She's very nice, and I've had fun speaking French with her.
On Saturday, Lauren and I hiked up to a cave where a famous monk meditated in the 10th century, or so. I'm pretty bad about remembering all of the names, and can't remember the name of the monk who meditated there. The cave is up the hillside, just across the Zanskar River from Sani. We had to walk a bit away to cross the river, though. It took us about 3 and a half hours to walk up to the cave. We made tea there, and sat and talked for a while. It was absolutely spectacular up there, up the hillside. We were quite high up. I tried to take some good photos, but I feel that they don't quite capture the perspective that I had. Up there, we saw a rainbow in the sky, and heard the drums from a large puja happening at the monastery. It was amazing. I was also exhausted after our hike, and glad that Lauren knew someone in the village just bellow the cave, as we stopped there for tea and waited for the afternoon wind to die down a bit.
The exciting visitors haven't stopped coming. Yesterday afternoon, only a bit after Khondra had left, Karma Lekshe Tsomo arrived at the nunnery. Karma Lekshe is the founder of the Jamyang Foundation, the whole reason for why I'm here. It was known that she was coming sometime, but we didn't know exactly what day to expect her. She's visiting the many nunneries that she gives support to in the Zanskar Valley. With her is a woman who has been teaching in Kinnaur, and is traveling with her to help her document the nuns and take down what they are in most need of. They only stayed one night, though. We caught a ride to Padum with them.
It was so exciting to finally meet her. She is a Buddhist nun, and was ordained many years ago in Dharmsala by the Dali Lama himself. She is doing amazing work for the nuns of India and beyond. It was so interesting to talk with her, but I will admit that I was a bit scared at first. I only hoped that she was happy with the teaching that we were doing. She talked with a few nuns in English, testing out what they knew. It was great to have her there, but I only wish that she could have stayed longer.
Well, it has been quite a busy few weeks here. I can't believe that it's time for me to start heading home soon. I might be leaving as early as tomorrow, we just have to see about the bus. We'll have a few days in Leh, and I hope to book us a room in a guest house that has Internet at it, and is a bit outside the town. We'll have time and energy to explore the town, and maybe even buy a few local items! I don't think they make rugs here, but we'll see!!
I'll probably write next when I'm in Leh. Hopefully I won't have to come back to Padum again to book the bus ticket!
Things have been extremely busy around the nunnery. Khondro held a second puja last Friday, which means lots of cooking and the nuns are busy all day. Having her at the nunnery was fun, but exhausting for all of us. I can tell that the nuns are very tired now. On her last day, the villagers had a small party in her honor at the monastery, where there was singing and dancing. She gave a speech, but it was in Zanskari, so I don't know what she said. It was fun, and we got to sit up front, as one of her guests. She left early Monday morning, which meant that we all got up early to cook her some food and say goodbye. I was really tired at the end of the day, and fell asleep while waiting for dinner.
We did have a few quiet days at the nunnery, though. On Wednesday, Khondro took all of the nuns with her to Dzon Khul, the monastery that I'd already visited. A few stayed the night with her. She came back on Thursday afternoon, and it was busy again at the nunnery. On Wednesday, while only one nun who is took sick to go with the others, we had three visitors. One of our visitors is a woman from the French-speaking part of Switzerland. She came up to see if she could stay for a month or so at the nunnery, doing a retreat. As no one who could make such a decision was there, I had to send her away, asking her to come back the next day, when everyone would be back and they could decide. Once she found out that I speak French, we were conversing in French. It was really fun for me to be able to practice my French. The next day, she came back, and the nuns decided that she can stay. She came into Padum today with us to buy supplies for her time here. She's very nice, and I've had fun speaking French with her.
On Saturday, Lauren and I hiked up to a cave where a famous monk meditated in the 10th century, or so. I'm pretty bad about remembering all of the names, and can't remember the name of the monk who meditated there. The cave is up the hillside, just across the Zanskar River from Sani. We had to walk a bit away to cross the river, though. It took us about 3 and a half hours to walk up to the cave. We made tea there, and sat and talked for a while. It was absolutely spectacular up there, up the hillside. We were quite high up. I tried to take some good photos, but I feel that they don't quite capture the perspective that I had. Up there, we saw a rainbow in the sky, and heard the drums from a large puja happening at the monastery. It was amazing. I was also exhausted after our hike, and glad that Lauren knew someone in the village just bellow the cave, as we stopped there for tea and waited for the afternoon wind to die down a bit.
The exciting visitors haven't stopped coming. Yesterday afternoon, only a bit after Khondra had left, Karma Lekshe Tsomo arrived at the nunnery. Karma Lekshe is the founder of the Jamyang Foundation, the whole reason for why I'm here. It was known that she was coming sometime, but we didn't know exactly what day to expect her. She's visiting the many nunneries that she gives support to in the Zanskar Valley. With her is a woman who has been teaching in Kinnaur, and is traveling with her to help her document the nuns and take down what they are in most need of. They only stayed one night, though. We caught a ride to Padum with them.
It was so exciting to finally meet her. She is a Buddhist nun, and was ordained many years ago in Dharmsala by the Dali Lama himself. She is doing amazing work for the nuns of India and beyond. It was so interesting to talk with her, but I will admit that I was a bit scared at first. I only hoped that she was happy with the teaching that we were doing. She talked with a few nuns in English, testing out what they knew. It was great to have her there, but I only wish that she could have stayed longer.
Well, it has been quite a busy few weeks here. I can't believe that it's time for me to start heading home soon. I might be leaving as early as tomorrow, we just have to see about the bus. We'll have a few days in Leh, and I hope to book us a room in a guest house that has Internet at it, and is a bit outside the town. We'll have time and energy to explore the town, and maybe even buy a few local items! I don't think they make rugs here, but we'll see!!
I'll probably write next when I'm in Leh. Hopefully I won't have to come back to Padum again to book the bus ticket!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Busy times
Things have been busy around the nunnery. The nun's main spiritual teacher arrived a little over a week ago, and has spent most of her time at the nunnery. I was very nervous to meet her at first, I wasn't sure how she would feel about us being there. But I had absolutely nothing to worry about. She is a worldly woman, gives teachings in Australia and studied at Berkeley in California in the 90s. She's also a very compassionate woman, and it has been a blessing to be around her.
We've been keeping busy with English class and life around the nunnery. I've gone out a few times to help Lauren collect cow dung from the hillside that the nunnery sits on. They use cow dung in the winter for fuel to heat and cook with, so it is essential to gather enough. While picking up the dried (or not-so-dried) droppings, I've had the opportunity to roam the hillside and appreciate the beautiful place that I've found myself in. This is truly a spectacular area, and I've been exploring the beautiful hillsides around it.
There is a cave where a famous monk meditated a few centuries ago that I plan on visiting. It's on the other side of the Zanskar River, which lies at the base of the hill. Lauren and I plan on walking up to it in a few days. She said it takes about 2 hours once we cross the bridge, and we're hoping to catch a ride in a passing jeep to the bridge. It should be a nice walk up the hill to the cave, and we'll bring some food and make tea when we reach it. I'm pretty excited to get out for a long walk in this beautiful area.
Karma Lekshe Tsomo, the founder of the Jamyang Foundation, is coming to the area soon. She arrives in Leh tomorrow, and will be coming here pretty soon afterwards. I'm excited to meet her, see the woman who's the reason why I'm here.
It's hard to believe that I have about a weeks time left here. Mojun and I are taking the bus back to Leh, to save a few rupees. The bus is privately run, and doesn't have a set schedule. It leaves each stop once the seats are all booked up. But it comes pretty frequently, and the locals all know when it is coming. When we know that it'll be here, we'll come into Padum to book our tickets. While it may take a bit longer, it is a lot cheaper.
I can't think of anything else major to report. I'm sure that there are many things that I haven't written about, but I'll tell them later. I've been experiencing more of the village life lately with Lauren here, for she has friends that we stop and visit as we go into town to buy vegetables. It's been fun and interesting to see inside people's homes, see what it's like. This is a pretty amazing place.
We've been keeping busy with English class and life around the nunnery. I've gone out a few times to help Lauren collect cow dung from the hillside that the nunnery sits on. They use cow dung in the winter for fuel to heat and cook with, so it is essential to gather enough. While picking up the dried (or not-so-dried) droppings, I've had the opportunity to roam the hillside and appreciate the beautiful place that I've found myself in. This is truly a spectacular area, and I've been exploring the beautiful hillsides around it.
There is a cave where a famous monk meditated a few centuries ago that I plan on visiting. It's on the other side of the Zanskar River, which lies at the base of the hill. Lauren and I plan on walking up to it in a few days. She said it takes about 2 hours once we cross the bridge, and we're hoping to catch a ride in a passing jeep to the bridge. It should be a nice walk up the hill to the cave, and we'll bring some food and make tea when we reach it. I'm pretty excited to get out for a long walk in this beautiful area.
Karma Lekshe Tsomo, the founder of the Jamyang Foundation, is coming to the area soon. She arrives in Leh tomorrow, and will be coming here pretty soon afterwards. I'm excited to meet her, see the woman who's the reason why I'm here.
It's hard to believe that I have about a weeks time left here. Mojun and I are taking the bus back to Leh, to save a few rupees. The bus is privately run, and doesn't have a set schedule. It leaves each stop once the seats are all booked up. But it comes pretty frequently, and the locals all know when it is coming. When we know that it'll be here, we'll come into Padum to book our tickets. While it may take a bit longer, it is a lot cheaper.
I can't think of anything else major to report. I'm sure that there are many things that I haven't written about, but I'll tell them later. I've been experiencing more of the village life lately with Lauren here, for she has friends that we stop and visit as we go into town to buy vegetables. It's been fun and interesting to see inside people's homes, see what it's like. This is a pretty amazing place.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Maybe I spoke to soon...
In my last blog, I mentioned that I hadn't gotten sick yet. I think I jinxed myself, for later that week, I fell sick. It was only awful for about 8 hours, and I mostly laid in my bed and curled up in a little ball. But it was poor timing, for that day they were holding a puja in the prayer room, and people from the village were visiting all day long, and when people visit, you must feed them or at least give them tea. Since we sleep in the kitchen, that is where the visitors often come into. Not a good time to be sick. But I just nodded, and I think they understood why I hadn't yet gotten dressed yet. It was interesting hearing them praying all day. Sometimes they would beat against a drum. This was the backdrop to my sick day.
Besides the puja, things a generally pretty quiet around the nunnery. There have been a few exciting events, which I'll try to summarize here.
First of all, I'm not sure if I mentioned Lauren yet. She has been living at the nunnery for the last two and a half years. She came one summer, like me, to teach English, and decided to stay on. She gave up teaching them English, and focused on improving the nunnery in general. When we arrived here, she was at home, for her younger sister's wedding. She came back around July 2nd, and with her came her mom and her youngest sister. They stayed for a week, and then headed back to the U.S. Now Lauren is back, and came to Padum with us today. She's fluent in the local language, and has made friends in both Sani and Padum over the years. It's great having her here, and fun seeing her interact with the locals.
When her mom and sister were here, we went to a monastery called Dzong Khul. A very famous monk flew there and meditated there for a few years back in the 11th century, or something like that. It was very beautiful, and quite remote. We got a tour of the monastery, saw one of the caves within which he meditated, and Lauren translated the story for us. I took a lot of pictures, as well.
July 6th is the Dali Lama's birthday, and there was a big celebration at the monastery in Padum for him. As he could not be there himself, there was a large picture of him placed up front. There were a few speakers, and Lauren told us that they were talking about the Dali Lama's life and teachings. All the schools performed dances in his honor, as offerings. I took videos, and it was really fun to watch the local dancing. Afterwards, Lauren's friend in Sani was having a little welcome party for her mom and sister, and we tagged along. We ate, drank, and had a wonderful time. Towards the end, three local women came out in the local headdress, which is covered in turquoise and very beautiful. They danced a bit for us, and then had us put on the headdresses. They are so heavy! I have a few pictures of me dressed up, it's pretty funny. I had a lot of fun.
In general, people here are very welcoming, and we always feel comfortable with them. They invite us in for tea, give us biscuits. It's what you do when someone comes to visit.
While I said earlier that things are pretty quiet at the nunnery, it does not mean that the nuns are not busy. Sometimes, they go and visit family in the villages near by, or go to buy things in town. Or they are busy doing things around the nunnery. Sometimes we don't have class, or only a few nuns can come. We make do with what we have, and now have taken into reviewing what we're teaching them informally, when they come to cook for us or are hanging out with us. I've reached the conclusion that if they want to learn, then they will make some effort. We're always ready and willing to have class.
The nuns are great. They're always making jokes and having fun in some manner. We've picked up a few words in Ladakhi, which is fun for me too. I've once again found myself in a culture where they are always encouraging you to have more, eat more, have another cup of tea. I love it. The whole culture of telling people to have another biscuit is wonderful, and the interactions between people are great. If I could only fully explain it here. Don't be surprised if I come back and tell you to have more tea. It is expected.
To everyone that has sent me e-mails and messages, it is much appreciated. Even if I don't always have time to respond to everything, it's really nice to hear what's going on in your lives. But we'll all catch up in less than a month!
Besides the puja, things a generally pretty quiet around the nunnery. There have been a few exciting events, which I'll try to summarize here.
First of all, I'm not sure if I mentioned Lauren yet. She has been living at the nunnery for the last two and a half years. She came one summer, like me, to teach English, and decided to stay on. She gave up teaching them English, and focused on improving the nunnery in general. When we arrived here, she was at home, for her younger sister's wedding. She came back around July 2nd, and with her came her mom and her youngest sister. They stayed for a week, and then headed back to the U.S. Now Lauren is back, and came to Padum with us today. She's fluent in the local language, and has made friends in both Sani and Padum over the years. It's great having her here, and fun seeing her interact with the locals.
When her mom and sister were here, we went to a monastery called Dzong Khul. A very famous monk flew there and meditated there for a few years back in the 11th century, or something like that. It was very beautiful, and quite remote. We got a tour of the monastery, saw one of the caves within which he meditated, and Lauren translated the story for us. I took a lot of pictures, as well.
July 6th is the Dali Lama's birthday, and there was a big celebration at the monastery in Padum for him. As he could not be there himself, there was a large picture of him placed up front. There were a few speakers, and Lauren told us that they were talking about the Dali Lama's life and teachings. All the schools performed dances in his honor, as offerings. I took videos, and it was really fun to watch the local dancing. Afterwards, Lauren's friend in Sani was having a little welcome party for her mom and sister, and we tagged along. We ate, drank, and had a wonderful time. Towards the end, three local women came out in the local headdress, which is covered in turquoise and very beautiful. They danced a bit for us, and then had us put on the headdresses. They are so heavy! I have a few pictures of me dressed up, it's pretty funny. I had a lot of fun.
In general, people here are very welcoming, and we always feel comfortable with them. They invite us in for tea, give us biscuits. It's what you do when someone comes to visit.
While I said earlier that things are pretty quiet at the nunnery, it does not mean that the nuns are not busy. Sometimes, they go and visit family in the villages near by, or go to buy things in town. Or they are busy doing things around the nunnery. Sometimes we don't have class, or only a few nuns can come. We make do with what we have, and now have taken into reviewing what we're teaching them informally, when they come to cook for us or are hanging out with us. I've reached the conclusion that if they want to learn, then they will make some effort. We're always ready and willing to have class.
The nuns are great. They're always making jokes and having fun in some manner. We've picked up a few words in Ladakhi, which is fun for me too. I've once again found myself in a culture where they are always encouraging you to have more, eat more, have another cup of tea. I love it. The whole culture of telling people to have another biscuit is wonderful, and the interactions between people are great. If I could only fully explain it here. Don't be surprised if I come back and tell you to have more tea. It is expected.
To everyone that has sent me e-mails and messages, it is much appreciated. Even if I don't always have time to respond to everything, it's really nice to hear what's going on in your lives. But we'll all catch up in less than a month!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
One more thing...
I forgot to mention, they have Skype on the computers here. While I realize that the time difference is monstrous, it is possible to speak to me! When I come, I'll be here from around 1pm-3pm, which is from 12:30am-2:30am west coast time. If anyone happens to be awake during those hours, log on and we can chat if I'm here! They don't have a video camera, but that may be for the best, for I have barely seen a mirror since I've been here and I'm not quite sure how I look.
Just an FYI, if anyone is interested.
Just an FYI, if anyone is interested.
A bit about daily life
I wasn't kidding when I said that I'd only come every two weeks. Actually, that's not true, I ended up coming to Padum the Friday that I last posted, but I only got about10 minutes on a computer before we had to leave to catch the bus. Oh well, I saved a little bit of money.
Actually, now I'm at the government run internet center, which is about half the price of the private center and seems to be about twice as fast. Go figure. The only frustrating part is that it opens up at 1pm, and today the man who runs it actually got here at 2pm. Good thing I'm patient and brought a deck of cards with me. Mojun and I have come to pass a few idle hours playing crazy 8's. Not that we're too idle, though.
I guess it's best to describe now a bit about the daily life at the nunnery. First of all, there are very few things that are regular or consistent, but I don't mind that. We've figured out that we're staying in the kitchen, which they use when they cook group meals. They only cook group meals when all the nuns are busy working on a project that day or there's something special going on. Generally they cook in their rooms, and usually between one and three nuns live in a room. But since we're there to teach the nuns, we're getting slightly special treatment, the nuns cook for us. Each morning, two nuns will come somewhere between 6am and 8am to begin cooking. The only way to latch our door is to lock it, so one of us has to get up to open the door. Usually I'm awake by 7:30, since it gets light around 5am and one window is facing east. Sometimes it's a little tough to get up, though.
I lied, there is one thing that is consistent, and that is tea. We drink lots and lots of tea, before breakfast, lunch, dinner, in the afternoon, if we go visit someone, if someone comes and visits us. Usually it's milk tea, which is black tea with sweetened condensed milk added to it, and sometimes sugar, depending on who's making it. There's also something called butter tea, which is seen as a treat, as butter is a scare commodity here. To make butter tea, the make the black tea very dark, then mix it with butter and powdered milk. I think that they might use different tea leaves for the butter tea, I'm not sure. Once I had white tea, which I think is made with a different kind of tea leaf, and also has milk of some sort added to it. Tea is a big deal here.
Food in general is pretty tasty here. I have yet to get really sick (knock on wood), and I'm enjoying pretty much everything I eat (not that surprising for me). I am eating vegetarian, as they are Buddhist, but they do eat eggs, so every few days we get eggs for breakfast. They grow barley here, so we eat things made from barley flour. Almost every morning we have chapati, which is a flat bread that is cooked in a pan, but without oil. We eat that with either eggs or cooked vegetables. They cook the vegetables in a pressure cooker, and onions and tomatoes seem to be in every mixture, with green beans, eggplant, or potatoes thrown in. They also serve cooked vegetables with rice, which we generally have for lunch, and sometimes for dinner. They also make dal, cooked lentil beans, and one time we had a curry dish. They like there chili sauce here, as well as spices in general. We often have soup for dinner, with a variety of things thrown in. I've found the variations in cooking amongst the nuns, and have learned which nuns make the food really spicy, which nun usually makes us eggs for breakfast, which nun will make us Maggi for dinner. Maggi is basically the India version of Top Ramen.
After the first few days, we began helping out in the kitchen. I've learned the word for stir, and a few of the vegetable names. It's fun helping them out, and it makes me feel less like I'm being waited on, something I can't stand. Maybe I'll even be able to recreate some of the meals that I've had here. I have yet to try and make the dough for the chapati, it looks very labor intensive. I will try before I leave, though.
Helping out in the kitchen also lets us interact with the nuns more. They are lots of fun, and are always making jokes. Even with the language barrier, we seem to be able to communicate. Also, it seems that we usually get one nun who doesn't really speak any English and one who knows a bit. I wonder if they planned that or it just happens. Lately, I've also used that time to give informal English lessons, teaching them words for things in the kitchen, and cooking words.
Our English classes are pretty sporadic. The nuns are sometimes too busy to have class, or they have something else going on that day down in the village. I've come to peace with this, though. I figure if they want to learn English, then they will come to class. If not, then let's not waste both of our energies. I can tell that some of the nuns are very interested in learning, which is encouraging. And some of them are very bright, and pick it up very quickly. But we are working with a large variety of abilities, for some of the nuns have only attended 10 days of school while others completed up to grade 6 or 8. The age range is pretty big, as well. The youngest is 13 years old, and I'm not sure how old the oldest is, but I believe she is in her 40s or so. But they all try in class. Actually, they are all quite shy in class. Whenever it's their turn to speak, they get very quite, even the best students. It's very interesting watching the differences between how they are in class and how they are out of class.
Well, that's a basic overview of some of my day. When I want to take a shower, I heat up water and carry it in a bucket to the shower room, which is down a hill and then up a smaller hill. The toilet is next to it, and I get pretty winded coming up the hill to my room from the toilet. I've learned to hold it longer. To wash my clothes, I go down the hill to where there is a spigot from which water is constantly coming from, and fill a tub with water to soak my clothes in for a while. Then I scrub at them by hand and rinse them in the icy-cold mountain run-off water and hang them to dry along the barbed wire fence which surrounds the nunnery. My clothes are dry within a few hours. We have electricity at the nunnery, but it is only turned on in the evenings, from about 8pm to 11pm. Sometimes it goes out all of the sudden, though, so I'm glad I have my headlamp. Also, we sometimes don't eat dinner until about 10 or 10:30, so we're rushing to finish everything and get ready for bed before the lights go out. And sometimes we're in bed by 10, and we don't have a switch for the light in our room, since it's part of the kitchen.
I think that's all I have time to write about now. We have to go catch the bus back to Sani. Don't really want to walk back, especially since we bought some vegetables to take back to the nunnery. I might come back next week, although it just depends on what else is going on around the nunnery. I'll write about some of the spectacular things I've witnessed these last three weeks. It's hard to believe that I've been here for almost three weeks already, and I only have a month left!
Actually, now I'm at the government run internet center, which is about half the price of the private center and seems to be about twice as fast. Go figure. The only frustrating part is that it opens up at 1pm, and today the man who runs it actually got here at 2pm. Good thing I'm patient and brought a deck of cards with me. Mojun and I have come to pass a few idle hours playing crazy 8's. Not that we're too idle, though.
I guess it's best to describe now a bit about the daily life at the nunnery. First of all, there are very few things that are regular or consistent, but I don't mind that. We've figured out that we're staying in the kitchen, which they use when they cook group meals. They only cook group meals when all the nuns are busy working on a project that day or there's something special going on. Generally they cook in their rooms, and usually between one and three nuns live in a room. But since we're there to teach the nuns, we're getting slightly special treatment, the nuns cook for us. Each morning, two nuns will come somewhere between 6am and 8am to begin cooking. The only way to latch our door is to lock it, so one of us has to get up to open the door. Usually I'm awake by 7:30, since it gets light around 5am and one window is facing east. Sometimes it's a little tough to get up, though.
I lied, there is one thing that is consistent, and that is tea. We drink lots and lots of tea, before breakfast, lunch, dinner, in the afternoon, if we go visit someone, if someone comes and visits us. Usually it's milk tea, which is black tea with sweetened condensed milk added to it, and sometimes sugar, depending on who's making it. There's also something called butter tea, which is seen as a treat, as butter is a scare commodity here. To make butter tea, the make the black tea very dark, then mix it with butter and powdered milk. I think that they might use different tea leaves for the butter tea, I'm not sure. Once I had white tea, which I think is made with a different kind of tea leaf, and also has milk of some sort added to it. Tea is a big deal here.
Food in general is pretty tasty here. I have yet to get really sick (knock on wood), and I'm enjoying pretty much everything I eat (not that surprising for me). I am eating vegetarian, as they are Buddhist, but they do eat eggs, so every few days we get eggs for breakfast. They grow barley here, so we eat things made from barley flour. Almost every morning we have chapati, which is a flat bread that is cooked in a pan, but without oil. We eat that with either eggs or cooked vegetables. They cook the vegetables in a pressure cooker, and onions and tomatoes seem to be in every mixture, with green beans, eggplant, or potatoes thrown in. They also serve cooked vegetables with rice, which we generally have for lunch, and sometimes for dinner. They also make dal, cooked lentil beans, and one time we had a curry dish. They like there chili sauce here, as well as spices in general. We often have soup for dinner, with a variety of things thrown in. I've found the variations in cooking amongst the nuns, and have learned which nuns make the food really spicy, which nun usually makes us eggs for breakfast, which nun will make us Maggi for dinner. Maggi is basically the India version of Top Ramen.
After the first few days, we began helping out in the kitchen. I've learned the word for stir, and a few of the vegetable names. It's fun helping them out, and it makes me feel less like I'm being waited on, something I can't stand. Maybe I'll even be able to recreate some of the meals that I've had here. I have yet to try and make the dough for the chapati, it looks very labor intensive. I will try before I leave, though.
Helping out in the kitchen also lets us interact with the nuns more. They are lots of fun, and are always making jokes. Even with the language barrier, we seem to be able to communicate. Also, it seems that we usually get one nun who doesn't really speak any English and one who knows a bit. I wonder if they planned that or it just happens. Lately, I've also used that time to give informal English lessons, teaching them words for things in the kitchen, and cooking words.
Our English classes are pretty sporadic. The nuns are sometimes too busy to have class, or they have something else going on that day down in the village. I've come to peace with this, though. I figure if they want to learn English, then they will come to class. If not, then let's not waste both of our energies. I can tell that some of the nuns are very interested in learning, which is encouraging. And some of them are very bright, and pick it up very quickly. But we are working with a large variety of abilities, for some of the nuns have only attended 10 days of school while others completed up to grade 6 or 8. The age range is pretty big, as well. The youngest is 13 years old, and I'm not sure how old the oldest is, but I believe she is in her 40s or so. But they all try in class. Actually, they are all quite shy in class. Whenever it's their turn to speak, they get very quite, even the best students. It's very interesting watching the differences between how they are in class and how they are out of class.
Well, that's a basic overview of some of my day. When I want to take a shower, I heat up water and carry it in a bucket to the shower room, which is down a hill and then up a smaller hill. The toilet is next to it, and I get pretty winded coming up the hill to my room from the toilet. I've learned to hold it longer. To wash my clothes, I go down the hill to where there is a spigot from which water is constantly coming from, and fill a tub with water to soak my clothes in for a while. Then I scrub at them by hand and rinse them in the icy-cold mountain run-off water and hang them to dry along the barbed wire fence which surrounds the nunnery. My clothes are dry within a few hours. We have electricity at the nunnery, but it is only turned on in the evenings, from about 8pm to 11pm. Sometimes it goes out all of the sudden, though, so I'm glad I have my headlamp. Also, we sometimes don't eat dinner until about 10 or 10:30, so we're rushing to finish everything and get ready for bed before the lights go out. And sometimes we're in bed by 10, and we don't have a switch for the light in our room, since it's part of the kitchen.
I think that's all I have time to write about now. We have to go catch the bus back to Sani. Don't really want to walk back, especially since we bought some vegetables to take back to the nunnery. I might come back next week, although it just depends on what else is going on around the nunnery. I'll write about some of the spectacular things I've witnessed these last three weeks. It's hard to believe that I've been here for almost three weeks already, and I only have a month left!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
I made it!
I've arrived safely at the monastery. We got there Thursday, late afternoon. I'm staying at the monastery in Sani, a very small town. Right now, I'm in Padum, which is the closest village with an Internet connection. It's about 9 km away, but it's still an adventure getting here.
Where to begin? I've experienced so many new and unexpected things over the past week, since I last posted. I'll try and give a brief recap.
The drive from Leh to Sani took two days. We left Leh around 9am on Wednesday, and made it to a Kargil in about 8 hours. It was a visually amazing car ride. We drove through the mountains, stopped at a monastery and saw monks chanting prayers, and went to the highest point in the Ladakh region, which was around 13,500 ft. elevation. I have a picture to prove it. The road from Leh to Kargil is the "better" road, which is a very subjective term. It was mostly paved, but there were some very rough patches. Also, it was about one and a half lanes, which made head-on traffic exciting for the passengers, wondering which driver will pull off to the side. But we made it safe and sound to Kargil. We left the next morning at 6am, for we had about a 10 hour trip ahead of us on rougher roads. It was unpaved, save a few spots when we were going through towns, but our drive handled it very well. We only had one mishap along the way. A flat tire. But our driver quickly changed it, and we were on our way.
Before leaving Leh, we decided to spend our two months in the Sani monastery. It turns out that no one had been able to tell them that we were coming, though. So when we arrived, we were not expected. It turns out that the nuns have never had a teacher come before to teach them English, and their levels vary from close to none to knowing a few words. So we have our work cut out for us. We've been able to communicate oru basic needs to the nuns, with their little English and hand gestures. We're also learning some Ladakhi. One of the nuns, who is 14, has an English and Ladakhi book, so we've been looking up phrases and having fun trying to pronounce the words.
We've had two classes so far. On Friday, we rested and tried to figure out what to do with class. Saturday was our first class, and we spent most of it trying to figure out their what they really knew. Some are quite good at writing, some need a lot of help. So, we're starting with the basics. We're going over the alphabet, learning words, and trying out phrases. Mojun brought a beggining Enligsh text so we're taking ideas from it to think of converstations to learn. Since we don't really know their language, we're teaching through meanings and symbols.
Since they've never had English teaches before, we weren't so sure how our classes would be received. But they are eager to learn, which makes it a lot less stressful. I hope that we can make some progress with them over the next two months. Actually we don't even have that much time here. We leave August 9th to head back to Leh.
Getting to Padum is a bit tricky. There is a bus that leaves once a day, but not on Sundays. Thus, I think that we'll be coming here on Mondays, but most likely every other Monday. The bus leaves around 9am, gets here around 9:30am, but the Internet cafe doesn't open until noon, and then the bus leaves around 3:30pm. So we have lots of time to sit around Padum. There's not too much to do here, it's pretty small. Today we sat in a restaurant and had tea.
I can't even begin to visually describe this place. I'm up in the mountains, surrounded on all sides. The monastery is built up a hilside above the village. From a distance, it looks as if nothing is growing on the hills. At closer inspection, one can see tiny vegetation holding onto the ground. Driving along, one is surrounded by a rocky landscape, and then all of a sudden there are green fields on either side of the road. It's spectacular. I've taken a few pictures, but I didn't bring my cord to upload them. I'll upload pictures once I return to the U.S.
I think I've written enough of a novel for now. I'll make it back in about two weeks. Until then.
Where to begin? I've experienced so many new and unexpected things over the past week, since I last posted. I'll try and give a brief recap.
The drive from Leh to Sani took two days. We left Leh around 9am on Wednesday, and made it to a Kargil in about 8 hours. It was a visually amazing car ride. We drove through the mountains, stopped at a monastery and saw monks chanting prayers, and went to the highest point in the Ladakh region, which was around 13,500 ft. elevation. I have a picture to prove it. The road from Leh to Kargil is the "better" road, which is a very subjective term. It was mostly paved, but there were some very rough patches. Also, it was about one and a half lanes, which made head-on traffic exciting for the passengers, wondering which driver will pull off to the side. But we made it safe and sound to Kargil. We left the next morning at 6am, for we had about a 10 hour trip ahead of us on rougher roads. It was unpaved, save a few spots when we were going through towns, but our drive handled it very well. We only had one mishap along the way. A flat tire. But our driver quickly changed it, and we were on our way.
Before leaving Leh, we decided to spend our two months in the Sani monastery. It turns out that no one had been able to tell them that we were coming, though. So when we arrived, we were not expected. It turns out that the nuns have never had a teacher come before to teach them English, and their levels vary from close to none to knowing a few words. So we have our work cut out for us. We've been able to communicate oru basic needs to the nuns, with their little English and hand gestures. We're also learning some Ladakhi. One of the nuns, who is 14, has an English and Ladakhi book, so we've been looking up phrases and having fun trying to pronounce the words.
We've had two classes so far. On Friday, we rested and tried to figure out what to do with class. Saturday was our first class, and we spent most of it trying to figure out their what they really knew. Some are quite good at writing, some need a lot of help. So, we're starting with the basics. We're going over the alphabet, learning words, and trying out phrases. Mojun brought a beggining Enligsh text so we're taking ideas from it to think of converstations to learn. Since we don't really know their language, we're teaching through meanings and symbols.
Since they've never had English teaches before, we weren't so sure how our classes would be received. But they are eager to learn, which makes it a lot less stressful. I hope that we can make some progress with them over the next two months. Actually we don't even have that much time here. We leave August 9th to head back to Leh.
Getting to Padum is a bit tricky. There is a bus that leaves once a day, but not on Sundays. Thus, I think that we'll be coming here on Mondays, but most likely every other Monday. The bus leaves around 9am, gets here around 9:30am, but the Internet cafe doesn't open until noon, and then the bus leaves around 3:30pm. So we have lots of time to sit around Padum. There's not too much to do here, it's pretty small. Today we sat in a restaurant and had tea.
I can't even begin to visually describe this place. I'm up in the mountains, surrounded on all sides. The monastery is built up a hilside above the village. From a distance, it looks as if nothing is growing on the hills. At closer inspection, one can see tiny vegetation holding onto the ground. Driving along, one is surrounded by a rocky landscape, and then all of a sudden there are green fields on either side of the road. It's spectacular. I've taken a few pictures, but I didn't bring my cord to upload them. I'll upload pictures once I return to the U.S.
I think I've written enough of a novel for now. I'll make it back in about two weeks. Until then.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Leh
Well, I've made it to Leh! We arrived early yesterday morning, but I slept the day away, so this is my first time out of our guest house and to the internet cafe. I'll tell you a the highlights of my travles thus far.
I had a layover in Newark of about 5 hours, which ended up being a bit longer for a few reasons. First of all, my flight from Portland landed about thirty minutes early! Then, about an hour before my flight is to take off, the sky turned very dark and grey. A lightening storm rolled through, and they grounded everyone for a bit. We were delayed getting on, and even more delayed taking off, since the ground crew couldn't work during the lightening storm to load the bags and food. But, I slept. I slept a lot on the almost 14 hour flight to Delhi, surprising for me.
As I looked around the airplane, I realized I was one of a few people not of Indian descent. The, I wondered what those other non-Indian people were doing, where they were going. I had that same reaction on my flight from Delhi to Leh. In my mind, Leh is this unknown, remote place. In fact, it seems to be the starting point for many trekkers, as is obvious by the many trekking companies that line the road. I also wonder how people decide to go trekking in the northern part of India. It's absolutely beautiful here, for sure, but also very remote and takes a long time to get here. I suppose there are many people who are looking for that next big adventure, and this spot is certainly adventurous.
In Delhi, since my flight was late landing by about 2 and a half hours, I only had 3 hours to rest in the hotel room by the airport. I tried to nap, but I may have slept too much on the airplane! As I was leaving at 3am, I had a sense of wonder about what I was about to begin, the trek to the monastery. I met the other intern, Mojun, at my hotel. She had just arrived from Hon Kong at 2am, and we were on the flight together to Leh.
Arriving in Leh, I landed at 10,800 ft. elevation. I felt it. Also, I was exhausted from the traveling the the 12 and a half hour time difference. Don't ask me where that half hour come from, I don't really know. Anyways, we collected our bags and were off to meet up with SonamDawa, who arranges our hotels and transportation here. He took us to our guest house, which is at the edge of town, going up to the mountains. It is absolutely beautiful here, the mountains are enormous, and some still are covered in snow. We had tea, were shown our room, and then had breakfast. Breakfast consisted of a sort of bread that was puffed up, visually it reminded me of nan, but tasted nothing like it. They gave us locally produced apricot jam and some butter to eat with it. Delicious!
I slept allllll day yesterday. I was exhausted. We had dinner in our guest house, which was a vegetable soup, rice, a kind of lentals, and some sort of green vegetable that reminded me of cabbage or seaweed. Not too bad. Then we went to sleep. I woke up around midnight, and didn't really fall back asleep, just rested until about 7:30am.
Today I think we might see some religous sights. Tomorrow we take off for the monastery! It will take us two days by taxi, which will be very interesting... Hopefully I'll be able to post soon afterwards, but I really have no idea where the nearest internet connection will be. I have Sundays off, so hopefully I'll be able to make it someplace then!
I had a layover in Newark of about 5 hours, which ended up being a bit longer for a few reasons. First of all, my flight from Portland landed about thirty minutes early! Then, about an hour before my flight is to take off, the sky turned very dark and grey. A lightening storm rolled through, and they grounded everyone for a bit. We were delayed getting on, and even more delayed taking off, since the ground crew couldn't work during the lightening storm to load the bags and food. But, I slept. I slept a lot on the almost 14 hour flight to Delhi, surprising for me.
As I looked around the airplane, I realized I was one of a few people not of Indian descent. The, I wondered what those other non-Indian people were doing, where they were going. I had that same reaction on my flight from Delhi to Leh. In my mind, Leh is this unknown, remote place. In fact, it seems to be the starting point for many trekkers, as is obvious by the many trekking companies that line the road. I also wonder how people decide to go trekking in the northern part of India. It's absolutely beautiful here, for sure, but also very remote and takes a long time to get here. I suppose there are many people who are looking for that next big adventure, and this spot is certainly adventurous.
In Delhi, since my flight was late landing by about 2 and a half hours, I only had 3 hours to rest in the hotel room by the airport. I tried to nap, but I may have slept too much on the airplane! As I was leaving at 3am, I had a sense of wonder about what I was about to begin, the trek to the monastery. I met the other intern, Mojun, at my hotel. She had just arrived from Hon Kong at 2am, and we were on the flight together to Leh.
Arriving in Leh, I landed at 10,800 ft. elevation. I felt it. Also, I was exhausted from the traveling the the 12 and a half hour time difference. Don't ask me where that half hour come from, I don't really know. Anyways, we collected our bags and were off to meet up with SonamDawa, who arranges our hotels and transportation here. He took us to our guest house, which is at the edge of town, going up to the mountains. It is absolutely beautiful here, the mountains are enormous, and some still are covered in snow. We had tea, were shown our room, and then had breakfast. Breakfast consisted of a sort of bread that was puffed up, visually it reminded me of nan, but tasted nothing like it. They gave us locally produced apricot jam and some butter to eat with it. Delicious!
I slept allllll day yesterday. I was exhausted. We had dinner in our guest house, which was a vegetable soup, rice, a kind of lentals, and some sort of green vegetable that reminded me of cabbage or seaweed. Not too bad. Then we went to sleep. I woke up around midnight, and didn't really fall back asleep, just rested until about 7:30am.
Today I think we might see some religous sights. Tomorrow we take off for the monastery! It will take us two days by taxi, which will be very interesting... Hopefully I'll be able to post soon afterwards, but I really have no idea where the nearest internet connection will be. I have Sundays off, so hopefully I'll be able to make it someplace then!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Packing...
So, I'm packed. And I have over 24 hours before I leave. Very impressive, right? Somehow, I've managed to fit my life for the next two months into a backpack and two small carry-ons. Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything! Just a few more hours and I'll be on my way!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The plan
So, I'm sure most of you have heard something about what I'll be doing this summer. I'll explain it all now.
It all began in Paris, and I started thinking about what I wanted to do with my summer. I knew that I wanted to have an internship that was interesting and related to my interests. My interest lying in education, pretty much all internships are unpaid, so I looked to my school for funding. Then I began looking at the internships that they offered, and just browsed through the international internships. And I found a few that looked very interesting. I applied, had an interview over Skype, and a few weeks later was informed that I had an internship! Then I told my parents about it.
I'm interning with the Jamyang Foundation (www.jamyang.org) which is a U.S. based non-profit that supports women's education in the Himalayas, where there is a strong Buddhist culture. I'll be living in a monastery with the nuns, and I'll be teaching. I'm not positive yet what I'll be teaching, but I'm assuming English, and I would be open to math or social studies. We'll see when I get there!
But where is there? I'll be in the Himalayas, in the northern part of India. I'll be in the region of Zangskar (there are various spellings), but I'm not sure yet which monastery I'll be at. There are two or three in that region. I know that the monasteries are all located in small villages, and I may have to hike a bit to reach the monastery. It will be remote, that is for sure.
My trek begins Saturday, when I leave Portland at 7:30am and fly to Delhi, with a stop in Newark. I'll be traveling for about 25 hours. I arrive in Delhi at 8:15pm on Sunday, and the next morning I have a flight to Leh at 5am. Leh is the capitol of Ladakh, a neighboring region of Zangskar, and the closest airport. From there we travel two days by taxi to Zangskar. That's about all the information that I have right now. Someone associated with the Foundation will be meeting us in Delhi and assisting us in our travels within India. There is another Mount Holyoke student who is interning at the site with me, and we will be traveling together from Delhi. I don't know her, but it'll be nice to have another MHC student there with me!
I think that's enough for now, maybe too much. I might post more before I leave. We'll see, this whole crazy blogging thing...
It all began in Paris, and I started thinking about what I wanted to do with my summer. I knew that I wanted to have an internship that was interesting and related to my interests. My interest lying in education, pretty much all internships are unpaid, so I looked to my school for funding. Then I began looking at the internships that they offered, and just browsed through the international internships. And I found a few that looked very interesting. I applied, had an interview over Skype, and a few weeks later was informed that I had an internship! Then I told my parents about it.
I'm interning with the Jamyang Foundation (www.jamyang.org) which is a U.S. based non-profit that supports women's education in the Himalayas, where there is a strong Buddhist culture. I'll be living in a monastery with the nuns, and I'll be teaching. I'm not positive yet what I'll be teaching, but I'm assuming English, and I would be open to math or social studies. We'll see when I get there!
But where is there? I'll be in the Himalayas, in the northern part of India. I'll be in the region of Zangskar (there are various spellings), but I'm not sure yet which monastery I'll be at. There are two or three in that region. I know that the monasteries are all located in small villages, and I may have to hike a bit to reach the monastery. It will be remote, that is for sure.
My trek begins Saturday, when I leave Portland at 7:30am and fly to Delhi, with a stop in Newark. I'll be traveling for about 25 hours. I arrive in Delhi at 8:15pm on Sunday, and the next morning I have a flight to Leh at 5am. Leh is the capitol of Ladakh, a neighboring region of Zangskar, and the closest airport. From there we travel two days by taxi to Zangskar. That's about all the information that I have right now. Someone associated with the Foundation will be meeting us in Delhi and assisting us in our travels within India. There is another Mount Holyoke student who is interning at the site with me, and we will be traveling together from Delhi. I don't know her, but it'll be nice to have another MHC student there with me!
I think that's enough for now, maybe too much. I might post more before I leave. We'll see, this whole crazy blogging thing...
Getting Ready...
Well, I've finally set up my blog! I'm just getting started with the packing, organizing everything that I'll need. Probably should have done this last week, but who's for being prepared in advance, anyways? I'll post more later about what I'll be doing for the summer.
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