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.