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!