Nepal

My Australian mate Lisa had to renew her visa, and a person must leave India to do this. Well, what a great excuse to visit Nepal. All the trains were booked due to the festival Diwali, which meant we had to sit on a bus for three days. First leg of the trip was 14 hours back to Delhi and three hours into our ride I realized that I had forgotten my passport….. “quite a mean tool for the traveler.” (Quote from my Tibetan friend) Well, at that point there was not much that could be done so we must stay in awful Delhi an extra day. Fortunately a friend knew someone who was travelling down to Delhi the next day, who was able to bring my passport to me. My guesthouse owner couldn’t break the lock on my door, which meant they had to break the latch off my metal door. They had to call someone to weld the latch back onto the door, however, that wait was 24 hours. Since my door couldn’t lock, they had to have their staff take shifts sitting in my room. Took a bit of leg work, but 24 hours later, I had my passport in hand and was off to Nepal. What an eventful start to this trip.
Okay only 40 hours on the bus and we will be in Nepal. The lady sitting in front of me had a broken chair, which pretty much meant the back of her chair was resting on my lap. Only 40 hours with no leg room, excellent!
We have a friend that left McLeod Ganj a few months ago to attempt to go back to Tibet. But in the meantime, he was living in Kathmandu. He spent the first few days giving us a tour of the city. We went to various temples and stayed in Bouddah, a beautiful Tibetan community surrounding the famous ‘stupa’ or temple. After a few days, it was time to move on, to Pokhara.
There are many options for transportation on this 6 hour journey, we opted for the microbus. Essentially it is a van that properly seats 16, but we managed to ‘comfortably’ seat 27 people. Nepal and India seem to be void of all traffic regulations, so it was Hawaiian 5-0 through the mountains. Sleeping out, reading out, thank you iPod. As soon as I start to relax, the little girl sitting right next to us starts throwing up, all on the ground by our feet. Just a short pit stop to clean up and we were off. Not even an hour later, it was her brothers’ turn, fortunately he made it into a bag, but the stench of vomit lingered in the air for the remainder of the trip.
Pokhara was great! A beautiful, little, tourist town nestled next to a lake, with magnificent views of the Himalayas. One afternoon we rode our bikes to a waterfall and around town, most of it was basking in the glorious sun, reading books, oh so relaxing. Lisa had to head back to Kathmandu to pick up her visa, so I decided to spend the last few days in Pokhara on my own. We had made a friend and he had invited me to come celebrate “Tihar” with him and his family. “Tihar” is the second greatest festival of Nepal, which celebrates the goddess of money, Laxmi. Nepali’s celebrate this festival with dancing, if you dance, then you are blessed with a year of good finances. We drove to a small village, Fedi, so the kids (ages 11-19) can dance for their family. We stopped at 6 different houses, and each time, they would dance for about 30 minutes, to popular Hindi, Nepali and English songs. When they finish, the family will present a platter with money and selroti, (a chapatti bread). The first two houses I just sat enjoying the festivities, but by the third, the kids told me it was mandatory that I get up and dance with them. Well if you know me, you don’t have to aske me twice! I had a blast; I was up there dancing for their family just as much as the kids were. They were so nice they let me continue dancing with them for the last 3 performances.
The first week of teaching in McLeod Ganj, I began meeting with a Tibetan girl, Sonam Yangzoom. We would meet every day for an hour and she became quite a good friend. While I was in Nepal, Sonam had left to attempt to go back to Tibet. The morning after Tihar, she called to tell me she was in Kathmandu. Well, then I must leave Pokhara, but I couldn’t ask for a better way to spend my last two days, quality time with my girls.
Since the bus ride to Nepal was brutal, no sleep and our bodies sore for a couple of days, we decided to get some sleep aid for this trip back. This time around, Lisa and I had the broken chairs. The second we would put our back against the seat, we would fall onto the lap of the men behind us. We decided we would sit straight as long as possible, but with the help of the sleep aid, it wasn’t too long. Every 5 hours we would wake up the men trying to push us off their lap. Man oh man, I knew how they felt… 40 miserable hours for them, 40 easy, blissful, dreamy hours for us.

Buddhism to Bollywood

It has been quite some time since I posted, I have been non-stop since my arrival. However, quite a lot has happened since then. I have been teaching English at LHA, a non-profit organization that was established to assist the exiled Tibetans in this community to further their studies. My students range from 18-35 years old, definitely not the plan I originally had, but I absolutely love it! Would have never guessed that teaching would be so rewarding and a job I am completely fulfilled by. I start meeting students at 9am for private tutoring and finish around 6pm, often times I will carry on til 10, meeting them for dinner.

As previously mentioned, McLeod Ganj is home to thousands of exiled Tibetans and home to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. As I this town is becoming home, these people are becoming my friends, I am starting to take an intense desire to learn about the Tibetan issues as well as the culture. Making an attempt to learn the language, a little difficult when I am too busy, or just plain lazy. There have been two peaceful protests that I have attended, which my next post will be on the situation in Tibet, and stories behind the protests.
Last month, after a few months of traveling, the Dalai Lama returned to McLeod Ganj. Word had got out that his plane landed and he was on his way up the hill. The locals began to clean the streets by throwing buckets of water in the street. All along the road, pine branches and incense were burning, which made the road smokey, interesting tradition. After one hour of everyone scurrying to prepare for his passing, the caravan finally arrived. Tibetans held out white prayer scarfs, some kneeling down and others reciting Buddhist mantras. So I was looking at the wrong car, and the caravan was passing through too fast, so I missed the sight. Great pictures of the smoke and people, but no Dalai Lama.
The following day the teachings began. He gave them in Tibetan and we had an English translator, who you could hear eating during the time he was not translating and often times didnt complete his sentences. Honestly, I found Buddhism to be very confusing, but I am finding a real interest in the philosophy of this religion. Its the only that I found that focuses on compassion, the essence of human nature. It was also such at privilege to see the Dalai Lama, he has such an angelic face, not to mention a beautiful smile and contagious laugh.
The following week, a friend asked if a few of us would be interested in an all expense paid weekend to Chamba Valley. Yes, yes we would. The catch is we had to be extras in a Hindi movie. Oh a dream come true for me, maybe I can be a back up dancer. The producer came to pick us up and take us five hours to the movie set. Of course, I am in the one Hindi movie that does not have dancing. I forgot what it was called, but it starts in Pakistan where most drugs are made, and it follows the route all the way to California. SCENE: we are westerners in a hostel and the actors enter the room. My friend Harry was playing the gutair. Adam was rifling through his bag, and I had an intense game of go-fish with Lisa. Yup, that's my 2 minutes of fame. Hopefully I can put this on my resume and finally fulfill my dream to dance in a real Bollywood film.
Some time next week, I will finish my Tibetan issues post as well as stories from my visit to Nepal. Oh and as requested, I will get pictures of my students.

Home Sweet Home

After a stresstul week in the big city, I was more than ready to venture on. It is a 14 hour bus ride to get to McLeod Ganj, 14 LONG hours. I met up with two fellow volunteers in Delhi and made the journey up with them. As we waited for the bus, a young boy repeatedly asked me "one second madam. Please, one second." Finally he said what he wanted for one second, to put his hand inside my shirt! Not sure if I mentioned that majority of the Indian men are very disrespectful and foward, but that was just a bit over the top. So relieved to see the bus. 14 hours in a vehicle, wether its a bus or a car, is just too long. (100 miles is a long drive inside a car- Modest Mouse) The driver was a maniac, he was speeding through these mountains, getting tossed around, sleep wasnt really an option.
Once I stepped off the bus, I was stunned by the beauty of this town. McLeod Ganj sits in the foothills of the Himilayas and it is currently monsoon season, so everything is green. You are always passing monks and nuns walking down the street, as well as many westerners coming for meditation and yoga retreats. McLeod Ganj is also home to thousands of Tibetan refugees. (1959 China took over Tibet and wanted to put an end to the lives of anyone who still supported the Dalai Lama. Just about everyone who is now in this town, walked from China, through Nepal and down into McLeod Ganj, India, which is also home to the Dalai Lama).
My first week I began teaching english, and couldn't believe how much I enjoy myself. The students are so eager to learn and they are grateful to everyone volunteering their time to help them. I love seeing their smiling faces and they are soooo funny! They say as Buddhists, its very important to laugh at least three times a day. Honestly, who wouldn't appreciate this philosophy? This past week I started volunteering at Tong- Len in the morning's, however it was 1 hour plus commute each way, and was only teaching 2 hours. So I decided to find a different school/organization in this town.
I have been here two weeks and I must say it feels like home, minus the awsome Visalia music scene. Just sitting in cafes, I picked up two students I will tutor privately. Walking down the street, I run into students and we usually go for tea or some momo's. I was suprised to have such a sense of community here, I must confess, I think I am falling in love with this place, these people.