What do I miss? Chocolate.

So, the good news is that as of yet my family is very nice. The really good news is that their 3 kids in fact don’t live here, as I initially thought, but live in the Tibetan Children’s Village. Amala (Tibetan word for mother) has a constant, huge smile, which is comforting when I have no idea what’s going on. Pala (father) is nice, though he knows about 5 English words. Oh, Amala speaks a little English, thank goodness, though it’s generally pretty impossible to convey anything to her.

I’m getting accustomed to being talked over.

The first night I stayed with them I gave them their gift, we showed each other pictures, and then we sat around awkwardly until they invited my to go to the temple with them. We circumambulated the entire monastery/temple area (very long, mostly uphill), then thrice around the temple itself. The picture is from one corner outside the temple, overlooking Mcleod Ganj (the Tibetan part of Dharamsala that is uphill and much much smaller than main Dharamsala).

She’s a housewife and he works at a glass bead place of some sort. Their children are 12 (boy), 8 (girl), and 7 (boy). I didn’t understand that they don’t just go to school, but in fact live there, so when I walked in to the house, I nearly had a panic attack.

I would estimate 16x16, though I am terrible at estimating size. I’m not quite sure what to do about all of my stuff; I only brought my daypack with some stuff in it and there’s no place to put it. I guess I won’t bring my backpacking pack as it absolutely won’t fit. Which of course begs the question of what do I do with all of my stuff?

The bathroom is particularly fun, as it is a communal bathroom. Did I mention that they don’t use toilet paper in India? They use water. This being the case, I’m very glad I brought toilet paper but I’m not sure what to do with it. The toilet doesn’t flush, so I’m not really sure how all of that works…

On the upside, I live very near Stephen. I live at the bottom of the neverending stairs and over a little way(I’ll show pictures at some point but I think I’ve scared Mom enough for this entry) and he lives in the middleish. Plus near the top third of the stairs is the school. Basically, I’m going to have great leg muscles by the end of this. It’s not the length of the distance, but the incline. Or both, in this case.

It’s a little weird how they will be doing mantras or at the temple doing prostrations and converse with one another all the while.

We had a ton of soup last night. It was very good but there was so much and they just keep filling my tea cup before I can say no (or when I’m not looking) and it’s considered bad luck for them if I don’t finish.

I wish I could talk to them more easily and ask them what would be best to do with all of my stuff. Maybe if I brought just my big bag and squished my daypack up somewhere, things would fit better? The problem is that my daypack is just sitting on what is my bed (though I may try to convince Pala to let me sleep on the floor so he can have his bed back) and on the floor next to it at night. I think my big bag would overwhelm the space. I really don’t need all of my clothes, but it would be pretty handy to have them…

Tuesday night: Tonight a very nice monk named Nawang Kelsang who is going to try for his Geshe degree next year came and ate momos with us (he’s a Gelugpa from Drepung Monastery which I discovered is different from Drepung Loseling). I asked him many questions and he asked me a few. I realized how much Geshe taught me! For example, he asked if I knew White Tara and I was able to tell him so much about her! I was so proud to show pictures of Geshe and Rinzin and the mandalas and tell him what I know. He got my Pala to find a book that has mantras and lessons in English, Tibetan, and Chinese, so I will be able to study that while I’m here. Oh, and he’ll be here 2 months and said I can come interview him and ask him questions! Yay! It makes me miss my Geshe la, though! I tried to convince Nawang Kelsang to come visit in America and he said maybe next year. Woo!

It’s now Wednesday and I have yet to get online. I feel crummy today, but I’m hoping it’s my body trying to fight off something else. I am so glad Nawang la will be here the entire time I will be. He makes it so much easier to be there.

Thursday: I can finally post this! I am so lucky to have Nawang in the house; I feel like my Tibetan is improving so much faster with him around.

I'm really learning how tough Tibetan women are. Amala gets up every day and carries big buckets of water. She also does prostrations, all of the cooking, and all of the cleaning. Sometimes it's clear how tired she is. I try to get her to let me help, but she rarely will. Sometimes I push it and take a bucket of water before she can, but I don't want to offend her.

It's so hard to keep from buying everything. There are so many pretty things (clothes, jewelry, everything you can imagine, basically...) and they are all so cheap. I'm trying to keep from indulging too much, partially as a matter of space considerations.

There's definitely some frustration among students regarding our workload. We basically have hours' worth of work with almost no time to do it. Between being in class from 9am-5pm, not being out after dark (as a female), and spending time with my family (who tend to be either talking loudly or watching TV all of the time), there's really very little opportunity. There is no question that this is an intense program.

I really like the old people here, and particularly the old monks and nuns. I can't help myself when I see them... I just break into a huge smile (directed at the person) and they tend to smile just as emphatically and sometimes take my hand in theirs. It's a wonderful feeling...

On a very personal note, I expected to lose weight while here. I think that despite the regular activity, the opposite is in fact true. My family eats more than seems possible. It's taking them a while to realize that my stomach can't keep up.

I have yet to get sick, though I think I either have a cold or allergies. I'm really glad I brought sudaphed... I think the altitude is definitely affecting everyone in our group. That, plus waking up around 5 or 6 every day....

Today we learned how to actually read words in Tibetan, which is super exciting! Finally past just the alphabet and numbers! I've definitely learned a lot of phrases and words, though my family is now very eager to learn English, so we'll see how that goes.

It's so interesting how evident status and gender are here. Amala always sits on a stool on the floor when we eat, whereas Pala and Nawang always sit on the couch. It seems she is always expected to refill bowls and cups and to clean afterwards. She also always begins to eat only after everyone else has started. I wonder if I should be sitting lower than Nawang and Pala, but I think my role as guest helps a little.

The weather here is now amazing and perfect. It hasn't been raining, though we're in the clouds and therefore the threat is always present. Also, the electricity is a little unstable (i.e. if it lasts all day long without going off, then we are very lucky).

Next entry will have more cultural observations and details, I promise!

Oh, I nearly forgot! We get to see a teaching by His Holiness!!! Oh man!!!!!

For Julie.

Look! We're alive!