Life with Dolma la

My life in the home stay is beyond words. I typically go to bed around 8 pm because I am SO cold. Forecast says it’s in the 40s but when it is raining and there is no heat indoors and you only have hot water (to drink) to warm you up, it’s cold. I then wake up around 6:20 am and again, grumble because it’s cold. Then I get out of bed because Dolma la does. (This morning she stayed in bed way late! 7am!) I fold up my blankets and put them at the head of the bed. Then I venture out in the cold and brush my teeth. (The bathroom is outside and downstairs and shared by many people.) Then I come back inside. Drink more hot water and pack up my backpack. Then Dolma la starts to make breakfast. This morning she made EGGS (kong a). Well, egg singular, but it was shim pa du (delicious)! In addition to this mornings egg, what we usually have is bread (pak lep but don’t say the k or the p so its ‘pa le’, however pa le also means ‘from a cow’ so ya).

Pale – Bread

About 6 handfuls of flour

1 tsp of baking powder (or soda.. but I’m pretty sure its powder)

in a medium skillet put some oil , enough to just lightly coat the pan (pam cooking spray would work for this but TII)

add warm water to the flour and baking powder

add enough water so that the dry mix begins to come off the side and forms a ball

knead

separate into palm sized patties and roll out to the diameter of whatever pan you’re using (I suggest using a reasonable size pan)

place the flattened dough into the pan

put lid on and cook for about a minute on each side (probably different because I’m in the mountains)

bread should be puffy and a light golden brown

Enjoy! (with peanut butter and jam!!!!! And a cup of tea of course)

I love Dolma las bread! And it is SO EASY!!! Just flour, water, and baking powder/soda (the reason why I can’t just look at the jar is because she has everything in un labeled jars) then you have deliciousness. It might be the oil. I think its sunflower seed oil but I’m not sure. With the bread I always have natural peanut butter (the kind that separates into oil and peanuts because there isn’t anything keeping it together, sorry Skippy/Jif, India wins here).  I put on a little jam because I know she bought the jar for me and I feel bad not eating it. And of course, enough tea to float a boat. Then I try to help clean up but get yelled at to “shu!” (‘sit’). So I…drink more tea… then I leave for class by 7:45am.

I chat with my mom, sister and dad on the way to class. I dodge donkeys and monkeys, chat with some Tibetans (aka say hello), and make my way to Tibetan 102. I’m not qualified to be in this class but it is fun learning more Tibetan. Then I have my Tibetan Culture class or Buddhist Philosophy class then Tibetan 101 (still don’t think I’m qualified for this one but I have to start somewhere!). Then I usually try to find an internet café that works and that usually doesn’t happen so I go home and do some reading and “chat” with Dolma la or hang out with Michelle while she eats FRESH pudding (she’s doing fine but I give it one week until the bacteria forms, just wait). Then dinner. Dolma la is THE BEST COOK EVER (besides my real mom of course!). We have had a different thing every night and everything has been absolutely delicious. But… when I asked about dinner last night and she said ‘tsel momo’ VEG MOMO, I just about had a heart attack. MOMOS ARE THE BEST FOOD EVER! AND NOW I CAN MAKE THEM!

VEG MOMOs

You have no idea how excited I was that we were having MOMOS FOR DINNER!

Here’s how you make them! Yes I took a video and tons of pictures. I didn’t care what she thought of my incessant picture taking…

Wash and strain about 3 large handfuls of beautiful spinach (probably only found in India)

Finely chop the spinach

Put the chopped spinach in a bowl

Add salt to the spinach and massage the spinach (like washing your clothes in a bucket, by hand of course)

Squeeze the spinach until all the liquid is drained out (don’t be shy, she really gave that liquid a run for its money)

Take a block of da bur (we had quite the problem communicating about what da bur is, so I took a bite of it and figured out that it is tofu)

Thinly slice then dice half of the block of tofu into fine pieces

Add to the spinach

Finely chop one small onion

Add to the mix

Add in a lot more salt (like 3 tsp)

Put in some powder (NO clue what it was, I’ll snoop in the morning and stick my finger in it)

Oil the steamer

Put a cap full of oil into the spinach/tofu/onion/salt mix

Mix it really well and set aside!

Momo dough:

            3 ladles and a bit of flour

            add warm water until the dough forms a ball

            add another handful of flour until dough is stiff

            kneed, and kneed, and kneed

Separate the dough into small pieces

Roll them in the palm of your hand to form little balls then squish them into flat rounds

With a small rolling pin (or a metal pipe as Dolma la uses) roll into flat pancake looking things, but its not really rolling it out, its more of a pulling and rolling motion (I have a video and I’ll try and post it… TII)

Place a tablespoon (or more) of the filling in the center

Pinch the momos together in a very swift and talented manner (again, a video was necessary)

Place the momos in the steamer (doesn’t matter if you squish them in but only one layer per steamer session), cook for 15 minutes

THEN YOU HAVE DELICIOUS MOMOS THE BEST FOOD EVER.

Then I’m so cold that I brush my teeth with boiling water, plug my nose and go to the bathroom. Set up my bed. Write in my journal or do some reading (I’m currently reading ‘The Lacuna” by Barbara Kingsolver). Then I pass out because it is so cold and sleep is the only way to be cozy.

Dolma la

Dolma la, my host mom, is one of the happiest people I have ever met. Always smiling, always cooking, and always saying “please” when I tell her I really cannot drink the last cup of tea (I think she only knows how to say please and are you tired?). However, beneath this glowing woman is a story I never expected. Sure, she has short hair and is single at age 38 (two things that are VERY odd in Tibetan society) but I never expected her to have been a nun and a political prisoner for 3 years. I wish I could speak better Tibetan (or speak Tibetan all together) so that I could talk with her about her experiences. One request His Holiness the Dalai Lama makes is for people to write down their stories so those who experienced severe hardships in Tibet can be heard around the world.

Dolma la did just that. She showed me her translated story last night and it brought both of us to tears. I feel truly blessed to be learning from such an inspirational woman.

Dolma’s Story

Note: I copied this exactly from her translated copy. Therefore, any spelling and grammar errors I did not correct.

My name is Phuntsok Dolma. I was born in Namgyal Shol, Dongkar in Lhokha. My father’s name is Tsering Topgyal and Lhakyi is my mother. When I was seven I went to the primary school for three years. My family faced financial problems, but it was not possible for me to get a job in the community. But with the help of my relative in Lhasa, I was able to get a job in the hospital for workers. The hospital was situated close to Norbu Linga. I worked there for one year. Then I changed my job and worked in the 2^nd wool weaving factory in Lhasa. At age 14, I became a nun, but I continued going to my work.

            On March 5, 1988, I and some acquantances went to Barkhor and raised slogans with other people. My acquaintances included Tenzin Cho-nyi, an elderly nun, Tashi Dawa, a young carpenter, Dorjee Tsomo, and Phurdon. Fortunately, nothing unpleasant happened to me. But Tashi Dawa’s feet was injured and he was taken to the Worker’s hospital.

            When I was 19 years old, I received full novice ordination from Lamrin Rinpoche of Drepung Monastery. I continued going to my work.

            One day in 1990 I listened to a tape cassette of speeches of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the annexation of Tibet by Communist Chinese in 1959 and the immigration of Han Chinese into Tibet. I lent it to others for listening. At that time, a monk from Drigung region, named Dakpa transcribed the speeches into letters, and pasted it on the main road because many people would see them and their morale would be boosted. Later, Dakpa participated in the peaceful rally during the Monlam Chenmo festival and was arrested by the Chinese authorities. He was imprisoned for two months.

            After his release he was not permitted to return to Gaden monastery. He was pulling three-wheeler on the streets of Lhasa and living a miserable life. He helped me in the transcription of speeches from the tape.

            In May 1990, Ngawang Tseten, a nun, a myself pasted the transcribed speeches at various place on the streets in the hope that people would see them. No bode saw us pasting the letters. Past mid night on May 9, of the year, two officers of Lhasa police station and two policemen knocked the door of my house and found Namdol Konchok, a nun and myself. Using sweet words, they took us away and there were two vehicles parked on the road. They put Namdol Konchok in one vehicle and two policemen escorted her. I was put in the other vehicle and the other two officers escorted me and took us to their office at Bakhor. They kept us at a long distance between us and then they interrogated us.

            But there was no relation between us in my campaign. Accordingly, she was not beaten. But I was beaten so severely in front of her. They beat me with the butt of their gun. I became unconscious. Even when I was unconscious they beat me but I did not feel the beatings.

            Namdol Konchok was released and was allowed to return to her home. I was beaten again and asked to hand-over my companion to the Chinese. They beat me mercilessly on the head and face until about 3 pm after which I was taken to the police station in a vehicle. Then they took me close to a small dark cell where, they kicked me on the calf of my right leg. After which they put me in the small dark toilet-like cell for seven days and nights without food.

            I was then, put in a vehicle and was taken to the police station. There were many officers and they all gave me countless beatings and reprimanded me. Sonam Yangchen, an officer, scolded me and beat me many times. She said that I was a counter-revolutionary and threatened that they would search my house thoroughly, and give prison sentence.

            I told Sonam Yangchen that I did not give the tape cassette to anyone. She wanted to know where the tape-cassette was and I told her that since it is the speech from His Holiness I broke and ground it and ate it in the belief that it was a blessing. They could not do anything. So, they took me to their office, and sentenced me for three years imprisonment. I was taken to Gutsa jail. I was made to take off my clothes and stripped naked outside the gate of the prison, and then asked to go in.

            There were five jailers – three female and one male. Their names were – Pema, Chungdak, Dekyi, Mayong, and one Chinese boy. They put me in a room whose inmates were three Tibetan prostitutes who had contracted a contagious disease, and one Chinese girl.

            There was a tin which was the toilet for all the inmates of the room. Phurbu, a woman political prisoner and Konchok Dolma, a nun from Shugseb nunnery, advised me clandestinely, not to share the tin for toilet as I would contract the other inmates’ diseases. Further, they shared their meals with me, and I was very grateful for them.

            The discipline in the jail was strict and the work was very dirty and we had to work very hard. For example, we had to go to the latrine and break the solid human wastes into pieces and carry and spread them into the vegetable garden.

            Pachen, the head of the wool factory where I had worked, and Wangchen, the secretary, came to my jail and submitted letters to the jail authorities a few times seeking my release, and guaranteeing that in the future I would never indulge. The elderly jailer told them that I had been sentenced to three years imprisonment but he added that if they would pay Yuan 2,175, they could secure my release. But he warned that I could not move freely as I used to do before my imprisonment, and also that I was not allowed to talk freely.

            After spending 19 days I was released from Gutsa jail. My release is by the kindness of the two staff of the wool factory. After some days I went to the wool factory to resume my work. All the workers were happy to see me and they loved me. But when I interacted with other people, they feel scared to talk with me. Worse, when I went to visit the monasteries and other holy places, and to circumambulate, I noticed that I was pursued by a man. This made me feel more hatred towards the Chinese and boosted my morale for my country.

            In September 1992, Sherab Sangpo, a monk from Dak-yab region, Konchok Tsutrok, a monk from the Dargyel monastery, Phuntsok Paldon, a nun from Niu Chungri nunnery and I participated in a peaceful procession on Barkhor. We returned to our homes through an alley to avoid being arrested by the Chinese police and we were successful.

            But when I arrived home I found that three policemen and Lobsang from security bureau had reached there. They tied my body and hands with a robe and I was subjected to intense interrogation. Lobsang threatened me that I would be given life imprisonment, adding that there were one or two reactionaries in our region. Then gave me many beatings.

            In the hope of saving myself from the untold beatings and torture I pretended to be insane, or dead, and I even bit the leg of a man, and I talked aimlessly, and at times I shouted at the top of my lung. My teacher, and two fellow disciples and some neighbours helped me much by claiming that my mind was not stable, and assured the authorities about my future conduct. Thus, I was spared from going to prison. They said that they would decide my fate the next day.

            The next day I pretended to have an unsound mind, and the policemen said that there was no punishment for an insane person. But they threatened that when I shouted, there was a political tone, so, even if I was not imprisoned, I should be expelled from my home. Further, I was banned from making contact with my relations. They warned that if I made contact I would be fined a sum of Chinese Yuan 500,. Four of my relatives had to sign on a document at the police station.

            On September 7, 1992, I was expelled from my home. I had no where to go. Thus, I went to Phuntsok Paldon, a nun and stayed with her for three days. Three days later, she suggested that it would be good if I could go to India. She added that she had some barley flour and Yuan 21, which she would give me for use during my journey. She further said that Lodoe Rinchen, my brother is in India and he would help me.

            Then I went to Yeshe Tsomo hailing from Tehor region and who is acquainted with me. She was staying close to Ramoche temple, and I asked her to put me at her home for a few days. I also asked her to find someone who would guide me to go to India. She found one and I did not have to pay even the fees.

            On September 13^th, of the year we set out from Lhasa and escaped through Solu Khumbu. My health was not good, so I could not catch up with the rest members of the escaping group. I was left behind alone by three days. I finally caught up with my journey mates at the monastery of Trulshi Rinpoche. I did not have anything to eat nor any clothing to wear. I had about thirty journey mates, and amongst them Phurbu Chungdak was very kind to me. There were seven people who cook and ate together.

            They gave me food to eat the clothes to wear. It took us twenty four days journey. We then took a vehicle and on the night of October 8^th, we reached the Reception Centre in Kathmandu. The authorities at the reception centre gave us Rupees 800, each and gave us food for two days.

            Then I was sent to the Reception centre in Dharamsala from Kathmandu with Kelsang, a monk from the Namgyal monastery. I had many journey mates from Kathmandu but they all went to southern India from Delhi. I reached the Reception Centre at Dharamsala on October 15. But I could not get an admission in a nunnery at Dharamsala. So I stayed at room No. 15, of the Reception centre for one month and seventeen days. I had to pay rent for the room. After which I was admitted at the Geden Choeling nunnery.

            But I had to pay bill for food expenses in the nunnery, and also stay out side the nunnery. I stayed with Lodoe Rinchen, a tailor at Kyidong village.

            My birth name is Dolkar and Phuntsok Dolma is my ordination name. At present I am staying at the Retreat temple at McLeod Ganj. In Lhasa I stayed at the Gyalgo, Shol.

Up the Mountain!

One adventure to the next! Our program transferred from Sarah College to the upper campus in Mcleod Ganj today. I was very sad to be leaving Sarah and all the friends I have come to love. Kalsong, Dolma and Pema will forever be the best breakfast club comrades. Kalsong la and Pema la (different ones and they are the cooks!) will be the reason for my crazy yoga and running expedition for the next four weeks but made some of the best food I have ever eaten! I’ll especially miss waking up for prayers and walking to the front of the breakfast line for who knows what reason. I can’t believe we left!

After a bitter sweet goodbye and promises of trips to see each other, the crew left Sarah and now we’re all up in Mcleod Ganj. I would like to start by saying IT IS COLD! Like two pairs of socks, long underwear, two long sleeve shirts, two jackets, a hat, and a nice cup of chu tsam po (hot water). Yes, I drink hot water to keep my hands and soul warm. It works well. Nobody drinks coffee here. They call it “tsik cha”, which translates to “burnt tea” because they think the taste resembles burnt tea… 

Here’s a picture of Steven (scuba steve) and me carrying our stuff up (down and around) to our houses! (Michelle was taking the picture.) I wish I could post a video because the way to my host mom’s house is INCREDIBLE. I walk through these narrow “paths” that shouldn’t lead to anything but they do. Its like a maze! Incredible. I slowly found my way to a ma Dolma la's (my host mom) house. With a red tin roof and a very noisey ugly rat dog that barks all the time, I’ve slowly made myself at “home”. Besides my fingers getting ready to fall off from the cold, I’m really comfortable here. 

Here’s a picture of our front door. I’m sitting on my bed taking the picture. The kitchen is there with the pot and pan and Dolma’s bed is there on the left. There is the table and to the right (not shown in this picture) is the shrine. 

Here’s a picture taken from the front door. The bed you see is mine! And in the middle is the table, the shrine is right by my bed and the hot water and cooking supplies are under that greenish yellow cloth. 

Dolma (my host mom) speaks very little to no English and I speak no Tibetan. It’s working well. She made “t/dhen tuk” (don’t say the k but say it a little, ya that’s Tibetan). It was some of the best food I have had this whole trip! However, I was pretty much forced to eat so much that I wanted to pass out. She also had this extremely spicy powder that I dumped into my bowl thinking it was the same stuff we had at Sarah. Wrong. I was in tears, my nose was running and I could barely taste anything BUT my second bowl I did not put any in. T/den tuk is a soup/pasta dish that is boiled.

Dolma’s T/den Tuk (I wish I took a picture but I felt that it would have been rude):

First make the noodle dough:

            Two cups of flour and a bit of water

            The dough should pull of the sides of the bowl and resemble play-dough

Roll out the dough into about 5 circles (a little bit bigger than a saucer) and about ¼ inch thick

            Slice the circles into strips and set aside

Chop one small onion

Put in pan and simmer

Pour in water (no clue how much)

Pour in oil (no clue how much)

Chop one small tomato

Chop one small piece of ginger

Chop a couple handfuls of spinach

Chop a couple handfuls of weird looking cabbage/lettuce stuff

Chop an Indian carrot (they’re red and HUGE)

Put in ginger, then tomato, then carrot, then spinach, and then cabbage.

Remember how the rounds of dough were cut in strips? PULL the strips of dough into 2 cm pieces (they will expand in the cooking process)

Cook for a while

Serve! Makes enough for 4 people or one Tibetan woman and one college student.

It’s time for bed because 1. My pinky fingers are frozen. 2. Dolma is falling asleep while saying her prayers. 3. I’m about to go strangle the dog. 4. Its 8pm. Time for bed in Tibetan land.

Wish me luck! Tomorrow we’re either visiting a lama or going shopping for Losar (Tibetan New Year!), either one would be great!

Bir pronounced "Beer"

For the weekend we went to a Tibetan settlement called “Bir”. More specifically we stayed at “Sherab Ling”. Sherab Ling is a monastery that has an absolutely stunning temple and guest quarters that rival four star hotels. Despite the fact that we couldn’t get the hot water to work in my room (hot water is make or break for a good stay) the location and surrounding atmosphere was amazing.

Friday we left right after breakfast and stopped at Tashijong, the seat of Khamtrul Rimpoche. He is famous for supporting the Togden’s at his monastery. A togden is a yogi that we would call a hermit. They are really dirty looking people with crazy dread locks and are absolutely amazing in their meditation practices. Due to their control over their bodies and mind through meditation, it is believed that after death many of them hold a certain power. We were fortunate enough to see a togden that was preserved in salt. He passed away five years ago.

After seeing the togden we were fortunate enough to meet Khamtrul Rimpoche himself! (Thank goodness we wore our chupas!) When we entered his “house” we waited in a waiting room. On the table there were dried apricots (like they were probably picked off a tree in the back yard, set to dry and then put on the table, no sugar added no pit extracted..), marconia almonds and regular almonds in their shells, and orange fanta. In Tibetan society, it is polite to drink/eat what is given to you so for the first time in a LONG time I consumed orange soda. After our “snacks” we were invited upstairs to meet Khamtrul Rimpoche. On our way upstairs we ran into a togden. It is extremely rare for togden’s to be seen (usually they are secluded in a cave) so this was a huge treat!! When we entered the room of Khamtrul Rimpoche, we prostrated three times, offered him a kata and then he put the kata back around our neck. Then we sat down and had a very awkward five minutes. Cynthia la asked him about motivation to study Buddhism because we were just beginning our journey through Tibetan Buddhism. I think he needed a translator because we didn’t really get an answer. However, we have met a lot of important monks and nuns and for the first time I walked in the room and really felt intimidated by this man and to be honest I probably was a lot taller than him. After meeting Khamtrul Rimpoche we received blessed cords.

We then went back down the hill to the cars and had noodle soup. Kalsong says she thinks its called chi tsi but I really don’t know. Personally it resembled top ramen. I was so hungry I didn’t care.

After lunch we sped off to Ani Tenzin Palmo’s nunnery, Dongyu Gatsal Ling. Ani Tenzin Palmo (I’m going to call her Ani la for short but she’s not Ani Kalsong Wangmo the program Buddhism professor) spent twelve years in a cave meditating. Her book Reflections on a Mountain Lake is AMAZING and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good spiritual read. Ani la is an activist for the movement of improving the education and status of nuns in the Tibetan community. Steven (Scuba Steve) asked her a question about full ordination for nuns. Tibetan nun’s cannot be fully ordained within the Buddhist faith because the Tibetan Buddhist community used to flourish in seclusion. They had very little to no contact with Indian Buddhism. The way a nun is fully ordained (and not just a novice nun) is four fully ordained nuns must be present. There are not four fully ordained Tibetan nuns, therefore there is no way for them to be fully ordained. Ani la is making a lot of progress in changing this and having the education of nuns be a pressing issue in many monasteries and nunneries. Many other philosophical questions were asked but Claudia asked my favorite question. She asked if Ani la found anything difficult when she first started studying Buddhism, such as the idea of a separate mind. Ani la said everything made sense, but I still thought it was a great question. After our teaching from Ani la we got a tour of the beautiful nunnery. They are in the process of building a new temple and Geshe la taught us many of the requirements for building temples (such as the direction they face and the day they are erected).

Many nuns begin their study at a very young age. Families give their children to religious instituations because they can educate, feed, and house these children better than some families. Two little nuns followed us around on our tour (or should I say they gave us the tour!)

After the nunnery we left for Sherab ling. It was only about a 20 minute drive and then we arrived at the guest house. That evening some of us walked over to the temple and saw our first puja (spiritual ritual). I absolutely loved the music! The monks were chanting and the room boomed with the thumping of the huge barrel drums. Then there was the blow of the Tibetan horns (very long instruments that make a deep sound) that echoed so loud you could hear them kilometers away! There must have been hundreds of monks of all ages at the puja.

The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and left for an absolutely stunning hike to Bir. We climbed down a mountain, trekked through some fields, wound through a couple towns and then finally made it to Bir. The first place we stopped was a TCV (Tibetan Children’s Village). The kids who flee from Tibet and do not have any parents or family are raised here. They live a very modest life but are warmly received by the TCV staff. We took a tour of the house that houses the very small children that come over. It looked quite similar to the rooms at Sarah!

We then walked into the town of Bir. Took a tour of the noodle factory and saw another puja. At this puja I was offered butter tea, I took the butter tea, I drank the butter tea, and then I regretted drinking the butter tea. Why would you put butter into tea? What part of that sounds like its necessary (outside of nomadic farming society)?

On Sunday we woke up and drove to a beautiful Gompa Monastery and Monastic University (Chandra). I really love seeing all the wonderful Tibetan Buddhist artwork (despite the fact that I know VERY little about it). Then we visited a Baijanath Hindu Temple. What a cool place! The little structure looked like a huge stone from the outside but housed a lovely little alter. The rain didn’t stop us from taking off our shoes and stripping off our wool socks to take a peak inside! After the temple we ventured over to our Ani la’s favorite tandoori chicken shop (yes, monks and nuns eat meat, as long as they don’t kill the sentient being it is ok to consume it..). The naan at this tandoori chicken place was TO DIE FOR. Supposedly it was only flour and water… but I beg to differ… there is no way something that delicious could have only been flour and water.

Finally we made our journey home and I quickly passed out. This weekend was absolutely amazing and I think I learned more this weekend than I have in a long time!

Karmapa March

As a group we participated in a peace march for the Karmapa. The Karmapa is a reincarnated lama that is next in line after His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The Indian government accused the Karmapa of being a Chinese spy and smuggling large sums of money. Long story short we marched to show our support for the Karmapa.

We convinced our professor to allow us to have class later on that day and left for Mcleod Ganj as soon as we ate breakfast. We arrived at the monastery in Mcleod Ganj (His Holiness’ temple/house) and listened to a lot of speeches (thank goodness Kalsong was there to help translate). Michelle and I got interviewed by a Tibetan radio show only because Kalsong came up and said to do it. (I don’t know if she realizes how much I trust her.) After that we all lined up (I’d say there was about a thousand people, could have been more though) we began our march. Now, Indian signs tell you nothing about how far your journey is. For example, when we were going to Amritsar one sign would say “60 km – Amritsar” and after we traveled for at least 30 minutes the next sign would say “72 km – Amritsar”. Signs mean very little in terms of how far your destination is. So, when we attempted to determine the distance from Mcleod Ganj to the Karmapa’s monastery I received a lot of different answers. Kalsong said about 12 km, the lady who was walking in front of us said 9 km, one girl said 20 km (I strongly doubt that). I feel like it was about 10 km or 6ish miles.

So we marched. We were all holding pictures of the Karmapa and chanting our support for the Karmapa. It was a surreal experience being a part of a peaceful demonstration (not like I’ve ever been involved in any demonstration). The unity and loyalty Tibetans have even in exile is astonishing. I feel very privileged to have been included in the march.  

Amritsar! (The Golden Temple)

The Golden Temple aka “Sick” Temple as Michelle calls it. It’s pronounced “Seek” Sikh. She's from New Jersey...

We left right after Tibetan class on Friday and quickly jumped into the jeeps and took off!!! The whole crew came but Hong Kong didn’t come because her friend was in town. We missed her a lot. Craig also came and a guy (Sam) who is studying at Sarah also came. The jeep ride alone was half of the adventure!!!! Besides the fact that I still was a bit sick and that I got the middle seat with no window, the ride was a great experience. We started around 3:30pm and made it to Amritsar by about 9pm? Maybe earlier. We got stopped by the Punjabi police so many times! They kept getting bribes from our drivers. Who knows what was going on. But we made it!

Quick background on the Sikh relgion:

“Sikh” means disciple. A sikh person believes in One God and teachings of the Ten Gurus, which are enshrined in the Sikh Holy Book, the Guru Granth Sahib. The Sikh religion was founded in 1469 near Lahore (Pakistan) (Mom, tell grandpa). There were nine gurus, each succeeded each other, who lived a very spiritual life but took part in the secular world. The tenth guru initiated the baptism ceremony that gave Sikh’s a distinctive identity. Before the tenth guru passed away he ordained the holy scripture would be the ultimate spiritual authority for the Sikhs. (Whenever I talk about “the book” it’s the Sikh’s holy scripture.) The fifth guru (who compiled and edited the book) also built… Darbar Sahib! (The Golden Temple!) The Golden Temple is the “nucleus of Sikhism”. One main focus of the Sikh religion is volunteerism. Meals are free and the kitchen is ALWAYS open, lodging is free, the bathrooms are SO clean, the squat toilets flush, and everybody is very receptive towards western travelers. Also, another thing, Sikh’s don’t cut their hair. There are many many more details about the Sikh faith and I’m so sorry for how brief this is. Please add comments as you feel necessary. The Sikh faith is extremely intereting and I urge everyone to go look it up!

Once we got to the Golden temple we locked up our belongings in the cupboards for western travelers and headed to the kitchen! Lentils, bread, water and a rice thing made for a great dinner! After dinner Sam, Julia, Michelle, Nellie and I ventured over to the Golden Temple. (As you walk onto the grounds of the Golden Temple you walk past the kitchen, wash off your feet, walk down some stairs, you are greeted by the HUGE reflecting pool, then you walk clockwise around to the golden temple which is in the middle of the reflecting pool.) We were lucky enough to see the book being put to sleep! There was beautiful music and wonderful offerings given to us (a sweet poriege type food). After the book went to bed we were wiped out so went to bed for a few hours before waking up at 4:45 am to see the book get woken up! It was amazing! Again, more music (ALWAYS music at all times in the temple!) and we got rose pedals to shower the book with as it made its way from its resting place into the temple. After this we walked around and found some food and drank some tea (TII). 

Kalsong had mentioned that we should go to the gardens where two thousand Indians were massacred by General Dyer. The gardens are called Jallianwala Bagh. There are walls that still have the bullet holes from the battle. The Indians were unarmed and had no idea the attack was going to happen.

After the gardens we went back to the temple to see it during the day and of course to take some picures. I soaked my feet in the reflecting pool for a while and took a million “snaps” with random Indian people. The temple is so beautiful by day but the way it glimmers at night is truly breathtaking.

As soon as we were done “snapping” the Golden Temple, we left for the weirdest thing ever, the taking down of the flags at the Indian-Paskitan border. The trip there was interesting, we got a ticket because I didn’t have my SEAT BELT on. Who knew indian cars even had seat belts…? When we finally made it there, western people are allowed to go in the VIP line because there is a MAD DASH to the border. People literally take off running to get a good seat. As soon as we ran to the bleachers and got patted down by 3 Indian army women, we got ready for the show. With a lot of cheering and screaming I equated this experience to a USC/UCLA football game. The Indian side was screaming HINDUSTAN and waving HUGE indian flags. Then the guards started marching and stomping and kicking and it was crazy. The flags “have” to be lowered at the same time so that one country does not think they have superiority over the other country. Who knows. We ate popcorn and had a great time. Dinner was at an amazing dhaba with wonderful vegetarian indian food. Sam did an amazing job at picking a really great place to eat. After some late night shopping and a quick cup of tea (TII), we went to bed. The western quarters were really good because we didn’t have to sleep with all the people out in the big room. Thank goodness for my sleeping bag!! We then woke up bright and early to get in jeeps and roll back to campus.

First thing I did when I got back: wash my clothes, air out my stinky sleeping back (from the “free” sleeping area), and wash my hair about five times.  

Life at Sarah College

Living at Sarah College was the experience of a lifetime! Here’s my attempt to give you the run down of my daily schedule:

6:20 am – Kalsong flips on the light.

6:25 am – I grumble about the cold.

6:26 am – Kalsong gives me boiled water (chu tsa po – hot water).

6:30 am – We run over to the temple for prayers.

6:30-7am – Prayers. Prayers are one of my favorite times of the day. The room is set up with the cushions on each side of the room in columns, everyone sits and faces each other (boys sit on the cushions closest to the entrance by the boys dorm and girls closest to the entrance by the girls dorm) The altar is beautifully decorated with a large picture of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a great painting of a Buddha, tons of religious texts, and butter candles. Then there is a monk who leads the prayers and everyone sings/chants along. There also are animals that make it into the room (only cats and dogs but I wouldn’t be surprised if a monkey made it in there!).

7am – Dash out of prayers to the breakfast line! Breakfast for the students consists of a piece of bread (large piece, I’d say about 5 inches in diameter) and either sweet tea (cha ngar mo) or unsweet tea (cha me ngar mo). Kalsong and I always get unsweet tea. Then we go back to the room and breakfast club begins! (Note: I made up the term breakfast club and there is no term equivalent in Tibetan, the girls were very embarrassed when I told them I called it a club but they get embarrassed when anything happens so I didn’t take it to heart.) Kalsong, Dolma, and Pema sit on Kalsong’s bed (we eat breakfast on our beds) and chatter so fast it doesn't sound like any language. I can’t believe how fast those girls talk. I sit on my bed and interject only when I need another topping for my bread. Toppings: CHEESE SPREAD! (THE BEST), jam that tastes like Jolly Ranchers, red crushed up chilies, green chili sauce, sugar crystals, and sometimes peanut butter and honey.

From Left to Right: Pema, Me, Dolma, Kalsong

7:30 am – Everyone starts to clear out of the room. I brush my teeth, wash my face, put on a bra and jeans (since I just sleep in long underwear and a long sleeve shirt I just keep that on for my days outfit!), throw on my jacket, look at my hair (its so greasy that nothing will help, Michelle comments on my lack of hair care but whatever) and head out to call my family (it's 6:30 pm in CA at this time)! Usually the conversation revolves around the monkeys or the dogs or the cats.

On the Left: The sink where i brush my teeth and wash my face! (Those are the water spigots to fill up our buckets in the background). On the Right: THE TOILET! No flush, the teal bucket is for throwing water in to get everything down the "drain". 

8:30 am – Breakfast for the Emory crew begins! I usually just sit and eat a bit more bread (shocking) and more cheese spread (yum!) and a few more cups of tea (just tea bag-black tea at this breakfast!).

9:00 – 10:15 am – Free! Kind of, usually I’m catching up on reading or working on a paper or doing some type of schoolwork. (Yes, I still have schoolwork even though I’m abroad!)

10:15-10:30 am – Michelle and/or I get Ani la or Cynthia la their choice of beverage for class. In Tibetan school it is polite to get your professors a beverage before class so that they don’t freeze during class (no joke). Ani la likes cha ngar mo (sweet tea) and Cynthia la likes hot lemon water (chu tsa po lemon?).

10:30-12:15 pm – CLASS. MWF – Buddhist Philosophy with Ani Kalsong Wangmo la and TTH – Tibetan Civilization and Culture with Cynthia la

This is where we have class!

12:30-1 pm – LUNCH! MWF we eat with our roommates in the main dining hall. Monday is my least favorite. Its this potato mush thing (everyone else really likes it..). Wednesday is steamed bread and veges. Friday is also a vege dish with rice. Lunch in the main mess hall is served very old school. You bring your bowl (ours were metal bowls) and your spoon and wait in a line. Then either timu (steamed bread) or white rice is placed in the bowl, then whatever main dish is being served is placed on top of that. Pema always brings spicy chili to liven up the meals.

1:30 – 2:30 pm – Tibetan class.  There is only one way to describe this class. CONFUSING.

2:30 – 4 pm – Free time! Otherwise known as 'waiting for tea time'. Studying maybe. Probably fooling around in the river or walking down to Gaggal (the small town with a great bazzar for basic shopping, about a 20 minute hike over a river and through some fields)

4 pm – TEA. The life force of India: tea breaks!

5:30 pm – Dinner in the main mess hall T/Th. Tuesday is FRIED RICE DAY! AKA THE BEST DAY! By far my favorite meal. Lots of veges, lots of rice, little oil and a bowl of all the same thing. (MWF we are still showering or washing clothes or walking or playing in the river). Thursday is tuk pa (noodle soup) which has dried cheese in it and it smells like body odor. So we all (including the Tibetan students) eat at the Canteen. Canteen = chow mein and parantha (bread like pancake thing filled with potato) or veg fried rice.

6:30 pm – Dinner in the guest house! Pema la and Kalsong la (the chefs) prepare quite grand meals for us EVERY SINGLE TIME. They are just delcious meals. There are at least three different dishes with soup and rice. Then tea is served after. I feel like a queen every single time they cook for us! Then we clean up. Which takes a long time but usually we sing.

8 – 10:30 pm ish – either watch a movie in the library, hang out with Kalsong, or frantically work on some paper or assignment.

10:35 pm – go to bed because its too cold to do anything else.

Speaking of cold. My fingers are going to fall off from how cold it is.

This is a rough estimate of what our lives our like at Sarah. There is definitely variation stuck in there. 

The shop and the canteen are two of the best places on campus. Chocolate, toilet paper, tea and notebooks are just a few of the items these great "stores" sell!

India Internet

The internet in India is terrible (sorry for ripping on the whole country because I'm sure somewhere there is decent internet).

Therefore, there will be a series of posts without pictures but I promise I will add pictures as I find better internet.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

TII (This is India)

Love,

Liz 

The drive from Pragpur to Sarah!

The drive from Pragpur to Sarah was absolutely stunning. The view of the Himalaya mountains could not nearly be captured in a photograph. 

My jeep. (Don't worry Mom, I clearly made it ok...)

These are the jeeps, with our stuff on top, those are the mountains, and that outfit is what I will be in for every single picture. Looks good right? (Great jacket Auntie Colleen!!) 

Here’s the whole crew! Left to right: Kylie, Claudia, Scuba Steve, Nellie, Michelle, Eddie, Ryan, Julia, Me, Anna, and Hong Kong! Background: Mountains. 

After our drive we finally got to Sarah and received a warm reception from our roommates. My roommates name is Kalsong. She was born in India but her parents came from Tibet. Her English is PERFECT and has a scholarship to study at Miami University of Ohio in the fall if she can get her visa. The number one reason why she got an American roommate (me) is because the visa exam is notoriously difficult and many Tibetans get rejected even if they have a legitimate reason for going to the US.

Stay tuned for a tour of my room and the girls dorm! (Time for class..)

Pragpur

I’ll continue with catching you all up on my adventures! After 72 hours in Delhi, we began our journey up to Sarah College (Dharamsala) where the program takes place. However, the drive from Delhi to Dharamsala is about a 12 hour drive so in order to break it up we stopped in Pragpur for the night. We didn’t just “stop” in Pragpur, we stayed in probably one of the nicest hotels in India. There was about 30 minutes of HOT water that came from the geyser (note the theme: hot water = luxury). Pragpur is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL place. The community in Pragpur is a small farming community that left for Delhi but left their houses to eventually have their families return to. Unfortunately most of the families did not return so a lot of very beautiful homes went to ruins. Another unfortunate thing is Pragpur is where whatever sickness I got started… So I didn’t get many pictures because I could not venture too far from my room but some of my favorites are below! Enjoy!

This is the BEAUTIFUL hotel we stayed in! They even put hot water sacks in our bed to warm them up! And there were fireplaces in each room AND best of all… WIFI!!! (However, hulu does not stream in foreign countries AND greek wouldn’t download from the web… DIRT)

Just a snap of the beautiful hand carved door frames on some of the houses. I have about 50 pictures of the beautiful architecture so email me if you want more!

This is me in front of a random reflecting pool! Clearly it was cold. (Notice the jacket Auntie Colleen, Katie, Patrick and Logan! Its PERFECT!)

Recap of Delhi (again sorry but now there are pictures)

Finally! Internet where I can post things! I’m so sorry it has taken me so long to get my life in order. I’m so touched by all the emails and facebook messages I have got from everyone. It actually brought me to tears reading your messages.

Here we go, Delhi overview. I spent 72 hours in Delhi and saw SO MUCH. Our plane landed and Kylie and I were met by Craig Peters (one of our TAs) and Passang la (important man at Sarah College, more to come on Tibetan language and why there is a ‘la’ after some names). The drive from the airport to the YMCA (where we were staying) was quite the initiation to India. We smashed our luggage and 4 adult bodies into a tiny car and went off. First of all, why do they even waste money painting lines on the roads here! There were cars EVERYWHERE!! It was crazy. The use of the car horn is imperative to making it to your final destination in one piece. Once we arrived at the YMCA, we were greeted with two bottles of water and many oranges. Bottled water is all you can drink. Water out of the tap isn’t safe so you have to be especially careful while showering to keep your mouth closed. 

After our first night in Delhi, Kylie and I met Britain (our other TA) for a fun run around Delhi before everyone else arrived. My favorite part of the day was walking around the Lodi Gardens. Here’s a picture of Kylie and I infront of some ruins in the gardens!

After everyone arrived the next morning we had our orientation at the ancient well of Delhi. This is a pic of 5 out of 11 of us. Left to right: Claudia, Julia, Me, Nellie, and Kylie. The well is super deep and doesn’t have any water in it right now. 

Tea: The life force of India. Every hour we have tea and the tea in India is SWEET (but DELICIOUS!). We stopped by a random stall in Chandi Chowk (Old Delhi) for some tea! The little shop was very umm quaint? We all squeezed in, barely, and enjoyed our cup of hot sugary goodness!

Here’s one of my favorite pictures! You ring the bells to let the gods know that you have arrived! 

While traveling around the city we stopped at a ton of amazing temples and shops. I’ll post all the pictures to facebook as soon as I get really good internet (HA!).  The picture above is of a little boy and a stray puppy. Too cute!!! 

Flight Status: Cancelled...

Despite the rocky start... I'm in India!

Last Friday I woke up at 4:45am for my 9:45am flight. I get to the airport, get checked in, buy two wonderful books (Water for Elephants and Sarah's Key), and get settled at my gate with a cup of coffee. As I'm reading and sipping I look at my watch and see that it is 9:15am, time to board! But wait... over the loud speaker: Flight 1196 to Chicago is CANCELED! All I can think about is the fact that I'm going to miss my connecting flight to Delhi. After a minor freak out, I jump in line of angry passengers to see what the rebooking situation is. The nice American Airlines lady got me a seat on the 12:45 flight and put me on stand by for the 10:40 flight. One problem, if (and when) I get on the 12:45 flight I am going to have to RUN through the Chicago airport to catch my flight to Delhi. Well, everything ended up working out and I finally got in my second to last row, middle seat for the 14 hour flight from Chicago to Delhi.

The flight was long. I read two books, made friends with the Nepali man to my left (med student at John's Hopkins) and the Indian woman to my right. Both were very confused as to why I was going to India.

After enduring the torture of airplane food and 14 long hours in the plane, Kylie (the girl I traveled with) and I got through immigration, found our bags, and found Passangla (the man in charge at the Sara Campus in Dharamsala) and Craig (one of our TA's). The taxi ride back to the YMCA was quite the experience. I still don't understand why there are even lines painted on the roads, cars are EVERYWHERE yet nobody hits each other... A slight (or loud, depending on the situation) honk of the horn is the equivalent to a blinker. The concept of a traffic jam has a whole new meaning now after being in India, rikshaws and trucks and cars all wedged together trying to get through the traffic signal. Did I mention all of them are honking their horns at each other to move?

Once at the Y, Kylie and I quickly realize our beds are made out of bricks and there is absolutely no heat. So, I pull on long pants, snow socks, a long sleeve shirt, a fleece and a wool blanket over the blankets on the bed.

After a good nights sleep (ha!), we both wake up around 11:30am, ready to experience our first day in Delhi. Britain (our other TA) and Cynthiala (our mother/the person in charge) take Kylie and I out to a beautiful lunch! Navigating Delhi is difficult because there are a complex maze of ally ways that are not marked and it's quite the mystery as to where they come out!

After lunch Britain offered to continue to show me and Kylie around Delhi. We went to the Lodi gardens first. The Lodi gardens are a vast green space in the middle of a huge city!! We climbed around the old mosque's and then continued on to the Khan marketplace in New Delhi. Since it was Sunday, almost everything was closed but we continued to explore and made it to Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi. The difference between New Delhi and Old Delhi is amazing! Khan marketplace was a newer and more organized shopping area while Chandni Chowk was absolute chaos. The little winding roads filled with stalls and shops were absolutely amazing! While in Old Delhi, Britain took us to a Sikh temple. The decorations in Sikh temples are so colorful and they are always playing music! After the Sikh temple we walked around a bit more then went to dinner at the Y. Despite the fact that reviews said that the food at the Y isn't good, I found it to be delicious! We had a type of curry and rice. My new favorite food is naan (Indian bread).

Overall the travel experience and the first day of jet lag was really not bad at all. More to come! I have some catching up to do now that I have internet!

(Pictures will come once I get to a place with better internet connection!)