Beware of Monks and Monkeys

So that was the bit of wisdom given to me by one of my teachers, Tenzin-la, during our many "Burning Questions" sessions. Since my last blog post, I've been in Dharamsala for the past four days. It feels almost surreal being here. The first day we mostly just looked around and slept because we took this insane overnight train from Dehli to Pathankot (which lasted 12 hours) and then took jeeps up this scraggy mountain road. The views were breathtaking, but the driver I swear was drunk or tired or something....and the teacher that was in our jeep, Tsering-la, agreed. Anyway, that ride took about four hours give or take Jimmy throwing up. People getting sick is probably going to be a running thing on this trip. I think in the past four days, all of us except one or two have been feeling really terrible. Travelling like we do takes a huge toll on your body. Every time I feel a little down though, I just look at the AMAZING views. It's hard to describe just how close you feel to the mountains. Saying foothills of the Himalayas doesn't begin to cover it. Pictures just DON'T do it justice. All those scenic shots of this hills? not even close.

So anyway, the first day was mostly us just trying not to die. The next morning was lots of fun though. A couple of us went to this place called the Coffee Bean, which I am ninety five percent certain is an attempt to copy the United States. The first time we went there it was empty, because it was like eight in the morning and NO ONE in Tibet gets up that early to do business besides monks and apparently the owners of the coffee shop. But the second time, the place was PACKED (I mean it might have also had something to do with the fact that they also had computers with web cams, but still). There were all this "cool" tibetan teenagers just hanging out and watching Hindi Music videos on the flatscreen! TV. At one point, one of them lit up a cigarette. A couple of young monks were, I kid you not, gambling in a corner with a couple of their friends. And in case any of you guys are wondering, it is this monk that our teachers are warning us against. For all those out there with this idea that monks are pure and virtuous, apparently alot of them do NOT follow the stereotype. The one thing we are warded against is teaching them english behind closed doors (apparently bad things happen because many monks were placed in the cares of monasteries when they were very young and are "curious" or just have no interest in keeping their vows). So lesson of the day: Nuns or Ani's are okay, monks are not.

Classes are pretty interesting. We started Tibetan in Dehli, but mostly just seriously started picking it up right now. It is a very very complicated language, but the phrases they teach us are remarkably convenient. Though my spelling, I can tell you now, will suck. For the same sound, they have about four or five different spellings all meaning different things. Oh well, I did also get a 10 out of 10 on our first language quiz where we had to write the letters of the Alphabet. Other classes seem to be find. In our Field Study Seminar we've had two assignments. One where we've just observed and another when we had to ask a random person on the street for a map and compare it to one we've already drawn. It was to see the differences in perception. This assignment might have gotten me in trouble because I ended up talking to this Himalchi shop boy and a Kashmiri shop keeper and now every single Kashmiri on the street recognizes me as I walk by. I'll just have to be careful. We haven't really done much academic work, which suits me just fine for now but a part of me is itching to get back into the school groove. There is a large part of me that feels out of place and misses the comfort of home. The easiness, I guess. But this is still all so amazing and new, I'm waiting to settle down before I really see how I feel.

The first couple of days, we stayed at Hotel Tibet which was obviously made for foreigners because it has a western toilet and toilet paper. AMAZING. My standards have obviously shifted. We also often get running water, though not always because there is a water shortage because it hasn't been snowing like it normally does. I did have the pleasure of being face to face with a monkey twice as it just stood there staring through the window. We moved into our homestays yesterday. I live with a lovely older couple. This is my Pala's second wife. He and his first divorced. His daughter still lives with her; his son goes to school in a nearby town and is in college, around my age I think. Pala was in the army and enlisted when he was 17. He fought in the war that created the state of Bangladesh. He now works in the H.H Dalai Lama's temple which meant that I got the VIP tour of the place yesterday which was incredible in every way. He also speaks really good english. I don't know much about my Amala yet because she doesn't speak any english, but she is from Kham in Eastern Tibet which is really cool. Pala was born in Ladakh because his Pala fled Tibet when the Chinese first started to invade in 47. Our home is nice but very very very small. Like one room. There is a niche with a bunch of homes/apartments and a couple of shared bathrooms between the group of families (eastern style of course, but it's nice) My family also is really excellent about respecting my vegetarianism, though I hope that they understand it's okay by me if they eat meat.

Oh and speaking of the Dalai Lama, I saw him twice as he rode by in a car. He has doctors appointments in Delhi so all the streets are lined with Tibetans waiting for his blessings. The cars are totally see through so it's really like being face to face with him. We were only told about his leaving, my Pala took me to see him the second time and pushed me to the front. It was really sweet. this is really only a portion of my adventure, so I'll post more later....now I have class that I'm late for...nothing new there but particularly ironic given that class is downstairs.