Still chilling in McLeod Ganj in northern India, where apparently it rains and rains and rains
It is very very damp. I did laundry in my sink three days ago and it is still soaking wet!
Today I am able to eat some food....I am on the mend! I am excited about feeling stronger and looking forward to starting some yoga and local exploring in the area :)
The last 2 days I dragged myself out of bed to attend lectures on Buddism by the Dalai Lama at the temple. Unfortunately they do not allow cameras and I dont think I can do the experience justice by explaining it, but I'll try:
Days before the lectures began, people went to the temple and put down cushions or pieces of cardboard to save a seat. The temple has two floors that wrap around this central room with a big chair where the Dalai Lama sits. The morning of the lectures, you line up (separate lines for men and women) to move through a security check point where you walk through a metal detector and then get a full body pat down. After this, if you have a bag, you go to a row of tables and your bag is emptied out on a table and thoroughly searched (even through the little pockets). It is more intense than airport security! You are not allowed to bring in cameras, lighters, cigarettes, pointy objects, electronics or cell phones.
Then you are allowed to enter the temple where THOUSANDS of people: monks, tibetans, all nations of people white, asian, black, are sitting cross legged on the ground, pressed shoulder to shoulder.
When the Dalai Lama arrives, the air is palpable with expectation, all heads are turned, all waiting with smiles. The air is hushed but electric. He enters surrounded by his entourage of serious faced, armed men. There is a pre-cleared path, and he walks by the the crowd who all stand up to catch a glimpse. The Dalai Lama has this surrounding air of peace and he has a big smile. He touches and speaks to people as he passes by, then walks upstairs and sits in the chair in the special room where he teaches from. This room is packed, full only of monks.
After he sits, the Dalai Lama speaks to the crowd over speakers arranged at the corners of every room. He is also broadcast over tvs set up on the lower level. He speaks first in english, and has quite a sense of humor. Then he switches to tibetan, which he does the rest of the lecture in. The Dalai Lama's words are translated and broadcast over the radio, different stations for different languages. I tune in to the english station with a small f.m radio I bought in the market and listened in with headphones.
Halfway through the morning lecture there is a break. You hold out your cup and Monks walk through the crowd pouring steaming hot tibetan tea into them. Tibetan tea is salty and milky and leaves an oily taste in your mouth. People in the crowd share and pass around crackers and snacks they have brought from home.
There is another break around noon for lunch. The monks scatter around the courtyard to man giant metal caldrons of rice or buckets and buckets of veggies or dahl. The hundreds of people line up, holding out plastic bags, cups, bowls and stainless steel containers that the monks scoop a heaping ladel of rice into and then pour steaming wet dahl over top.
There are so many people, it is push-shove-push-shove get food! get food! But there is no anger or fighting, just push shove LOL very different than home.
Push-shove apparently is the way things get done in India. There is no such thing as a cue: the next person to get served is the one that could push to the front next. People push onto the subway before people can push out. Cars dont even follow lines, they just squeeze wherever they fit and go!
One of the people I attend the lectures with, Sebastian, the husband of Chris, a great Canadian couple I love to death, mentioned he was surprised that there was no road rage here because the road is only big enough for one small vehicle but somehow two are always trying to squeeze by, while at the same time people are squeezing in and around them in every direction. But even though the cars are stuck the people remain calm. They dont yell, they just HONK HONK HONK and reverse and forward over and over.
I think people here are already expecting that getting anywhere by car is going to be difficult so they are chill about it. They know they will eventually get caught up by other cars and people and meandering cows eating garbage in the streets and that is just life. As an aside, one thing you learn here quick is when you are walking and you hear a horn you squeeze to the closest side of the street and look around to see how big whatever is trying to pass you is. If its big you might have to jump into a ditch or climb up into a storefront. Sometimes you feel the car or truck brush right past your shoulder! The pecking order of the streets (from least likely to get run over to most likely) goes: cows, buses, cars, autorickshaws, rickshaws/motos, bicycles, people. So, as a pedestrian, you get out of the way! Surprisingly, I have only met one person so far that has become injured by traffic: she had her foot run over by a rickshaw after she got knocked over by a cow and landed with her legs in the street.
Tomorrow morning is the last lecture. If it is not raining too hard I will try to explore the city and check out some yoga! Lots of love to everyone at home...thinking about you!
Anna
A typical day looks like this:
6:30am...sun!
...then rain at 10:30am
clouds at noon
3pm rain
6pm rain rain rain rain all night long lol.
It is very very damp. I did laundry in my sink three days ago and it is still soaking wet!
 |
| My room in Dharamsala with its forever drying laundry |
Today I am able to eat some food....I am on the mend! I am excited about feeling stronger and looking forward to starting some yoga and local exploring in the area :)
The last 2 days I dragged myself out of bed to attend lectures on Buddism by the Dalai Lama at the temple. Unfortunately they do not allow cameras and I dont think I can do the experience justice by explaining it, but I'll try:
Days before the lectures began, people went to the temple and put down cushions or pieces of cardboard to save a seat. The temple has two floors that wrap around this central room with a big chair where the Dalai Lama sits. The morning of the lectures, you line up (separate lines for men and women) to move through a security check point where you walk through a metal detector and then get a full body pat down. After this, if you have a bag, you go to a row of tables and your bag is emptied out on a table and thoroughly searched (even through the little pockets). It is more intense than airport security! You are not allowed to bring in cameras, lighters, cigarettes, pointy objects, electronics or cell phones.
Then you are allowed to enter the temple where THOUSANDS of people: monks, tibetans, all nations of people white, asian, black, are sitting cross legged on the ground, pressed shoulder to shoulder.
When the Dalai Lama arrives, the air is palpable with expectation, all heads are turned, all waiting with smiles. The air is hushed but electric. He enters surrounded by his entourage of serious faced, armed men. There is a pre-cleared path, and he walks by the the crowd who all stand up to catch a glimpse. The Dalai Lama has this surrounding air of peace and he has a big smile. He touches and speaks to people as he passes by, then walks upstairs and sits in the chair in the special room where he teaches from. This room is packed, full only of monks.
After he sits, the Dalai Lama speaks to the crowd over speakers arranged at the corners of every room. He is also broadcast over tvs set up on the lower level. He speaks first in english, and has quite a sense of humor. Then he switches to tibetan, which he does the rest of the lecture in. The Dalai Lama's words are translated and broadcast over the radio, different stations for different languages. I tune in to the english station with a small f.m radio I bought in the market and listened in with headphones.
Halfway through the morning lecture there is a break. You hold out your cup and Monks walk through the crowd pouring steaming hot tibetan tea into them. Tibetan tea is salty and milky and leaves an oily taste in your mouth. People in the crowd share and pass around crackers and snacks they have brought from home.
There is another break around noon for lunch. The monks scatter around the courtyard to man giant metal caldrons of rice or buckets and buckets of veggies or dahl. The hundreds of people line up, holding out plastic bags, cups, bowls and stainless steel containers that the monks scoop a heaping ladel of rice into and then pour steaming wet dahl over top.
There are so many people, it is push-shove-push-shove get food! get food! But there is no anger or fighting, just push shove LOL very different than home.
Push-shove apparently is the way things get done in India. There is no such thing as a cue: the next person to get served is the one that could push to the front next. People push onto the subway before people can push out. Cars dont even follow lines, they just squeeze wherever they fit and go!
One of the people I attend the lectures with, Sebastian, the husband of Chris, a great Canadian couple I love to death, mentioned he was surprised that there was no road rage here because the road is only big enough for one small vehicle but somehow two are always trying to squeeze by, while at the same time people are squeezing in and around them in every direction. But even though the cars are stuck the people remain calm. They dont yell, they just HONK HONK HONK and reverse and forward over and over.
I think people here are already expecting that getting anywhere by car is going to be difficult so they are chill about it. They know they will eventually get caught up by other cars and people and meandering cows eating garbage in the streets and that is just life. As an aside, one thing you learn here quick is when you are walking and you hear a horn you squeeze to the closest side of the street and look around to see how big whatever is trying to pass you is. If its big you might have to jump into a ditch or climb up into a storefront. Sometimes you feel the car or truck brush right past your shoulder! The pecking order of the streets (from least likely to get run over to most likely) goes: cows, buses, cars, autorickshaws, rickshaws/motos, bicycles, people. So, as a pedestrian, you get out of the way! Surprisingly, I have only met one person so far that has become injured by traffic: she had her foot run over by a rickshaw after she got knocked over by a cow and landed with her legs in the street.
Tomorrow morning is the last lecture. If it is not raining too hard I will try to explore the city and check out some yoga! Lots of love to everyone at home...thinking about you!
Anna
