Travel has come to an end for now, I woke up this morning in the Vase of Treasure room at 8 Auspicious Him View.  After a thorough tour of the town last night I was eager to  venture out.  Today’s plan was to meet up in the hotel for breakfast then we’d head out for a hike to a waterfall or a hike up to Dharamkot, a neighboring town.

This morning was porridge with banana and honey (aka oatmeal), 2 espressos, 1 ginger lemon honey tea and an order of Tibetan toast with homemade jam.  I can already tell, I’ll be missing that jam when I return to the states.  Back down to the room to change and head out for the hike.   Our hotel sits on a bit of road which is at about a 15% grade, this continues for about a quarter mile then levels out a bit just enough so that you can catch your breath.   Good stuff, I am not worried about getting my exercise in, there are plenty of hills (speed work in disguise right?).

First hike found us on the way to Dharamkot, very small town…a tea shop, a meditation retreat and tons of very large crazed monkeys.  On our way back down the mountain we stumbled upon the Common Ground Cafe - I think this will become one of our favorite spots.  Lunch was delicious - Becky, Carol and I split spice sauteed cabbage, sweet and sour veggies and rice.  I had a cup of garden tea which touted medicinal herbs from the earth.  It tasted very much like the description.  I’m actually starting to wonder how people get sick here, the food is steaming hot and the teas are packed with healing properties.

After lunch at Common Ground we decided to loop back through town and head out to Bhagsu to hike the waterfall.  Bhagsu is supposedly a ‘hip Israeli town’…ahh, it was cool but it didn’t feel like Dharamsala.  I heard before I came here that the air would feel spiritual here, that seems to be an understatement.   The waterfall was beautiful however I could see the devastating effects of climate change as the valley wore clear marks of how much larger the rush of water was in the past, today was a small fraction of that.  I heard from a few people already about the winters being more mild and the melt off from the higher peaks has dwindled.  It seems as though tourism is down and its been a very tough year so far for many.

After a good 8-hour excursion today, I’m back at my room, sitting on the balcony watching the sunset over the mountain peaks. We are heading out for dinner in a little while, I’m very hungry, very tired….tomorrow starts our teaching experience.  Every second here,  I further comprehend my purpose in this town.   It’s a huge idea to digest…I am in India right now, I am here to teach massage to Tibetan refugees, I am on the verge of learning about things I never thought I would, I’m going to be immersed in a new community almost 9,000 miles away from my home.   For me, there is nothing better than this.

Below is a letter from Ngawang, he was our contact at Lha Dsala.  This is quite moving to me, as I said to my friend Carol, it’s hard to believe I am a part of this.  Very grateful for my experience.  One that is slowly being recorded from my own memories and the memories of my fellow ambassadors of peace.

Hello from Dharamsala,

We at Lha Charitable Trust wanted to once again thank the volunteer instructors from BCMT. Your instructors were both professional and personal. The Tibetan Refugees that received your training and our staff all express their appreciation. We all hope that our new relationship with BCMT will continue long into the future. The Tibetan People and BCMT share the mission of world peace through non-violence.

It should be mentioned that the time your volunteers spent here will have far reaching benefits. Most Tibetan Refugees arrive in India destitute, fleeing oppression.  Most come from nomadic herding communities; the skills they come with are no longer helpful in gaining employ. Through massage training, many are able to find work to support them and also provide financial assistance to their families still inside Tibet who are often in dire circumstances.

Many of the Tibetan Refugees that come through our programs eventually end up in western countries. Our original mission of providing them with Language and Computer skills is certainly very helpful and necessary, yet not enough. The addition of this Massage program is offering the much needed skills and confidence necessary to begin their new lives.

We are looking forward to our next group of BCMT volunteer instructors. Hopefully, with the guidance and support of BCMT, we will be able to develop our Massage Training Program and further reach out to more of those in need.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Ngawang Rabgyal
Lha General Manager

p.s. for more info about Lha Charitable Trust please see www.lhasocialwork.org

I am on Cape Cod right now getting ready to run the CC marathon on Sunday so posts may be slim…not so much wireless in good ole’ Sandwich, MA.  Here’s a post from one of my fellow travelers, Louise.  She was my teaching partner in Dharamsala and it was simply a joy to get to know her more.  She’s cool and eloquently direct (in my book, two of the best qualities one can possess).

Read her post about why our students wanted to learn.

http://www.bcmt.org/blog/2009/10/21/why-do-tibetan-refugees-want-to-study-massage-therapy/

Last night before we went to bed we could here lots of noise from outside the hotel.  Wondering what it was we headed up to the roof.  When we looked over the side to the parking lot we saw about hundred people; some hard at work cooking, some setting up fancy drape and others just coming up the street packed into the back of a truck like farm animals.  They were bringing in loads of workers for some type of event, it was 11pm, what event were they already cooking for?  This was my first lesson that most outdoor work in Delhi happens at night because the weather is so hot, humid and polluted that I think it’s simply dangerous to work during the day.  This was also my first lesson in no OSHA, no Depart of Health, no labor laws and no ordinance on noise. They worked all night.

Woke around 7am and headed down for breakfast.  Dona, Christa and Louise were already downstairs eating when I arrived.  The boys working at the buffet were very sweet as I perused the offerings and selected wisely.  This is when I noticed that all the eggs were very white  with little to no yoke.  This is because the chickens are quite deficient in necessary vitamins that they are not able to develop the bright colored eggs that we are used to.  ‘Ok, I’ll have an omelet’…..ahhhh, ok I can do this.  Omelet from an unhealthy animal, sounds like a great way to start the day.

I soon found myself eating alone in the restaurant as I sat directly across from the buffet.  The two boys (couldn’t have been older than 18) kept looking at me and smiling, I would smile back.  We did this like a million times.  I picked up the paper, read on the front page that the Indian government was discouraging Americans from visiting due to terrorist threats….I put down the paper, made sure noone else in the group would see it and started smiling back at my boys.

Then one of them came over to the table several times to check on me.   They were very sweet, we just kept smiling and staring at each other while ‘Pimp My Ride, India’ blasted on the huge flatscreen on the wall.  Then one of the boys came over to me and told me that he ‘liked my hair and my spectacles and my smile’.  Very sweet, I have a little blond streak in my bangs….blond is quite a novelty there.  Other than that, I was greasy, no make-up, no product, no nothing.

After breakfast, Carol, Becky and I walked around the grounds of the hotel.  The workers were still hammering away, some of them sleeping in cots in the cooking area.  Good taste of the hygiene standards to come….which by the way = zero.  Time to head to the airport and pay up on the bill.  This was my first lesson that nothing is free in India, they basically charged us for the air we were breathing (or trying not to breath).  That’s fine, I had a stack of Rupees burning a hole and they were more than happy to take it.  Oh and you tip EVERYONE, not just because it’s courteous because they are in your face saying ‘Tip me now’.

Onto King Fisher airlines for a quick flight to Dharamsala.  We were on a small propeller plane and for such a short flight were served up lunch consisting of a coleslaw sandwich, spicey potatoes and chocolate pudding. In the US, we fly for 4+ hours with nothing but the option of buying a $3 oatmeal cookie.

See the Himalayas from the plane, absolutely.  They were beautiful and huge and massive and white and here’s a photo.    Landing in Dharamsala felt like landing on Fantasy Island. The landscape was lush, thick green, mountainous and highlighted by the bright colors of the local architecture.  We were all hoping it had dropped a few degrees since we were higher in elevation, the heat in Delhi was unbearable.

Small little airport and our first experience with toilets being nothing but a little hole in the ground.  Personally, I spend so much of my ‘bathroom’ time in a port-a-john or on the side of a trail that this didn’t bother me a bit.  But for a few in the group, it was an exciting topic of conversation.

Into the Jurassic park type vehicles and off for a hour climb up into the mountains.  One switch back after another, the drive to upper Dharamsala was breathtaking.   Hindi music blaring, fresh air to breath and views of green canopies engulfed my experience.  I had a smile on my face and my camera out the window.  We arrived in McCleod Ganj (upper Dsala) and our hotel 8 Auspicious Him View, we were greeted by our host Tsering.   After tipping everyone and their brother we were off to settle into our rooms.

But not for long; 20 minutes or so we were in the lobby awaiting a tour of the town with Tsering.  He showed us all around, special tips, locations of ‘must see’ attractions, good places to shop and then joined us for our first dinner in town at Ashoka.  For an order of dal, naan and ginger, lemon, honey tea - $1 US for dinner that night.  The food was amazing and would soon become one of our favorite restaurants.

We sat on the roof that night, the air cooled off and the clouds moved in.  I sat there and felt the chair beneath me, my feet on the ground and took a deep breath of the air.  It was different from Delhi, it was different from the air at home.  This air was filled with spice and spirituality.  It made me feel so peaceful.  We have arrived at our destination, tomorrow is a free day, can’t wait to see what it will bring.

We arrived safely into Delhi.  As we approached the city, we all gazed out the window at the bright lights.   The bright lights that seemed to span for hundreds of miles.  This city is huge, I believe the population is 14 million and the buzz on the plane is that it’s the most polluted city in the world.  Yikes, what about that big breath of India air I swore I’d take…oh well, have to be true to my word.

The landing was smooth, man that was a big plane to get up and down - after 14 hours in the air I kind of forgot that I was on a plane and that it had to land.  I guess it’s like when pregnant women come to the realization that the baby they’ve been carrying for months actually needs to exit.  Ok not exactly like that, but in my world it’s as close as I can get to explaining the landing of this beast.

As soon as I stepped off the plane I could see, taste, feel and smell the air.  Polluted, yes.  Hot, yes.  Humid, oh yeah!  The airport was quiet for the most part but it didn’t take long to notice the ‘all business’ soldiers and their ‘all business’ machine guns pointing right at us.  We headed through a health screening area which was a bit eery.  It was in the basement and everyone except for us were wearing masks.  One by one the new arrivals were scanned by an infrared beam which displayed their bodies on a big screen labeling temperatures throughout.   This part of entry was far more difficult and serious than Customs.  At Customs, the guy didn’t even look at me, he just took my passport and stamped it.  I guess they don’t care who comes in just as long as you don’t have the flu.

Off to baggage claim then to exchange some US dollars into Rupees.  All seemed pretty quiet, what was all the talk of crowds and pushy people I had heard about?  So far so good….

Then we turned to exit the airport, more armed soldiers, more machine guns and hundreds of people lining the walk way.  It felt a bit like a red carpet walk.  It was hot and grew very claustrophobic, very quickly.  Get your buddy and stick with the group.

All of a sudden we were blasted with people, noises and air that didn’t seem right to be breathing.  But alas, I took that deep breath and reset my body to a new atmosphere, a new life that I would be living for the next 2 weeks.  Then I coughed madly for a few minutes, most polluted city?  Confirmed.

Off to the prepaid taxi which would take us to Hotel Clarke Green for the night.  Not sure what the hell we were doing at this point, all of a sudden some guy walks up with a sign reading sort of like a name that may have resembled someone in our group.  Ok that’s us, let’s go.

One leader, 10 Americans and a bunch of guys trying to grab out suitcases.  We were led through a tunnel where we literally tripped over a beggar man and his very unhealthy son holding his hand out in desperation.  Where the hell were we?  ‘Hands off dude, I will carry my own suitcase’.  While others in the group chased their luggage, I was white knuckled and not letting go.  This was my first experience on the trip of trust.

Trust that this tunnel and the 5 or so men leading us through would end up in a parking lot of cabs.  Trust that we would not be robbed.  Trust that once we were in the cars the hotel was in fact where we were being taken.  At this point, I’m remembering Elish at Passport Health telling me to register our cab with the police so that we’d have a better chance of getting to our destination without being robbed.  Oh well….definitely didn’t do that.  Trust, a good lesson in trust.  I was peaceful knowing the the universe would get us to where we needed to be and simply enjoyed this little adventure.  It was experience, I decided to start soaking it up, there were many more to come.

Yes, the tunnel ended.  Now we found ourselves on a dark road on the side of the airport with groups of men everywhere.  Ok, head down, forge ahead, smiles everyone we’re in India.

Ahhhhh, the big parking lot with the cabs.  We headed off into the craziness that is Delhi traffic and after an extremely fun cab ride we arrived at Hotel Clarke Green.  Not too shabby of a hotel.  King Fisher beers, spinach paneer, dal, naan and a cold shower helped me settle into the night.  I am so excited to be here, I am so excited for what is to come.  I am so excited to be unplugged from my life and 9,000 miles away from the security of my home.   Out of my comfort zone?  Sure but this is the start to a once in a lifetime experience and I am completely on board with whatever is going to come my way.  With that said, I did need to remember there were loved ones at home waiting for confirmation of my safe arrival…time to get on the computer and report back to Boulder.

Tomorrow we’re flying to Dharamsala.  Will we see the Himalayan Mts. from the plane?  Will we crash into the side of one?  What will Dharamsala look like?  For months I’ve talked about this trip from a very superficial, unknown place….now, I’m starting to live it and I’m pretty freaking psyched!

Thursday moved into Friday quite fast with the 11.5 time difference.  We’re on the plane, flight to Delhi - long.  Right now we are flying over Kabul, it’s crazy to see where I am in the world right now.  Afghanistan to be exact, we’re at 37,000 ft, flying 593mph.  We flew over Dushanbe and I thought about Mom G.  She loved the Dushanbe Tea House in Boulder.

We have 90 minutes left on the flight, it’s 6:22pm in Delhi and 6:52am in Colorado.  I’m picturing the scene back in Boulder, Lhasa spread eagle and Harry all curled up.  I’m sure BJ is already up, actually just about to finish up masters if all went as scheduled this morning.

I slept only about 5 hours on the flight, watched The Proposal (silly) and The Hangover (funny as shit).  This plan is huge 2 seats, 6 seats, 2 seats lots of people from India on the plane.  Some in very traditional dress and others looking quite Americanized.  I’m so glad I brought clean underwear, shirt and face cloth.  Feeling achy and tired but I smell coffee so hopefully that will do the trick.

I’ll be in Delhi soon and I’m anticipating it will be sheer insanity.  Can’t forget to start taking photos.

Until next time….

Last night I went to bed thinking ‘this will be the last time in my comfy bed for a while’, ‘in the security of my little home in Boulder’, ‘holding the hand of my best friend with the support of my trusted tempur-pedic pillow’.  I went to sleep with many things on my mind and woke up with only one; ‘I’m going to India today’.

Had a full but not hectic morning and headed off to the airport with BJ, Lhasa and Harry a little after 11:00am.  Our flight left at 2:25 and we were set to meet the crew about 12:30 at the American Airlines desk.  On the way to the airport we didn’t spend time going over ‘to do’ lists rather we talked about the trip and reminisced a bit.  BJ quizzed me with questions and here are some of my answers:

B: What is the first thing you will do when you get there?
J: Take a slow, deep breath of India (more on this later…)

B: What are you looking forward to the most?
J: Laughing with some new friends

B: What are you going to miss the most?
J: The security of being at home.  (I was moments away from going very, very, very far away with little to no contact with my loved ones - very exciting!)

The airport was getting closer and I was fighting to maintain balance between my utter excitement for the huge adventure that I was about to embark on and the inevitable goodbye to the love of my life and my kiddos.  I just lived in the moment and took one thing at a time.

We pulled up to departures and I got out, immediately I noticed a few others in my crew.  I hugged my hubby, then hugged him again, I kissed Harry and Lhasa then I kissed them again, I hugged and kissed BJ and again….again…again.

Many little good byes until I had to walk away and be on with my journey….

‘Bye Sweetie!  See you in a few weeks, I love you so much, I never would be able to do this without your love and support.  I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me….I love you.  Goodbye’

I turned away, then back again for one final look at the foundations of my life.  I turned back to the doors and entered into the next phase.

Been feeling very quiet lately about my experience in India and I guess I’ve needed time to properly process my trip.  I just received an email from one of my students which opened an emotional safe that I think I had a lock and key on since returning.  I’ll be back soon and ready to share….there’s just something that is making me very protective about my thoughts and maybe it’s the people who have affected me so profoundly that I’m trying to protect.

Not sure…just hang on a little longer, I’ll be back.

A post from one of my fellow travelers….

http://www.bcmt.org/blog/2009/10/02/home-from-dharmasala-india/

Considering it takes 45 minutes to get a cup of coffee and at least 3 hours for a meal in Dharamsala I’m surprised to say that Lha Charitable Trust is way ahead to BCMT in reporting the news of our teachings. Sounds like they were excited to get the news out.

Click here to read the article on their website.