I Never Finish Anyth

I saw that saying printed on a t-shirt and it made me laugh. It is rare in Asia to find a t-shirt that is spelled correctly (almost!), makes sense, and that is actually really funny. It’s the little things…

The last few days in Upper Bhagsu, about 1.5 km north of McLeodGanj, have been very peaceful. Friday we heard rumors that the Dalai Lama was still in town and so went on a mission to find him, asking every Monk, tourist, Tibetan and Indian along the way whether or not the rumor was true. He had already left for Japan, but that didn’t negate his presence that could be felt at the largest Tibetan temple outside of Tibet. We spent a few hours at the temple listening to the Monks and worshipers doing their prayers 108 times over. It was a beautiful thing to witness; such dedication and focus…it gave me goose bumps then and still does when reflecting on it.

Leaving the temple, Gundula made friends with a Monk named Nga Wang Jikmet. We walked with him across the mountainside to a place where the Monks go during breaks from their seven hours a day spent worshipping in the temple. It was magical – Tibetan prayer flags in yellow, red, blue and white flying everywhere, maja bells ringing, blue sky, a cool breeze and mountains all around. We watched Jikmet get his head shaved by another Monk. We dodged the cows who were roaming freely amongst the flags (cows can go wherever they want here and everyone gets out of their way). We sat under the flags on the side of the mountain, breathing slowly and taking it all in. We talked with Jikmet about our lives back home, our wishes, etc. He also wrote prayers for us. It was amazing. I was kind of startled and then had to laugh when Jikmet turned and punched a cow in the ribs that had gotten too close to us. We walked back with him so that he could resume his afternoon prayers and along the way got to see where the Dalai Lama resides.

Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, my stomach was adjusting to India which means that I didn’t venture out too much. I did have the strength to visit the Tibet Museum which was a really eye opening experience. I did not realize that since China invaded Tibet in 1949, that over 1.2 million Tibetans have died as a result. Their environment has been raped of resources and their culture has been virtually eliminated. The Tibetans have such a peaceful and compassionate way of life; it hit a lot of emotional chords with me to realize that China continues to destroy it today.

On Sunday, I had enough strength to venture out into the foothills of the Himalayas alone to do a little hiking. The air was so fresh, the trees so tall and green – it has been a long time since I’ve been in the mountains, and I didn’t realize how much I’d missed them! I saw a Monk sitting on the ground in a remote area reading alone. I came across a pack of baboons, about 20 of them, hanging out in the trees. I stood as still as possible and watched them for at least a half an hour. I kind of felt like Jane Goodall, with my subjects being baboons instead of chimpanzees. A mother baboon ran after me, teeth showing and hissing, when I got a little too close to her baby (picture!). That got my heart rate up and made me a little more aware of where the baboons were in relation to my exposed limbs.

The rest of my time tucked away in a little Tibetan village in the mountains has been spent eating good food, watching the World Cup, reading and sleeping. The monsoon season has started to sweep north, so we’ve had a few lazy afternoons watching the rain and hail pour down. Although I am technically still in India, it feels a lot different here with all the Tibetans around. I am reminded, though, that I am in India when I smell the smells of the street and hear the car horns. My olfactory senses have been overloaded since arriving in India…some of the most disgusting and potent smells imaginable! The Indians also seem to enjoy installing ridiculously loud horns, and for extra fun, horns that play little tunes. They seem to find pleasure in using their horns about every 10 seconds or so. Patience, Jamie, patience.

Tonight we take a 10 hour bus ride from Dharamsala to Manali. We’ll be much higher in the Himalayas after arriving…hope that we adjust to the altitude okay! Looking forward to a lot of hiking, possibly some paragliding and some beautiful landscapes….until next time…Namaste.