Monkeys in the Garbage

Everyday was a new adventure in McLeod Ganj--where to eat, where to check email, meeting friends on the street, shopping, planning lessons, etc. But regardless of our daily schedules and teaching life at Tibet Charity, there was always one constant--the monkeys!! They came through our neighborhood at least twice a day, sometimes they never really left. They would run up and down the paths, climb all over the houses, play in the trees, and try to steal food from anyone or anywhere they could. On two occassions my parents left the door to their apartment open and without fail, a clever monkey ran in and grabbed something. The first time my dad caught it and it got scared, dropped the item and ran out. The second time, it jumped up to the 3rd shelf grabbed the open package of spaghetti and made a quick getaway. Everyday we were blessed with many monkeys in all directions. One day we walked to the nearest dump to throw our trash. There were monkeys, cows and dogs picking through it all. But the monkeys are the fastest and they get to the best stuff first! At least the good stuff doesn't go to waste!