Spending Time with Students

The highlight of spending 5 weeks in Dharamsala was getting to know so many wonderful people, especially the students I was fortunate to teach! I'm not sure how much I taught them, but they taught me a lot! Here are a few pictures of fun moments with students:

My one-on-one made me Tibetan thukpa, a noodle vegetable soup. Delicious! This was one of several meals made for me by MALE students! ha ha ha! Unconvinced that men can cook, I like to tease them into cooking for me to prove that they really know how to cook! It worked! I was fed well!

One of my parents students, a monk, had to leave before the end of the term to return to his monastery to prepare for the Dalai Lama's visit in January! We saw him off at the bus. I almost didn't recognize him because he travels in lay clothes! :)

After a few weeks, it was impossible to walk around McLeod Ganj without meeting lots of students on the street. Sometimes in just 5 minutes, I would see 5+ students!! This monk was one of my parents many favorites. He was nicknamed "Kris Krinkle" because of the way his nose crinkles up when he smiles.

Two of my students practicing the 'Pronunciation Poem' in class before the big demonstration!

A two-minute impromtu speaking activity! Inevitably, every day all the monks would sit on one side of the room and all the lay people on the other. I tried to get them to mix and mingle as much as possible!!

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!

Making Tsampa

Tsampa, roasted barley flour, is one of the staple foods in a Tibetan diet. It is eaten several times a day in Tibet usually with butter tea and/or meat. While barley isn't a traditional food in India, the Tibetans continue their tradition by growing and roasting it. The family we rented an apartment from roasts their own, to ensure a pure rock-free quality. Here are a few pictures from their rooftop roasting operation:

The barley grain is put in a wok of sand. The hot sand becomes the roaster!

After a few minutes of heating the sand, the barley needs to be mixed in order to roast all of it. It sounds a little like popcorn popping.

After the barley is roasted, the sand is sifted out and reused to roast the next batch. The roasted barley then needs to be cleaned (de-shafted) and taken to a mill to be ground. It is a labor intensive process, but an absolute necessity for many of the Tibetans living in Dharamsala.

Becoming Tibetan

There isn't much time for writing these days...lesson prep, one-on-one lessons, drinking tea with students, eating out, studying Tibetan, and planning for the next leg of the journey. But several weeks ago, our good friend and my mom's one-on-one student, invited us over for "fashion day". She dressed us up in her chupas, or Tibetan dresses. They are so comfortable and I think they are very attractive looking--of course not so attractive on foreigners. But the Tibetan women look so classy around town in their dresses with their multi- colored aprons. Tibetan traditions says only married women can wear the aprons. But for one day... I was allowed the honor! Perhaps there is a Tibetan guy out there for me? One that can throat sing, perhaps?

Triund Trek

McLeod Ganj (1750m) - Triund (2850m) – McLeod Ganj (1750km)

9:15am to 1pm to 5:30pm

18 km

“The entire trek is most charming, enjoyable, and challenging.”
--Dharamshala Trekking Itineraries Booklet

After my first lesson with my intermediate class, a very serious looking monk approached me and invited me to go hiking. Happily surprised by the immediate invitation to do something, we briefly planned something for the following weekend, the weekend after the Dalai Lama was giving a two-day teaching. So, after class on Friday he followed me to the teachers’ room and asked me what he needed to go hiking. Apparently this was to be his first hike—EVER! So we went over the list: food, water, comfortable shoes and sun protection. Oh…and he said he would change out of his monk robs because they weren’t suitable for hiking. Yesterday we agreed to meet at 8:15am in the main bazaar of McLeod Ganj. After waiting an hour, I was about to give up, just when he walked up the road wearing jeans, a button down shirt and a baseball cap—no monk robs!

We had both promised to do some research before the big day. I had purchased an atrocious local map with some trekking itineraries and he, well, he showed up. I had a general idea of a direction we should walk, so off we went-up the hill to Dharamkot. After reaching that little village, we turned off and followed a trail through another little village and up to a temple called Galu. At Galu we turned off onto the real trail—surrounded by rhododendron, cedar and oak trees. Clear skies up above and a great view of McLeod Ganj and the Kangra Valley down below—the views were stunning!

And the conversations were interesting too! My student and new hiking partner is a student at the Tibet Medical College, as well as a monk. So, I learned a little about Tibet medicine and he pointed out some useful herbs as we were walking. I also learned more about Buddhism and the general Tibet situation.

About 1 ½ hours from the top, we stopped for tea, a much needed dose of liquids, sugar and caffeine to keep the body moving! From there it was a steep and rocky climb of switchbacks to the top. But the top was well worth the climb! It was a long flat boulder strewn grassy meadow. From this meadow ridge, you could see the Dhauladhar Mountain range with Mt. Indrahara (4320m) straight ahead. We sat on the grassy lawn in front of a rock painted with "Free Tibet" and exchanged lunches. I shared my peanut butter-banana-honey and peanut butter-jam sandwiches with him and he gave me his sen, a Tibetan grain porridge. He also shared his salty tea and fruit. It was a feast!


After a relaxing lunch in the sun, we headed back down. Going down is always the killer on my knees. We decided to take an alternate route down. It ended up taking much longer than our morning short cut, but in the end we ended up in the right place and said good-bye at TIPA (Tibet Institute for Performing Arts). Overall a fun little outdoor adventure with a monk!

I have plans to take two more of my students up there next weekend! All of a sudden I’m becoming the local trekking guide! Ha ha ha!