I'm super happy and India rocks!

Wow- so I have left out a lot.

anyhoo- in the past few weeks we have gone to Tso Pema, a very holy place for Tibetans where Guru Rinpoche was born out of a lotus blossom. I ditched the group for the day and went to monasteries instead; one was having a puja (big day of chanting, mantras, etc.) and another was being repainted, which was amazing to watch b/c I've always been interested in the art. The Gudwara (sp?) there was also amazying- it's a sikh temple. The holy places here are so calm and special- I don't really have a word to describe it. You just feel that you're in a very clean, very ancient, very holy place.

Next we were off to Mandi- as Mimi put it "real india". I had a hard morning being surrounded by suffering, ashen beggar kids- the situation is so terrible sometimes. Later that day, however, these beautiful little girls came running up to me and gave me flowers. They were all ten and spoke english, which they learn in school. I was talking with a friend (a scotsman with the most gorgeous eyes i've ever seen) but when he left I ran to the courtyard to play with them. It was sooooo fun!!!! We ran to the clocktower and to temples; they taught me how to make and offering and then we played something like marco polo.
Eventually, I realized that aside from me and these children, everyone in the courtyard was a man staring at me oddly (westerners usually don't go to mandi- let alone run around for two hours like children). Also- they called me Didi, which means big sister. It was fantastic.

Now: I have left the group once again. The last 4 days of the trip were supposed to entail shopping in Delhi and seeing the Taj mahal in Agra. I stayed here and took an intense two day meditation course. It was amazing!!!! I have also been going to lots of teachings and just got the best massage ever. The meditations were great- but after 6 or so hours a day sitting in half lotus, ones body tends to hurt (a lot). So yeah- McLeod Ganj can be really great. There are so many classes constantly being offered and so much to do . I feel like I've really just settled in; I also realize that it would have been incredibly easy to take off fall semester and remain in India alone. Oh well.



Another cool note: I get to paint!!! on a wall!!! (baby mural) This Danish friend of mine introduced me to Raj, a nepali who just opened a restaurant (Carpe Diem) a few weeks back. It's a really great place; I went there for an open mic session on sunday that rocked my world. Anyhow, he is having artists paint on the walls of the roof where he will eventually have seating and a second kitchen. He provides paint and likely food (he's one of those spirits that is always so generous i wonder if he'll make money. ex- people help him with anyting or are his friends and he gives them free tea, coffee, food, etc. ) He also has really beautiful eyes- really feminine like an egyptian.

So things are great here. The monsoon is pretty intense and sometimes I feel like I'm walking through small rivers. It's also probably the worst time of year to go to Varanasi- but oh well!

hope everyone is well. I'm glowing (mainly b/c the massage was also facial- so I'm covered in almond oil. yum!)


Note on pictures: The first is a huge area of prayer flags near some caves in Tso Pema where hermetic monks and nuns go to meditate for years. There is also a cave nearby where Guru Rinpoche (seen in second picture) meditated for many years. We got to go in and meditate with Neil for awhile- who can chant it up like a Tibetan.

The next two pictures are in Mandi. The first is this ancient temple on the river. We woke up early and went to walk before the sun was out in full force and the fog hung over the river in a perfect sheet.

The last two pics are outside Tushita Meditation center in Dharmcot- which is the village right about McLeod. I think they perfectly exemplify what I was trying to tell my mom: up there, it didn't even feel like India. It was like- the mists of avalon or something. Beautiful.