Dharamsala is so good for me

                Dharamsala is good for the mind, body, and spirit! All the walking I’ve done up and down Dharamsalas beautiful hills is keeping me fit since there is nowhere to run here. My mind feels more centered and present than it’s ever felt. My spirit feels free and I think it’s always smiling….

                So I am not sure if it’s IVHQ or life here, but everything is so mellow and you just figure everything out as you go. What I mean is there is never much of any plan or instruction when it comes to the volunteer projects that I’m on. I just go where they tell me and I so love it. I never know what each day will hold. The whole time, I’ve been told that I would be working in an orphanage with babies. Then, I ended up taking on a monk and promising him English tutoring every day. Today, Ellen and I were supposed to start our first day doing childcare. Well, we were taken to a nearby village (half hour walk each way at least) and led to a little concrete room with a blanket on the floor and nine Indian children waiting for us. Haha they weren’t babies, they were ages 6 to 12. Our coordinator looked at us and said “you teach them English, yeah? You play with them and then you meet me at monastery.” Then we were on our own, on the spot.

                There was a beautiful young Indian woman who is in charge of the kids who will be there every day with us and thank goodness because we need her to translate. I loved her sky blue sari, her long black braid, and the smile that one is used to seeing from teachers who truly love children. The kids were adorable and soaked in every moment with us and were eager to partake in every activity that we thought of on the fly. The room didn’t have one supply in it so we had to get creative. We started by sitting in a circle and asked them basic questions so they could practice English and we could get a feel for their English speaking ability. Then we broke into a really long game of duck, duck, goose which sparked a lot giggles and the kids were entertained for quite some time. After that we played Simon says until it was time for us to leave for the monastery.

                For having been on the fly, I feel like the morning went okay. Tomorrow, however, we know what to expect  and have made some actual preparations. However, I am going to ask this of my blog followers: if you have any ideas of games to play that don’t require a lot of supplies please please please email me some suggestions. I’ve never taught English as a second language and would love some games that help kids learn. They should be pretty simple as most of the kids only know a few words. Shane and my Mom are putting together a package of supplies for the kids but it’s going to take a while to get here. So in the meantime I am really eager to get game suggestions, ideas on how to teach basic English, or anything else that anyone is inspired to suggest to me as a creative way to fill our concrete learning and playing space.

                I’m so excited about this project. I want to put a lot into it. IVHQ is having Ellen and I start it from nothing and we will pass it on to the next volunteers that come through. I love that I am getting to be part of something from literally the ground up. These children are so eager to learn and get attention that I want to make this little space the best that it can be. If these kids don’t come to the center, the teacher there said that they would be home alone or their parents would make them work or beg for money on the street. I’m so eager to bring some light, fun, and education into their lives. I feel like I’m very much meant for this. (Please email your suggestions to KristenMarie22@msn.com)

                After the childcare center, Ellen and I had time to grab a quick cup of coffee and spring roll before heading to the monastery. Dhondulp met me at his room with vegetable rice and steamed vegetables with his favorite sauce. Even though I had just eaten, I ate with him on the floor of his room and he told me that I had to take the rest of the food home. I said “Dhondulp, you are way too kind to me.” He said, “you don’t say that in the Tibet culture, you just say thank you, bye.” The other girls at my house were actually ecstatic with the food I brought home because the cook tends to cook bland things. Dhondulp will be pleased that so many people enjoyed his food.

                Dhondulp had just bought a map today to hang up in his room so he could point out the trip he took around the world when he finished his PHD. If I’ve not mentioned this, he’s only 30. He told me in detail about his trip from India to New York, to DC, to Minneapolis, to Denver, to LA, to San Francisco, to Japan, to Taiwan, and back to India. He traveled for three months and seemed to be most keen on San Fran. He’s such a wander lusting monk. We make quite the similar pair actually between our wander lust and peanut butter obsession. We took turns pointing on the map to the places we plan to go next. I pointed to Ghana and New Zeland. Dhondulp pointed to Greenland because it’s the most different from what he’s seen so far in his travels.

                We spent the majority of the rest of our session talking about Buddhism. He explained to me some of the basics that I’ve yet to learn. Tomorrow he’s going to give me a list of books that will help me with my understanding of Buddhism. We then got into a conversation about how there is a difference between religion and philosophy. Dhondulp likes philosophy not religion. He asked if I was religion or non-religion. I said non religion and he said he wished all people were like that but didn’t elaborate. However he asked me to elaborate and I went off on a tangent about how I feel like anyone who claims non religion will be more likely to come to discussions and life with an open mind. Someone who claims one religion as the only truth leads me to picture a  closed off mind and closed minds scare me and are what trigger judgments, conflict, and a lack of understanding. There are so many beautiful components of every religion that I’ve ever read about. I so want all of these beautiful components to live harmoniously on the planet. I picture Buddha, Jesus, and Allah with the ability to embrace each other and sit down to beer together as each one seemed to have threads of compassion in their philosophies. So, I picture all of their followers loving each other for their differences and meeting on common ground about stuff that really matters: love and compassion.

                Dhondulp said “yes, yes you are like me.” He then went into a lengthy discussion about how there are so many people who are educated but some of them lack understanding. The understanding is the part that takes place in the soul and the part that makes someone compassionate. I liked his analysis of this a lot and am eager to contemplate it more. I’m only supposed to stay at the monastery until 3 but wound up staying until 4 again today. Dhondulp asked that I start giving him English homework everyday starting tomorrow. I’m thinking a lot of writing prompts. But again, if anyone has ever taught English as a second language to adults, I would love love love some suggestions. I am already loving Dhondulp and want to give him a fun and effective learning experience. It’s so funny that I signed up to volunteer in an orphanage and I find myself starting a childcare center from scratch, teaching itty bitty ones how to speak English, and conversing with and tutoring a monk every day. It’s amazing what awesome experiences can come out of letting go of any expectations and just going with and loving whatever comes your way. I’m so very happy to be doing what I’m going to be doing every day for the next month. I love all of my fellow earth dwellers and I’m so happy to be helping a few of them out.

                After kicking it with Dhondulp, I went home and showered for the second time since I’ve been here. Yup, Dharamsala is sure bringing out the dirty hippie in me. Then I enjoyed some masala chai at an outdoor café while catching up blogs and emails. Dinner was some sort of rice and vegetable situation. I was aching for some protein so the girls and I decided to go out for “a second dinner” where I ate the best lentils I’ve ever had accompanied by a KingFisher beer.  On the way home I saw a swarm of fireflies, as if this place couldn’t’ get any cooler. Now the rain is coming out of the sky in truckloads and I’m snuggled in my bed, sending out wishes that no spiders will want to join me tonight. Good night everyone!