Apparently
the monsoon officially hit yesterday. Not only is the power off about half of
the time but this also means that every time I leave my house in my raincoat
and carrying my umbrella, I still get soaking wet. I walk everywhere here and am just trying to accept and get used to the
fact that I will just be damp for the next two and a half weeks. Good thing I
over packed my suitcase because the damp air doesn’t allow our clothes to dry.
My roommate hung a close line in the living room and her clothes dangle wet and
limp on it three days later. Ick.
Weather
aside, Dhondulp and the kids at the center bring a lot of warmth to my day. I
taught them hot potato yesterday and Ellen played Beetles tunes on her phone
and they absolutely loved it. I am down to play any game with them that keeps
them giggling. We are continuing to practice English every day and their
enthusiasm continues to amaze me.
I love
the children but Dhondulp is the highlight of my day. He is so kind and light
hearted that I can’t help but become infected with is demeanor. Yesterday I
ended up staying for three and a half hours even though our lesson is supposed
to be one and a half hours every day. Dhondulp showed me some documentaries in
English about the struggle of the Tibetan people. It was very informative and
he would often pause the movie to elaborate certain points or ask me what the
narrator was saying during the really dense parts of the documentaries. Though
the films were about a very depressing and “close to home” subject, Dhondulp
would burst out laughing at certain parts. “Look at that man in those big
glasses, he look funny!” My favorite was when the documentary was showing
footage about the Tibetan soldiers training and practicing guerilla warfare and
Dhondulp started laughing hysterically and said “they really do look like
gorillas, of course they fight bad!” Dhondulp’s sense of humor about everything
reminds me of an interview I saw with
the Dalia Lama. He was talking about how in Buddhism, one must try to find
humor in the midst of all suffering.
I feel like Dhondulp has mastered this almost impossible task.
After watching
our documentaries and going over Dhondulp’s homework, he gave me tea and
cookies and then walked me home. It was raining so he brought a giant umbrella
with all of the colors of the rainbow on it for us. I loved the way he looked
in his burgundy cloth monk uniform with its yellow trim on the sleeves, his
brown Adidas shoes, and his colorful rainbow umbrella in hand. To me, Dhondulp
encompasses pure kindness and I already know that he will be the hardest piece
of India to leave behind…
I got
home too late for yoga so I ended up reading for over an hour. The moments that
Dharamsala forces me to relax, usually because the whole town doesn’t have
power, always prove to be centering. After my relaxation, I braved the rain
begrudgingly. By this time it was coming down in sheets and blowing slanted but
we had agreed to meet our coordinator and some new volunteers on the other side
of town for dinner. We all arrived dripping wet to the nicest restaurant here
called Tenor. My roommates and I shared a variety of paneer, lentil, and cashew
dishes. We keep asking for it to be spicy but it never is! Our coordinator said
it’s because we are white and they think white girls can’t handle spicy and to
show them I could I asked for a side of chili paste and loaded my plate up with
it. Maybe next time he will believe the little white girl with yellow hair who
just can’t get enough of spicy food!
Reading
and talking about Buddhism naturally has me thinking a lot about suffering.
It’s interesting timing because in the past few weeks I’ve seen more suffering
than I have in my entire 26 years of life. Though, I’ve seen the most potent
amount of suffering here, I’ve also experienced and witnessed a great amount of
love. While there are people living in homes made of trash, there are monks
here radiating compassion and there are people I’ve met from all over the world
who have traveled here to lend hands, love, experience, and inspiration. The
two extremes, and they are indeed extremes compared to life at home, balance
and the end result seems to be just as balanced to the smaller amount of
suffering and smaller amount of compassion I feel in the suburbs at home.
Though, I don’t want to make a stereotype about where I’m from because I’ve met
some incredible and extremely compassionate people in the suburbs. I feel like
these people should be in India with me but I take comfort knowing that they
are being loving and inspirational in the place that I will return “home” to…
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