First Day of Volunteering

                Today, on the phone with my Mom, I got to say for the first time in my life “I spent my day hanging out with monks” and teaching them English at the Dalai Lama temple. Too cool.

                I’m quickly starting to get the hang of this town. It’s not very big but still full of culture, philosophy, compassion, and mentally stimulating things to do. I’m getting used to which mud paths lead up the steep hill to my house ( up the stone steps to the iron rods, follow iron rods to staircase,  turn left at the really mossy stairs not the cobble stone stairs, keep going up, turn left at the really flat path, walk past the iron roof line of one of the houses, up more stairs, when you start wondering if you’re lost just look to the right and look for the house with the red drape that hangs over the door). I’m learning to constantly look at my feet while I walk (though it is hard as there is so much going on around me) so that I don’t step in cow, dog, monkey, cat, donkey, or horse poop with flip flops on. I know now where I can get a mango lassi, a good cup of coffee, cheap bottled water, and the best baked goods I’ve ever had. I understand that if it rains at night you celebrate because it probably won’t rain really hard during the day the next day. Did I mention that it is monsoon season here?

                Dharamsala has such a community, compassionate, enlightening vibe to it. People really do sit around and talk life, politics, social change, etc in coffee and chai shops. Most of these shops, you find yourself sitting on the floor on a pillow with your shoes off. So many people are eager to help the Tibetan refugees and spread the word about the struggle in Tibet. A lot of cafes and restaurants that I have come across are non-profit which is just so so so cool. To sum up my tangent, there are a lot of people here who simply seem to just “get it.”

                Today I was supposed to help start a new childcare center in Lower Dharamsala. However, I found out that because of the rainy and humid weather that the paint had not dried yet so it’s not ready for opening. So, my volunteer coordinator took me with some other volunteers to “the garden” which is just a clearing in the trees. Any adult can come there at 10 am every day to get paired up with a volunteer to learn English. This morning I worked with a guy (I feel bad but have no clue what he said his name was) who is in his early twenties who escaped Tibet five years ago. To teach adults English you primarily are just expected to have a discussion with them. They want to practice what they’ve learned with someone who can correct pronunciation and tell them the words they’ve not retained yet.

                I had “discussion” for two hours in the garden. I got the sense that he enjoyed doing more of the talking so that he could practice his words instead of listening to me talk which was perfect for me. I kept asking him questions about Tibet, his life here, etc. He pulled up pictures on his phone of his village in Tibet. The area was beautiful. Green meadows, mountains, yaks everywhere. In fact, he had grown up in a tent made of yak hide which he proudly showed me. It seemed so very peaceful. He said the journey from Tibet was “really scary” and that his Uncle and sister went on that same journey at different times than him and were caught and thrown in a Chinese prison. He said he used to be able to keep in touch with his family with phone calls but recently it sounds like the Chinese have somehow stopped a lot of the cell phone signals from working? He was trying to explain but I didn’t fully follow. Thinking about being cut off from one’s family sounds miserable though.

                After a “tea break” I was taken to the Dalai Lama temple and met the monk who I will be tutoring every afternoon for the duration of my stay from 1 to 3. His name is Dhondulp and I think he’s lovely.  Most of the monks here live in a dorm type setting in the monastery. My tutoring session will be held in Dhondulp’s simple room every day. The furniture in the room consists of a mattress on the floor, two cushions on which we sat for our session, a table with the few edibles and belongings that he has, and a row of water bottles. Dhondulp has been practicing English for over a year and can carry on excellent conversations. He is actually from a monastery in South India and is vacationing here in Dharamsala. Dhondulp was born in India and so I asked him about the different towns and his favorite spots close by.

                Like I, Dhondulp loves to learn about different types of people. He said he learned a lot of his English from Hollywood films. He then proceeded to ask me: “Does all of the black man speak in slang?” I said no. Then he said “in the movies, the black man talk so fast and shorten his words and I can never understand him.” We then had a discussion about stereotypes... Dhondulp enjoyed hearing about American norms from me as his last teacher was from Ireland. I told him about how there are so many different regions and cultures in America. He said “I like everybody, every religion makes me happy. I want to learn more about Catholics in America.” I told him that I would like to learn more about Catholics in America as well as I don’t know much about Catholicism.

                Dhondulp and I talked a lot about nutrition. Something I’ve discovered that is popular here among the Tibetans is “butter tea.” Yes, it’s what it sounds like. Out of curiosity, Ellen (volunteer from Australia who is 18 and traveling Asia by herself for the next 7 months) ordered butter tea today during our tea break. I sipped my café mocha and watched her make a horrible face as she took her first sip. I then tried it because I’m not going to miss out on any of this experience. It tastes like someone melted an entire stick of salted butter into a cup of black tea. I asked Dhondulp if a lot of people really drink butter tea and he said more than any other drink. He said people drink entire pots of it a day but they also have high blood pressure.

                When three came, the rain really started to become what you would expect from monsoon season. Dhondulp told me that I should stay because I didn’t bring an umbrella. He gave me cookies and then pulled out a jar of peanut butter! He said that even though it was an American food, he always puts peanut butter on his cookies. (I can see Mom and Jack laughing right now because I’m the only other person I know that does that) So, Dhondulp and I enjoyed some peanut butter covered cookies and talked for another hour until the rain ceased. When I got up to leave he sent me home with the entire box of leftover cookies and a water bottle. He also said that I am the funniest teacher that he’s ever had and that he’s glad we’ll be talking together every day. Never having taught English as a second language before, I was overwhelmingly happy with how grateful and pleased he was that I will be talking with him every day. The thing is, I don’t feel like I’m “volunteering.” I’m learning about Tibet, Buddhism, and a completely new culture. I’m gaining perspectives. I have a monk that doesn’t mind if I ask him questions about Buddhism…

                After my day of teaching I came home, got sick (no mom it wasn’t very bad and I feel fine now), and went to the internet  café down the hill and across the street from my house. It was full of westerners sipping tea and talking about life and I was amused to catch bits and pieces. My favorite: “only uneducated rednecks voted for George Bush.” I kind of glared at them as I have a soft spot in my heart for red necks…. I liked the café though; you take your shoes off at the door and sit on pillows at tiny tables for your lap top. You have to buy something since the wi fi is free so I enjoyed a lovely coconut and banana muffin. Yup, carbs everywhere. I love that I can be on the other side of the planet and still update everyone via my blog, email, and facebook. What a wonderful afternoon!

                I got so caught up in photo uploading that I looked at the time and realized I was missing dinner. The cook made naan with some sort of spiced potatoes and tofu. It was so yummy. The other girls and I hung out and talked and decided that we needed a lassi. For those of you who haven’t tried a lassi before, you can get it in the states at most Indian restaurants and I highly recommend trying one. It’s a sweetened yogurt drink, a lot of times you can pick a fruit to put in it and I always pick mango. I relished in the fact that I was finally in India enjoying a lassi- something I’ve been fantasizing about for so long.