Blogs from Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia - page 103

I've been getting a taste of both Indian and Tibetan arts and culture here while fulfilling my volunteer obligations, and during my free time as well. Some aspects interest me more than others, but it's all new and exciting. For example, art and music really catch my attention. On the other hand, I'm not really concerned with the religious aspects of the cultures (but there is PLENTY to find here for those who are interested - a lion's share of the tourists, I believe.) One thing that has really surprised me is how similar certain aspects of traditional Tibetan culture seem to the cultures of Native American peoples, especially those found in the south-west United States. The traditional music and dance sound and look very much like what I've observed from performances by the Hopi Indians ... read more

Thanks for all the comments, and all the well wishes. I really appreciate it. I am feeling a lot better, though I understand a lot of people have been getting sick here. Amoebic dysentary, apparently. It seems there was some bad water in town.... However, I am on the mend, and though my energy is still low I have been having some wonderful experiences and moments at Art Refuge. A lot of the kids went off to school in Mussoorie, another hill town in this state, and there are few new refugees arriving because of the political situation in Nepal. Tibetans come through Nepal to get here, and they are stuck there, apparently. So we only have a few kids. But the good thing is that they are each getting a lot of attention, which they ... read more

I have been in Macleod Ganj just over a week now, and it has been a week of highs and lows; ups and downs. And I don't just mean the spectacular scenery -- snow-capped mountains on one side of this tiny city and a golden valley on the other. I started feeling a bit better and began my first shift of volunteering at Art Refuge, on the roof of the reception centre. Immediately, two tiny Tibetan girls, sisters, grabbed me and hung on to me for the entire afternoon session, one lying across my lap as I sat on the floor, and another hanging around my neck and patting my hair. The littlest one, Lobsang, had one of the biggest grins I have ever seen, and she grinned right in my face, her tiny face full ... read more

so blog...bloggy blog...this is sooo late...this one is for the past..for the reflection of things that i already done did. NORBULINKA ya'll. it was a good day...it is actually the day that we were at REWA from the last blog...erika and daniel were sick, so it was just me and colette and we went solo on this adventure. it was cool and the gang. so we left REWA and walked all the way down to dharamsala and caught a bus that we hoped took us to Norbulinka...they kept saying "Karmapa" and i thought he lived there so we got on and ended up at the monastery that he lives at...it was very pleasant. it was basically two long dorm things and then a temple elevated at the end...the weather was perfect and there was a LAWN ... read more

I am writing this from the Dogga Internet Cafe, a non-profit centre to benefit the Tibetan society here. It is down a steep, dark set of stone stairs. Everything here is either up or down. I have been here three days and I am just starting to get to know my way around, though McLeod Ganj is not large. It is perched precariously on the side of a hill, several hundred metres above Dharmasala, and you can continue to go up this mountain to other smaller centres. It is all very windy, chaotic and in generally bad repair. There are Indians, Tibetans, tourists, hippies, cows, dogs, goats, HUGE spiders, small shops selling Tibetan handicrafts, hippie hang outs, Tibetan refugee agencies ... and, of course, at the centre of it all is the hill top Tibetan Buddhist ... read more