Mail!

I got two letters and a package today, which was awesome! I love the mail. Thank you!

I shared the chocolates with everyone, and they were a big hit. Tonight we had a goodbye dinner with our roommates, then all the girls had a dance party in the lounge! It's funny to see the songs Tibetans know, and also see their choreographed routines!

We are leaving Sarah tomorrow, but I said goodbye to Sonam tonight since she is also leaving on a weekend trip. Teaser: today we met our homestay families! Much to say, but it's late and I haven't yet packed (shocker).

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Debate

On Wednesday in philosophy class we got a taste of Tibetan debate. Debate is traditionally part of the monastic training here, and since ani-la is a nun, when she and Ryan got into an argument we got to watch and participate.

Picture this: while having a normal discussion in class, Ryan and ani-la dispute a point. Ani-la gets up out of her chair. She stands in the middle of the room, in nun's robes with a shaved head, and begins to debate. While asking a question, she steps with her left foot and stretches out her left hand. Her right hand makes a gracefully circle over her head, and the end of the question is punctuated by the smack of her left hand on her right.

In traditional debate on the grounds, the questioner stands and steps, while the opponent kneels. There are only four answers you are allowed to give, so the pressure is high. Debate ground can be really loud when you walk by. Apparently ani-la debated the monks at Sarah (who are novices or recently ordained) and schooled them.

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The mindfulness step

The program dining hall, classroom, and library are on the first three levels of the college guest house, and if you take the stairs all the way up you can sit on the roof in the sunshine and look at the mountains.

Because there are no western building codes here, one of the steps is a little bit taller than the rest. Since we walk up and down the stairs so many times a day, it's easy to notice the difference, but it's often hard to remember exactly where the step is. People stumble sometimes.

Tonight we had a program meeting to share our thoughts on things we were thankful for and things that blindsided us so far. Ed, one of the guys on the program, expressed his gratefulness towards the one step that's a little bit taller than the rest. He called it the mindfulness step because it forces him to think about what he's doing: walking up or down the stairs. I decided that's a beautiful way of looking at a stair I would otherwise trip over.

It also reminded me of two things I want out of this trip: I want to be fully present and involved in whatever I'm doing, and I want to look at situations in the best possible light. They're lofty, but it's better to remind myself all the time to get into that mindset. So I'm happy that the stairs are a little uneven, because it means I can pay attention to them.

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Fun facts

Tibet has almost no roads because until the 20th century, the country had prayer wheels but no regular wheels.

My philosophy teacher is a nun, originally from germany, who completed sixteen years of study.

She says things like, "the Buddha said to test his words as you would gold. That was the standard then. Now you should test his words as you would a laptop."

A monkey ran down the length of a dorm hallway directly towards me today. It was one of the scarier moments of my life. I jumped out of the way and he turned to go up the stairs.

The resident dorm dog looks like the Grim.

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How cold is it in India?

Really cold.

I promised this entry would be about bucket showers, and it will be, but first you need some background on the weather and lifestyle here.

Stereotypically, India is always hot. Sometimes wet, sometimes now, but always hot. This is untrue.

Northern India gets cold. It's so cold that the schools have their three month break in the winter, while schools in the south have the break in the summer.

It isn't absolutely freezing all the time. When the sun comes out during the day it warms up, and it feels nice to be out in the sunshine, especially when the clouds burn off and you can see the mountains.

The buildings don't have heat. Going inside during the daytime is often colder than standing outside. You can never go inside to warm up.

Instead, everyone wears a base layer of long underwear that stays on all the time. Tibetan women sometimes wear three pairs of long underwear underneath their skirts. Then you wear between three and five layers on top. Because the classrooms aren't heated, I sit in class with a scarf and a hat and a blanket. Some people wear gloves. In one classroom you must remove your shoes, so we bring slippers or extra socks.

The dorms built out of concrete, and also don't have heat, so you sleep in your base layer (of course) and pajamas on top. I sleep in my sleeping bag, under a huge comforter. I made the mistake last night of touching the wall in my sleep. The iciness woke me up.

I should also mention that the dorms are completely open. We have a cats living under the first floor stairs, dogs and monkeys wander the halls at all times, and one day we had to chase out goats. Living here is a trip.

In addition to living without heat, solar energy heats the water in the dorms. Since it only gets warm when the sun shines, the water is
Always cold at night and sometimes doesn't work in the morning because the pipes freeze overnight.

Knowing all this, none of us expected much from the solar heated water. Yesterday, Julia and I decided to have a shower party after lunch to take advantage of the sun's maximum potential (using our trusty buckets, of course, I should probably throw in a picture of my bucket soon. We're thinking about decorating them).

We filled our buckets, and noted the steam rising from the water. Julia decided that it probably came from the difference between air and water temperature, which was a fair guess, so we proceeded.

Incorrect! To our delighted surprise, the water was deliciously hot. Hot enough to scald us and we ended up mixing it with cold water from the shower tap.

Using our smaller pails (also vital) to pour water over our heads, we created salon hair washing conditions crouched over buckets in concrete showers in the middle of northern India. Who would have thunk?

When we reported our findings at dinner, even the boys got excited at the prospect of hot water. That's when you know it's really cold.

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Temples, buckets and Michael Jackson

Remember when I said this was like camp? It is.

Firstly, we got a tour of the temple on campus. Normally Buddhist temples have statues of the Buddha on the altar, but the one here has a beautiful wall sized fabric applique hanging. This is so when the people can move back to Tibet they can roll it up and take it with them. The founder of the college was an optimist, they like to say.

As we entered the temple we learned how to fold our hands and bow as we cross threshold, which wasn't required. I decided to do it anyway to see what it feels like. I was uncomfortable prostrating myself on the ground, given that Judaism pretty much forbids that, but hey, going abroad is about being uncomfortable.

Later, the girls on the program ventured down the road to Gagal, where we bought shampoo, sweats, and various other things. Most importantly, we all bought buckets. And the story really gets camplike.

Here, you need buckets to shower, wash your clothes, and occasionally carry random items. I have never thought so much about buckets in my life. Needless to say, we came back stoked about our purchases. And then had shower parties.

After dinner there was a variety show (which corresponds to the camp talent show. Do you see where I'm going? ). A bunch of Tibetan student preformed traditional songs and dances. On our end, the boys played and sang a song by the animals, while the girls danced to Thriller. We were unsure if the monks got the joke, but we had a lot of fun.

Quote of the day:

Liz: "I can sip tea like a genius."

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