Chocolate momos

Nellie is holding up a chocolate filled momo in this photo. The dough was also had chocolate in it, but that part wasn't very good. We also had chocolate peanut butter momos for dessert at, of all places, a Korean restaurant. Random. The dough made them taste weird, but if you stick with the normal dough it should be fine.

Momos are easy to make...in theory, because they take a lot of work. But I'm sure my brother won't mind helping with this since chocolate is involved. See, Derek, you might like some Tibetan food! Kathryn, I'll bring these to the Losar party next year.

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Necessities

Today the power went out in the morning, around ten, and came back on at four. Apparently this was a planned power outage that was publicized in the newspapers, but unfortunately I don't read Hindi. It's unclear if people go to their offices and sit or just have a holiday when this happens. Some larger offices might have generators, but the bank was closed today. Power outages have been long when they've occurred, but have been less frequent than I've expected.

The water pipes are quarter-sized in diameter and often leak, leading to the photo above. I didn't see any dogs drinking out of the bowls, but I'm sure this is how all the strays stay hydrated, and why our water sometimes runs out. On our hike to Triund, Anna noticed that a pipe was leaking and creating a mud puddle. Of course, one of the only underground pipes had spurted a hole, letting in dirt and leaving a slippery path in its wake.

I realize electricity isn't a necessity, especially here, but at home I wouldn't know how to survive without lightswitches and tap water. Here, we make do with the sun and bottled water.

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Recording

Liz stole Nellie's voice recorder, so I now have the audio of our audience with HHDL. I am overly excited about this happening. Voice recorders are pretty amazing. If you are interested in his talk, let me know.

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Happy birthday Mom!

I promise I'll get you a hotel in Delhi as a birthday present.

I love you!

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Research

We are in the middle of independent study period, where we pick a project and interview people, translate texts, watch, and generally participate in the Tibetan community to collect data and observations. Eventually we are supposed to create a 30ish page paper on the topic. Typically, I chose the Tibetan government, which is particularly pertinent because the exile population elected a new Kalon Tripa, or prime minister, in March. The results came out last week, and Dr. Lobsang Sanagy of Harvard won the election.

I happen to think my topic is fascinating, because the government in exile calls itself a democracy. In practice, though, the Tibetan people and government look to HHDL for guidance and would (at least in the past) submit to his will without even voting. That is changing, but it's interesting to figure out why.

Since it happened so recently, people are really receptive and open to talking to me about their involvement and experiences, and I've had some enlightening exchanges. Unfortunately, I can't really tell where my paper will go, or even if I'm actually going to have an argument. Sara Stern, I'd like to publicly acknowledge the fact that you may read approximately a bazillion pages of terrible writing on something you don't care about this year (and this is even before I start writing thesis....ouch) and that I also probably owe you something comparable to my firstborn child. Let's make a deal: if/when China releases Tibet from its clutches, we'll go kick it. Tibet is awesome but I don't think even I could persuade you to go back to China.

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The news

As I'm sure you've heard, since even I've heard here, US forces killed Osama bin Laden. Almost every person I communicate with contacted me to inform me about Obama's speech.

I was a little confused by the reaction at home. I don't think there's any reason to celebrate over someone's death. There might not necessarily be reason to mourn either, but apparently people at school set off fireworks and sang the national anthem. I'm genuinely happy I wasn't there.

As you might have guessed, we're fine. There has been almost no reaction, perhaps because we are in the Tibetan community rather than the Indian community at large. Even if we were in India proper, the people might be happy that the US found Osama in Pakistan. We have gotten multiple email warnings not to go to tourist places (oops) and not to go to group gatherings (double oops). I promise to try not to get kidnapped, or if I do to keep the blog going (kidding, kidding).

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Rain

It's currently pouring in India and I'm outside on my computer. When I opened my case today the keyboard was full of dust and dirt. I really hope my computer makes it through the summer. Then I will probably live in Poppa with Diggory and all the other LTAs and use those computers.

But seriously. It's a huge storm. I'm under cover but I'm scared to even pack up and move inside. Or move anywhere. It's ironic that the internet works at a time like this.