Tibet Pictures

Mount Everest from our Airplane flying to Lhasa from Kathmandu.










The Potala palace in Lhasa, former home of H.H. Dalai Lama. currently controlled by the Chinese government as a tourist attraction, although many Tibetan pilgrims still travel here.




Chinese military on guard outside of the plaza in front of the Potala. In the background is the ridiculous looking Chinese monument commemorating the "peaceful liberation" of Tibet.














Above: One of our campsites trekking in Phempo region, 16,000ft.

Left: View from Drak Yerpa meditation cave outside of Lhasa

bloggin...errr

So it turns out I'm really lazy and forgot about blogging. I trust most of you have given up, but incase you're still interested I'll sum up the past month in a few sentences. I saw H.H. the Dalai Lama with my good friend from Wes, Reid. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. When he walked by us and looked us in the eyes I started to cry thinking about how much happiness and hope he brings to so many people. There were Tibetan pilgrims there who traveled for miles to fulfill their life long dream of seeing him. I was very happy and thankful to share that moment with Reid. Then our group went to Kathmandu where we lived right next to the Boudanath Stupa, received teachings from a Khenpo, visited many monasteries, and hiked around. The Kathmandu Vally was very unique. So many people from all over the world, although it was a bit polluted and noisy. Then we went to Lhasa, saw mount Everest outside the window of our plane, went Trekking with donkeys and yaks, drank Tibetan beer and gambled with the sherpas at night, camped at an elevation higher than Everest base camp, and saw the Potala and a bunch of other crazy stuff. Pretty much the craziest, most rewarding weeks I've ever had. Although so much has been changed by the Chinese government, we were still able to get a feel for Tibetan culture and meet some incredible people, particularly outside of the big cities.
I wish I could elaborate more, but It's been too long since the last time I wrote. I'm back in Dharamsala now about to start my Independent Study project. I'll be here for 5 weeks. I'd love to hear how you all are doing. email me and I'd love to tell you more about stuff here if you're interested.
much love,
schuyler

Today we hiked to a waterfall just outside of McLeod Ganj. It was a beautiful morning and the water was clear cold Himalayan mountain fresh. There's a very cool cafe at the top where we had some delicious masala chai. The mountains here are amazing, very steep and surround the entire village.

















This is Mani-Lhakhang, or on the English tourist map of Dharamsala "Prayer Wheels and Stupa". The streets here are full of vendors, people walking, and an occasional cow or two. The town is only two streets and this is one of them.

This week we are planning on visiting the Tibetan Refugee center to talk with Tibetans who crossed the Himalayan border from the Tibet Autonomous Region (China). We also plan on meeting Tenzin Tsundu, a famous political activist and poet (you should google him and read his stuff). And on Monday we are planning on going to see the Dalai Lama teach at the Namgyal temple. yappo dug! (means "it's good" in Tibetan, which we have grown quite fond of saying excessively after every sentence in a Borat voice).
In two weeks we'll be headed back to Delhi and then to Nepallll.

We have been living in Dharamsala (McLeod Ganj actually) in northern India for a little over two weeks now. The town is located in the foothills of the Himalayas and is the home of H.H. the Dalai Lama and a large Tibetan community in exile. I am currently living with a Tibetan family. My Amala (homestay mother) is very nice, but doesn't say much since she speaks very little English. She makes super tasty food, offers me tea every five minutes, and makes sure that I brush my teeth and zip-up my jacket all the way before I leave the house.
My Pala (father) works in the secretary building for the Dalai Lama. He snores very loudly at night, but is fully aware of it and makes jokes about keeping all of us awake, and also about how he's a fatty, but compared to American standards of morbid obesity, he's quite slim. The home is a two room apartment: a kitchen and a living room. it's quite clean and cozy. I'm learning alot about living in a very small space with three other people. I never thought I'd miss my one-room double in the freshman dorms at Wes. Overall things are not so bad though. The porch overlooks the beautiful mountains and the back of the monastery and temple....In the mornings I wake up to the sounds of the monks blowing Tibetan horns at around 5:50am, which may seem like an exotic, pleasant wake up call but sometimes I wish the monks could wait another half-hour longer before starting the day. We generally go to sleep around 9, unless Indian Idol is on TV, in which case we all watch loyally as my amala spins her prayer wheel or does prostrations infront of the TV... My homestay brother Tenzin Shey-dup ( or just shey-dup since everyone and their mother is named Tenzin after the Dalai Lama) is quite a naughty little 4 year old. I don't think he likes me very much yet and simply thinks of me as a threat to his food supply and attention from his mother. Sometimes we'll play catch on the porch with a deflated basketball or watch Tom&Jerry in Hindi together, but beyond that he doesn't talk to me much. I think he gets frustrated that my Tibetan so far is not that good....but despite all of his childish antics and temper-tantrums, he's really cute and gets away with everything.

It's really difficult trying to say everything that's happening, and these blog posting will hardly scratch the surface of our experiences here, but I'm hoping that I can answer some of your questions. I have a ton of pictures that I want to post, but it takes forever at these internet cafes, so I'll try to upload them sometime soon on a different site.

Hello family and friends. This here's my blog of sorts....I probably won't be able to update it as frequently as I'd like but hopefully now you can get an idea of everything that's going on these days... Please send me a message/email. I'd love to hear about how your semesters are going too. Miss you all!
-Schuyler