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.
"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.
