बहुत अच्चा!

Things I like about Dharamsala:

10) Chonor House (my hotel) is actually a tibetan museum and the walls of every room are covered in Tibetan paintings
9) The tea is spicier. None of the watered down chai around here. It is all lovely masala (trans. = spicy) chai.
8) No more cars. Now that we're here, we're not doing much more venturing out on twisty mountain roads. In Shimla, we were constantly going on 7-9 hour "day-trips" in the mountains. This was particularly scary when we were told we would have to take an alternate route because the road had been washed out by the previous night's rain.
7) Our classroom here is much more interesting. Instead of sitting at a conference table, we are seated on pillows on the floor, surrounded by plants and more beautiful Tibetan art.
6) It's quieter. Shimla was amazing, but I woke up every morning to the sound of cars honking their horns and their alarms going off. This morning I woke up to birds singing...though there was one bird squawking in an eerily human voice.
5) Diet Pepsi. I found a vendor selling Diet Pepsi for only 20 rupees! Everywhere else they charge at least 50 rupees for diet soda because the locals don't drink it. Not to mention, until now I could only find Diet Coke.
4) The beautiful scenery. Looking up to see the Himalayas will never get old!
3) The blend of Hindu and Buddhist traditions. There are bright Hindu temples and an expansive Buddhist monastery right here in McLeod Ganj (the part of Dharamsala we're staying in).
2) There is an italian restaurant with amazing desserts (hot fudge brownie ice cream sundae!)
1) I found a jeweler to custom-design a handmade engagement ring for Josh (because he is going to propose to me)!!!

धरम्सला में!

We got to Dharamsala yesterday. Only took 14 hours. And we're higher up in the Himalayas. It's gorgeous. This is going to be a short post, because I want to go explore.

Love,
Elizabeth

हम धरम्सला जा रहे हैं

We're leaving for Dharamsala early Tuesday morning, so I am doing the rest of my Shimla shopping before we leave. I bought a couple of pairs of shoes, one that will go particularly well with my red, green, and gold sari. After I'm done posting this, I'm going to walk to the lower bazaar to buy some fabric for my mom, maybe some more bangles, and I might not be able to resist getting ONE more shawl. They're so beautiful, I have decided to set a new trend in the US. Women in their 20's will ALL be wearing shawls soon!

We went to an ashram the other day. There they teach girls ages 6-14 from the poorest families in the local villages. The girls were very sweet, but I felt horrible offering them gifts of chocolate and markers. They were happy to receive them, but the truth of the matter is that most of them will be married by their parents as soon as they finish at the ashram. The girls were surprised to hear me speaking hindi to them...at least I could entertain.

Yesterday we didn't really do very much, I'm sorry to report. We were running around all week, plus watching movies for classes every night. So by yesterday we were all ready to relax.

I wrote a paper about dharma for my Indian and Tibetan Law and Philosophy class. I know I generally attempt to end these posts on a light note, but instead I'll leave you with this. The hindu concept of dharma is based on duty, righteousness, and virtue. Our professor asked us to contemplate our own dharma for the last part of our assignment. As the youngest daughter in a matriarchal family, I had plenty to say about my dharma. Now,I ask you: do you have a dharma? And how do you fulfill it? Just food for thought, you don't have to comment if you don't want to.

Soon I'll be posting from Dharamsala (the name of this post is "we're going to Dharamsala").

Love,
Elizabeth

शिमला में

We're still in Shimla. Today we went to the Viceregal Lodge, where the viceroys of the British Empire used to stay when it got too hot in Delhi. It was beautiful, and HUGE. Lots of wood paneling. Unfortunately they wouldn't let anyone take pictures inside. So I got to see the room where they discussed the formation of the Indian Constitution. AND I got to see the table where they sat and agreed to partition India and East and West Pakistan. These were very exciting moments for me.

On the way back I stopped at a Kali temple, which I had passed before but never entered. It was AMAZING. There were people gathered inside singing and playing drums and cymbals. SO cool. Don't worry Mom, no blood or animal sacrifice was involved.

On a personal note, I have a sinus infection. This is self-diagnosed. I also self-prescribed myself omoxycilin, which I purchased from the "chemist" on the street. $3 for 24 tablets. Hopefully I'll feel better by this weekend. I think the dust finally got to me.

I'm sure there are million things I'm leaving out. Did I mention the Buddhist monk who was flirting with me? Hopefully I did because that was quite the highlight of this trip. A man who is supposed to be striving for detachment seemed quite infatuated with me :) take that nirvana!

I miss everyone. Comment on my posts...it makes me feel validated!
Namaste,
Elizabeth

P.S. Gave money to a sannyasi on the street who blessed me. Good karma!

शिमला

I'm in Shimla! Sorry there hasn't been a post recently. We don't have internet in the hotel, so I have to use spotty/sketchy cybercafes. The upside is they charge about 50 rupees (a little more than $1) an hour.

So I guess the most exciting news is that we hiked to the Jakhu Mandir (Monkey Temple) yesterday. The hike is extremely steep and strenous. BUT I made it to the top first. All of those years of walking instead of owning a car are finally paying off! There was a beautiful temple at the top, which is for Hanuman the Hindu god. He's part monkey, so they don't shoo the monkeys away from the temple. That means that outside of the temple there are at least five monkeys at any given moment. For the most part they are quite harmless. Sometimes they bite/scratch. So I kept my distance and used my zoom on my camera. I went into the temple and received a blessing from the guru there. Then he gave me some "snack food" which was nuts and little sugar balls. It's actually the same food they give to the monkeys. So I hate half of it and took the other half outside. A monkey came close, so I put the remainder of my snack on the ground. He ate each piece very carefully. I took a picture. Sharing a meal with a monkey by Hanuman's temple on the highest point in Shimla, in the Himalayas, was probably the coolest thing I've done thus far.

Now I need to go figure out dinner. The peaches are in season here, so I'm eating lots of fruit and naan (bread). Trouble with the protein in take. Getting a little thin. But I promise I'll make it home to share my pictures! (WHICH I still cannot upload because the computers in cybercafes don't have USB ports...)

Thanks for checking in. I love the comments!
Elizabeth