From Brahma to Buddha, Spring 2007

Of Domkhar and such

Wed, 02 May 2007 09:29:15 +0000

After an awesome split meal with Chris of veg. momo and (rather dry) veg chowmein I'm ready to connect with the rest of the world that is outside India. My time in Domkhar (no idea how you spell that) was amazingly awesome. The beauty and the altitude of the place left me breathless. You walked along winding roads surrounded by step-farms and trees and rustic houses made of mud brick or stone that worked so wonderfully with the environment and beyond that were mountains. Oh the mountains. And as you walk everyone you pass, young and old give you a brilliant smile as you exchange greetings of Juley (wow my spelling is really failing me today). My homestay was wonderful. My sister Tashi who was in class 8 looked after me and took care of me like a mother, so say I was surprised at this is an understatement. They fed me massive amounts of food. I'd sit there with my curd, chapati, colak, and bean dish for breakfast while the rest of the family ate only chapati or colak. My brother spoke surprisingly good English, better than his older sister, and I'd usually spend my time back at the house playing with him and his cousin. My father was shy around me but had this brilliant smile and a simple 'juley' was really all the communication we needed to connect. My mother was either out working or in front of the stove cooking with Tashi or my Grandmother. My Grandfather made Domos, the long, butter-churner like object they used to make the butter tea. Outside of each entrance to the house there was a dog, the black and white one stopped barking at me after the first day or two; would only peek open an eye at me. The other one went nuts every time I went by and would continue barking long after I'd passed it by.

In a couple of days we'll be leaving for our 9-day trek. Quite looking forward to this and supper happy we won't have to be carrying our big backpacks. The three days we just spent at the lake were a blast and, surprise surprise! SO BEAUTIFUL! Our tourist-mobile did get stuck in the sand coming to and going from the lake. Though by the second time we were pros at getting it unstuck. We had a great cook with us who taught me to make skew and dazzled us all with this cooking ability.

We leave in a few hours to go to SECMOL, where we'll spend a couple of days washing clothes and taking hot showers before leaving for the trek.

It's hard to believe the trip is coming to an end. Coming home's going to be crazy weird.

Tso Moriri & Hemis

Wed, 02 May 2007 12:24:28 +0000

We just got back from our student led trip to Tso Moriri and Hemis. Although it was a bit of a journey out to Tso Moriri –including a quick stall in some thick sand- it was well worth it. The scenery was quite stunning! We spent our time relaxing, enjoying walks around the lake, playing soccer with some local kids, and indulging in our cook, Stanzin,’s amazing dishes! We also enjoyed a night of ghost stories –Ladakhi and American- and hot chocolate. Our on way back, we stopped by a nomadic tent and shared some tea and stories with the family that lived there.

We spent our last day and a half in Hemis, a beautiful village about an hour outside of Leh. Hemis hosts one of the most famous Drukpa (a lineage of Tibetan Buddhism) monasteries. Early this morning, we hiked up to Gotsang retreat center. Many Buddhist monks come to this place of refuge for several years in order to focus solely on their practice.

This evening we are headed to SECMOL, the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh , for the next three days before we begin our 9 day trek in Marka Valley. We will return from trek on May 13th. We are looking forward to the challenge that the days ahead of us hold.

Finally, we all are looking forward to celebrating Sarah’s 20th birthday tomorrow!

Ladakh

Wed, 02 May 2007 12:45:34 +0000

ladakh is a dramatic contour map viewed from above, knife-blade ridges and
rippling valleys of cascading diagonal striation that make the millennial
texturing of the earth an immediate, tangible thing. we reached leh early in
the morning, descending from the airplane to the runway and out into the
cold, thin air. a rocky desert landscape rose and plunged in muted colors to
either side, gray, snow-capped mountains cutting the horizon to the front.
the sky was impossibly blue, a color of crayon boxes or paint but not of
nature, arching above into a bowl of definite form and dimension. the sun is
nearer here. it reflected off of the snow on the mountains, turning the
peaks into light mirrors of white.

, ,
two jeeps took us to our guest house-- built in the traditional ladakhi
style, square, flat-roofed, with walls of stone and white plaster and
intricately carved window frames of wood. a string of prayer flags wound
around the edge of the roof, and bales of hay. there were soft warm beds
with thick blankets, and low painted tables in the common room. even at
11,000 feet, we were all well, though weak-- for the next two days we
wandered slowly through the capitol city (the roads silent and empty, many
shops vacant with the passes still closed by snow), sleeping and eating
tremendously under the gentle care of rigzin and kunzes.

Thoughts from Namgial

Thu, 03 May 2007 08:20:28 +0000

I am happy to let you all know that the Global LAB and Domkhar High School project was overwhelmingly welcomed by the residents of Domkhar Dho, Barma, and Gongma. This week long project with the high school was a wonderful opportunity to hear thoughts and opinions from both sides of students: Domkhar High School students and the Global LAB students.

Global LAB's contribution in the river cleaning project with the three schools from each part of the village was well-received and future projects are quite encouraged. In addition to the school students, the villagers from each section also participated in the river clean up. This was a special time for all the students, Ladakhi, U.S. American and the villagers to share experiences.

For the occasion, the three villages and schools organized a big gathering and a picnic lunch at Domkhar Barma. Six hundred people welcomed the Global LAB students and offered kataks - white scarves - for the group.

The final day of our time in Domkhar, we celebrated with a Ladakhi cultural show organized exclusively by the students of Domkhar High School. Many villagers also attended the celebration. The Global LAB students also offered two songs from U.S. American culture which were well-received by the audience of Ladakhis.

The Domkhar School project was outstanding and I feel happy to be working with and representing Global LAB to facilitate these activities. I see great mutual benefit for everyone involved: the Global LAB students, the students and villagers of Domkhar, and the land of Ladakh.

Jullay,

Rinchen Namgial
Local Coordinator in Ladakh

Colors of Holi

Thu, 03 May 2007 20:24:33 +0000

Posted here is another digital story from the group's adventures. This digital story is about the Festival of Colors, Holi. The group had the excellent fortune of living around Assi Ghat in Varanasi during the festival. Being the capital of Hinduism, Varanasi is the most intense place to experience Holi. This digital story presents the profoundly vibrant colors of festival, and the words of Caitlin and Kempie structure the intimate narrative. Enjoy!

Trekking in Markha Valley

Mon, 07 May 2007 16:49:16 +0000

This will be a quiet week on the blog as the group continues heading deeper into Hemis National Park on their trek. We don't expect any posts from the group will go up before they finish the trek on Sunday, May 13--just in time to send their Happy Mothers Day greetings. Namgial has provided the below details about the Markha Valley trek:

In comparison to Nepal, Ladakh has relatively few trekkers, and although you are still in the Greater Himalaya the scenery is so different you would hardly know that you were in the same range. It is often called 'Little Tibet' and lying north of the main chain it receives little rainfall.

The scenery of Ladakh is stark and dramatic - deep gorges, alluvial fans, contorted strata, large Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, flat-topped mud-bricked houses in oasis-like villages, snow-capped mountains and grand distances.

The Markha valley epitomizes the best of this scenery. It has giant rock pinnacles, beetling cliffs, narrow defiles, prayer-flagged passes and evidence of a much older civilization, the history of which has been lost in antiquity. As you trek up the valley, there are the ruins of many forts and castles, some built in some pretty unlikely places!

This is a fairly long trek, crossing a pass of over 17,000ft, and has the fine objective of visiting the base camp of the highest peak in the Zanskar range, Kang Yatse, 21,000ft.

DAY 1: TREK TO ZINGCHEN. (10,800ft) 4hrs. After breakfast at SECMOL, meet the guide Stanzin and head across the Indus river to meet support team and pack animals. The trek begins here and follows the Indus River for a short distance, before striking out for the mountains. You soon enter the narrow gorge that leads to the first camp at Zingchen.

Greetings from Gongmaru la 17,000ft.

Fri, 11 May 2007 19:43:23 +0000

I received a call from Tracy and Stanzin the Guide this afternoon here in Leh. Tracy's report is that the group is doing very well and every one is looking forward to the last two Days trek in the Himalaya. More news will come from the group later this week end when they return to Leh.

Julay
Namgial

back from trek

Mon, 14 May 2007 11:28:08 +0000

Yesterday we finished our 9 day trek in the Markha Valley. We celebrated by eating chocolate cake, gulab jamin, samosas and peanut cookies – quite a nutritious meal! The trek was a wonderful experience – challenging at times, but definitely rewarding when we all made it through a snow storm and up the 17,300 ft. pass. The scenery – deep gorges, barren mountains, snow and ice covered paths, and fresh clear rivers and streams – was quite diverse and beautiful. Tracy’s knowledge of soil science and geology helped us better understand the impressive environment around us. Along the way, we experienced a few blisters, sore muscles, popped Therm-A-Rests and one near fridge dip, but we also enjoyed many great meals, valuable time to reflect, cozy nights in the tents, epic card games, and some silliness.

thoughts from the trail

Tue, 15 May 2007 11:19:08 +0000

By the third day of trek I began to start worrying that I had thought all my thoughts before. Already I had planned my college future, firmly decided to finish different loose projects from home, planned new ventures for this summer and even tried to figure out exactly what I would say to my family if I fell down a mountain and lay bleeding to death on some lucky group members lap. I would say, “My family, oh my family; you did love me, didn’t you. And yet here, right now in Marka Valley, I lie disheartened for I know now as the shadows grow long and scary with the setting sun, that I will see neither your smiling faces nor your majestic kitchen again. And how you will weep, but please, save your water and your salt, you need it more than I. Did you know that I finally was going to be an academic star next year, just like you always told me I could be if I finally tried? And that I was going to start a club to get Kalamazoo Colleges FCC license back and triumphantly lead the first live broadcast from a stage in the middle of the quad with the whole campus cheering me on? I was going somewhere huge, dear flesh and blood, but oh well. It might give you slightly higher spirits to realize that I had already lived it all in gloriously easy fantasy and I knew all the details. Please sell my dog to a better home. Oh yeah, that’s right, you never got me one.” But no such drama occurred as I stumbled into camp that night, my head buzzing from its nervous small circles. That night in my tent, I did realize that I was sunburned.

transitioning in the heat of Delhi

Wed, 16 May 2007 11:00:15 +0000

So we were greeted by some overwhelming humidity this morning as we walked out of the airport. We arrived safely back to Delhi! We had a wonderful closing night in Leh involving skiu (skew), a Ladakhi barley noodle dish, and a great group activity in which we had an opportunity to share our appreciation for each other. In just a few hours, we will share our last feast with Tracy and take her to the airport. She will head back to the States tonight. The rest of the group will leave on the morning of the 18th. We will spend our last day in Delhi packing, shopping, and avoiding the heat. We're all looking forward to seeing our friends and family on the other side of the world. Michelle and John will be there to greet us at JFK. I hope to meet some parents as well. Until then...

Some Resources....

Thu, 17 May 2007 19:14:48 +0000

Namaste Everyone,

I am back in NJ and about to head up to Vermont. I hope you are well and looking forward to sharing happy and peaceful times with your family and friends. I am thinking about you all and your adjustment back to the states, and the constant adjustments we make in every new/old place we go… the expectations we carry, the memories and fondness we feel for a place or a group of people that no longer exist in “real time”…

I’d like to pass on these internet resources to you just to read or digest in your own time if you feel the need. I’ve used the first two before with student groups and found them a while back just by searching “reverse culture shock” or “reentry shock” on any search engine. The third link I just found today, and the last link is from SIT. Enjoy them… I hope that you’re all happy and healthy these days. I miss you all very much.

Much Love to you,

Tracy

http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/overseas/faq/culture_shock/culture_shock.html

http://international.missouri.edu/studyabroad/after/cominghome.shtml

This is an interesting website I came across while searching… (Seems Jennifer has an interesting perspective on her travels in India. Makes me think about what you all would put on a list like this…)
http://members.tripod.com/~jennifer_polan/india/backtousa.html

Check out this resource, from the School for International Training, written to parents of students who study abroad. Sometimes reading material written for another audience gives you a different perspective on your own experience:
http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/parents/docs/parent_reentry_handbook.pdf

Home

Sat, 19 May 2007 01:23:53 +0000

The group arriving back at JFK (except for Caitlin, who will follow from Mumbai, and Tracy, who arrived a day earlier)

Welcome Home!

Sat, 19 May 2007 23:32:34 +0000

Dear Caitlin, Chris, J.B., Matt, Noah, and Sarah,

I'm hoping this note finds you well and beginning the process of recovery from jet lag. Maybe the disco tired you out enough to have slept the entire flight back to the states? In any case, I'm wishing warm reunions with families and friends in the coming hours and days, as well as a few long days of rest and relaxation.

I've made it safely to Vermont and have completed my first day of capstone seminar... I'm scheduled to present my thesis on Wednesday afternoon at 2 pm here on campus.

During the drive this morning from NJ to VT (yes, I was wide awake at 3:30 am this morning!), singing along to James Taylor and America while remembering how to drive the volvo wagon, I thought back on this semester... how quickly it went by, yet how much we accomplished and experienced individually and together as a group. I'm encouraged and excited to think that you are all about to share impressions of our journeys together with your loved ones and start the process of reentry back here to the states. In some ways, the biggest challenges are yet to come.

This semester, I've witnessed six bright, creative, and compassionate young people create a journey for themselves that will potentially shape how they each view their world around them. Your connections with each other and the folks with whom we shared time this semester are a piece of your lives now that you will be able to process, shift, change, and mold to your needs and expectations. As you reconnect with the U.S., remember way back when we spoke about the nature of pilgrimage and the journeys that we all take in our lives. The learning doesn't stop here. I hope you'll take our struggles and challenges along with the laughter and excitement with you as you start your next journey this summer or in school in the fall.

I sincerely thank you for showing up with your whole hearts these past three months. Your candor and authentic communication shaped our time together be it climbing up a 17,000 ft. pass, navigating Ganga-ji, or sharing meals together. Know that, at any step of the way, if you are in need of an ear, a helping hand, or a back-up singer, all you have to do is call.

Congratulations, alumni of Global LAB. It's with love, appreciation, thanks, and a happy heart that I celebrate sending you off on your next journey.

Take care of yourselves, and be well.

Tracy

finishings

Mon, 21 May 2007 10:37:46 +0000

it's cold, high. the wind takes on a different character, drier than
winter wind in new england and not so sharp-- but enveloping,
all-encompassing. we drove from leh to tso morriri in a bus with
TOURIST scrawled across the front, watching the himank highway signs
along the way: SPEED IS A KNIFE THAT CUTS LIFE; BETTER MR LATE THAN
LATE MR; I WANT YOU DARLING, BUT NOT SO FAST. ten minutes from the
lake the road disappeared under the blowing sand, coarse and pale,
rippled like sand in the desert. we pressed on, and got stuck; the
twelve of us (students, leaders, driver, cook, sandrup, namgial) got
out to push. the cold was furious against fingers and cheeks and ears
as we carried stones to pave the waste ahead, pushing on the back of
my calves and neck as we leaned our weight into the cab. a goncha-clad
man that we had passed an hour ago rode by us with his string of
ponies. we cheered as the bus groaned and roared and shot forward, out
from the grooves of spinning tires.

the lake was solid still with ice; a ring ten feet wide from the shore
melted every day and froze again into paper-thin glass at night. we
set up camp slowly, once tents were erected putting on everything we
owned-- from there, spending the rest of the darkening evening in the
luxury of the dining tent.

Karmic Imprints on the Interwebs

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:38:46 +0000

Jullay Everyone!

I hope your summers are going well...
As I've been planning for the fall semester, finalizing our time in November at Tushita with Sabine, I clicked through their new website and found this image. Check it out!

Good luck in the next weeks with gearing up/starting up school and new job and travel opportunities. You're all in my thoughts these days as we get ready to welcome a new semester's crew.

Be Well,
Tracy