teaching, meditating & donating
we are in dharamsala, the residence of his holiness the dalai lama
there are thousands of tibetans here in exile after they have suffered extreme hardship from chinese rule in their home country since 1959.
fiona and i are teaching intermediate and beginner english respectively, to tibetans. we are loving the challenge and the satisfaction is proving to be be very special. the tibetan monks are very attentive, but fi's class are more cheeky i hear.
we have been doing group meditation on the rooftop of the LHA organisation as well, in the evening. its crazy to think we are doing things we have only read about, until now.. its a dream come true.
tomorrow we are going to donate some items that we no longer need, ie: gloves, hats and raincoats..
the view of the snow capped himalaya is never far from our sight, and the tibetan food is proving to be quite addictive.. cookery classes for jimbo tomorrow..
I've worked with alot of communites in the last few years but never have I seen such a supportive, warm, communicative one as the community in McLeod Ganj. The Tibentan people, dispite having no country to call their own, have kept their traditions, culture and beliefs alive here in McLead Ganj.
It has been a real previlidge to work and share time with these amazing people. Although Jim and I have had a limited time here teaching English has been fantastic. The students are so keen and work soo hard its a treat. There might be a few monks walking around this area with incorrect English spellings or English sayings that are the wrong way round, but that doesn't matter one bit. There smiles and warmth says it all.
When you get talking to them about Tibet you find that most have crossed the Himalaya, fearing for their lives from the Chinese. Having no food, water and limited warm clothes. They leave their families, home and friends behind to come to India in hope that they can keep their tradtions alive and learn skills so that one day they can go back to their own country. It takes some of my students one month to walk from Tibet to India. You would think that they would be tainted by their experiances but no, they are very positive people. I suppose it helps by having such an amazing leader - The Dalai Lama. Its a shame that other world leaders cannot learn from him.
I feel very humble that I have been able to spend time here and been treated with such kindness. Its certainly a memory that will stay with both me and Jim for a very long time.
So next time you see a refugee on TV or in real life just remember that the thing they most proberley want most is to go home!
Fi
there are thousands of tibetans here in exile after they have suffered extreme hardship from chinese rule in their home country since 1959.
fiona and i are teaching intermediate and beginner english respectively, to tibetans. we are loving the challenge and the satisfaction is proving to be be very special. the tibetan monks are very attentive, but fi's class are more cheeky i hear.
we have been doing group meditation on the rooftop of the LHA organisation as well, in the evening. its crazy to think we are doing things we have only read about, until now.. its a dream come true.
tomorrow we are going to donate some items that we no longer need, ie: gloves, hats and raincoats..
the view of the snow capped himalaya is never far from our sight, and the tibetan food is proving to be quite addictive.. cookery classes for jimbo tomorrow..
I've worked with alot of communites in the last few years but never have I seen such a supportive, warm, communicative one as the community in McLeod Ganj. The Tibentan people, dispite having no country to call their own, have kept their traditions, culture and beliefs alive here in McLead Ganj.
It has been a real previlidge to work and share time with these amazing people. Although Jim and I have had a limited time here teaching English has been fantastic. The students are so keen and work soo hard its a treat. There might be a few monks walking around this area with incorrect English spellings or English sayings that are the wrong way round, but that doesn't matter one bit. There smiles and warmth says it all.
When you get talking to them about Tibet you find that most have crossed the Himalaya, fearing for their lives from the Chinese. Having no food, water and limited warm clothes. They leave their families, home and friends behind to come to India in hope that they can keep their tradtions alive and learn skills so that one day they can go back to their own country. It takes some of my students one month to walk from Tibet to India. You would think that they would be tainted by their experiances but no, they are very positive people. I suppose it helps by having such an amazing leader - The Dalai Lama. Its a shame that other world leaders cannot learn from him.
I feel very humble that I have been able to spend time here and been treated with such kindness. Its certainly a memory that will stay with both me and Jim for a very long time.
So next time you see a refugee on TV or in real life just remember that the thing they most proberley want most is to go home!
Fi
posted by Fi and Jim @ 4:34 pm
1 Comments:
At March 17, 2005 8:38 am,
Anonymous said…
Thought you would like to know - it was the Budget yesterday and no duty increase on cider :)
Yum yum, April soon, let's have a tasting when you get back.
Matt
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