Language, Laughter, Learning ..

Since we arrived in Mcleodganj the first time there has been a growing rate of finding reasons to prolong our stay here. I think that is in the energy of this place because I've seen it happen to other travelers too. Opportunities have opened themselves to us here. Our attitudes have changed since the beginning of the trip. I am happy to be here, as is Phillip. We are no longer counting the days 'til we go home and that is a Great feeling! AND we will really miss this place when we do leave, which we plan do to around February 16th.

We are loosely committed to teaching English to 2 different groups of students: a small group of L.I.T. students that already have a general understanding of English, and 2 monks on vacation from their monastery in South India with a much, much smaller understanding of English. L.I.T. is a Non-profit organization that provides a "school" with English grammar classes, conversation practice, and Buddhism classes for Tibetans free of charge. At other times they have offered Tibetan cooking classes, language classes, and movie nights to the general public of Mcleodganj in hopes to spread awareness about Tibetan issues, as well as raise funds for the organization. Right now, L.I.T. is short on volunteers because winter is the off season for tourists here, so Phillip and I are able to fill a real need for teachers.

Last Friday, at L.I.T. we reviewed verbally the verbs and tenses we taught over the week. We asked the question to the students, "What do you want to do in your lifetime?" The answers were so beautiful. Many people said they wanted to return to Tibet when it becomes free. They all said they want to learn English well. Dakpa is a Tibetan who has studied English for 4 years and currently teaches the grammar classes at L.I.T. He said he wants to be a student for his entire life, learning as many subjects as he can. Phillip told him that "The truly educated never graduate" and Dakpa wrote this in his notebook, smiling. He wants to teach Tibetans so that they can know about the whole world, and so that they will be able to share their own unique knowledge of Tibet with the world.

Ge-she La, a high teacher of Buddhism that is our english student, wants to learn English so he can travel the world and share Buddhist teachings. He said that without English, he has only 1 wing. This statement makes me feel like the act of sharing my language skills is truly important. It is important to do what is most necessary at a given time, with the awareness that this necessity can change at any moment. Right now, for Phillip and I, it is more necessary to teach English and stay here that it is to travel. It feels good to recognize this need, and better to fill it.

We also asked our students what they will do for Losar, the Tibetan New Year, on February 14th. The monks in our group all said they would go to the temple and pray for the peace and happiness of all sentient beings. This is a blessing written all over this town! May all beings everywhere be happy! I think it is a fundamental prayer of Tibetan Buddhism, though I have no hard knowledge to base this on. Anyway, Dakpa said he would go the temple and pray only for himself. He said "I want to help others , but that is not possible if I don't take care of my self first." I honor both response; the selfless and the Self-ish are necessary. It is nice to find this balance and diversity of thought in even a small group of Tibetans.


Other diverse and funny thoughts are shared in our class. One day a monk said "One time when I was very young I accidentally killed a bug". He meant this sweetly, secretively, but the American teachers all giggled and wondered what he would think of our karma if he knew how many bugs we had killed, and how many more we had wanted to kill but did not. This same monk told us today that last night in his dream he saw a beautiful girl. Ge-she La looked at him and said "That is very dangerous!" We all cracked up over this.

Dakpa has given us a few formal Tibetan language lessons. We are learning the alphabet, pronunciation of the letters, and trying to write the language as well. We don't have much time to master this while we are hear, but are hoping to continue practicing the writing and reading, maybe even find a teacher in or around NC. It is HARD to learn a language with a completely different alphabet; the challenge is good and the Tibetan language is a treasure that may be lost if people don't try to preserve it. People of India have been heavily influenced by Westerners and Tibetans are not excluded from this.

I want to tell ya'll more, but I am going to keep this more concise than the last 2 posts. I could go on and on with the wonders of each day that i continuously am learning from, smiling at, and marveling over. Soon, I will write about the evolution and modernization that is happening within Tibetans. And I want to talk about protecting the natural resources of Tibet ...

Stay tuned, this universe will continue to unfold and amaze us all .... Tashi Delek