Joined Khen Rinpoche, three American college students, Vivek, Kunsum and their friends for a trip to Nubra Valley to take teachings from HH the Dalai Lama. It was particularly hot, bright and sunny but very rewarding. I think I ran into more Ladakhi friends than I do friends in Maine when I go to events. It seemed like old home week.
Each time I go to the Siddhartha High School the students have been taking their exams mixed in with several holidays. I didn't want to disturb the students too much but wanted to show a few pictures taken during the exams. For those of you who are followers of the traveling librarian you will notice that the layout of the library has changed since last summer.
Typical Primary Class working on a project
It takes all kinds!
Sunny Day at Siddhartha High School
Some of my rather goofy teacher friends
Susheel, the school secretary and so much more!
More of the little people
So enough of the school for now. Here are some pictures of Leh where I have my room. It's very barren and then areas of green where great care has been given to channel water for crops, gardens and trees.
After foolishly leaving my passport at home and subsequently missing my flight from Portland to Newark as well as Newark to Delhi I am pleased to announce $150.00 later that I am in Delhi. Here it is late afternoon Friday the 25th – I leave for the airport at 4:00 AM to catch a 6:30 flight to Leh on Saturday 26th. Here in Delhi I bought a pound of Lavazza coffee and left it at the Midland Book Store – see someone always needs to watch my back. I also purchased books at Teksons Bookshop for Siddhartha High School, Domkhar Dho Government School & the Bon Community Centre and arranged shipment.
Teksons BookShop Delhi, India
Arriving in Ladakh is always a treat – the plane flies over the Siddhartha School as it begins jockeying for a landing. It highlights the reason I am returning year after year. Arriving at the Oriental I found my room to be in order and my trunks & backpack safely parked in front of my room where I left them last August. Thus began my acclimatization – drinking tea, reading, getting settled in, taking short walks and teaching my online course.
Tamara's Room
Since I’ve been here “I’ve been making hay while the sun shines.” I’ve spent a night in Chushot with my ‘Stanzin’s family’ – I always sleep so well there. Usually Tsewang (Stanzin’s mother) and baby brother sleep with me. We sleep on the floor on about a 2” cotton mat. I love their hospitality and after four years have become part of the family. I’ll go back one night a week to be with them. I also spent a night at Rigzin Yandol’s house – Rigzin is in Class 12 in Jammu and wishes to become a doctor. My friend Joli has been sponsoring her since primary school. This was my payback for transporting her education fees. She called every hour to make sure that her family was taking good care of me. Mom made a great momo (steamed Tibetan buns stuffed with veggies) for dinner – everything fresh from the garden along with Ladakhi (A.K.A Tibetan) tea which is butter, salt and water churned together.
Stanzin Namgyal
I’ve also been meeting with Geshe Lungrig Nyima four days a week to work on his English. In addition I take pictures of the children in his Bon community to send to their sponsors in the U.S. This year I brought colored pencils, erasers, sharpeners and drawing paper for them to make a drawing and a short note to their sponsor.
Writing to sponsors
Geshe Lungrig
BonPo Community 2010
So I now have reservations to go to Nubra Valley for 5 days to see the blessing of a new giant Maytreya statue by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and then three days of teachings. It’s been four years since I went to Nubra for H.H. teachings and the bonus was riding the camels in Hunder J.
2010
Teachings in Ladakh, J&K, India in July: His Holiness' earlier planned visit to the Kargil area from July 18 to 20 has been postponed. On July 21 and 22 His Holiness will give teachings (topic yet to be decided) at Samstanling Monastery in Sumur (Nubra Valley). On July 23 he will give the oral transmission of The Diamond Sutra (dorje chotpa) at Yarma Gonbo Monastery (Nubra Valley). On July 25 he will lead the blessing ceremony (rabney) of the new Maitreya Statue at Disket Monastery (Nubra Valley). Finally, on July 26 & 27 he will give teachings on Geshe Langri Thangpa's Eight Verses of Training the Mind (lojong tsik gyema) and Tsongkhapa's The Three Principal Paths (lamtso namsum) at Disket Phodrang. There is no visit to Leh or Zanskar planned in 2010.
I have the honor of being a guest at the luncheon following the blessing on the 25th - so this might be my opportunity to offer him a Katak.
The books have arrived, the books have arrived – hurray, hurray! 9 boxes of books, this time via the mail, arrived from Delhi. My new friend Caterine and I went to the Post Office to pick them up then we went back to my room and ate watermelon and unpacked each box with oh’s and ah’s. I had found some wonderful books this year for each of the schools. I filled almost all the teacher’s requests so this should be fun to deliver them and see their delight. I found some wonderful picture books in English & Hindi which are sure to be a hit, as well as, Hindi Essay’s, sports how-to books, ecological books and of course the 2010 Guinness Book of World Records. I have never met a kid, regardless of country, who didn’t just love and get mesmerized by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Unpacking books with Katherine sorting or errrr reading!
Yours truly sorting and arranging the books to be distributed to the three schools. Who says teachers don't work during their summer vacation!
I’ve had some time for deep reflection in the past few weeks filled with gratefulness for accepting this as my summer home. As I backtrack over the past five years I am humbled by my life-altering dance with cancer which postponed my six month sabbatical in the Himalayas. (My body still bears the shards of chemotherapy.) I remember coming to India three weeks after having knee surgery and finding that my apartment was hundreds of steps below the road. Getting up early on the cold rainy mornings to limp up the hills to receive the Dalai Lama’s March teachings and making some wonderful friends to share them with. Here in Ladakh I have had excursions and philosophical conversations with kindred spirits from around the world. Some keep coming back and it’s always wonderful to reunite. Last year I came in June following a hip replacement in February. I remember pulling my way up the uneven stairs to my room and pushing myself to walk every day through all the discomfort. And today I rejoice that I can walk up the steps without hanging on and can leap from stone to stone over the river crossing. I feel a trek coming on when I return from the Dalai Lama teachings. I enjoy spending nights at my Ladakhi friends’ homes and the Pujas that I get to be a part of in the Buddhist and Bon communities. But what is most important is the wonderful smiles and excitement the children have as they open the boxes of books that I’ve brought to their schools from all of you who have made generous donations. How can I ever thank you. And possibly the biggest donation is from my mom, Jean, who has selflessly accepted the loss of my summer visits.
As a carry over from last year the traveling librarian returned to the Domkhar Government School with Mary, Director of Youth Services at the Memphis Public Library in Tennessee. Thanks to HEALTH Inc and Omprakash the new library and computer facility is finished and ready for Mary and I to do our magic.
New library facility in context.
Our first look inside.
Carrying the boxes of books from the hostel to the library.
Unboxing and examining new books.
Mary introducing the library to a class.
Excitment!
Discovering new worlds outside remote village life.
Everyone's socks turned red from the new carpet!
A few of the new books.
Half-day teacher workshop.
A librarian burning books -what next!
Curiosity about new Pre-K - Class 3 library.
Pre-K - 3 before.
Making Pre-K - 3 library safe.
Zenab arranging library.
Pre-K - 3 after.
Zenab has agreed to be the teaching librarian for the school and will be going through the Library Information Science degree program with the Indira Ghandi National Open University. Two teachers from the Siddhartha School will also be going through the program which is correspondence-based with testing at IGNOU Centers around India.The faculty came to out half-day teacher workshop with a schedule for library use and rules for use and behavior. They are extremely proud of their two new libraries and since Mary and I returned to the U.S. the entire village and other guests have been invited to the school to see the new libraries. Everyone is excited about the resources and the children get to expand their knowledge and world view.
