Dharmasala

Dharmasala feels very different than the rest of India I’ve seen. It is the capital-in-exile for Tibet so most of the people are Tibetan… they look different, dress different, speak a different language and practice Buddhism versus Hinduism. The cows have been replaced with monkeys, the honking dramatically reduced and green tea now substitutes for Indian sweet tea with lots of milk. It’s high in the mountains, lush and green, and is much, much cooler. Yippeee! It looks, feels, and smells a little like fall in the Smokey Mountains- except there are lots of Buddhist monks walking around in the their maroon robes with mustard colored sashes and little “purses”. It’s rained since we’ve been here so my experience of Dharmasala has been against a background of heavy fog and soundtrack of rain and thunder (very mystic). Although a little more “touristy” than I imagined, I’m very happy here.

Today I volunteered with a non-profit organization called LHA. Lha is a Tibetan word meaning “innate goodness in nature”. The organization’s mission is to provide meaningful social services to both Tibetan refugees and local residents. My volunteer assignment was teaching conversational English to a small group of 5 very enthusiastic and appreciative students. We sat in a circle on the floor and asked each other questions. Periodically, I would stop down and correct their pronunciation or provide a more appropriate word. We discussed family, food, HH the Dalai Lama, Barack Obama, life in Dharmasala and Tibet, etc. They asked me what I thought of Tibetans and in return, I asked them…”What do you think of Westerners?”

Young Buddhist monk: “Westerners focus on money. Asians focus on religion. Westerners have everything they need physically but may not be happy inside.”

43 year old woman who works in woolen clothing shop (we worked on her pronunciation of “woolen” for a while): “Westerners are independent, they don’t need anyone. When I see women traveling alone, I think she has guts. I couldn’t do that. I also think westerners are crazy.”

Me: “Crazy? Why?”

Response: “Because they all want to go to the top of mountains. Why? What is there to see?”

Me: Hmmmm (not knowing really how to reply)

A shy girl in her early 20’s, a refugee from Tibet who has lived in India for only 3 years: “I think westerners are kind.”

Another refugee in her early 20s. Not shy. Lived in India for 7 years. Misses her family and speaks to them via phone 1 month. Whenever she didn’t understand a word, she’d type it into her cell phone and ask me if correct: “I think westerners are cheerful ‘because they have no problems.”

Me: “ Westerners have problems. They might be different problems than Indians or Tibetans but they have problems too.”

Group response acting like some big connection was just made: “Ohhhhh….”

A giggly twenty something girl who wrote all the new words I taught her on her hand: “I think Westerners smell good.”

Me: “Thank you.”

And we all laughed!