May 5 Day 79
Woke up, had breakfast etc. and headed into town before lunch. Had a good thali and met a friend from the day before and met someone new. We've only been in town a few days and can't go up temple road without seeing a familiar face.
We walked towards the waterfall, which looked like a nature hike on our map but really wasn't. After heading out of town another similar town quickly started up and the traffic was heavy with Indian tourists. We found a swimming pool full of Indian men and two Tibetan women wearing t-shirts and shorts for their swim.
The path to the waterfall had no motor vehicles but was a concrete path busy with people. The stream all the way up was full of people bathing or sunning, with only men swimming and women going in to their ankles. Many of the walls were made of laid shale with no mortar, so someone working on the landscaping had some expertise. The waterfall itself was small but nice enough. The cluster of cafes and shops at its base meant that you couldn't kid yourself that it was a nature walk.
The walk back was a little less busy as people went home. We checked out the local gym and did some shopping before returning home. After dinner we worked on our lesson plans for our first class on Monday and then went to sleep.
May 6 Day 80
Meg was sick in the night and morning but rested for a lot of the day and was able to hold food down by lunchtime. Thus, most of the day was at home.
The first day of class went really well. Most students were willing to talk, they liked the name tags, they requested direct grammar instruction and time went quickly. No one handed in their book report and only a few indicated they had even heard of Gilgamesh, the work they had been studying for the last two weeks or so. The Gilgamesh play I had prepared thus had less meaning for them but they worked away at it anyway. Our friend Firoz helped out as well.
One observation is the chips here aren't as good as they are in southeast Asia. Spanish spicy tomato is ketchup flavour, and India's Magic Masala isn't very tasty. Maybe I'll find better flavours in the future. The other food is awfully good here. (Note: American sour cream and onion is like back home, chile limon and Hot and sour punch are good flavours. Mr. Chipp's spicy treat has a sulfur taste that makes them inedible.)
May 7 Day 81
After breakfast we took a cab to LHA so that Meg didn't have to deal with the hill. We sat in on Ashish's beginner's class which was conversationally based and very active, with quite skilled students. We spoke with him afterwards and he offered to rent his apartment too us. It was a little bit more expensive than where we were staying but much brighter, larger and nicer so we got to work on that.
After a rest and lunch at our place we headed back to the office and Wangdue said it was okay if we left the LHA apartment. Meg made it up the hill and to class, which was the first one with the requested grammar by the students. They were receptive and seemed engaged.
After class, the one ATM that has been working for us was under repair, which left us short of money and in a tight space to pay our debts. We had tea with the little money we had left and spoke with a woman who came to various parts of India for months of every year and was enjoying the cooler weather in McLeod Ganj.
Back home, ate, worked, relaxed, enjoyed the view.
May 8 Day 82
After attending to day's class we found out that Assiz' landlord wouldn't let them sublet. Dorji, the Lha director, offered us the room next to the kitchen, which we took. It was nicer and had a private balcony, the only problem was our bathroom was off of the shared kitchen. Had dinner out with Wangdue and Meg offered to help him apply for his phd. We then shifted rooms and went to bed.
Woke up, had breakfast etc. and headed into town before lunch. Had a good thali and met a friend from the day before and met someone new. We've only been in town a few days and can't go up temple road without seeing a familiar face.
We walked towards the waterfall, which looked like a nature hike on our map but really wasn't. After heading out of town another similar town quickly started up and the traffic was heavy with Indian tourists. We found a swimming pool full of Indian men and two Tibetan women wearing t-shirts and shorts for their swim.
The path to the waterfall had no motor vehicles but was a concrete path busy with people. The stream all the way up was full of people bathing or sunning, with only men swimming and women going in to their ankles. Many of the walls were made of laid shale with no mortar, so someone working on the landscaping had some expertise. The waterfall itself was small but nice enough. The cluster of cafes and shops at its base meant that you couldn't kid yourself that it was a nature walk.
The walk back was a little less busy as people went home. We checked out the local gym and did some shopping before returning home. After dinner we worked on our lesson plans for our first class on Monday and then went to sleep.
May 6 Day 80
Meg was sick in the night and morning but rested for a lot of the day and was able to hold food down by lunchtime. Thus, most of the day was at home.
The first day of class went really well. Most students were willing to talk, they liked the name tags, they requested direct grammar instruction and time went quickly. No one handed in their book report and only a few indicated they had even heard of Gilgamesh, the work they had been studying for the last two weeks or so. The Gilgamesh play I had prepared thus had less meaning for them but they worked away at it anyway. Our friend Firoz helped out as well.
One observation is the chips here aren't as good as they are in southeast Asia. Spanish spicy tomato is ketchup flavour, and India's Magic Masala isn't very tasty. Maybe I'll find better flavours in the future. The other food is awfully good here. (Note: American sour cream and onion is like back home, chile limon and Hot and sour punch are good flavours. Mr. Chipp's spicy treat has a sulfur taste that makes them inedible.)
May 7 Day 81
After breakfast we took a cab to LHA so that Meg didn't have to deal with the hill. We sat in on Ashish's beginner's class which was conversationally based and very active, with quite skilled students. We spoke with him afterwards and he offered to rent his apartment too us. It was a little bit more expensive than where we were staying but much brighter, larger and nicer so we got to work on that.
After a rest and lunch at our place we headed back to the office and Wangdue said it was okay if we left the LHA apartment. Meg made it up the hill and to class, which was the first one with the requested grammar by the students. They were receptive and seemed engaged.
After class, the one ATM that has been working for us was under repair, which left us short of money and in a tight space to pay our debts. We had tea with the little money we had left and spoke with a woman who came to various parts of India for months of every year and was enjoying the cooler weather in McLeod Ganj.
Back home, ate, worked, relaxed, enjoyed the view.
May 8 Day 82
After attending to day's class we found out that Assiz' landlord wouldn't let them sublet. Dorji, the Lha director, offered us the room next to the kitchen, which we took. It was nicer and had a private balcony, the only problem was our bathroom was off of the shared kitchen. Had dinner out with Wangdue and Meg offered to help him apply for his phd. We then shifted rooms and went to bed.
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| The waterfall, not so far away from civilization. |
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| Goats and a stupa close to the waterfall. |
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| The cultural show at Tibet World. |
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