The calm of Sunday morning dissipated quickly as the students arrived. They listened attentively through a quick but comprehensive photography lesson from Josh and then they got busy with a photo ordering exercise to teach them how to visually tell a digital story. This kept us all busy until lunch. Before we could leave for lunch Tenzin Lhakpa stopped me.

“Before you got here, and I heard a group from America was coming, I thought you would be wearing a suit and tie and be really serious.”

I deadpanned, “But I AM really serious.”

He looked at me, flashed a huge grin and said, “No, you are not. And I’m really glad.” Let the bonding begin!

We were lucky to have a well respected Tibetan Monk staying at the guest house. It had been arranged for him to meet the mentors at lunch to answer our questions on Buddhism. He introduced himself as “Kunkhen – that’s Cancun in reverse.”

In the space of 30 minutes he explained why he became a monk “my parents made me.” Some fundamentals of Buddhist philosophy, “we are the center of the universe, it’s up to us to make waves out.” As well as how he remembers everything he knows, “I was beaten a lot as a young monk until I learned to stuff my robes with bark to pad it out.”

In the afternoon, as a group, we discussed the three story ideas that the kids had chosen. They were stories about the religious butter lamp, a nun-teacher at TCV that had been a political prisoner for 7 years and an old nun who showed compassion by rescuing the town’s stray dogs. Serious stuff! Once we dove deeper into these ideas we found the personal connections the kids had to each one. We formed three groups and started developing the narrative and ideas for the photo shoots.

Chris and I are mentoring the same group. Our students are Tenzin Lhakpa, Tenzin Dadon, Phumina and Chungdak. Our topic is about putting compassion into action – the story of the nun and her dogs (which is ironic as both Chris and I are very wary of the rather scary looking stray dogs here. It was quickly determined that Lhakpa would be our narrator as his large personality was always shining when he would explain his own story of why he is afriad of dogs (he was once bitten by “the deadly jaws.”) He has also decided that he thinks the nun in the story is a “crack.”

We finished our work on the project for the day and all headed down the 4KM hill for our first visit to Mcloud Ganj. We found a rooftop restaurant overlooking the temple:

Over pizza (apparently the international favorite for kids everywhere) Lhakpa informed us that he wants to become a monk because “he wants to get enlightened.” He and Lungsang then proceeded to try to teach us the complex, but entertaining, art of debating monk style, which made our heads hurt. After many comedy moments we gave up trying to understand and conceded to defeat, giving us a chance to escape to admire the sunset.

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Today we met with the Bridges to Understanding staff Lori & Tanya, & Josh, the photography instructor, to briefly discuss the mentoring aspect of the workshop. Suddenly 12 shy, but smiling, Tibetan students entered the classroom & dragged their chairs to the back of the room!

Lori got us up & moving around with an introductory aerobics session & energetic name game. I’ll never remember all of the Tibetan names, although about half of them start with Tenzin, so if in doubt that’s my best guess!

We started the workshop with a photography scavenger hunt with the kids, asking them to  take both explicit and implicit photos of fairly complex concepts such as dreams,  freedom and compassion. Pema, Palkyi & I ventured out in a rather nervous fashion, but I had nothing to worry about — these kids are smart and creative and as soon as a concept was explained to them, no matter how abstract, they totally got it and snapped some great shots.  I think the Getty Images’ photographers have some competition!

Picture by Palkyi

Picture by Pema

Picture by Pema

After presenting all of the work, we were taken on a tour of TCV,  and discovered most of the kids live in group houses, looked after by a house mother, as most of  the students are either orphaned or their parents are in  back in Tibet and the children escaped on their own when very young.  Only three of the students we met lived outside of the TCV, and some students don’t have any relatives at all.

The visit to the “baby house” was very entertaining. The kids grabbed us as soon as we arrived & insisted on showing us around, even though they couldn’t speak,  It was our first realization that although the kids were well loved, by the TCV staff, they were all still seeking attention and contact of any kind. Chris became a human climbing frame until he was rescued by Choeppel, one of the teachers.

The tour took us past the temple where we saw a monk teaching the finer points of debate to two focused students…

(image 30 monk)

…past many group houses, the football field & dozens of kids playing. Ping pong seemed to be a particular favorite.

There’s a tuck shop on site as well as a book shop and canteen.

The tour ended at the library, where I was again accosted, this time by 2 students who wanted me to help them read Dr Seuss. Try to explain the meaning of some of those words to Tibetan kids!

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Today was exciting for us as we met up with the other participants of the Bridges to Understanding workshop this morning. We checked out of the Florence Hotel in Delhi, which inexplicably had paintings of Vermont in each guest room, and are ready to fly up to Dharamsala.

Our Bridges group is small but articulate. Kim, Elizabeth, Owen, Pat, my husband Chris and myself. Getty Images is sponsoring me to attend this workshop and I am nervous but anxious to meet the students and get going.

After a flight on a tiny and fairly unstable plane, we landed in a landscape the exact opposite to Delhi – snow capped mountains, lush green landscapes and most noticeably, a lot less trash.

We traveled for about an hour up many steep and windy roads and finally arrived at the TCV (Tibetan children village) and checked into the guest house on campus. It has simple rooms but is clean and comfortable.

After a dinner of traditional Tibetan food (white rice and vegetables) cooked by Pema, the housekeeper, we chatted a bit and then fell asleep wearing all of our clothes including a wool hat (it’s freezing in the mountains and the building is not heated).

Despite the best efforts of the many barking dogs, we finally crashed. Tomorrow we meet the students!

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Today we woke up early to watch the last presidential debate live. The Indian coverage of the election has been extensive here, both in the papers and on TV. I have been keeping an eye out in the Hindustan Times for Getty Images‘ photos and have spotted a few. Because of our jet lag, we have also enjoyed watching a lot of late night TV, including public service announcements (did you know that October 15 is global handwashing day?). The Salt and Pepper Show is another one of our favorites, it’s an entertainment news show where the host slips effortlessly, mid-sentence between English and Hindu – Hindlish if you will. We also watch a lot of snippets of Bollywood films. Just wait until you see the new adaptation of Macbeth that is due out soon – Maqbool (no, I am not making this up!).

On our to Delhi from Agra we stopped at our sixth Indian world heritage site – Fatipur Sikri. It is a huge abandoned city with intricately detailed sandstone architecture.

Then, the fabulous Kewel drove us (at top speed) back to the congested streets of Carol Bahr. He left us with his last unforgettable quote, “In India I drive 100 miles an hour, but in the USA I would drive at 120 miles an hour because there are no cow in road.”

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Up before dawn to view the Taj Mahal at sunrise; it was incredibly beautiful but very crowded (up to 20,000 people a day ). Guru, our guide, told us that there are two kinds of people: “those that have seen the Taj Mahal, and those that want to.” After a couple of hours, we headed over the Yamuna river to the “Baby Taj,” Itmad-ud-daulah tomb. This was equally stunning and detailed, but this time we were its sole visitors and we watched as workers restored it by hand.

Afterward, and after much persuasion, Kewel drove us to Sadar Bazaar. (He was extremely reluctant to make this drive due to recent bombings of other bazaars in Delhi.) He warned us we would be the only non-locals there, which actually appealed to us. It was the night before a big Hindi festival and the women (and transvestites!) were out in force buying their saris, bangles and bindi and having their hands painted with henna by the Mendhi-wallas.

After safely purchasing many shiny things…

…we headed back to our high security hotel, (2 armed guards check under each car with a mirror) for a quick swim at sunset, dive-bombed by bats and tropical birds.

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Today we woke up early for our five hour drive to Agra where we listened to the world according to Kewel, our driver. No subject was off limits in this discussion. He gave his thoughts on politics, “George Bush is a very bad man, yes?” On the gay community, “In India we don’t like it.” Breast feeding, “It’s best for the baby and it stops the mother getting cancer.” Drugs, “The best way to get opium from a poppy is to cut it.” Coca Cola, “tastes like toilet cleaner.” Marriage, “arranged is best – the woman can work in the kitchen.” Yoga, “I learned it from TV.” Prostitution, “In India it is illegal, but under the table it is okay, yes?” And finally, caanibalism, “Some people eat everything, yes?”

Thus enlightened, we finally arrived at Sikandra…

…a precursor to the Taj Mahal, with monkeys and antelopes running (amok) through the grounds.

Next was the amazing, decorated Agra Fort, which afforded us our first glimpse of the Taj Mahal.

Later that evening, because it was a full moon, we got a close-up, moonlight view of The Taj. After three full body security checks we were allowed to go in. While I have seen thousands of images of this iconic building in the media and on the Getty Images website, nothing quite prepares you for this amazing experience. Once our eyes adjusted to the moonlight, we were treated to a breathtaking silhoutte.

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“You see everything on these roads, yes?” Kewel announced gleefully as we overtook an elephant at high speed. Today our Muslim guide, Jilani, led us south to Quitab Minar, a huge and highly detailed Muslim tower which was “built to show the might of Islam.”

Next up was a tour of Humyan’s tomb, bringing the count up to three world heritage sights in two days. We have already driven past the war memorial India Gate and strolled through Lodi Gardens. One of the highlights of the day was visiting a Gudawara (Sikh temple) and a Hindu temple honoring Laksmi, Goddess of good fortune.

I bought a sandalwood bracelet with a swastika on it. This is a popular Hindu symbol found on temples and devotional items, but it still feels strange to own it. I have told myself that I will wear it for weeks while I am in India, but it will remain hidden deep in a drawer once I get home.

We finished the day in the bar of the Taj Majal hotel and sipped a gin martini in true colonial style. This is a hotel that is so fancy they have an attendant wipe down the seat and fold the ends of the toilet paper after every visit. Such a city of extremes!

We finished the day wandering through a local bazaar. I am getting used to being stared at in curiosity everywhere I go, but this time out we took advantage of the darkness and covered my hair with a sari scarf. With this disguise, we managed to join a passing wedding processional undetected.

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