Just say yes

Have you ever seen the Jim Carey movie Yes Man? I'm feeling a little bit like that these days, but to a slightly lesser degree. It's just amazing the things that can happen when you are open to new experiences. Just a week ago I was so, so, so ready to get out of this country, but now I don't want to leave! Rishikesh provided a decent buffer from the hell that was Varanasi (I'm happy to report that other people are aghast when I tell them I spent a month there, so I'm not the only person to be turned off by that place!). McLeod Ganj... I just can't say enough nice things about this place. It really is like Little Tibet here. The people are so kind, and genuinely so, not always trying to sell you something or harass you. Just yesterday as I was enjoying some tea in a coffee shop with wifi, a young Tibetan man asked me if I could help him with the meaning of the word "meaningful". I find that I really struggle with trying to explain things sometimes and can only come up with "meaningful" explanations after the fact, which in some ways is a signal to me that I shouldn't be teaching. Nevertheless, this man then asked me if I would help him learn English, which basically just translates into meeting for conversation. So we met today and went for a nice walk to the Buddhist temple, and lo and behold next thing you know I was invited to a Tibetan wedding! Have I mentioned that folks here are incredibly warm and generous?


Too many thoughts are racing through my mind at the moment, but I'm feeling more or less ecstatic. This place is really good for the soul. I love that it's incredibly cold here and yet most restaurants still have outdoor dining, no space heaters. I love that you can go into an internet shop and sit down next to a Buddhist monk who has just come in talking on his cell phone and is now talking to his friends on Skype. The Dalai Lama is returning in a few days and I am strongly considering pushing back my plans to be here for that, as well as take advantage of the endless amazing opportunities in this town - Tibetan cooking classes, meditation classes, yoga, you name it!


I've never seen so many Tibetan prayer flags in one place. This is next to the temple. The idea behind these is that there are prayers written on them and the wind takes them up to the heavens. Sure would be nice if all these prayers could translate into a Free Tibet.


A monk spinning the prayer wheels.