Hello Sixth Grade!

Hello Mrs. Tempelmeier, Ms. Linihan, and all of my good friends in the sixth grade! I received your email, and I would like to respond to your questions. I will answer them in order.

Since there has been so much rain, is there any flooding?

Great question. India has slightly different seasons from what I am used to. In most of the country the year is generally divided into wet (monsoon) and dry seasons. The rain that is occuring almost every afternoon here has less to do with the monsoon, which is in a different part of the year, and more to do with the changing temperatutres as the air from the plains below hits the mountains. So far it has rained three days in a row at the same time of day, for onyl about an hour each time. This is not enough to cause serious flooding, but water runoff is a big issue here. When it rains a lot there are rock and mud slides, which can destroy homes and roads. When I arrived here I could see that they are still repairing some mountain roads from the last monsoons.

Another big water issue here is water scarcity. Since winter was on the warm side and there was less snow this year, there will be less water running down from the melting snow higher up in the mountains, so there will be less water for the people to drink. I do not know if global warming has caused there to be less snow in recent years. I will let smarter people debate that one...

Also, do you see signs of flowers or other greenery?

Another good one. Yes, the terraces that people have carved into the hilllsides are turning bright green with barley, wheat and rice stalks. Wild mountain rhododendrons are coming into bloom, with bright red flowers.

Johnny Acker wants to know if the taxi drivers drive wildly.

Well...yes, but not on purpose. While a ride in a taxi seems like a wild adventure to me, it is actually a display of skill and concentration on the part of the driver. I cannot believe how hard the man who drove me here from Delhi had to work. He had to watch out for camels, donkeys, dogs, cows, pedestrians, other taxis, buses, trucks, motorcycles, goats and sheep, all of them moving at differnet speeds and in different directions. So I think taxi drivers deserve a lot of credit, even if the way they drive may appear a little wild by our standards.

Sophie wants to know if the roads are like the ones in Greece—narrow with people walking in front of cars.

Yes, Sophie, they are. There are not any sidewalks, shoulders or crosswalks where I am right now, so the street is a place to be cautious. I would love to compare stories with you about Greece and India when I get back. Sounds like you have had some adventures, too!

What has been your most favorite thing to eat?

That's a tough one. I have eaten many interesting dishes so far. One of my favorites, though, is tenthuk, which is Tibetan soup with noodles and vegetables with some Chinese chilis thrown in to give it a little fire. My freinds Rinchen Tsomo and Tashi Dolma made me some homemade tenthuk the other day that was very tasty. Yesterday they taught me to make

momos, and today they are going to teach me to make Tibetan bread.

Will you get to meet with the Dalai Lama?

No, I am afraid not. Even though I am staying right across from the Tsulag Khang, his home gompa (monastery), he is not in Dharamsala right now. He travels all over the world trying to spread the word about the plight of the Tibetan People. He will return soon, however, for Losar. Two years ago I was here for Losar, and I got to meet the Dalai Lama then. He shook my hand and gave me a little golden Buddha as a gift. I will show you the picture when I get home if you remind me. I am very lucky, Many Tibetans have risked there lives traveling over the mountains from Tibet to get here just to meet the Dalai Lama. When he returns here to give new year's teachings, thousands of people will come here to hear him teach.

Thanks for the questions, sixth grade! You ask good ones, and I hope my answers are helpful. See you soon.

Momos and black tea

I am having to send this post via email instead of
entering the weblog site itself. Another afternoon
storm has trapped me in an Internet shop running Red
Hat Linux (big western howdy to Mr.Inman!), and I do
not seem to be able to run the Blogger.com java from
here, so the formatting of this post will be a shot in
the dark.

I just spent the afternoon learning from Rinchen Tsomo
and her friends how to make momos, a Tibetan
traditional steamed dumpling. I was lousy at making
them, which led to some good laughs. Then I had a
Tibetan alphabet and language lesson. The hospitality
I have been shown has been remarkable. I am offered
tea the moment I arrive at Rinchen's and my cup never
even drops to half full. I am going to float away on
all the black tea I have consumed, and then today they
tried to stuff me with more momos than a man can
possibly eat in three sittings, let alone one. In
return I have become a bit of an English tutor to
whomever I meet at Rinchen's. We are having fun.

I took the opportunity to ask one of Rinchen Tsomo's
friends about why he came to India. Tsewang is a
twenty-something student who wants to be a history
teacher so that he can "teach others about the true
history of Tibet because the Chinese tell lies." He is
the only member of his family here in Dharamsala, and
he said he came here "because of freedom of ideas, and
to meet the Dalai Lama." He also wants to learn
English so that he can teach history to a broader
audience. Tsewang's English is a little rough around
the edges...okay, it's no great shakes, and it took us
a while to understand each other, but he insisted that
he would like to answer questions that our seniors
might have about conditions in Tibet, and the history
of the Tibetan people. I will send Mrs. Hays his email
address and she can share it with you. Tomorrow
morning I hope to visit some agencies that might have
some more good info for your current studies,
seniors...

Are there any eighth graders reading this? I would
love to hear from you at larryhays2@yahoo.com, and
that goes for sixth graders, too. I will do my best to
respond in a timely fashion.

The rain is subsiding, so I am going to go find a
quiet spot where I can study my Tibetan alphabet...