So last night I fell asleep while reading "The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama" by Thomas Laird. I was right in the middle of a chapter on Genghis Khan and the Mongol invasion of Tibet and China when I fell asleep...
[insert blurry dream-sequence transition here]
So, in a hybrid of Buddhist-style reincarnation and western pop culture, I dreamt the spirit of Genghis Khan became reincarnated in human form and to preemptively stop him from once again committing his horrible atrocities en-route of taking over the world, the Ghostbusters--I being one of them--were commissioned by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to exorcize his spirit from the human form he inhabited and trap him in a lower life form such as one of the fruit flies currently swarming my kitchen (that, unfortunately, is more than just a dream).
Regretfully, I woke up right before the exorcism was about to begin.
This dream, as incredibly bizarre as it was, was actually a nice change of pace from the recurring dream I've been having over the course of the summer where it is the night before I leave for India and my state of preparedness is quite lacking. One night I dreamed I was already on the plane in the air but without my passport, any money, or even any of my luggage.
So instead of waking up in a sweat, stressed out about everything I still need to do before I leave, I woke up laughing at myself: a ghostbuster serving at the pleasure of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
As my departure approaches
I'm coming up on about three weeks until I leave for India. I'm starting this blog so that all my friends and family can follow along with where I am and what I'm up to over the next three and a half months. YIKES. Just typing it..."three and a half months"...it seems so long!
So to catch everyone up:
On September 5th I will begin my National Outdoor Leadership School Mountaineering course in Conway, Washington. On September 6th I will fly out with the group of climbing students and our instructors from Seatac airport in Seattle to Delhi, India. From Delhi, we will bus to Ranikhet in the northeastern state of Uttarakhand. There we will begin trekking into the Himalayas. The course lasts 40 days in which we will learn everything from basic backpacking skills, to basic conversational Hindi, to technical glacier travel. I will "graduate" the NOLS course on October 15th and be reinstated back into civilization in Delhi.
After completion of the NOLS course I will spend a few days traveling in Agra (home of theTaj Mahal) and Delhi with a few of the other NOLS students, then travel north again to the village of Dharamsala, where I will volunteer as a contributing English writer for their village newspaper. Dharamsala, while not a grandiose village, has become home to Tibetan refugees fleeing China's persecution. It is now the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Parliament-in Exile. As I hope everyone is aware, this is a very important time for the Tibetan people both those in refuge and those still under oppression as the world watches China through the lens of the Olympic games.
While Tibet is a hotbed for political turmoil, the village of Dharamsala is protected by the Indian government and the near impenetrable wall of the Himalayan mountains. It is a safe and peaceful village that thrives on tourism, both secular and religious. I will reside there until I return to Delhi to fly home on December 19th.
Getting in touch:
I will not have access to telephones or internet during the NOLS course except in the event of an emergency. Once I am back in civilization I will utilize internet cafes to send out emails and if time allows, update this blog. I will be keeping a journal during my travels which I will post here in detail once I return to the states, allowing everyone to follow up on their own time instead of flooding your inboxes with lengthy emails.
So to catch everyone up:
On September 5th I will begin my National Outdoor Leadership School Mountaineering course in Conway, Washington. On September 6th I will fly out with the group of climbing students and our instructors from Seatac airport in Seattle to Delhi, India. From Delhi, we will bus to Ranikhet in the northeastern state of Uttarakhand. There we will begin trekking into the Himalayas. The course lasts 40 days in which we will learn everything from basic backpacking skills, to basic conversational Hindi, to technical glacier travel. I will "graduate" the NOLS course on October 15th and be reinstated back into civilization in Delhi.
After completion of the NOLS course I will spend a few days traveling in Agra (home of theTaj Mahal) and Delhi with a few of the other NOLS students, then travel north again to the village of Dharamsala, where I will volunteer as a contributing English writer for their village newspaper. Dharamsala, while not a grandiose village, has become home to Tibetan refugees fleeing China's persecution. It is now the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Parliament-in Exile. As I hope everyone is aware, this is a very important time for the Tibetan people both those in refuge and those still under oppression as the world watches China through the lens of the Olympic games.
While Tibet is a hotbed for political turmoil, the village of Dharamsala is protected by the Indian government and the near impenetrable wall of the Himalayan mountains. It is a safe and peaceful village that thrives on tourism, both secular and religious. I will reside there until I return to Delhi to fly home on December 19th.
Getting in touch:
I will not have access to telephones or internet during the NOLS course except in the event of an emergency. Once I am back in civilization I will utilize internet cafes to send out emails and if time allows, update this blog. I will be keeping a journal during my travels which I will post here in detail once I return to the states, allowing everyone to follow up on their own time instead of flooding your inboxes with lengthy emails.
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