Because you can

"On 20 Nov 2007 three teenage monks were brutally beaten by police. One of the monks, Tsering Gyaltsen, was beaten particularly severely after police found him wearing a photo of the Dalai Lama around his neck. China is a State Party to the UN Convention against Torture and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In both these conventions, torture has been absolutely prohibited under any circumstances but in reality it occurs unabated in Tibet with impunity.

In Tibet, it is commonplace for Tibetans to be detained, arrested, imprisoned and tortured for exercising their right to freedom of expression and opinion, and other rights intrinsic to the freedom of thought and religion. Security forces routinely resort to arbitrary arrest, imprisonment, and torture in response to non-violent protests, including displaying the Tibetan flag or any other innocuous symbols of cultural identity, staging peaceful demonstrations, possessing photographs of the Dalai Lama, and pasting and distributing political leaflets."--from the Human Rights Situation in Tibet Annual Report 2007 by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy

Because in Tibet it could cost them their lives, where anywhere else it costs us nothing, fly the flag. Carry a picture of the Dalai Lama, stick it to your cubicle wall, to a notebook, to your car window. Not because you are Buddhist, or Tibetan, but because you are human. And because you have rights as a human that your government will acknowledge and protect. That cross that's hanging around your neck? Touch it. Be grateful. And fly the flag for a Free Tibet.

Just when you think you've grown up a bit

Here's a little anecdote.

So it's Diwali, and we're hosting a party on our rooftop. I'm enjoying the fireworks and my rum when someone comes up to me and says, "Hi. My friend thinks you're cute. But he's really shy." His friend is one of the servers who works at the Tibetan coffee shop First Cup where I have breakfast every morning. Until now, I thought it was just for the sake of asthetics that my cappuchino was served with a heart drawn in the foam of the steamed milk every morning.

"He's really shy huh? Doesn't like talking to girls?" I reply, thinking this is too close to middle school for comfort, and need to find an escape pretty soon.

"Well, it's not really that he's shy. He just doesn't speak any English."

Yeah...I see this really going somewhere.

A list of the extraordinary

Part I: Mountaineering

-conveniently inconvenienced by a flight delay that left me stuck in Paris for a day
-waking up my first morning in India early enough (jet lag) to see the sun come up on my first view of the Kumaon Region of the Himalayas
-learning to say hello (namaste) thank you (danyabar) what is your name (apka naam ka hai) and other vital and civil Hindi phrases
-observing (not participating, I swear) in hash production during harvest season in the village of Khati
-learned to wipe my ass with my hand (extraordinary experience, but not pleasant)
-each and every cup of masala chai I drank
-trying to sit in a tent for five days patiently waiting for the rain to stop
-Attending a puja: Hindu prayer ceremony. Baba Ji blessed us and marked our foreheads with a Tikka for a safe expedition leaving Zero Point.
-Waking up every morning to a sunrise view of Nanda Devi
-Counting ten shooting stars in one night.
-Standing at 18,500 ft
-sleeping in straw hut chai shops as we hiked out the Milam Valley
-First shower in thirty days, a pillow, a bed, and a phone call when we reached Mansyiuri
-Jeep ride of death down and out of the foothills
-looking in the mirror and realizing I lost about 15 pounds and two cup sizes
-getting stuck in rickshaw in a traffic jam with an elephant in downtown Delhi
-The Taj Mahal
-drinking cocktails at a five-star hotel with a view of the Taj under the full moon to celebrate my 22nd birthday

Learning Patience in internet cafes

I've posted more photos at http://himalayamountaineering.shutterfly.com of my time in McLeod Ganj thus far. I've been slacking on the blog posts because I can never seem to remember to grab my journal as I'm heading out the apartment. And if you saw the stairs I walk up every day to get into town...well, I'm not going to turn around for it. But they're coming. Eventually.

So chill out. Mom. :)

Home sweet home

I found an apartment today, beautiful view, nice landlord, nice neighbors. I don't think I've ever met so many people in so short a time. Everyone here is displaced from somewhere else in the world, and so everyone is compassionate and understanding about what it feels like to be a stranger in a new place.

The Dalai Lama returned to McLeod Ganj today from Delhi, where he was undergoing surgery. Banners were hung above the road entering the village, lotus flowers were painted on the pavement,and all the Tibetan men and women dressed up in their finest traditional dress to welcome him home. We got a quick glimpse as he drove by on his way to the monastery. He is staying here in McLeod for quite awhile to rest and recover, which is fortunate for me because normally he spends more time away than home. I'm hoping to hear him speak on Oct. 25th, his next scheduled public appearance to celebrate the anniversary of the TCV, the orphanage and school for Tibetan refugee children.

PS: My address is
Melissa Queen (Rm#405)
Victoria House
Jogibara Rd
McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala
Himachal Pradesh, India

Email me your address and I'll send a postcard!

The good stuff

Here are some of the highlights: http://himalayamountaineering.shutterfly.com

Namaste!

In case you were wondering, I made it out of the field alive. I've never had anything in my life go as smoothly as this expedition (unless you count being rained into a tent for 5 days). But on the bright side, while we were trapped in by the rain in the Pindari valley, it was dumping fresh snow on the glacier which made for PERFECT conditions for the traverse. So the moral of the story: we made it up and over the Dhanadura Pass at 18,500 with nothing but minor set backs.

After the NOLS course ended, I spent a few days in Delhi, a two days in Agra at the Taj Mahal (and at the full moon) and now I am in Dharamsala. I haven't started my job writing just yet, I'm hoping to work out all the details tomorrow. But hopefully I will have access to a computer, but in the meantime I'm paying for time at a cafe. Which translates into very brief posts, my apologies.

But most importantly, I wanted to let everyone know I am alive and well, and having the time of my life despite missing everyone :)

And, just so you know: when I get back to the states, if anyone mentions the words 'dhal' or 'rice'--I'll, well, I dunno what I would do. But I think I've already eaten enough to last the lifetime of at least 5 people.