First Days in Leh, Ladakh
“Some trudge across this wilderness bent and broken. Bent by their load of pain and fears. Broken by a life lost in a lonely struggle.
Some journey across the deserts and over the mountains simply seeking. They come knowing only what they desire. Sadly, they return empty and bitter. They could not accept what was gifted. Nor embrace what was shown.
Some float and glide across the vast expanse of silent emptiness. Their hearts coiled with doubts. The sighing winds merely cool. The searing sunrays always burn. The land absorbs their madness but they are unmoved by her shimmering nakedness. Untouched by her mystical language. Their eyes dulled with the coldness that seeps from their dying hearts. They move on wondering why they ever came.
And I know of some who walk through this shattered landscape kneeling ever so gently to stroke the ground that holds them up to the skies. They come with all their pains. And broken promises. They come with all their questions and elusive dreams. They come with loving in their hearts. And they know they have come home.
And to these journeymen Ladakh gives all that is hers.” (Purkayastha, 2005)
This is Elliott Wright who has been an avid supporter of the Siddhartha School and the library as an individual and on behalf of the Dzi Foundation. Elliott is gregarious, fun-loving and is filled with compassion for others. Although not trained as a teacher he is exceptionally gifted when he steps into a classroom or surrounds himself with children. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College in Maine and is from the Western part of the U.S. Elliott checked in on me often to assure I was acclimating to the altitude and then took me out to the Siddhartha School for my first day. He introduced me to all of the faculty and we toured the classrooms and other facilities. At my suggestion he purchased a DVD player for the school which they immediately used to view a DVD of a play they will be presenting for the graduation festivities in August. Now we just need an LCD Projector to be able to make presentations.
This group of students and their teachers are from Vail Mountain School in Colorado – yes, Elliott snuck into the picture as well! The students from Vail are in Leh to construct a handicapped toilet in a school that has many disabled students. This will be the first handicapped toilet in Ladakh. I spent quite a bit of time with them and hope to go with them one day to check out their project. I also met a woman from Vermont who is from a program that sends students from rural Vermont for a semester at a school here in Leh. They have it set up so the students get all their necessary requirements for the U.S. and then also get submerged in the Ladakhi culture. They are thinking of extending the program to candidates in Maine as well – so I will be getting the program director’s name and other information. It costs very little because of the way they select students and agreements between school districts. Gardiner would definitely fit their qualifications for inclusion into the program. I’ll post more regarding the project in future blogs.
The environment is dry flat desert with stones everywhere surrounded by dry mountains and snow covered mountains. Don’t be fooled by the flat desert as it is 11,500 feet in altitude and escalating as you go further up into the mountains. Wouldn’t you know some of the really precious monasteries filled with wall paintings are at higher altitudes. I’ve acclimated really well so feel comfortable going a little higher for short periods of time. Many people at my guest house are not as lucky and are virtually flat on their backs. At this altitude the air is very thin which produces light headedness, trouble breathing, nausea, and other maladies. Because there are infrequent flights out of Ladakh and no way to get to a lower altitude readily it can be a real problem, especially for those with Acute Moun
tain Sickness (AMS).
Some journey across the deserts and over the mountains simply seeking. They come knowing only what they desire. Sadly, they return empty and bitter. They could not accept what was gifted. Nor embrace what was shown.
Some float and glide across the vast expanse of silent emptiness. Their hearts coiled with doubts. The sighing winds merely cool. The searing sunrays always burn. The land absorbs their madness but they are unmoved by her shimmering nakedness. Untouched by her mystical language. Their eyes dulled with the coldness that seeps from their dying hearts. They move on wondering why they ever came.
And I know of some who walk through this shattered landscape kneeling ever so gently to stroke the ground that holds them up to the skies. They come with all their pains. And broken promises. They come with all their questions and elusive dreams. They come with loving in their hearts. And they know they have come home.
And to these journeymen Ladakh gives all that is hers.” (Purkayastha, 2005)
This is Elliott Wright who has been an avid supporter of the Siddhartha School and the library as an individual and on behalf of the Dzi Foundation. Elliott is gregarious, fun-loving and is filled with compassion for others. Although not trained as a teacher he is exceptionally gifted when he steps into a classroom or surrounds himself with children. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College in Maine and is from the Western part of the U.S. Elliott checked in on me often to assure I was acclimating to the altitude and then took me out to the Siddhartha School for my first day. He introduced me to all of the faculty and we toured the classrooms and other facilities. At my suggestion he purchased a DVD player for the school which they immediately used to view a DVD of a play they will be presenting for the graduation festivities in August. Now we just need an LCD Projector to be able to make presentations.
This group of students and their teachers are from Vail Mountain School in Colorado – yes, Elliott snuck into the picture as well! The students from Vail are in Leh to construct a handicapped toilet in a school that has many disabled students. This will be the first handicapped toilet in Ladakh. I spent quite a bit of time with them and hope to go with them one day to check out their project. I also met a woman from Vermont who is from a program that sends students from rural Vermont for a semester at a school here in Leh. They have it set up so the students get all their necessary requirements for the U.S. and then also get submerged in the Ladakhi culture. They are thinking of extending the program to candidates in Maine as well – so I will be getting the program director’s name and other information. It costs very little because of the way they select students and agreements between school districts. Gardiner would definitely fit their qualifications for inclusion into the program. I’ll post more regarding the project in future blogs.
The environment is dry flat desert with stones everywhere surrounded by dry mountains and snow covered mountains. Don’t be fooled by the flat desert as it is 11,500 feet in altitude and escalating as you go further up into the mountains. Wouldn’t you know some of the really precious monasteries filled with wall paintings are at higher altitudes. I’ve acclimated really well so feel comfortable going a little higher for short periods of time. Many people at my guest house are not as lucky and are virtually flat on their backs. At this altitude the air is very thin which produces light headedness, trouble breathing, nausea, and other maladies. Because there are infrequent flights out of Ladakh and no way to get to a lower altitude readily it can be a real problem, especially for those with Acute Moun
tain Sickness (AMS).
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