The Traveling Librarian

Domkhar Government School Library

2009-09-28T06:34:00.003-05:00

As a carry over from last year the traveling librarian returned to the Domkhar Government School with Mary, Director of Youth Services at the Memphis Public Library in Tennessee. Thanks to HEALTH Inc and Omprakash the new library and computer facility is finished and ready for Mary and I to do our magic.

New library facility in context.

Our first look inside.

Carrying the boxes of books from the hostel to the library.

Unboxing and examining new books.

Mary introducing the library to a class.

Excitment!

Discovering new worlds outside remote village life.

Everyone's socks turned red from the new carpet!

A few of the new books.

Half-day teacher workshop.

A librarian burning books -what next!

Curiosity about new Pre-K - Class 3 library.

Pre-K - 3 before.

Making Pre-K - 3 library safe.

Zenab arranging library.

Pre-K - 3 after.

Zenab has agreed to be the teaching librarian for the school and will be going through the Library Information Science degree program with the Indira Ghandi National Open University. Two teachers from the Siddhartha School will also be going through the program which is correspondence-based with testing at IGNOU Centers around India. The faculty came to out half-day teacher workshop with a schedule for library use and rules for use and behavior. They are extremely proud of their two new libraries and since Mary and I returned to the U.S. the entire village and other guests have been invited to the school to see the new libraries. Everyone is excited about the resources and the children get to expand their knowledge and world view.

Using solar energy to power the sound system.

Summer 2009 Blog Entry Two

2009-07-26T04:22:00.008-05:00

Stanzen Namgyal's Family

This is part of my Ladakhi family and extended family. There are four houses in their compound and ever time I spend the night I have to visit all four houses and drink juice, milk tea and Ladakhi tea at each house plus a little snack. Refusing is not an option! I love the picture they have hung in the kitchen as some of the photos I have taken of them are proudly displayed. I've been sponsoring Stanzin Namgyal's education since he was in Upper Kindergarten and have been visiting his family for the past three years. If you click on any of the images they will enlarge.

Baby Chospal who I've known since Tsewang was pregnant.

Tsetan, Stanzin's father,.

Stanzin being goofy with cousins Dawa & Tsering.

Tsewang, Stanzin's mother, with cows.

When I sleep over at their house I sleep with Stanzin, sister Stanzin, Chospal and Tsewang. I think we all snore but sleep deeply.

TEEN PARTY TIME
If you ever wondered about the teens in rural villages, just outside Leh, here is an example of a party I was invited to as a grandmother figure (abilay). [surprisingly this reminds me of when I took hip hop lessons with a room full of junior high girls!] It was Stanzin's cousins 18th birthday party. She is attending Class 12 in Jammu and has her girlfriends from school with her during their school break. It hardly seemed different from our teen parties sans alcohol. They had about seven bvowls of chips and snacks, an iMac on a black inflatable couch blaring music and just the typical girl hanging out scene. This is probably not typical in terms of the iMac & furniture but cousin's family is not as poor as the rest. I was told the next morning that they danced for awhile and stayed up until 2:00 AM talking. Notice the hand gestures!

Beginning of Summer 2009 Adventures

2009-07-10T05:45:00.009-05:00

I think this is going to be one huge blog entry covering the past 5 weeks that I’ve been in

India

. Everything (business, communications, Internet connections, etc) in Ladakh takes a long, long time. Just conducting one or two small but important tasks can take up an entire week. For example you have an appointment on Tuesday at 9:00 AM – you show up and no one is there – the next day you get them on the phone and they say where were you Monday I waited for three hours! Then you make new plans and so it goes. Needless to say this blog has been in the works since I arrived. Connections to the Internet are getting worse every year and the electricity keeps going down. Who couldn’t love a place like this!

I’m actually becoming very fond of Delhi even though it is crowded and has steaming temperatures of 45 degrees centigrade. The second I leave the enclosed airport there is a rush of the warm, sweet, exotic and comforting smells of dung fires, diesel fuel, human excrement and blossoms. The laziness from the intense heat, even in the middle of the night, gives way to people everywhere sleeping on the pavement, in their rickshaws, on the median of the roadways, on pallets or charpoys, and so forth. The street dogs are out and prowling, cows are walking in the middle of the road and the traffic is minimal. I’ve come to love this drive from the airport to the guest house in the middle of the night.

My major reason for staying over in Delhi for three days was to purchase books and have them shipped to Ladakh. Thanks to HEALTH Inc. I received funding to buy books for the Domkhar Dho Government School pre-k through Class 10. I purchased most of the books at Teksons Bookstore in Delhi and this year they had to ship them via air cargo which is a little pricey but I had them in hand three days after I arrived in Ladakh. The other reason I enjoyed being in Delhi was my stay at the World Buddhist Center established by a Japanese Monk, Guruji. He also had the Shanti Stupa, here in Leh, built for the people of Ladakh. He’s a musician and last year he had sung me some of his new songs – this year his CD which was produced in Los Angeles with famous backup musicians was finished and for sale. I bought the CD and one of his books and can’t wait to share them with people. I’m so touched by his music and what it has to say. My room (third year) entitled Tamara’s Room has been painted since last year and has new curtains. I arranged the furniture to suit me and bought a Tibetan carpet so I could do my exercises on the floor. Also I wanted the room to feel like a small apartment without cooking facilities. When I opened the big trunk I left here over the winter I was so pleasantly surprised at all the treasures I’d left behind – books, clothes, sleeping bag, toiletries, etc. The food is better than ever this summer – my first few days there was a visiting French chef and the food was impeccable. As I’ve mentioned everything is fresh – vegetables, fruits, homemade pasta, etc. No canned or processed stuff (well, I imagine a few things come from packages). This nutrition should help in my healing as I enter month five of my hip recovery. Right now peas are in season and so I have been buying peas and eating them as a snack – it’s like eating dessert. It’s funny to taste real food – even the mutton & chicken I occasionally eat tastes real – they are freshly slaughtered that day.

TSO MORIRI & TSO KAR

Several people from my Sangha were here for a few weeks – I’ve spent a day and several dinners with them. Lisa (one member) brought two college girls to volunteer at the Siddhartha School. Scott, who is on the Siddhartha School Project Board with me, was here for three weeks to visit the boy he sponsors, to get communication going with the Board here and to bird watch. Scott and I went on a camping a trip to Tso Moriri (where I wanted to go last year but never did) for three days to bird watch and see wild animals & Nomads. We camped out the first night at Tso Moriri a high altitude lake and did some hiking – I don’t believe Scott was able to check off too many new bird sightings at that site. I bought both Scott and I Napalese Yak wool hats that are lined to keep our heads warm at night as it gets pretty cold at that altitude. The second day we continued on to Tso Kar which is a high altitude salt water lake. On the way we saw Tibetan wild ass, blue sheep, pashmina sheep, marmot and many birds. We were very fortunate to see 3 rare and endangered Black Neck Cranes at Tso Kar. The cranes are only found near this area and contiguous Tibet. What fun and adventure. We hired a driver and a wild animal/birder guide/cook for the experience.

SIDDHARTHA SCHOOL

I’ve been out to the Siddhartha High School (pre-k – Class 10) a few times and they have maintained the library perfectly. Susheel, the secretary, has finished his degree in Library Information Science except for the final test – his wife had brain surgery during the testing period so he will take it next testing time. Two other teachers at Siddhartha have just signed up for the Library Information Science program as well. They love cataloging and maintaining the library so I am very pro

ud of them and pleased that within two years they have taken the ball and run with it. The two librarians at Siddhartha hosted two of my teachers from the Domkhar Government School for two days of intense workshops and we were able to catalog and cover all the Domkhar books that I purchased in Delhi and shipped up to Ladakh. Then I will go out to Domkhar circa August 6^th with the books and my two Librarians from Memphis to set up the library. We will be giving staff workshops in an effort to support the Domkhar teachers who have been trained. Our focus will be on respecting the library, its value, use, and how to use it with students. Some teachers are not so keen on having a library or any extra work. Because it is a Government school there are many issues but the largest is the lack of real interest, on the part of the teachers, to teach. They often go away and don’t show up for weeks or they sit in the classroom and knit or socialize with other teachers and totally ignore the students. This is endemic in government schools all over India. The Public schools, which are really privately managed schools, are much preferred because teachers are held accountable. Then there

are Private schools as well. This and many of my professional readings have given me a more open view of education and educational excellence. I actually feel that Charter

schools, private schools and public schools in the U.S. can co-exist very nicely. Back to Ladakh – I’m very excited that

my influence here has generated five educators wanting to be school librarians who will be enrolled in school this Fall.

BON COMMUNITY

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time in Choglamsar visiting a Tibetan Bon monk Geshe Lungrig Nyima. He had asked my Bon teacher Chongtrul Rinpoche in New Jersey to help sponsorship of his Bon students here in Ladakh. My mission was to take up-dated pictures of the students and of Geshe and the little monastery he built. There are very few Bon people left and only a few in Ladakh (eight families) so much support is needed to maintain their tradition and to get the kids educated. I’ve really had some nice afternoons with the Geshe – he got to practice his English with me and I got to take some pictures. He invited me to a Puja (religious ceremony) two weeks ago and I got to meet almost all the families and children. The Puja goes all day so we had breakfast, lunch, breaks and lots of chanting and socializing. More picture taking ensued.

Ph-Yang Festival: Mask Dances

I've met a very nice Scottish woman who I’ve been sharing dinner and wonderful conversation with most nights. She has been spending the past five years travelling around the world and then spending large amounts of time in Napal, Cambodia, India, Thailand, etc. She volunteers wherever she’s at with local women’s organizations. I asked if she had “stuff” stashed at all these places and she said no – she carries a rucksack with a few outfits and when they wear out she has new things made. I admire her economy of travel. I also love her stories of the villages she’s worked

with. Here in Ladakh she is working with the first Woman owned and operated Trekking & adventure company that just started a couple of months ago. Part of what she is doing is going on Treks with the Trekking Company trainees before they actually take tourists out. She’s also working on their webpage. We went to a Mask dance at the close by Ph-Yang Monastery recently and had a ball. The dances were slightly different than the dances I went to at Hemis Monastery the past two years. Some of the

masks were significantly different and it was obvious that the Monastery was not as well off as many of the others in Ladakh.

Siddhartha School: Additional Amenities

2008-09-19T11:53:00.008-05:00

Additional pictures of the Siddhartha School Summer 2008

Below our wonderful Siddhartha School staff are pictures of the new infirmary and the infirmary wing of the science building. The science lab is up and running this year and the students seem to enjoy the space and the experiments.

Some of the new library books purchased at Teksons Bookshop in Delhi. They used my Visa card for payment, wrapped, and shipped them to Ladakh by courier service. I used them on my return trip as well to send additional books and computer software.

Travells with Cynthia

2008-08-18T04:33:00.012-05:00

Domkhar with Health, Inc.

After 7+ hours on a local bus with playground equipment, assistive devices, and our packs and supplies for 11 days we arrived at the Domkhar Government School. The school was on summer holiday so we were able to stay in a small dorm (hostal) that housed boys from other villages. From Health Inc. was Cynthia (Sintia), Stamba, Dorje, a,and a. From Omprakash was Will, Lily, and Gordon. Then there was Greta from Friends of Lingshed Austria and myself, the Traveling Librarian.

Cynthia’s home was somewhere up in the mountains. The rest of us slept on the roof, bathed in stream water, and the guys took turns making tea and meals. The night skies brought me to my knees – shooting stars every night and an array like I have never seen before.
The purpose of our visit was to paint, decorate and set-up three learning stations for a Mella (fair) that would take place at the end of our hard work. The fair was to demonstrate to local and regional officials, and the teaching staff at Domkhar how to set-up and use special areas for working with children using hands-on, student centered and body centered learning. The playground equipment which was designed by a previous group working with Health, Inc. was the first playground to be established in a Ladakhi Government School and boy did the kids love that. There was a large slide, swings, seesaw, and various other stations to assist with physical fitness, working together & sharing activities.

My job, among other things, was to take a dreary room with mishandled books (mostly textbooks) and turn it into a temporary library while the new library room was being built. Both Willy & I had brought a pile of wonderful DK books for science and ancient cultures which ended up being used in the lessons I gave and added some useful books to their very small collection. Cynthia & I removed all the classroom desks, sorted and bundled the textbooks and non-library books and put them aside and then I worked on making some sense out of what was remaining. Meanwhile Cynthia drew her
wonderful pictures of children reading around the outside door of the library while Greta and some village children painted them in with color.
Simultaneous to the library, staff members were painting and working on two other dismal rooms. One as a pre-primary room with a weather center, cozy reading corner shelves of activity or discovery boxes and books. The other a primary room with activity areas e.g. a play kitchen, cozy reading area, play classroom and more. I took a lot of time out of the library to make activity/discovery boxes, collect and stuff empty chip wrappers, candy wrappers, Maggi soup wrappers, etc. with foam for the little kitchen cupboards and filled in painting occasionally. Each room and activity had an accompanying poster listing the activity, motor skills development, cognitive development, socio-emotional development, and benefits for special learners.

The Omprakash team, being a strong young group moved rocks, dug holes for playground equipment, brought in huge bags of heavy sand, and cemented everything in place. Hard work but they played hard, and read a lot as well.
We covered such things as a positive & inviting library environment that would capture children’s imagination through color, special displays, and clean interesting books. We discussed proper shelving and handling of books, how to teach the students to respect books and their care. Also how to integrate the library into their teaching – they followed three groups of students through a model library lesson (grade 5, middle school & high school students) for 45 minutes each. The projects were examples of how to start with a simple research process, related to classroom work, using the library. They have invited me back to assist in the new library next year and to provide more training. In the process of all this I have also been asked by Cynthia Hunt of Health Inc. to jointly (with another librarian) conduct a research project with results presented to the Kashmir & Jammu Government. We will take three diverse schools: the Siddhartha School which is private, The Domkhar Government School which is remote and a primary Government school. These schools will be given a three year infusion of books and intervention by a professional librarian (not only myself) in training how to use a library and they will be compared to comparable schools where no infusion of resources or outside intervention. Although this will be a qualitative study I have suggested that we also maintain a five year record of National Exam scores and dropout rates in the six schools to see if any link reflects back on having a well supplied functioning library that is actually used. I would love to think that we could pull in a couple of young, healthy library types to work on and continue this work and possibly a longitudinal study. I’m looking for contacts at some of the major Library Science Schools that might be interested in this research. Results would certainly be an important tool for other developing countries struggling with literacy & education.
Cynthia Hunt is writing & illustrating a book on how to handle and care for library books based on a chart I developed for remote library users. Her characters “the Hens” which I affectionately call “the girls” are willing to take on the chore. I will also be scripting short training modules which will be filmed next summer in the various schools - they will include how to set up a school library, how to establish rules & discipline, how to develop a core collection reflecting the text & syllabi, and how to integrate the use of the library resources into the class work.
Domkhar Dho area is one of the main regions for growing apricots and they are currently ripe (August). The villagers are drying them, making apricot oil, and other products. Needless to say I was given a continuous supply of fresh apricots right off the tree. There are two types one with a white pit and one with dark brown. The seeds or nut inside the pits are delicious – almost like a hazelnut. Here are some pictures of them drying – probably not up to western sanitary standards but definitely sun dried.

We also had the experience of going to Hanu where the Dards live (Dards also inhabit India in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Shina speaking populations are predominant in Tehsil Gurez, Drass and Dah Hanu areas of Ladakh. The Brokpa who follow the Bon religion are also a Dard group who speak an archiac variety of Shina called Brokpa. The Kashmiri people of the Kashmir valley are also considered a Dardic people. – Wikipedia). We all rode on the top of the local bus and had to duck often to avoid getting whacked of decapitated by Willow & apricot branches. Cynthia & Health Inc. were delivering a special mobile chair that was designed by the previous team working with Health for a girl with brittle bone disease. The Dards are an intact tribe that has basically interbred over and over. They have a very high percentage of disabilities both physical & mental. Health Inc. is the only organization working with them and has gained their trust household by household. We were going to do some work at the school which was on summer holiday but the school had recently been broken into and we were not able to pursue our goals. After two nights we returned to Domkhar for the final two days to ready for the Mella.
Of course the Mella went well – everyone had a fabulous time and the big “guys” came from the Hill Council, Government, etc. so they got to see some model teaching and ideas. This is a good thing as a seed has been planted with those in power that might assist in changing some of the ways classroom instruction happens. I’ll be fundraising this winter with a goal of $2,500.00+ to purchase a core collection of books to go into their library next summer.
The other day I bought a metal trunk and a lock and have filled it up with my books, textbooks, Syllabi, school supplies, clothing, sleeping bag, water containers, and other gear that I only need here in Ladakh. I’ll leave the trunk here at the Oriental and have all the stuff ready to go for another (hopefully next) summer.

International Women's Chorus Plays Hemis Festival

2008-07-17T08:35:00.004-05:00

Hemis Festival with the International Single Traveling Women’s Chorus

Well here we are, the Chorus of course, spending a day at the masked dances at the Hemis Monastery. This is an annual festival that originated over a thousand years ago. After pushing & shoving among the crowds a few of us ended up in the front row and a few up on the upper floors. Raining, raining, raining. Is this a good time to say my expensive LL Bean outer shell with a million zippers to control ventilation outperformed itself? I remained happily dry and warm. Maybe I should also mention that my feet stayed dry and comfortable in my smart wool socks and just my Keen sandals not to name drop!

Last year I needed a walking stick to get up the steps to the monastery and this year, I am happy to say, I have not used or carried my walking stick – my leg grows stronger by the week. Thanks Brooke wherever you are!

Then the hit of the day when the chorus took up residence half way down the mountain in the wind and rain to perform several International hits such as Dancing in the Rain, Somewhere over the Rainbow, Row, Row, Row your Boat, etc. The performance lasted approximately 45 minutes. The countries represented were Germany, Holland, United States, Britain, and Israel. Here are a few clips for your enjoyment.

Members of the chorus partaking of afternoon tea.

Beginning of the Mask Dance at Hemis

Oriental Guest House Family Puja

2008-07-17T08:27:00.007-05:00

Oriental Family Puja & Oriental Stuff

I love being back with the Oriental Guest House Family, they are so caring and fun to sit and hang out with. One of the very nice events they involved me in was a family puja (Buddhist ceremony). They usually celebrate this particular one in the winter for good health but they have a few family health problems so the puja was celebrated now. I was very touched to be there and they allowed me to take some pictures.

Kester and Karin were there as well – I felt glowing by the end. Kester is from Great Britain and Karin is from Germany.

The family has made many changes to the guest house this spring before I got here. My friend Meg found it to disturbing so she checked out of the Oriental, Tamara’s room, and moved to a quieter and less expensive guest house. By the time I arrived everything was in place and Tamara’s Room had plumbing that worked (sorry Meg, I love that room). Here’s a chance to say my Pigeon couple is still here – when I arrived there was a dead baby in the nest – the next day they had removed the baby and were tidying up the nest. The following day they did the egg thing and they are taking turns sitting on the egg. They work so hard and deserve to have this baby live.

Soooo, back to changes. The family removed the old dirt floor kitchen and replaced it with a large stainless steel kitchen with marble floors and the works. They have a new cook who is fabulous so most evenings I eat right at the guest house. Dinner costs 95 Rs which is about $2.50 USD on any given day. I’ve eaten out four times so far to have a little protein from chicken and mutton. I’m also snacking on yak cheese and sometimes (yikes) coke and Lays potato chips however I like Phuntsog’s homemade chips better here at the guest house.

They’ve also enlarged the front garden and made a nice new walkway to the C building & dining room. It gives ama leh lots of space to grow green leafy veggies (cabbage, lettuce, etc.). Out back they have more gardens for herbs, mint, cilantro, tomatoes, potatoes, ladies fingers which we call okra, etc. They also have several cows.

Please note there are three members of the International Single Women's Choir in this picture

Sponsorship

2008-07-05T00:57:00.011-05:00

I wanted to make sure that the Maine sponsors, who sent packets with me, got to see pictures of their students accepting their gift.

Michelle Clark’s student: Tashi Laskit

Joli Greene’s student: Rigzon Yangdol

Joli Greene’s student: Kunzang Dolma

Patricia, John & Jesse’s student: Stanzin Tonyot
Stanzin has graduated so there is no picture

Scott Cronenweth’s student: Stanzin Zotpa

Tamara's student: Stanzin Namgail

Martha Mitchell & Tamara’s student: Padma Deachen

There are a number of students who still do not have sponsors. The students are from poor families and most parents are uneducated. If you are interested in helping a young person to gain the gift of an education please consider being a sponsor. You can do so by contacting:

The Siddhartha School Project

P.O. Box 524

Freeport, ME 04032-0524

tel. (207) 523-9388
http://siddharthaschool.org/t_wheel/subscribe.htm

Sponsoring a child is a wonderful opportunity especially if you have children – you can keep up by sending mail, pictures, and drawings and will receive the same from your child. Better yet you can come and visit your child and his/her family.

Siddhartha School 2008

2008-07-04T23:30:00.003-05:00

The school looks fabulous with many new changes:

School Band – and they sound fabulous
Large new generator
New science teacher
Science Lab, Computer Class, Library all on class schedule
New discipline and PT teacher
New English teacher
Wall and steps from playground to main building finished & playground leveled
New library books & library tables
Library walls decorated with painting of Rinpoche, Birds of Ladakh poster, Animals of Ladakh poster
Establishmant of four houses - each house has representatives from each grade
Urgen’s first full year as school principal

Four Houses

Flags Representing the Four Houses

School Band

Hackey Sacks That I Brought from U.S.

Scheduled Computer Class

Scheduled Library Class

Click Arrow to Listen to the School Band

Leh

2008-07-03T05:57:00.002-05:00

Finally back at my Himalayan home after a long, long trip. It’s so funny because I have met people I know at every stop along the journey. What a wonderful feeling to hug and catch up on our winters. Many people here at the Oriental Guest House & at the Shanti Guesthouse next door are folks I have either traveled with or had long deep conversations over mint tea. It’s kind of like old home week. Today I met a woman from Germany who met my friend Meg in May and went on a few trips with her. It’s such a small world.

The following pictures were taken while waiting for the school bus:

It has taken me longer to acclimate this year because I came directly from sea level to 11,500’ – last year I had acclimated for three months at 8,500’. Every day I have been walking to generate strength but two nights I have slept round the clock – I think I arrived in India exhausted from a long winter, school year and getting packed to travel. I am fairly acclimated and rested now.
Friday I caught the school bus to Siddhartha School – it was like I never left. Everyone gave me a warm welcome (including kataks – white scarves presented as a welcome), commented on how fat I got over the winter, and seemed genuinely happy to see me. The library looks fabulous – they have hung a beautiful painting of Rinpoche above the librarian desk and added nice tables for the students to read or study at. They have established regular library classes and have a schedule posted in the library. New plants this year are thriving from the wonderful light that filters in through the floor to ceiling windows. Susheel & Angdu bought many new books when they were in Delhi a few months ago. They are all catalogued and neatly shelved. I couldn’t be happier that they have embraced the library and made it their own – I can really back off and just fundraise and help with selection.
Saturday the school was going on a picnic several hours away at a lake but I could not join them as I had an appointment with an Electrical Engineer, Mr. Jaap from the Netherlands. He has been working with the Ladakh Ecological Development Organization since 2006 helping to establish solar power in the villages. He was extremely helpful and gave me a rundown of all the equipment pieces I would need and the prices to deliver adequate power (amps) for a computer lab, LCD projector (which sucks a lot of watts), overhead lights, etc for the main school building & the science building. We were looking at last year’s prices without tax and shipping of about $14,500.00 usd. He included all the wiring and other incidentals. Tata BP is the best company in India for solar equipment and they have an office here in Leh. Then the ecological development people can do an installation and training. My next step is to bring the information to the Siddhartha Board here in Ladakh and see if they would like to visit a model school in Changspa with a set-up of equal size to what we would require. If the board agrees that this is the way to go then I will generate some fundraising initiatives and possibly raise enough to start the project next spring. One thing is for sure the school needs laptop rather than old towers that suck three times the electricity. So I will also try to fundraise for 15 laptops that can be used to replace the old computers.

The principal, Urgen, at Siddhartha asked if I would teach some library classes and also to work a little with computer classes. They have purchased a large generator computers can be used – not the best solution but at least they are moving ahead. So I will do a little library skills work – especially how to use the library as a way to research and gain information. Last year we worked on how to handle the books, parts of the books, how to turn pages, take books on and off the shelves, etc. So this year we’ll look at how to incorporate the library into their studies. I’m thinking maybe of pairing students up and giving them an easy research assignment e.g. select an animal, then read about the animal in at least two resources, discuss with each other what they have learned about the animal, then make a short fact list (name of animal, where they are found, etc.) and then write a two paragraph research report in their own words and possible make a poster to share with the rest of the class. Yikes – here’s my curriculum all set!

I’m supposed to trek to a village that is setting up a model school sometime at the end of this month. It’s a project of Cynthia Hunt’s from Health Inc. and partially funded by Omprakash Foundation. They would like me to assist with a little library and some literacy stuff and probably give some teacher workshops. I’m a little apprehensive about the trek as my leg (horseback riding accident) is still in bad shape. On one of my walks this week I had to climb up and down a rocky incline and ford a small stream. I ended up slipping my foot into the stream because I cannot hop adequately from rock to rock. Hopping & jumping are no longer in my body vocabulary. We’ll see as I do have several weeks to practice and strengthen my leg muscles. I do so want to go and be a part of the literacy team.

Some of the changes I’ve noticed in Leh:
Less Trash
Very few freewheeling donkeys and dogs roaming the
Less Tourists
Fewer stores open (although this and tourists might change later in the seaso
A moistness in the air and much hotter this summer
Lack of snow on the mountains
Rivers at flood level because of melting snow from the mountains
Lots of building - hotels, guests houses, etc.

2008-06-22T07:32:00.003-05:00

New Delhi Sunday June 22, 2008

Synchronicity would have it that I ran into Cary Peterson, her sister Martha, and nephew Thomas at Newark Airport in line for the same flight to Delhi. We also were staying at the same guest house in Majnu Ka Tilla, the Tibetan Refugee Colony, so were able to share a van. I had met Cary and her mom Meg Noble Peterson last year here in Majnu Ka Tilla. We all sat together at the Dalai Lama teachings in Dharamsala. Meg & I have been in contact ever since. Also Cary visited with Nyima, whose education I am sponsoring, in Lhasa, Tibet and subsequently carried Nyima’s mom’s yak cheese on her travels for months to give to Khen Rinpoche & I. It was a lot of yak cheese so I am very grateful for her diligence trucking it around AND not devouring it all.

Continental made it very easy for me to travel from Portland Maine to Delhi. They checked in my luggage all the way to Delhi and the domestic flight landed in the International section of the airport so I didn’t need to take my shoes off again, go through security, etc. India, in all her glory, is another matter. I find it humorous, but trying, that lines aren’t labeled and no one seems to know where to go or what’s happening. Lines are slow moving and locals cut and then their family slowly starts creeping in line with them. Usually the wife cuts in then granny appears and a bunch of children – once positioned the men show up. Then after all the pushing & shoving you find out you are not in the correct line but no one knows which line you should go to.

The flight was long, the India veggie food excellent, the individual entertainment systems fabulous with over 250 movies to select from, and the seats comfortable but very narrow and little foot room. The flight was so smooth you couldn’t really tell you were in an aircraft. Kudos Continental!

Although Delhi is hot it is less so than the last time I was here. I arrived at my room around 11:30 PM Saturday night (remember I crossed the date line), showered, moved my bed under the ceiling fan, and went to sleep. I’m back to rock hard beds & pillows but they feel good to the tired back. My curious roach friends follow me around the bathroom and there are a few mosquitoes. Rinpoche says that karma plays a part in whether the mosquito carries disease, so having little control over the situation, I will respect their space.

Here’s what I have learned from watching TV today. The Indian economy is experiencing similar problems to us based largely on crude oil, lubricants, and power prices. Here’s what they are saying:
· the stock market is jittery
· inflation burden on India is 11.09 %
· inflation is having a disastrous effect on living standards
· petrol prices contributed to 94% of rising inflation
· value buying opportunities in banking & realty
· China’s rising prices for fuel & commodities is also fueling India’s inflation

I picked up a book at the airport and have read half of it already:
Meredith, Robyn (2008). The elephant and the dragon; The rise of India and China and what it means for all of us. W.W. Norton & Company.
It’s an interesting book especially for those who, seeing the interdependence of all things, are trying to understand our economy and how it plays out in the world market. Or best stated, via history and analysis, how the exponential transformations going on in China & India are a force to be reckoned with.

I brought over a hundred pounds of books for the schools which I will be happy to unload in Leh. Will have to figure out a better system for getting books into Ladakh as it is difficult for me to handle that much weight plus my own personal effects. I also want to order more books while I’m here in Delhi. I’ve booked a flight out for 5:45 AM on Tuesday to Leh. I can pay 80 Rs a kilo overweight to bring my books with me.

Tomorrow I will go into Delhi to have a good cup of coffee, visit a few bookstores, and time willing visit my favorite Hindu Temple Laxmi Narajan which I first visited 33 years ago and revisited again last year. It’s one of those places I have a love affair with both architecturally and content wise. There are many quotes & parables carved on marble slates hanging in the various rooms which I would like to write down. No cameras allowed inside.

Oh if Amber Dostie is tuning in – first thing this morning the ear cleaner man approached :-) I’ll have to have a picture from last year printed out for him.

Again!

2008-06-16T06:22:00.015-05:00

After a long, cold, densely snowy winter hunkering down in front of the fire the Traveling Librarian has come out of hibernation for another summer in Ladakh, India.

A harsh winter brings spring in all her glory.

The garden is in:

The deck is decorated:

The views refreshing:

The Dogs are groomed:

Leaving one green, forest paradise in Maine to another desert paradise, surrounded by snow capped mountains in Ladakh. What more could a girl ask for!

Many new things to attend to this year:

Looking for teacher training opportunities to be hosted at the Siddhartha School for several local schools
Researching options for students leaving the 10th grade
Arranging for a site evaluation at Siddhartha School to assess the possibility of solar or wind based electricity
Visiting and volunteering at a model village school in Dho arranged by Health Inc. along with Omprakash Foundation
Scouting local schools in and around Leh for students with a passion for science who might want to participate in a mentorship/research project through the Harlem Children Society with the possibility of a scholarship for further education.
Shopping for books
Assisting with library, language and literacy projects

Forgoing the camel outings this year I plan to visit:

Tso Moriri (Official name: Tso Moriri Wetland Conservation Reserve) is a High Altitude Lake (HAL) in Ladakh, India. It is situated at a height of 4595 m above MSL. Tsomiri is the largest of the High Altitude Lakes to be situated entirely within India. The Korzok monastery which lies on the western bank of the lake is one of the oldest settlements of the world. (Dept. Of Wildlife Protection, Wildlife Division LAHDC, Undated) -From Wikipedia

Lamayuru is a Tibetan Buddhist Gompa (monastery) in K argil District, Western Ladakh, situated on the Srinagar - Kargil - Leh road 15km east of the Fatu La pass, at a height of 3510m. Lamayuru is the one of the largest and also one of the oldest gompa in Ladakh with a population of around 150 permament monks residents. -From Wikipedia

Leave Maine on the 20th of June with three heavy bags of books & activities - the question is will they let me on the plane.

Whoops!

2007-08-13T00:11:00.000-05:00

Some things I didn't have time to share
Some answers to questions

Hemis Monastery

Mask Festival

Library & Library Books

Tikse Monastery

Ling Rinpoche at Siddhartha School

"The present Ling Rinpoche is the seventh in this line of reincarnate mastes, a number of whom have acted as tutors to the Dalai Lamas of Tibet. In 1940 the Sixth Ling Rinpoche became tutor to the present Fourteenth Dalai Lama, becoming his senior tutor ten years later. In 1959 he journeyed with him into exile in India; later Kyabje Ling Rinpoche became the Ninety- seventh Gaden Tripa, head of the Gelug school. In 1985, two years after he passed away, Kyabje Ling Rinpoche’s reincarnation was born in the North Indian town of Dharamsala. His mother died a few months after his birth and he was given into the care of Tibetan Children’s Village Baby Room until he was eighteen months olf, when His Holiness the Dalai Lama recognized him as the reincarnation of his senior tutor. At the age of three he was admitted into Loseling College at Drepung Monastery in South India, and since 1996 he has been living at the monastery full time. Under the guidance of his two main teachers, Geshe Wangchen and Geshe Thubten Rapgay, Ling Rinpoche is working toward completing his geshe degree. He speaks English and has traveled a number of times to South Korea, coming to the United States in 1993. In March 2004 he received full monastic (gelong) ordination from His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the fifteenth anniversary of the date when the Dalai Lama had himself received full ordination from his tutor, the previous Kyabje Ling Rinpoche." Tricycle Magazine

Little Monks w/ice cream

Tired Young Monk

Buddhist Wall Paintings

For those of you who asked about the toilets

Most Common
with or without a
flush

My personal favorite!

Stay tuned for follow up Blogs regarding lessons learned, equipment reviews, progress on the school library, writing a manual for Ladakhi children on how to handle library books, and so much more. This is really the beginning of my journey as I establish a model for providing library environments, library books, and library instruction to the many non-government schools scattered throughout Ladakh, India.

Nubra Valley & H.H. Dalai Lama

2007-08-12T08:09:00.000-05:00

Diskit: Nubra Valley

His Holiness in Disket

Camel Girls Rule!

18,380 Feet Altitude

Sign of the Week

Graduation

2007-08-12T03:42:00.001-05:00

My last few days in Ladakh could be described as bitter sweet – so many activities so little time to reflect. Saying goodbye to the children, some of their families, and my colleagues at the school was very difficult. My time to return seems so far away.

Graduation was a real success with parents dancing, students presenting and performing, a very special speech from HH Dalai Lama’s sister (Pema Jetsun) who promoted the value of an education and HH Dalai Lama’s brother who was the honored guest for the function. All the weeks (and months) of preparation paid off as the program was flawless. Staff and students alike should be applauded for their demonstrations of Ladakhi culture

Prince Siddhartha

(Play)

Student Dances

Student Dancer

Culture Demonstration

Weaving Demonstration

Yak Dance

Family

Parent Dance

Archery Contest

Presenting The Siddhartha School Library

2007-08-12T03:05:00.001-05:00

The library is as finished as I could manage with the timeline, resources, and the business pace of India. I had the carpenter drag in the unfinished furniture so I could get a feel for what the room will eventually look like. The students who came in dropped their jaws in awe. At the last minute Uschi, from Germany, bought a new carpet that we had picked out and had it installed. The carpet pulled the whole room together. Morgan Reynolds Publisher donated about 30 biographies and the Maine contingency brought those and books I had purchased beforehand in the states. Then two generous women from

California each donated $100.00 so I was able to purchase many local books e.g. Birds and Mammals of Ladakh, Flowers of the Himalayas, Ladakhi history books, etc.

Many students made it a point to thank me for the wonderful new library – they are so excited about being able to sign books out to go home. Teachers are also signing out books that I selected for them specifically. Books are so expensive for the local population to purchase and there are no public libraries so the teachers are thrilled to have the benefit of a library right at work.

I will be designing a small children’s book and teacher’s manual on how to care for and handle books from the library. Also how to find books in the library using the Dewey Decimal System and specific classifications. Because of the lack of libraries in the Ladakhi culture books aren’t enough – it’s learning to use books and care for them. Without the knowledge of how to handle books the children will shred them in a matter of days. This is not out of a malicious nature but rather unfamiliarity and lack of education in these matters. The resources I develop will specifically be designed for Ladakh but can be retrofitted for other cultures as well.
Any of you retired librarians out there who would like to benefit third world & rural cultures to establish usable libraries please contact me. Or if you have Abridged Dewey Decimal System and Sears Subject Headings books that you would like to donate – it would help out in many libraries in the Ladakhi & Tibetan communities.

More Around School & Misc. Leh

2007-07-29T07:55:00.000-05:00

Friends

Well everything seems to be in-process as I begin my last week at the Siddhartha School. I have been painting with the help of the eighth grade class and working with the carpenter to purchase wood and hardware for the furniture. I understand that some of the books I selected have finally been ordered so there is still a little hope that some will come in before my stay here ends.

Guests should be arriving this week for the graduation festivities. Students are practicing their dances and songs for the big occasion. The day after graduation a large number of us will be taking off to Nubra Valley for the Dalai Lama’s teachings. I will be leaving there a day early to get back to Leh and on my flight to Delhi on the 10^th.

Carpenter

It hardly seems possible that my stay and work, for this trip, are coming to an end. I have been feverishly working at night to design curriculum, charts, class activities, etc. so the teachers will be able to carry on in my absence. I’ve also written up procedures for how to run the library, sign in and out books, catalog and process books. I am hoping that we can provide a stipend position for a teacher to manage the library during their free period.

Everything is so beautiful here as the crops and fruit trees are bearing their fruits. There are baby animals everywhere and folks are collecting their dung and drying herbs & food for the winter

Bread Makers

Shoe Shine Men

Buddha at Shanti Stupa

(donated by Japan)

Siddhartha School Library Part III

2007-07-14T07:38:00.000-05:00

Faculty Room & Around The School

I have been working exceptionally hard to pull the library together. So far money has not arrived for me to send in the book order so I am working on the books already in the library, the ones I brought with me and some that I bought here. On July 10th I received a package, thanks to Kris Wheelock & Ann Davis, which contained a Sear’s List of Subject Headings and an Abridged Dewey Decimal System. So I have spent three long days happily cataloging books and even skipped morning tea break to make the most of my time. I also met with the carpenter (finally) and am having him build a librarian’s/check-out desk with locked drawers for rubber stamps, supplies & such. In addition he will be building a magazine rack, newspaper stand, book display stands, two traditional Ladaki/Tibetan benches and spacers for the shelving. I have purchased two handmade Tibetan carpets (imported from McLeod Ganj Handicraft Centre) that go on the benches – one has tigers on it with traditional patterns and the other has dragons on it. I’m accepting donations to help me defray the cost. I’ve also purchased some paint for accenting the walls close to where the benches with carpets will reside.

A printing order for Reader’s Cards has been turned in so the children and staff can sign out books and we can have a record of the sign-outs. They are in three colors Blue = boys, Green = girls, and Yellow = staff.

I bought plant pots and brought them into the school – staff and students are taking them home and filling them with plants for the library. I also made various signs for labeling the shelves and for how to care for books, the Dewey Decimal System, and a few Misc. things. The kids flock into the library every chance they can which in previous years they hadn’t been (of course the room was basically a storage area with no arrangement of resources). Creating the atmosphere, reading to them and having them see me working so hard (with the help of several students) has really stimulated their interest in the library, books, and reading. The boys particularly love to look at magazines such as National Geographic and India Today. The girls and the younger students like the story books and picture books. I also purchased books for adults and the teachers have started to check them out – they are very pleased to have something to read as books are expensive here and there are no public libraries. Right after exams which go on for a week I will start bringing classes in, with the teachers, to give a formal presentation on how to use the library, how to put books back on the shelf, behavior, etc.

Daily School Bus Ride

Lower Kindergarten Students

Parents Helping

Stenzin and his Mother & Sister:
I am his Sponsor.

Home Sweet Home

2007-07-14T07:36:00.000-05:00

Oriental Guest House
Changspa-Leh
www.oriental-ladakh.com
orientalleh@hotmail.com

My guest house is in Changspa which is on the outskirts of Leh – about a 15 to 20 minute walk. It’s run by a traditional Ladaki family and is very comfortable. You can really see the effects of global warming here which is too bad seeing as the peoples here did not contribute to it. They build their house with dung on the outside and then whitewashed. Usually there are no clouds or rain in Ladakh but the past three years have increasingly had rain which melts the dung, goes through the thatching etc. So as time goes on the traditional Ladakhi &Tibetan houses will have to change with the environment. Water is becoming

more scarce due to less snow on the mountains. It’s a very interesting place to learn about how outside influences and changing natural phenomena affect a once self sustainable culture compatible with nature.

Common Living Room

Library with Great Books

Dining Room

I love my room and if I ever get the opportunity to spend a year here I would ask for this one. The view from my bed is incredible – I look past the trees into the snow capped mountains. And the clouds are like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Then if I get out of bed I look down upon one of the vegetable gardens which Mama tends to all day and then to the right is an outdoor area with tables & chairs under an awning where people can hang out or eat at. The family and extended family all live here and run the guest house which has basically three sections. The old section where I live is mostly family and long-term

guests including Cynthia Hunt (more on Cynthia). Then B section was built as they had to turn so many guests away and now they have a C section which is fairly new and houses the kitchen, dining area and more rooms. Now for Cynthia Hunt – she is originally from the U.S. but came here from Canada 20 years ago – she lives here year round and is an author & illustrator of booklets, games, and classroom resources on such things as nutrition, recycling, environmental pollution, etc. for the Ladaki government. Her foundation brings people to the villages to work on various issues and assists people with Occupational Therapy such as building wheelchairs and other devices for the disabled so they can be contributing members of the village. There is a movie about her called “The magic mountain” Filmmaker: Pat Morrow, focus productions. Another interesting movie about Ladakh is called Thin Ice about a team of girl’s ice hockey that goes for competition.

View When Laying in Bed

I’ve been asked to assist with the Omprakesh Foundation made up of three professors from Bowdoin College (Maine), Harvard, & the third I know not from where. They want me to work with them on selecting books and finding inexpensive delivery methods for books to go to various schools in Ladakh. I’m helping them now as much as I can because I am here in India and can somewhat gain access to information. I’m trying to get the Kashmir & Jammu curriculum guides that prescribe what is taught in grades 7, 8, 9, and 10. That way we know which type of books to purchase to support the curriculum. I’m also trying to understand the process for ordering books online from Delhi – I think I’ve almost got that down. All this stuff could be a full-time job but unfortunately there is no salary attached. I sure wish I worked for the University full-time as then I could apply for a Fullbright to work over here for an extended period of time. So many people want and need libraries. There is no longer a public library in Leh (the capital of Ladakh) – that says something. The monasteries all have libraries but mostly it’s religious texts, interpretations, and commentaries. All this being said I am working hard and missing out on seeing some of the sites here which acquaintances here have been going on. I am however, getting a good infusion of Ladaki culture, ways, and customs and a further understanding of their educational system.

You can really see the effects of global warming here which is too bad seeing as the peoples here did not contribute to it. They build their house with dung on the outside and then whitewashed. Usually there are no clouds or rain in Ladakh but the past three years have increasingly had rain which melts the dung, goes through the thatching etc. So as time goes on the traditional Ladakhi &Tibetan houses will have to change with the environment. Water is becoming more scarce due to less snow on the mountains. It’s a very interesting place to learn about how outside influences and changing natural phenomena affect a once self sustainable culture compatible with nature.

Outside my bathroom window is a pigeon who had been sitting on her egg since I moved into this room. The other morning she was sitting on her baby who was trying to get out from under her. It’s adorable – I had never seen a pigeon nest, egg and then baby. I sure hope she is able to keep it in the nest as it is a long way down. It’s going to be fun to watch the baby grow. Now after almost a week the mother pigeon leave the baby in the nest for short periods of time – it fluffs itself up when it’s alone and doesn’t move toward the edge of the nest – a well-behaved pigeon baby! Speaking of babies – all the free range donkey’s running around town have had their babies – they are more than cute. I also have a dog friend who I call Jewel who is adorable – think she is a mix of Tibetan Terrier and something a little larger. She loves to nozzle me and growls at all the young Isrealis wandering around.

Pigeon & Baby

Tso Pangong

2007-07-14T06:01:00.000-05:00

Took a side trip for two days to Tso Pangong (Lake Pangong) which is a high altitude salt water lake at 4250m. I went with three incredible women Andrea from Austria, Alexandra from Italy, Isabella from France along with our Ladaki Driver, Stenzin, from Zanskar. It was raining when we left Leh so when we got to Chang La, the 17,500 foot (5490 m – 5599m) pass, it was snowing with high winds. Our drive took a long time due to photo ops, lunch, and stopping to look at wildlife such as Marmots, wild donkeys, domesticated animals and Temo (I believe a female Yak/Cow mix). Once we got to the lake we walked for a couple of hoursand hung out on the beach. Everyone of Ladaki descent had to watch us unpack our luggage, check out our room, and assist verbally in getting enough foam to make one big bed. We had a nice dinner of dal & rice in a parachute tent that served as a
restaurant, snack concession and sleeping area for the cook and her daughter. We ended up staying there until bedtime playing games that Isabella introduced to us. After the girls got through
dialoging (approx. 10 minutes) about which direction we were going to lay on the mattresses they suggested that I be the first one to pick my place. Then we all had to go to the toilet so the girls started discussing a strategy for not having to walk up the hill to the Ladaki style toilet. They discussed the possibility (another 10 minutes) of us all going behind our sleeping area and then turning off our headlamps (torches) at the same time - while they were establishing a strategy I went up to the toilet and came back before they had finished their discussion – we had a good laugh over that. Then we all snuggled together in our sleeping bags. I forgot to mention it was freezing at that altitude. We had a fabulous time with lots of giggles and chatter. I couldn’t have asked for better or more compatible travel companions.

Tso Pangong is the highest lake in Ladakh and is 150km long. It extends almost in a straight line way into Tibet, only a quarter of it is in India. Because we were so close to the border we had to have special permits to visit the lake and could only visit less than an eighth of the lake. There were many military bases on the way. On our way back we saw herds of Yaks (male), Demo (female), and Dzo (female mix of Yak & cow).

Female

Tso Pangong

From inside

the cook tent

Traveling Companions

Tso Pangong

Mint Tea

with Cheers

Inside the

cook tent

with Magi &

Dalai Lama

Siddhartha School Library Revisited

2007-06-26T07:28:00.000-05:00

Having been here over three weeks now I have a better idea of how the Siddhartha School operates and what is needed for the library. School meets six days a week (1/2 day on last Saturday of the month). I leave my Guest House in Changspa at 7:00 AM and stop along the way for a chocolate croissant - my walk to town (Leh), where I meet the school bus, is about a half hour. I’m one of the first on the bus so it’s about 40 minutes of picking up students until we get to the school which is in Stok about 18 kilometers from Leh. After opening exercises, presentations and such the faculty has tea and then the classes begin. My first few days I had some of the older kids help me move bookshelves and books around so as to create an area for the younger children and an area for the upper level classes. I also went with the principal to look at other school & Institute libraries and designed some furniture for the carpenters to make. Tenzin (principal) would like to have a magazine rack, a newspaper rack, and cabinets for the reference books. In addition, I’d like the carpenters to build a librarian’s desk with locked drawers, some student furniture and a few book display stands.

Easy Books

Once I got all the MacMillan workbooks and teacher/curriculum books sorted out from the student books I found that the shelves were really bare. There are a good number of easy books but really nothing for the upper level students. There are no reference books or non-fiction books so I hope this summer we can begin to remedy that. Below you will find my revised pictures of the library – noting that the shelves are essentially bare.

Older Student Section

I have been teaching the younger children how to handle books properly and also how to return books back to where they got them with the spines facing out. I think they are catching on. I’ve also begun drawing up some simple lesson plans for the teachers to carry on with library skills once I am gone. I plan on giving them a workshop over the school vacation. It is so windy and dusty (desert) that the kids hands & mine are always dirty – this is translating to fingerprints at the corners of all the pages in the books. In McLeod Ganj they had a sink outside the library for the children to wash their hands before handling the books but that won’t work here as there is no running water. I’m thinking I might teach them to wipe their hands on their pants before picking out a book but then that will leave an imprint for later library use. One of the School Board members suggested that they use their hankies.

Once school is finished I ride the school bus back to Leh and then walk back to Changspa to my guest house – usually arriving by 5:00 unless I stop to use the Internet. Dinner is at 7:30 and costs $1.50. The vegetarian food is excellent using lots of garlic and usually hot or chili pepper. One day is Italian, one day Tibetan, one day Indian, etc. and then they rotate around again. There is always a soup. It’s served buffet style so we can pick or choose.

About two weeks ago I took a day off from school and four of us rented a van to visit two Monasteries about 2 ½ hours from Leh. The Monasteries are known for their old Buddhist wall paintings. They were indeed astonishing for their color, design and influence on Buddhist art. There are several more I would like to visit while I am here. The varied scenery along the way was breathtaking – there were areas that looked just like the Grand Canyon and buttes, etc. except even more evocative.
The wall paintings are not to be photographed because the flash contributes to their decay so I have very few pictures of the grandeur – I do however have a beautiful reference book called the Buddhist Wall-Painting of Ladakh to keep those visuals alive. A monk takes visitors through the various rooms and usually charges a small amount for maintenance.

The first Monastery in Alchi was situated overlooking the Indus River and was quite fertile. I could have easily moved there. The wall-paintings are very distinct for their Indian and Kashmiri influences.

Indus River going past Alchi

The Klu-kkhyil Gompa in Likir sports a 25m-high Maitreya statue. It is less visited by tourists but far more exciting in my opinion. While we were there all the monks were busy painting, cleaning and arranging things for the upcoming visit of Ling Rinpoche the young reincarnation of the Dalai Lama’s beloved tutor.

He will be coming to the Siddhartha School as well so we are also making things pretty by whitewashing the buildings, making a parking lot, cleaning the rooms, etc.

Gompa at Likir

Touching up the Monastery

before Ling Rinpoche's

visit.

Here are the girls enjoying milk tea at the café in Likir. Maureen is from Holland, Caroline from Maine attending Smith College, and Jaime from Hawaii attending Hampshire College.

Book Recommendations:

Namma: A Tibetan Love Story by Kate Karko
“A compelling read, a rare insight into the daily lives, culture, religious rituals and relationships of a people eking out life on the “roof of the world.” Travel

Aama in America: A Pilgrimage of the Heart by Broughton Coburn

From the Publisher: "The alternately rollicking and profound account of an eighty-four-year-old Himalayan woman's first journen across America--and of the insights she offered her American companions into their country and themselves. Fifteen years after he first met Aama, Broughton Coburn returned to her remote village with his future wife, Didi, and an invitation for Aama to join them on a trip to America. At eighty-four, Aama believed she had become a burden to her grandchildren and therefore welcomed the chance to visit her "adopted son's" country. For Coburn, this was a way to introduce Aama to relatives and friends back home; but for Aama the trip represented something more--a pilgrimage that had been prescribed for her by village priests, an opportunity to gain merit by undertaking a strenuous journey during the final stage of her life. Aama in America is a vivid chronicle of what became a twenty-five-state, coast-to-coast adventure. Guided by the perpetual curiosity and deeply spiritual orientation of their ingenious, unpredictable travel coffipanion, Cobum and Didi gradually began to view their country from an entirely new perspective. The more they experienced Aama's unclouded vision of America the more they realized they were not simply traveling twelve thousand miles throughout the United States--they were undertaking an emotional and philosophical odyssey toward a greater understanding of their culture, their country, and themselves. Aama in America is on one level an offbeat American travelogue. But on another it is a profound exploration of beliefs, values, and lost spirituality, a rediscovery of the spiritual that lies beneath the surface of America, and a singular account of the meeting of two widely divergent cultures." Amazon.com

Picture of the Week

Camel Girl

2007-06-13T07:55:00.000-05:00

"Camel girl won't you come out tonight,

come out tonight,

come out tonight,

Camel girl won't you come out tonight....."

Siddhartha School Library

2007-06-10T07:34:00.000-05:00

Here’s the beautiful Siddhartha School on flat barren desert valley surrounded by mountains. Because it seldom rains early morning activities and school lunch can be held on the grounds around the stage area. Each morning a different student starts off the day leading all the children in the Anthem, prayers, exercises, thought for the day and then each grade level has a representative give a presentation. The presentations can be a poem, song, skit, short story or something special that the student has come up with. Then they file off to class. There are 8 class periods of 45 minutes each. Period 8 is for art, music, drama, and special activities. There is a tea break in the morning and in the afternoon for teachers and the kids use that time to study, play, socialize and hang out.

This is a visit to the 3 & 4 year old classroom which is brightly decorated and has lots of space for activities. We decided to take a group picture – we’re all saying Jule (Julley) which means hello, goodbye, welcome, thank you and probably more things in Ladakhi. The two young women in the back row are students from Smith College in Amherst, Massachusetts. Khen Rinpoche teaches a short course there every year so the students get to know him well. Jaime & Catherine are spending the summer teaching English, helping in classrooms, substituting when a teacher is absent AND they have been asked to help prepare a skit with the children for the graduation festivities.

Now some before pictures of the Siddhartha School Library – this past year they built book cases and received some book donations. There are more books than I expected but most are old and worn. As you can see most of the shelves are empty and there are no real reference books such as encyclopedias, atlases, dictionaries, etc. My second day at the school was spent teaching skills on how to gently handle books and then reading the multi-cultural story Baby Rattlesnake which I had brought with me. They sent two classes a period to the library – one higher grade and one lower grade. Two teachers each period got to see how a librarian works so this turned out to be good modeling for when they take over. They’ve decided that when they have a free period someone will serve as librarian. I will give a workshop to the teachers later in the summer. I designed a rubber stamp for the books which they all loved – I had it made in Dharamsala. I also showed several of the teachers examples of a primary, middle and senior school library to get ideas on how to furnish and arrange the Siddhartha School Library. I’ve also drawn a layout that I think will be attractive and we have discussed plants, posters, reading areas, etc. I think we will have accomplished a lot by the end of the summer. I’ve asked the grade 10 students and a couple of teachers to help me catalog, stamp, and put labels on all the books. Then we will arrange them properly on the shelves. I’ve suggested putting the Easy books on one side of the library with a nice rug and cushions for the little children and then benches with cushions and study tables at the other end with the older level books and reference books. Below are some of the classes I met with the second day of work.

I also got to meet Stenzin Namgyal, the 2nd grader that I sponsor. After he saw all the other kids sideling up to me he became less shy and came around me quite often with a big smile. I know over the years that we will become very close. This weekend I bought him a little Spiderman pencil box, Spiderman lunch bag with thermos, and all sorts of school supplies. I’ll have to find out what the best and proper way to give those to him – I think it needs to be possibly a visit to his home. I’ll get some good pictures of him to share once we become less shy with each other.

I have made a decision to try to fundraise again this fall for the following:

LCD Projector 2000+ ANSI Lumens
Laptop Computer
Satellite Internet (initial startup cost $3,000.00) then a modest monthly charge. Currently the school does not have Internet access.
Additional books and media resources

First Days in Leh, Ladakh

2007-06-10T06:57:00.000-05:00

“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 Sickn ess (AMS).

Tibetan Handicrafts

2007-05-15T07:07:00.000-05:00

Tibetan Handicrafts Around Town

There are a whole series of official Tibetan handicraft factories in and around McLeod Ganj that specifically give training and employment to Tibetan refugees. Everything is hand crafted using the same techniques that have been used for thousands of years.

The Tibetan Handicraft Society LTD., http://www.tibetan-handicrafts.com/, makes hand knotted woolen carpets & handicrafts. All the carpets are totally handmade – there are no modern tools or techniques. If you are looking for a traditional Tibetan carpet the prices make it worthwhile to pay for the shipping. You can shop online at the above URL.

Factory Floor

Where did he come from?

The Glass Bead factory which has been established by the Tibetan Unemployed Cooperative Society. http://www.tibbeads.com/ a non-profit organization that provides employment opportunities for Tibetan refugees. They sell bracelets with five glass beads on them here in McLeod Ganj. They export the same glass beads only with a silver liner to the West where they are commonly called Troll beads.
“Most of the Beads produced in the Bead-Work-Shop are exported to Denmark as loose beads and sold there.”

(http://www.officialtrollbeads.com/content/categoryDetail.cfm/sessionid/492051507075332867/site_id/5/category_id/132 or http://www.ivyridge.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi?cat1=Trollbeads&cat2=Troll%20Glass%20Beads). They use Italian glass that comes in meter length rods. I’ve spent many days there watching, visiting with the workers, and learning to make the bracelets sans beads. (And yes, Joli, it’s the same technique that Rinpoche has been trying to teach us. Guess I end up being the memory keeper for that!). They have a variety of stations set up and depending on the day they move around to different jobs e.g. glass blowing, inserting silver grommets in the holes, stringing beads, making bracelets, etc. It’s very well organized with sample books for the workers that contain a picture of the finished bead, samples of the glass tubing used for the design, and often the technique for producing it. They are truly phenomenal.

Factory Floor

Beads cooling

Glass Rods

At Norbulingka, which I mentioned several blogs ago, is dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan culture in both it’s literary and artistic forms. “The skills preserved and passed on at Norbulingka include statue making, thangka painting, appliqué and tailoring, woodcarving, carpentry and metal craft.” http://www.norbulingka.org/

With all the Tibetan crafts there is a link to Buddhism as their culture is not separate from their religion. That being said Tibetan handicrafts are not for everyone – their use of color and design are often viewed as garish to Western sensibilities. The symbolism runs deep and the colors emanate a calming effect.

Photo of
The Week