~*Vibrant*~

That pretty much sums up my current mood. In fact, my Aussie friend at Deer Park said I was exuding vibrancy today. Maybe it was the sugar in my breakfast...but life is just beautiful this morning. It's mornings like these I completely forget about the suffering of the world and am sucked into my own la-la-land of bliss....but then, I step out of my room and I am swiftly reminded how blessed I am.
Poverty is a way of life here. People work every day, there are no days off, really. They're renovating the bathroom next to my room and yesterday (Sat) they worked from 8:30am-6pm, today (Sun) they were there at 8:30 am, again. They can't afford not to work...it's quite a wake up call.
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Tonight the Deer Park staff does have the night off, so my friends, Everam & Mary (from Richmond, VA) and I (and a few others) are going to cook! I thought it would be fun, so I asked the director a few days ago. Everam's dad owns restaurants, so he grew up in a kitchen. He's "Head Chef." Mary is from Tennesse and Roanoke, VA, so she's in charge of a southern dessert. We're making hot apple pie (too bad we don't have ice cream...). I'm going to be chopping and probably getting in the way, but am excited nonetheless.
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I hit a block with my self-taught Tibetan lessons. The book series/audio tape I was working with wasn't really going in a useful direction. I was almost getting discouraged.
I went to get an afternoon cup of tea on Friday at The Friends Cafe (a popular place to dine in Bir) and Tserang, the young woman who owns the Cafe, sat with me. No one was there besides us so we got to talking. When she found out I'm an English teacher and I found out she's from Lhasa, Tibet (which has the dialect I want to learn), we decided to tutor each other! We started right then and there.
I went back yesterday with my notebook and pen, ready for more. Also, she said if I come back after paragliding season ends (which I was already thinking of doing in February), she can really sit down and teach me with a book. For now, we'll have our afternoon sessions (while her patrons are floating in the clouds). I spent last night repeating what I learned over and over and writing it, too. I remember this morning! Now I can ask for things! It's so invigorating to learn another language!
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Tuesday I'm going to see Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo (http://www.tenzinpalmo.com/). I scheduled a private audience with her, which is an hour long. Everam & Mary have an appointment right before me, so we're sharing a taxi. Then, they're going to Dharmasala and I'm going back to Bir.
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I'm just overwhelmed with gratitude that I'm here. The winter is peeking it's blustery head around the corner. We had a very cold day on Tuesday and I realized what I'm in for, but with my long johns and down jacket, I think I'm ready. The temperature warmed up, again, thankfully. Perhaps winter will hold off for when I leave in December....but we'll see!!
LOVE.