Sem lo la....(I think....)

I'm happy, healthy, and so settled into life here in India. It definitely has become "home" for now and I love it. I even love it when I hate it. haha. Thoughts of leaving within the next month and a half are sneaking there way into my mind (esp. during meditation), but I'm just looking at them and not judging. It's been an interesting (& sometimes painful, sometimes funny) process.

I took a day trip up to the top of the closest mountain. There's a town there called, Musoorie. The British settled there during hot summers and it's beautiful.
I saw the Himalayan mountains for the first time in my life and, of course, cried. It didn't help that one of my Tibetan conversation partners was with me who, when I asked, "What do you think of when you see the Himalayas," answered, "Ah-ma." This means "mother" in Tibetan...and of course, he hasn't seen his mother in 10 years because she lives on the other side of those majestic mountains. *sigh*
Moments of gratitude are never short in this life of mine.

There were sightings of a Richard II (although I'm in a different state from the first, it seems fitting to carry on the tradition of this name). I think he's scared to come back to my bathroom because I accidentally almost drowned him when I took a shower. I saved him before it was too late.

I have 3 days left of my Tibetan class and then I'm off to Bodhgaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment. I plan to visit the ruins of Nalanda University and Vulture Peak Mountain, where the Buddha gave a famous teaching, called, "The Heart Sutra."
After that, I want to visit other holy sites in India-
Sarnath: where the Buddha gave his first teaching after attaining enlightenment (I've already visited there, but it was to see HH Dalai Lama),
Kushinagar: where the Buddha entered "parinirvana" (died),
and Lumbini: where the Buddha was born.

After that, I'm hoping to go to Kathmandu, Nepal, but am not making any definite plans.
I plan too much, so I'm going to stay places for as long or as little as I want and just see how I feel!

There have been so many changes and blessings along this journey, who knows what will happen. :)

LOVE