New Places, Old Thoughts

Have I really been here for 3 weeks? It seems like I just arrived...time in India (without work or school) certainly slips by.

We are still in Tso Pema, but have decided to go to Dharmasala tomorrow for the weekend. Our friend Ani Llamo is studying Tibetan there. She was in my Tibetan class I took at the Songtsen Library last year. She's from Taiwan, a Tibetan-ordained nun and a total character, not to mention totally inspiring! Her Tibetan is really good.

Staying in Dharmasala will be a little risky for Karma because a lot of his friends from the monastery are on vacation there, but he's not too worried. They'll be finding out soon enough (*fingers crossed the visa goes through*). This brings me to my next point: the visa (enter scary music)! Unfortunately, Karma's interview will not be while I'm in India, so he won't be coming home with me. He hasn't been assigned a particular date yet, but it should be in July, maybe August. I'm glad I'm here to help him put all the paperwork together that he'll need for his interview. He can also take a translator with him to the interview, a great relief to us both! The bureaucracy one must go through to get a US visa is quite extensive. On the website for the US Embassy in New Delhi there were 52 pages of people interviewing for a visa in the month of June. I wonder how many of them will be approved...

I've been reflecting a lot this week, especially because of the World Cup, which I'm obsessed with, by the way. I love watching these games!! Our TV in our room is working now, both a blessing and a curse. It's like being on a strict diet and then going to an all you can eat buffet, I think I need to moderate myself. haha

Anyways, four years ago during the World Cup I was in Cuzco, Peru. I was fresh out of a two-year long, alcohol-lubricated relationship and spent most of my time in Peru indulging in their local festivities for the winter solstice, drinking, dancing, and putting the evil white powder up my nose...but I digress. It was the first time since I started dating that I really felt like being single and began embracing myself without a partner. Although it took about a year after that for me to stay sober and clear-headed, I'll never forget seeing the sun rise from behind the pink Peruvian mountains thinking to myself that there is so much to be had in this life- I just have to embrace it.

Flash forward to now...so much has happened in the past four years, but here I am in India with Karma- the joys of life in my hand. My time in India and living in Berkeley has helped me appreciate the home in my heart. My thirst to travel and search the world for happiness feels quenched for the moment....easy to say when I'm here in the glorious mountains of India, I guess.

For my remaining two weeks I will relish each moment. We've decided to visit the state capital here in Himachal Pradesh, which is the city of Shimla. From there we will head south to Chandigarh, India's only well-planned city, so I've heard. Making our our way, slowly, back to Delhi.

Love to you all!