Until We Meet Again!

It is kind of a bitter, sweet ending (more bitter than sweet). I have come to love this place more than I could have ever expected. When Beau and I first began planning this trip to India I was excited. I never dreamed I would actually get the chance to go to India. Things quickly changed when we moved to Utah and furthered our plans. I began to be scared out of my wits because I had never been away from my family and friends and being even further than I already was made me a little more than nervous. After three months of being here I realize that I had no reason to be afraid. This has been the BEST experience of my life so far and it is even better since I was able share it with my best friend. I owe Beau a huge thank you for dragging me across the world to the most peaceful, friendly place I have ever experienced, "little Tibet," Bylakuppe.

    As a closing I would like to share a few of my favorite experiences and realizations as I have been here.

FARM
    One of the greatest learning experiences I have ever had has been working on the Organic Research and Training Centre farm. I have not only learned to make liquid manure, natural pesticides, vegetative propagation, pull weeds for hours on end, tie up bitter gourd, harvest basal, prepare Brahmin for sale, care for a nursery, and make compost but I have seen the large spiritual aspect that goes into farming. As I went to the monastery with the farmers I began to see the close connection they have with the soil. As I interviewed farmers on the ORTC farm and other organic farmers they told me of the great personal satisfaction they have when they can farm their own foods. It is particularly important to them to feed their families healthy, nutritional, organic crops so that they can maintain their health and preserve the health of the soil. For most farmers here only a small income is made off their crops. The major point of having a farm is to provide for your own family. Having an organic farm brings purpose to the individuals I interviewed because it allows you to be self-dependent. To the organic farmers it is important to teach their children the same farming techniques so that they can, in the future, have their own farms to feed their family.
  

MEN-TSEE-KHANG
    This was an experience very dear to my heart. It has inspired me to certainly learn more and maybe even return one day to become a Tibetan doctor. Most of my time I spent reading my Tibetan medicine book and asking questions. I observed patients receive their pulse readings, urinalysis, and cupping. I even experienced cupping and pulse reading myself. After a painful back ache from being on the farm and treating it with cupping I can now say that cupping works. After about 24 hours the pain was completely gone. I have also been taking Tibetan medicine to help with my digestion, circulation, and restless legs and I can't help but notice it helping. I have been much more alert during the day and my sleep seems to be better than it has been since I have been here.
    Tibetan medicine and Eastern medicine in general uses some of the best logic I have ever seen -- Solve the problem, don't just cover it up. Using plants and herbs in the natural environment makes more sense than using man-made drugs, at least in my mind. Tibetan medicine looks at your physical health, behavior, and diet. It is common for a Tibetan doctor to tell you to stay away from breads, potato, or anything cold. It is important to look all possible imbalances in a person's life even if it means prescribing the patient to relax more often. As I have been in the clinic I have seen the doctor prescribe medication and give diet restrictions to help balance the hot and cold parts within the body. Allopathic doctors very rarely look at a person's diet unless they are obese. I hope that as I work towards becoming a doctor that I will be conscience of my patients' complete needs and look at all aspects of the problem.  I also admire Tibetan doctors for the time they are willing to spend with their patients. For the doctors it is important to provide care because of the satisfaction it brings to the patient and the doctor themselves. Unlike most allopathic doctors they are not concerned about the money more than they are the patient.

THE SNAKE
    Yesterday, as a going away experience my body decided to get a cold. I had been at the Men-Tsee-Khang most of the day before I decided I had to go home and get some sleep for my body to heal. The moment we reached home I took out my hair-tie, took off my glasses, and lied down. Beau lied down next to me. After only a few minutes Beau says calmly, "Oh, a snake". I immediately fumbled for my glasses while my heart was racing. I looked around unable to spot it when Beau pointed to the sealing. There lay a big, old, fatty snake. We're guessing it was between 6 and 7 feet long. I didn't know how to react. I don't like snakes but it was far enough that I was completely fascinated. As it moved back and forth my insides seemed to turn. We looked at it for a bit before Beau ran to get Namgyal. We spent the next hour or so poking and prying at it to scare it away. We had one person in our room, one outside, and one the main house roof to try to spot its escape. At one point it curled up because it was so angry. It took nearly cutting it in half before the snake finally left. Or at least we think it left.....we never saw it exit.

THE PEOPLE
    Tibetans are some of the kindest people I have ever met. When I interviewed individuals I never failed in getting a long enough interview. People love to tell their stories and I absolutely loved hearing them. I was always nervous about finding the right gatekeepers but that seemed to be the easiest part. Damdul was more than happy to have me help on the farm and teach me a few farming techniques and Dr. Pasang was very gracious at having me observe the lady doctor and him. Everyone was so welcoming. They took me under their wings and answered every question I ever asked and more.
    Through simply walking down the street and catching rides I was able to meet some of the friendliest people. I have never met so many different people in such a short amount time. The older people are so sweet. They always have a huge smile on their face. I have learned that "Tashi Delek" can go a long ways. My next goal is to learn some more Tibetan before I come back!

As I said before, I have truly loved my time here and I sincerely hope this is a "See you later" rather than a "Goodbye."

Tashi Delek, homies! 

Tibetan Medicine

Do you want a boy, girl, or neither? Well, for 40 rupees I can tell ya... okay, maybe I can't but the Tibetan doctor can. I have recharged my enthusiasm with observing at the Men-Tsee-Khang, the Tibetan Medicine Clinic. A couple weeks ago I started volunteering there so I could better understand how medicine is administered, how doctors interact with patients, how to receive care, and how much it costs. As I have read my book, asked and observed I have become more and more interested. I have researched online that Tibetan medicine is very beneficial for chronic diseases, particularly arthritis, and the doctors, Rinpoche, and workers on the ORTC farm have confirmed that. Patients at the clinic enthusiastically share their experiences and how it has benefited them. On one particular instance an intern was treating sore muscles by using the cupping method. I wasn't sure exactly how it worked but I quickly learned. The intern started messaging the tense portion of the sore muscle and then dampened it with water. Following this the intern lighted a quarter size sheet of paper on fire and after it was burned sufficiently it was thrown into a copper cup.

Next, the intern firmly pressed it against the patients back until the cup suctioned and allowed it to sit there for ten to fifteen minutes. This is said to loosen the muscles and relieve the pain. This procedure is very common especially among the elderly and middle aged Tibetans.

In the time that I have been there I have been able to learn a lot about medicinal plants. One day I was able to sit down with an intern and ask what plants are commonly used. I was able to hear stories about how they are collected, which parts are commonly used and which ones are more costly. I found out that the students in Dharamsala visit Manali every August to pick medicinal plants in the area. They pitch their tents up in the Himalayas and spend 20 days searching for the plants. This helps the students identify and become more familiar with the medicinal plants. Most medicines used by the Tibetans contain 26 or more medicinal plants. A few of the common plants include wild strawberry, garlic,turmeric, pomegranate, blackberry, Solomon's seal, and safflower. As I have worked on the farm and observed in the clinic I have become more and more of a believer of Tibetan medicine. I have been curious as to whether it would help relieve my restless legs and celiac disease.

Today (August 21) when I was at the clinic I observed as she worked on the patients and also worked on a few journalings. When she got a break she talked with me and asked why I was so tired. I explained that I worked on the farm the other day and spent all of it tying up bitter gourd. I didn't realize till the end of the day that my back was extremely sore. She asked me if I would like therapy. I was psyched! You bet I wanted to try it out. She showed me what it was even though I had seen it previously (It is the same as cupping as I explained above). When we went back in the room I immediately pulled my shirt right up and let the cupping begin. It felt amazing. The soreness in the area immediately felt relieved and I am sure the benefits will continue.

As I waited the 15 minutes she just grabbed my wrists and started reading my pulse. I was so excited. She had two questions for me, "How is your sleep?" and "How is your digestion?". I told her they were both bad. I explained my restless legs to her and how it prevents me from sleeping very well and how the gluten in bread and noodles makes me very tired because I don't digest it well. I believe in Tibetan doctors!!!!! I now have a couple different medicines I am going to try. We will see if they work. I trust they will. One of the other pills I also got is something called a precious pill. Rinpoche told us a little bit about them but I never thought I would be using one. The one the lady doctor prescribed is to help with adjusting to the food and climate involved with traveling we will be doing in a couple of weeks. In order to take the pill and have it actually work requires a good diet including refraining from meat, fruits, fresh vegetables, eggs, etc.. Also you should restrain from strenuous exercise, lack of sleep, sexual intercourse etc... To prepare the pill you must heat water before bed and crush the pill into the water and cover overnight away from the light. In the early morning when the sun rises all the liquid must be drunk. Normally, the precious pill should be taken on an auspicious day like a full moon or new moon. The doctor instructed me to take it 10 to 15 days before our trip and every 10 days after that. I hope it works so that I don't have to deal with the problems that come with traveling.

Now lets go back a week to the 14th through the 18th when our group went on our mid-semester retreat to Hampi. It was the most beautiful and historic place I have ever seen. Most of the architecture came from the 13th, 14th and 15th century. It was off season so most of the ruins were nearly empty except for a few bats and us. Many of the temples were also still functioning so sometimes we would see people chanting or praying at the temple.

One our first day we were worn out and tired from our full night's journey but the day was young (11 am) so we went to the office of our water park, yurt, private resort. The man in the office suggested that we first visit the places on the side of the river we were already on (across the river, on the Anegondi side) and then starting the next day we could go to the other side. It was certainly a good suggestion. The first day we visited 6 sites alone. The first was by far my favorite and most shocking. It was a white, active temple located just off the river. You could see clothes drying in the temple and incense burning. I never imagined walking all over an ancient temple without any restrictions.

My favorite quote of the day came from this very place. We were all standing on a rock looking over the short white brick fence when a monkey (the first monkey we had seen) hopped up on it and started darting towards us. Beau yelled, "MONKEYS ARE MEAN!!!". I whipped out my camera and said, "Let me get a picture!!!". Barnes and Landrum followed Beau and beckoned me to come. Well, the story ends, I got my picture!!!!

The excitement only continued from there. We ended up seeing dozens of ancient sites all over Hampi and we didn't even see them all in our 5 days there. Check it out!!!

Serendipity

Serendipity, do you know that movie?! If you like John Cusack then it is definitely one to see. Surprisingly, my husband introduced me to the movie and I fell in love with it. It might be kinda cheesy and slightly unrealistic but after today I don't know if I believe it to be so unrealistic. As the movies starts out John Cusack meets a women whom he is more than attracted to. She is also attracted to him but as she gives him her number it flies off into the wind. She decides that it is not the right time for them to be together (I promise I will relate this to my story soon...) Last week I went to the Men-Tsee-Khang (Tibetan Medicine Clinic) to see if I could get permission to observe the doctors. It took me much too long to make this approach but I wanted to finish a couple of books before I even asked. Guess what?! I haven't finished them so I decided I should just go. I had previously talked to a doctor at the Karuna Home that was from the clinic and she had specifically directed me to Dr. Pasang. To my dismay Dr. Pasang's door was closed so they told me to go to door #3. It was the same lady I had spoken to at the Karuna Home. She explained that Dr. Pasang, the senior doctor, will be out for a week and I can only speak to him about doing the observations. As I have participated and observed in the community I continue to see how important seeking approval from the most senior in age or profession is to being respectful. No one wants to step on each other's toes. Everyone has a job and they don't go beyond their boundaries - they are not afraid to say, "I can't help you but I will find out who can." Well, as of today it had been a week so I decided to go back. As I approached the clinic again I walked up and saw patients lined up to see the doctors, to receive their meds, and to pay the bill. I knew it wasn't the right time because it was too busy so I just asked one of the medicine dispensing ladies when a better time would be. She exclaimed that she did not know but that I could call his cell and she jotted it down for me. I was so happy. Getting numbers around here is quite difficult. Most places don't have work phones and, if they do, it is difficult to find it because it's not online. Phonebooks are not very popular here and if there is a number in it it's not always accurate.Everyone has a cell phone and numbers are constantly changing. It almost always works out that you have to know somebody who knows somebody and then you might get the right number. So, as you can imagine I was thrilled to get his cell number. After I left the clinic I decided it was best if I just go home to work on school work. As I sat in the rickshaw I thought about how I might ask if I can observe, the doctor's possible response, and a patient's response to having a white person in the room. Just about half way home I experienced my "serendipity" moment. The number wiggled itself right out from between my book and my stomach and launched itself through the wind into oblivion. Okay,maybe it wasn't that epic but I had no idea where it went. It actually took me a second to even process what had just happened. To my chagrin I paid for a 40 rupee rickshaw ride just to walk half the ride back to find the paper. I searched and searched but the wind was strong and I figured there was no way I was going to find it after an hour of looking. I had a small thought in me say that it just isn't the plan for me....but what else would I do. I decided to just laugh it off, tell Beau my epic movie quality adventure, and ask him to go ask for the number again since the SOS school is right next door. I hope the number doesn't get lost this time. I am anxious to get the number and finally get in contact with the Men-Tsee-Khang.

Sometimes I feel like I am falling behind in my project but then I realize that part of working at the Organic Research and Training Center contributes to the Tibetan Medicine part of my project. On the farm is an experimental herbs and medicinal plants section. For my Cultural History of Medicinal Plants class I have to find out about 20 medicinal plants in the community. I think the farm contains about 10 to 15, a few of these include: Brahmin, Ginseng, Stevia, Insulin, Turmeric, Lemongrass, Bitter Leaf, Vanilla, Ginger and Hibiscus. I have had the chance to take many pictures of these plants which will be very beneficial for my project. 

Currently, on the farm it has been time to take up sewing. This season the monsoons have come very late. Normally it begins the end of May or June but it is already July and the rain is just enough to begin sustaining the crops. Most of the farmers and laborers have been out in the horticulture fields which I was able to see for the first time a couple weeks ago. They just planted 300 silver oaks, dry paddy, basil (this is very important to the Indians), lemongrass, and millet. I have not been out in the large fields working but mostly in the nursery. Last week I was able to propagate Basmati flavored leaf. It is a plant that you can add to your rice to give it the flavor of Basmati rice. I must say it works pretty well. The day I did the propagation was quite interesting. I arrived to the farm but Damdul was not there. Dolma, the accountant, helped me by giving him a call so that I could figure out something to do for the day. She told me I was to make seedlings of the Basmati Leaf. I didn't know how to do it. I knew what the plant looked like but I had no idea if I was supposed to uproot a whole plant, pull off parts of it and even then I didn't know what parts. I told Dolma I wasn't sure how so she went out there with me to show me. It only took her a second of looking at the plant before she was mind boggled too. She called up Sangay to ask him how to do it. From what she understood you just pull off a leaf from as far down as you can and plant halfway down in the bags. It seemed odd but I started as she had instructed. It was had only been 10 minutes when one of the farmers headed towards me to laugh at what we had been doing and show us the correct way. I couldn't help but laugh too. When making seedlings of the Basmati Leaf there must be a root. It is like chives, if the root is there then it will grow but if it is not it will probably die. Sometimes I feel like I lack the knowledge to carry out these "common" processes but that is okay. I never have been trained to do these things but the learning is simple. I really enjoy being taught in such a real way. I don't have to sit in a classroom and read books all the time. I am really there and get to experience and learn hands on.

 I am told that practically everyone experiences some kind of culture shock while in the field. When I read about it and tried to understand it I thought it was associated with some kind of frustration or anger. After being in field for almost two months I have realized that it is not always like that, at least not for me. I have felt more of a missing feeling. I miss hot water, bathtubs,painting and cooking. Over the years I have connected relaxation with sitting in a hot bathtub, with painting, and with cooking. When I need to relax my body I bathe, when I need to rest my mind I paint or when I am just frustrated with myself I cook for my husband. I realize now that culture shock doesn't have to be anything big it is just understanding it and finding ways to cope. I have done this by watching an American movie here and there. At home it isn't uncommon for Beau and I to watch a Hindi movie instead but here I feel the need for American movies because it is how I relax and cope with being here. The biggest culture shock experience has been dealing with eating gluten. If you don't already know I have a gluten sensitivity. I thought I would have difficulty dealing with it so I just decided I would eat it. Well, it is taking it's toll. I have had a very difficult time digesting and so I like to sleep for 9 to 10 hours a night at least. I love gluten so it is difficult to choose not to eat it. This has been a physical wear on my body that I had not planned on effecting my consciousness. The food is so good though! I have come to realize through this experience that culture shock is certainly not always effected by your emotions or attachments, sometimes, it is a literal shock to your body like with my gluten sensitivity. Culture shock is a term that can be taken so broadly. Some individuals will experience it as frustration but in my experience it just gives me excitement to hop in a hot bath when I get home.

Work on the Farm

I wake up and I am exhausted, my arm has an awkward cramp, my legs feel like they weigh 200 pounds and my back seems to resist bending over. This is a pretty regular occurrence in my life now. I am use to running, standing for 8 hours at work, and lifting 50 pound boxes but not squatting for 6 hours pulling weeds. When picking weeds there are only so many positions you can stand or sit in when the ground is wet.

One, the Indian squat:

Two, the kid technique. "It's just dirt. Deal with it! Sit in it!"

Three, the American technique -- Stand, bend over, and ruin your back. Smart, right?!!!

Well, I have yet to learn which one I prefer because they all start to hurt after a couple of hours. Don't get me wrong I am not forced whatsoever to pull weeds all day with no breaks but I want to get it over with so I keep chugging along. I know this usually results in starting to pull weeds in another field but I don't mind. I do it because I am excited for the other things I learn and if pulling weeds has to come with learning to make natural pesticides and liquid manure it is all worth it!

Everyday I am learning so much. My favorite experience from last week was making the liquid manure. Damdul is such a great teacher. He briefly explains how to make the solution and then leaves me to be. Beau was there to help me with this project and Damdul helped us a lot with making the first batch.

Beau and I began by smashing some jaggery (molasses) with a rock. I felt like a cave man....or woman.....

Jaggery is one of the most important ingredients for making liquid manure. It attracts and feeds microorganisms which will digest and work its magic to better the solution. For nearly any kind of liquid manure or compost it is important that it is alive. In the liquid manure there should be a white fungus growing and you can almost see the solution moving back and forth. In a compost there should be ants, worms, and centipedes squirming with every handful.

After mashing the jaggery and blending it with water then you blend some ground wheat with some water. Once these steps are both completed you can begin adding the cow urine and cow dung. How do you do that? Just like you do everything else, just stick your hands in it and weigh it out. I expected to use a shovel or bucket to get the cow dung but Damdul taught me that hands work better and as far as getting the urine, all you do is stick a water bottle in a bucket of urine until it is full and then repeat.

I don't think I can be grossed out by anything anymore except, maybe, eating fish.

I think that just about finishes up the process.... just through it all in the bucket, add water and mix.

These experiences are ones that I never expected having. I never thought I would be living in a jungle, in India, in a Tibetan community, farming. I constantly think, "I wish I didn't have to write all the papers required for the class I am taking. The classes don't help me with my major. I am an Exercise Science major not a Plant and Wildlife Science major." But in the end I realize that despite all the papers and extra work I will be able to look more legit when I apply for med school and say I went to a Tibetan community in India to help at an organic farm that works to train other farmers in the area. Also I will be able to tell my children about my experiences here. Every day I think about all my family and friends I want to come here and experience the different cultural beliefs and customs.

Last week, I think it was Thursday, I got to go do freakin' offerings at the monastery!!! OH, it was so EXCITING!!!! I looked like trash. I was gross from working on the farm pulling weeds for a couple of hours but how can you deny the opportunity. The Guys at the farm were going to the monastery in camp #5 so at lunch time Damdul asked if I would like to come. My heart was shouting "YES!!!". I sat in the kitchen as everyone got dressed in their nicest clothing and overcame my feelings of not being dressed nice enough. When everyone was ready we drove the TATA to the monastery. It is such a nice car. It had red and black immaculate leather covering the seats and despite how dirty the farm is there was not a spot of dirt inside the car. All the way there the Guys talked, laughed, and sang. I saw them in a different light than on the farm.

When we got there they paid their offerings to the monastery and Damdul bought us each a kata. Instantly, the rain started to fall. It is what we all had been waiting for. Sangi (Spelling?), one of the Guys, and I stood there and talked for a bit before we got up the nerve to take off our shoes, walk into the rain, and escape into the monastery. When we got inside we did 3 prostrations. I was lucky I learned how to do this from Rinpoche at the Karuna Home. Afterwards, I followed the Guys to His Holiness alter where we each placed the kata, touched our head to the alter and said our prayer, and then proceeded to the Buddha's alter. At the alter we each placed a monetary offering and touch our head to the alter and then proceeded by saying our prayers silently.

After exiting the monastery we circled the temple clockwise, took a few pictures and on the way our a monk offered each of us a spoonful of whitish stuff.... not knowing exactly what it was I did just as everyone else did. I took the spoonful in my hand and drank it. Yep, it was fermented!!! It took some time before it clicked that it was probably wine. I guess that is what comes with the experience. I am ecstatic that I got to be a part of this experience. I don't think many people have the opportunity to worship as other do but now I can say I have and I would do it again in a second. I realize more and more how we are all alike. Whether you are from India, America, or Mexico everyone has their way to ask for blessings and for the Buddhists this is one way.

I am grateful for the Guys at the farm for showing me how to make an offering. They are wonderful people. I felt that by inviting me to make these offerings I was one of them. I am grateful for the family we are staying with. They are always finding ways to help us out, particularly Namgyal. He has tons of connections and uses them to help us. We love to sit outside and hear his stories about the military and experiences he has had. His mother, Ama, is a wonderful lady. She constantly is saying her prayers, spinning her prayer wheel and counting her prayer beads. She makes Beau and I feel included in the family with her sweet smile. Namgyal's brother is great too. We love to being included in the family by watching TV and eating dinner with them, hearing family stories, hearing about Tibetan traditions and history. There isn't anyone I rather live with.


Pics from our couple hour outing on Saturday:

 Beau and I pedal boating

 Beau and I on an Elephant (you wouldn't know it from the picture)

 The two Elephants at the park

Britany and Britney on the pedal boat

TOILET PAPER!!!

Oh how I love toilet paper! It can be used as packaging material, cleaning your glasses, wiping your nose, removing make-up, making toilet seat covers. making wedding dresses and most importantly wiping your bottom.

Naturally, I forgot the most important hygiene material on the planet. Don't get me wrong, I love wiping with my hand but there are some problems that follow. First, your hand is wet and you feel like it is the most unsanitary thing on the planet right after you wipe your bottom after defecating and then you have to open the door to wash your hands....Yuck! Second, in many cases the water spout is on the right side of the squatter toilet  and you have to use your left hand to wipe and in order to do so you have reach all the way around your body to get to the spout just to loose all the water as you steer it towards your bottom and, in some cases, you hit the handful of water right into our undies which leads to my least favorite thing about wiping, getting wet. How I hate having to squat on the toilet waiting for your bottom to dry and realizing it is nearly impossible so you pull on your pants just to realize that it is going to take a lifetime for it to dry through two layers of clothing. When I was talking to Beau I came to the realization that boys and girls have very different anatomy making it more difficult for girls than for boys. So, due to my passion of hating being wet I bought toilet paper.

I might consider my squattet-toilet-wet obsession the larger extent of my culture shock. I am adapting to the Indian head nod that many of the Tibetans use also. Here is a video that can certainly show it better than I can explain it.

I think it is really interesting. I didn't understand it too much when I arrived in India but the more I have interacted with individuals through interacting with rickshaw drivers, bus drivers, tailors, and friends I am beginning to understand the variety of things it can mean, including: yes, no, okay, and I am listening.

Now for the exciting stuff.....

 

 We are officially in the camps now. Our PAP's came on last Monday and we registered with the police on Tuesday and moved into the camps. I called Damdul, the manager of the Organic Research and Training Center (ORTC), and he asked me to start on Thursday. I have now worked 3 full days. I expected to work just a few hours a day but it has turned out to me a lot more (usually 7 to 8 hours a day). The first couple of days Beau helped me out to make sure I would be comfortable being on the farm by myself and knowing a little bit about the Tibetans I knew I would feel more than safe. 

The first day Damdul sat us down and talked to us about his plan for me and made sure that it was suitable with my plan for myself. We decided I would volunteer 4-5 days a week and one of those days we would discuss any questions about things I was learning. It has been the perfect plan! Damdul took us around the first day and showed us how to make natural pesticides out of custard apple leaf, lantana, boganvia, neem, and cow urine. The best part was that everything you could find growing on the farm. He helped us cut off what we needed from the bush and then it was our job to chop it all up. I really enjoyed his teaching technique. He would show us how to do it then just leave it up to us. By the end we had a wonderful slurry of natural pesticides.

The methods of the farm are very economical. Under U.S. law cow dung cannot be directly placed into a compost so they first make a slurry of 10 percent dung and 90 percent water and place it in a cement dome where it can build up methane gas. That gas is directed towards the kitchen where it can be used on the gas stove. Once the dung is sufficiently drained of methane it can be placed in the compost and eventually contribute to growing healthy plants. The plants are later sold and the remains are fed to the cows where the cycle can start again. It's really a brilliant way of cycling a single product, dung. The farm is mostly self-sufficient because it grows plants they can eat, they have a well to draw water, and gas from the dung -- very little things are outsourced at all. 

The next thing we learned on the farm was how to carry out vegetative propagation of sweet leaf (stevia). This is no short process though it is fairly simple. For certain plant species you can cut off the flowering portion from the root and use the mature sections of the plant to reproduce the plant. To do it properly you must cut the stem at a sharp, clean angle to allow it to absorb as much nutrients as possible so it can grow roots and continue plant growth. This project lasted the major part of 3 days and there wasn't even that much stevia and I will be doing some more in a week or so. Damdul informed me that his purpose in doing this is to plant 2 acres worth of stevia. Currently, the ORTC dose not export their products but by just selling it in India they make 150 rupees per kilogram. 

The other day it was my job to fish through all of the black pepper plants in the nursery and discard the dead plants from the live plants (80 percent were alive).  So I moved over 1,000 black pepper plants from one spot to the next. By the end of the day I was completely sore and it is not going away. I have been stretching, walking, and having Beau massage but I still feel like a crippled turkey. I am hoping the pain will leave soon because the work on the farm just continues. 

 Well, I think that just about does it. I am loving the people here and the experience is wonderful. Someday I plan on coming back because it is such a beautiful place. See for yourself:)

First week in India

       I really don't know where to start or what information to detail. I could never convey all of our experiences or my impressions so far so I will only hit a few. We arrived to Bangalore on Tuesday evening. I was tired and worn out from the 30 hour adventure and had yet to find out amount of time and struggle was yet to come. After waiting 45 minutes to get through immigration because we didn't have an address of where we were going I began to realize that I really didn't know where I was going -- I didn't know how to navigate here. I was just grateful I had my husband to wake me up when it was time to get off the plane and guide me through immigration, or, rather, deal with customs with me. Walking out of the airport we spotted a sign that two boys were holding saying "Kharuna Home". We both knew that was one of our contacts in Bylakuppe but we also knew that Samson, one of Dave Shuler's friends, was picking us up. That was the begining of our problems. Luckily we found Samson and he took us to Krish Homes where we would be staying that night. Later we found out, to our bewhilderment, that Kharuna Home had driven all the way from Bylakuppe just to pick us put.  Well, what happened happened and we had no control or knowledge of what happened until we had already come and gone so the story continues......Krish Homes was a nice place with a balcony, two beds, shower, bathroom, and balcony that over looked the hidden street in Bangalore. It ran up into a grove of mango trees. The neighboring houses seemed very nice. Most of the houses had balconies, nice rugs, and clean patios. It is hard to tell much else from just the outside of the building. We arrived in Bylakuppe very late and found out that we weren't suppose to stay there. We stayed just the night and ate dinner there (thukpa). Our living quarters will be very nice. We are in a building in the back of Namgyal's house. There are 3 rooms (the bathroom, washroom, and bedroom). Our room has two beds separated by a nightstand. The beds are wood slated frames with thin blankets and topped with Tibetan decorated rugs. The rugs or mostly dark blues and reds. At the foot of the bed is a stand with a very very modern TV. It is much nicer than I expected and much more westernized than I expected. The washroom consists of a shower (very cold!) with a metal drain in the floor and a small wash machine in the corner which is something I never expected. The bathroom is a squatter with just a nozzle for water to wipe your butt. Make sure you only use your left hand! I had to learn how to use them very fast because we forgot toilet paper. It has been a good experience.       When we were at Namgyal's he told us quite a bit about farming. A knowlege about agriculture here is very common knowlege which I didn't expect. He explained to us about how maze has been a very large crop in Bylakuppe but it is not very profitable. Usually the corn is only grown for cow feed and is not able to be consumed by the people. It was supprising to find this out because almost all extra land here is a well plowed farm or coconut tree farms.
        On Monday we were able to visit the Organic Research and Training Center where I was able to talk to Tenzin Damdul. He explained the maze as a plant that does not give anything back to the earth. Currently they own 80 acres of organic farms which they use to invite Indians and other Tibetans to see that vegetables, fruits and herbs can grow well if they put the time and patients into it. Currently, Mungod has over 1000 acres of organic farming. Damdul explained that although farming is not a good way to make a sustainable income they are doing much better because they are growing 6 herbs that are sold for medicines. He clearly explained that once I obtain the PAP I will certainly be able to work on the farm. It is the perfect season right now because everyone is starting to plant.
       As far as my class on Tibetan Medicine I have not been able to learn much yet. I have a few books I want to read which I have to wait for them to get here and then I can begin to ask questions. A Tibetan nurse came to Kharuna Home last week and told me of a Tibetan doctor's office that I might be able to learn at.
      Not having the PAP has made things frustrating. We have been able to build rapport in the Kharuna Home but it does not extent out of that besides with Damdul. I pray that it will come soon so that I can move on with my project.
      My adventures here have been very small in comparison to what I will experience but one thing I learned on the very first day was that Indian standard time is 10 times different not that it is good or bad but plan on everything being twice as long as they say. On our bus ride from the airport to Krish Home I was told that we would be there in 30 min from the time we asked and it ended up being a good 1 and a half hours later. As Beau's Hindi teacher says Indian and Mormon standard time just adds up.



      Now since posting pictures is kind of sketchy here because we have to use an internet cafe. I will post pictures of places that we have gone to in our free time.
The Golden Temple

Sera Monastery

Mysore