Last Saturday, I returned to SECMOL with the other VIS students and teachers after our second trek. You can see some pictures below. This trek took us to the eastern part of Ladakh where we saw Pangong Tso (Lake) which is around 130km long and stretches into Tibet. The lake was frozen and everyone had a good time sliding around. No ice fishing huts here; the lake has no outlet, making the salt content very high and unsuitable for fish. We hiked into Raley, a village in a valley with no road access where the few residents are semi-nomadic. They have houses, yet spend a significant portion of time moving their herds to other pastures. In summer they grow some barley. This was the most beautiful valley that I’ve visited in Ladakh so far, and the absence of noise from the combustion engine probably helped me come to this conclusion.
Upon our return, I felt in need of a shower. We had arrived in the evening so there was no longer any hot water in the solar hot water heater. I put a large pot of water on the stove to boil (3-4 gallons I imagine); some of which would be for drinking water and a portion of which I would use for my shower. Luckily, there is a faucet in this small kitchen; most homes in Ladakh have no running water. At SECMOL, there have been plenty of times that we have also needed to carry water. The source spring is a quarter to half a mile away and in February the pipes were all frozen, and last week someone had clogged our supply pipe with a bit of plastic, putting a shower even further out of reach!
I readied my bathing things including my bucket, scooping cup, ditty bag, and towel. I poured some of the steaming water half way up in my bucket, leaving the rest to cool for others to drink. I carried all of this to the bath house where I filled my bucket the rest of the way with cold water to prevent myself from being scalded, and stepped into one of the small bathing rooms. Taking a bucket shower is a great way to conserve water since one only uses what he needs because there is no stream to just stand under. Using the cup, I scoop water out of my bucket and pour it over myself to get wet. After soaping up, I dribble some more water to rinse off.
Having hot water is a luxury. The first week at SECMOL it was so cold that the solar hot water heater would not even thaw, let alone warm some water. I was too conservation minded and proud to use the propane stove then to heat my bathing water. My first couple showers I took with water that was probably no more than a few degrees over freezing. Standing in the cold bathing room, naked, I could hardly bring myself to dump the first cup of water down my chest. With a gasp, it took my breath away completely. After that it wasn’t so difficult because my body was entirely numb, covered in goosebumps as the blood left all of my capillaries and I was in a rush to get this process over with. Needless to say, I didn’t find much reason to shower more than once a week.
The effort that one needs to put forth just to shower is merely one example of the way things progress in India. Projects are always delayed because there are unforeseen hitches along the way. Getting a permit from the Indian bureaucracy is test of anyone's nerves as the first time one visits the office, the officer in charge may be out, then the following visit he is out to lunch, and on the third visit, when he is there, he can't do anything because he tells you that you need further paperwork, etc. etc. It has taken a long time to adjust to this world and I think that it has done wonders for my patience. I just keep telling myself, "Tomorrow is another day...it can be done then," or "Why do today what can be done tomorrow?"
27 March 2008
26 March 2008
08 March 2008
Happy March! It feels as though spring is near here in Ladakh. Much of the snow has melted except on many of the mountains and the temperatures are very comfortable during the day, though it still gets cold at night since the arid land does not retain the day’s warmth.
The week before last (25 Feb-1Mar) our VIS group, 11 high school students and four teachers, went on a five-night trek. As a volunteer/teacher my role on the trek was mainly as a mentor/leader to the students, as well as answering the occasional question about strange rock outcrops.
Most days we would hike during the morning and arrive at the next village in time for a late lunch. In each village we were divided between a number of local homes to spend the night. This homestay style lodging is the only option in these small villages. The Ladakhi instinct for hospitality is unmatched by any people I’ve experienced before, regardless of whether we are paying. Upon entering any home, one is expected to stay for a cup of tea (equivalent to our sweet milk chai at home, although we also often drink the salty butter tea). Our stays were very intimate with the family as everyone would gather in the kitchen where the wood/cow dung stove kept us warm. We had plenty of time to converse with the family, play with the kids, and drink chang (local fermented barley wine), and occasionally help prepare dinner, such as momos which are a favorite—essentially barley flour ravioli that we would stuff by hand with veggies. Dinner was not until late and we usually turned in immediately afterwards.
The sun here is amazingly bright and strong, so I am glad to have a good hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen. It can be very warm in the sun while hiking and then in the shade, or if the afternoon clouds over, the temperature can become quite chilly quickly. Often we would hike through shallow snow that would intensify the effects of the sun. It is so different from the snow that I am used to at home in New England; after sitting on the ground for weeks, it hasn’t consolidated except slightly into small ice granules that are light to walk through.
There were two villagers who attended our trek with three ponies to help carry some of our baggage, though most personal items we carried on our backs. One of the ponies merely carried an empty saddle most of the time, although on a couple occasions the beast wasn’t so lucky when a sick student clambered on. Bells hung from the necks of two of the ponies and had a beautiful chime that I could hear as we walked.
Here is a brief article that I wrote for the campus newspaper about the trek:
Last week the Vermont Intercultural Semesters (VIS) students and teachers, accompanied by guide Tashi Angchuk and three SECMOL students, trekked by foot from Likir to Temisgam (Ang).
The SECMOL students, Kunzes, Dorjay, and Padma, were selected by lottery to attend the trek. At each homestay they were invaluable to the VIS students by helping them to communicate with their hosts.
Aside from general banter, the VIS students aimed to interview their Ladakhi families about issues including agriculture, health, pollution, and technology. Many interviews occurred around the kitchen in an informal manner as students and Ladakhis prepared or waited for dinner.
The group first explored Likir monastery on Monday and spent the night in the village. The following nights were spent in Yangthang, Uley, Hemis-Shukpachu, and finally in Temisgam (Ang). The last night, only two students slept in each homestay, many without the help of a Ladakhi to translate. “I stayed with Thinles’ sister,” said Jansyn. “She kept saying, ‘I speak a little English,’ and I kept saying, ‘I only speak a little Ladakhi,’ and that was about it!”
Many of the group expressed that they had a wonderful time, including Toben who remarked that, “the last day I had three ‘yes’ moments.” His favorite parts of that day included eggs and chipotles for breakfast, sitting in the sun after hiking up a difficult pass, and exploring and sitting under a small bridge over a stream in Temisgam.
Wildlife viewed on the trip included a hare, a fox, and many chukars and magpies. Footprints of a snow leopard were also found in the snow near Hemis-Shukpachu.
Coming home on Saturday the group stopped to take in the lofty Temisgam palace and monastery followed by the Alchi village and monastery.
“This trek is short, but it is a good experience for students’ first time,” said Tashi; “Everybody was fantastic.”
For the past week I have been back into life at the SECMOL school, and the students have classes again. It is good to be back at ‘home’ after moving from village to village, although it is a significant adjustment to the full schedule. I wake up between 6 and 7:30, the earlier the better to enjoy the still morning hours. In the mornings there are classes, some of which I attend so that I can either help students or participate in the discussions, especially in English (literature and journalism) class. Otherwise I will use the time to do my own work. At 11:30, after tea, we have a community work hour. Everybody meets in a central location and groups head off for the hour to tackle a specified job. Following work hour is half an hour to perform responsibilities. Each person has a responsibility around campus from watering the flowers to shifting the solar panels a couple times a day.
After lunch at 2pm we have a third class period followed by some free time from 3:30 to about 6pm. This time is often occupied by something else such as a guest speaker. I teach economics to a few Ladakhi college students at 4:30pm for an hour, although this doesn’t necessarily occur daily, as perhaps it should! From six to seven is usually English conversation hour with the Ladakhis, followed by half an hour of Ladakhi language class for the Americans.
Dinnertime follows the Ladakhi language class at 7:30. This is a special hour when everyone is together and the latter half of the meal is entertained by the Ladakhis relaying the local news they heard on the radio into English, a community member stands and tells us something about him or herself (we are all seated on the floor cross-legged in front of “tablecloths” laid out, also on the floor), announcements are made, and we all sing a traditional Ladakhi song. Many of the students then play “rock, paper, scissors” within a group seated in close proximity to each other to determine who amongst them will wash everyone else’s dishes! Finally, two or three days of the week there is an evening activity that takes us until 10pm, otherwise we have the evening to do as we wish. A full day to be sure! Just add sleep and repeat.
There are some days when I will not attend most of the evening activities so that I can go off to a far wing of the school where I’m unlikely to be found. It is good to recuperate from the day’s social energy and noise during this time by reading a book, writing in my journal, or composing emails such as this prior to finding an internet connetion.
Because the school can be quite overwhelming with so many projects happening all of the time, I have felt much better here after focusing myself on two main objectives. One objective is to teach geology and glaciology as I originally planned to do here along with being a supervisor for the science projects as we build a special heat retaining greenhouse, and the second objective is to be the “tech guy” when it comes to the sound recording equipment we have here.
Next week we will be visiting a man who has created a frozen reservoir that he calls an artificial glacier, so preceding this visit I will be giving some lectures about glaciers and glacial landscapes. Glacial meltwater provides the majority of Ladakh’s water for irrigation, or for anything frankly, because Ladakh only receives a few centimeters of precipitation annually. The artificial glacier is supposed to be one solution to solve water shortages, particularly if glaciers disappear in the future as they are retreating rapidly at present.
The digital sound recording equipment has been used by past VIS students to record interviews, sounds from our environment, musical performances, or other events, which are then edited to make a short radio “postcard.” It is an exciting medium to use, although it takes a lot of time to familiarize oneself with the editing software on the computers. For that reason I hope to be of use to a few students that may choose to use this medium for their projects or end of semester exhibitions. I’ve already begun making my own “postcard” of the hockey tournament that was held at the school. Students and staff created six teams that competed throughout a late February morning and early afternoon, until the ice was melting and nearly impossible to skate on or move the puck. I collected many interviews with excited players and cheering fans, along with some of the sounds from the game itself: scraping skates, slap-shots, yells, and whistles. I played on the VIS Vermonster team and we held up very well against the SECMOL Junior team, coming to a tie after overtime and finally losing in the penalty shot round. It was very well played for having only practiced as a team the day before while the Ladakhis had been playing since December (they are very good skaters)!
The week before last (25 Feb-1Mar) our VIS group, 11 high school students and four teachers, went on a five-night trek. As a volunteer/teacher my role on the trek was mainly as a mentor/leader to the students, as well as answering the occasional question about strange rock outcrops.
Most days we would hike during the morning and arrive at the next village in time for a late lunch. In each village we were divided between a number of local homes to spend the night. This homestay style lodging is the only option in these small villages. The Ladakhi instinct for hospitality is unmatched by any people I’ve experienced before, regardless of whether we are paying. Upon entering any home, one is expected to stay for a cup of tea (equivalent to our sweet milk chai at home, although we also often drink the salty butter tea). Our stays were very intimate with the family as everyone would gather in the kitchen where the wood/cow dung stove kept us warm. We had plenty of time to converse with the family, play with the kids, and drink chang (local fermented barley wine), and occasionally help prepare dinner, such as momos which are a favorite—essentially barley flour ravioli that we would stuff by hand with veggies. Dinner was not until late and we usually turned in immediately afterwards.
The sun here is amazingly bright and strong, so I am glad to have a good hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen. It can be very warm in the sun while hiking and then in the shade, or if the afternoon clouds over, the temperature can become quite chilly quickly. Often we would hike through shallow snow that would intensify the effects of the sun. It is so different from the snow that I am used to at home in New England; after sitting on the ground for weeks, it hasn’t consolidated except slightly into small ice granules that are light to walk through.
There were two villagers who attended our trek with three ponies to help carry some of our baggage, though most personal items we carried on our backs. One of the ponies merely carried an empty saddle most of the time, although on a couple occasions the beast wasn’t so lucky when a sick student clambered on. Bells hung from the necks of two of the ponies and had a beautiful chime that I could hear as we walked.
Here is a brief article that I wrote for the campus newspaper about the trek:
Last week the Vermont Intercultural Semesters (VIS) students and teachers, accompanied by guide Tashi Angchuk and three SECMOL students, trekked by foot from Likir to Temisgam (Ang).
The SECMOL students, Kunzes, Dorjay, and Padma, were selected by lottery to attend the trek. At each homestay they were invaluable to the VIS students by helping them to communicate with their hosts.
Aside from general banter, the VIS students aimed to interview their Ladakhi families about issues including agriculture, health, pollution, and technology. Many interviews occurred around the kitchen in an informal manner as students and Ladakhis prepared or waited for dinner.
The group first explored Likir monastery on Monday and spent the night in the village. The following nights were spent in Yangthang, Uley, Hemis-Shukpachu, and finally in Temisgam (Ang). The last night, only two students slept in each homestay, many without the help of a Ladakhi to translate. “I stayed with Thinles’ sister,” said Jansyn. “She kept saying, ‘I speak a little English,’ and I kept saying, ‘I only speak a little Ladakhi,’ and that was about it!”
Many of the group expressed that they had a wonderful time, including Toben who remarked that, “the last day I had three ‘yes’ moments.” His favorite parts of that day included eggs and chipotles for breakfast, sitting in the sun after hiking up a difficult pass, and exploring and sitting under a small bridge over a stream in Temisgam.
Wildlife viewed on the trip included a hare, a fox, and many chukars and magpies. Footprints of a snow leopard were also found in the snow near Hemis-Shukpachu.
Coming home on Saturday the group stopped to take in the lofty Temisgam palace and monastery followed by the Alchi village and monastery.
“This trek is short, but it is a good experience for students’ first time,” said Tashi; “Everybody was fantastic.”
For the past week I have been back into life at the SECMOL school, and the students have classes again. It is good to be back at ‘home’ after moving from village to village, although it is a significant adjustment to the full schedule. I wake up between 6 and 7:30, the earlier the better to enjoy the still morning hours. In the mornings there are classes, some of which I attend so that I can either help students or participate in the discussions, especially in English (literature and journalism) class. Otherwise I will use the time to do my own work. At 11:30, after tea, we have a community work hour. Everybody meets in a central location and groups head off for the hour to tackle a specified job. Following work hour is half an hour to perform responsibilities. Each person has a responsibility around campus from watering the flowers to shifting the solar panels a couple times a day.
After lunch at 2pm we have a third class period followed by some free time from 3:30 to about 6pm. This time is often occupied by something else such as a guest speaker. I teach economics to a few Ladakhi college students at 4:30pm for an hour, although this doesn’t necessarily occur daily, as perhaps it should! From six to seven is usually English conversation hour with the Ladakhis, followed by half an hour of Ladakhi language class for the Americans.
Dinnertime follows the Ladakhi language class at 7:30. This is a special hour when everyone is together and the latter half of the meal is entertained by the Ladakhis relaying the local news they heard on the radio into English, a community member stands and tells us something about him or herself (we are all seated on the floor cross-legged in front of “tablecloths” laid out, also on the floor), announcements are made, and we all sing a traditional Ladakhi song. Many of the students then play “rock, paper, scissors” within a group seated in close proximity to each other to determine who amongst them will wash everyone else’s dishes! Finally, two or three days of the week there is an evening activity that takes us until 10pm, otherwise we have the evening to do as we wish. A full day to be sure! Just add sleep and repeat.
There are some days when I will not attend most of the evening activities so that I can go off to a far wing of the school where I’m unlikely to be found. It is good to recuperate from the day’s social energy and noise during this time by reading a book, writing in my journal, or composing emails such as this prior to finding an internet connetion.
Because the school can be quite overwhelming with so many projects happening all of the time, I have felt much better here after focusing myself on two main objectives. One objective is to teach geology and glaciology as I originally planned to do here along with being a supervisor for the science projects as we build a special heat retaining greenhouse, and the second objective is to be the “tech guy” when it comes to the sound recording equipment we have here.
Next week we will be visiting a man who has created a frozen reservoir that he calls an artificial glacier, so preceding this visit I will be giving some lectures about glaciers and glacial landscapes. Glacial meltwater provides the majority of Ladakh’s water for irrigation, or for anything frankly, because Ladakh only receives a few centimeters of precipitation annually. The artificial glacier is supposed to be one solution to solve water shortages, particularly if glaciers disappear in the future as they are retreating rapidly at present.
The digital sound recording equipment has been used by past VIS students to record interviews, sounds from our environment, musical performances, or other events, which are then edited to make a short radio “postcard.” It is an exciting medium to use, although it takes a lot of time to familiarize oneself with the editing software on the computers. For that reason I hope to be of use to a few students that may choose to use this medium for their projects or end of semester exhibitions. I’ve already begun making my own “postcard” of the hockey tournament that was held at the school. Students and staff created six teams that competed throughout a late February morning and early afternoon, until the ice was melting and nearly impossible to skate on or move the puck. I collected many interviews with excited players and cheering fans, along with some of the sounds from the game itself: scraping skates, slap-shots, yells, and whistles. I played on the VIS Vermonster team and we held up very well against the SECMOL Junior team, coming to a tie after overtime and finally losing in the penalty shot round. It was very well played for having only practiced as a team the day before while the Ladakhis had been playing since December (they are very good skaters)!
17 February 2008; Set up at SECMOL
SECMOL main building, mid February
I hope you are all well. My apologies if you've heard some of this. If you haven't heard from me, I pasted a previous email below with some background about what I'm doing.
I've been away for 17 days; or two and a half weeks. It feels like a lifetime. There has been so much adjustment and adaptation to new environments. Our time in Delhi for three days involved nonstop stimulus, from the sights, smells, sounds, and tastes in the streets to the appointments at the hospital, news room, government office, meeting with Indian students to be shown around parts of the city. At the same time we were all trying to get to know the individuals of this group; to Daniela's credit, she has done a great job of leading group activities and touchy-feely sharing in circles that have opened people and avoided cliques from developing and spoiling the overall unity of the VIS group.
The morning we flew to Leh, all of a sudden there was a new town to become acquainted with, and that evening I became quite ill. There was some sort of combination of altitude sickness (dizziness and nausea), a cold from the students which came along unchallenged by a weak immune system due to the traveling and little sleep in Delhi, and possibly even some bad food caused some symptoms for half a day. Regardless, I was able to walk through Leh the next day, although I then spent a lot of time in bed to recuperate. Arriving at SECMOL was a relief since I could unpack without the expectation to repack within a couple days and I felt much better and could appreciate the natural beauty that surrounds us here. The food has taken some getting used to since it is all vegetarian, usually one or two pot meals of some kind of rice, pasta (often made from barley flour), or lentils. There are some winter greens and occasionally yoghurt and flat breads that are fried and served immediately. Sometimes for breakfast there is tsampa (roasted barley flour wetted with some water or milk and squeezed in a ball) which is often eaten with lentils or a spicy broth with turnips and carrots. We've had dessert once and that consisted of local apricots cooked so that they were in a syrup. I've got a good supply of chocolate for special occasions throughout the day! We have tea at breakfast, 11am, and 4pm. The "milk tea" is strong tea boiled in milk with quite a bit of sugar and is very tasty. We rarely have the Ladakhi/Tibetan butter tea because the group as a whole is not excited by it—it is quite salty and unappealing.
The Ladakhi students here at SECMOL are very friendly and I've been getting to know many of them well. I have taught economics to some of them and have also played hockey with them; I brought my own skates just for the purpose because it's very popular. They know varying amounts of English, and we can communicate most crucial information, and often hold a conversation. I'm doing my best to learn a bit of Ladakhi language. So far I know hi, bye, goodnight, goodmorning, thankyou, please, and you're welcome—they use the word "Jullay" for all of them. Oh yeah, I can also count to eleven and ask if someone is well!
I'm still trying to work out what exactly my responsibilities are here. I am a VIS volunteer, but I am also available as a volunteer to the school. Just the other day I was working alongside one of the Ladakhis crushing local clay to a powder to be mixed with water and glue to make a whitewash (or more like a "crème-wash"). So I am being stretched a bit thin between some teaching responsibilities and being handy at helping with some maintenance; the intention was that I would be an organizer to get the students to do most of the work during their work hour, but it is difficult to organize when I'm not familiar with where to find materials or how exactly they want something done—it's quite complicated. In one week we leave to go on a trek through some small villages for about five days or a week, then will return to the school and resume our daily lives here. I do miss home, New England, and being close to family, and everything familiar, but here I am learning a lot and being seriously challenged. There are so many similarities and at the same time so many differences between myself and the people I have met here. Meanwhile, the method by which everyday activities are accomplished can be so different here in India—it requires a lot of flexibility, patience, and persistence to say the least.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Love, Bennet
Here is some background from a previous email that I've written to others:
I'm here for the next three months with Vermont Intercultural Semesters (VIS), a high school semester abroad program, as a volunteer (traveling expenses paid, which is nice) and teaching the students some geology as well as doing some other odd jobs. We are in Ladakh, a region of northern India, basically in the Himalaya, and known as "Little Tibet" because the people practice a form of Tibetan Buddhism and there are even many Tibetan refugees that live here. So far it has been quite an adventure. India is pretty crazy; many people, dirty vehicles, and nothing gets done without a bribe. Here in the mountains at the Ladakhi school we call home and known as SECMOL, we use solar electricity and solar hot water (hardly exists at the moment since it is so cold and the pipes have been freezing every night!), and there are two enormous solar cookers that use a large array of mirrors. Oh yeah, and the composting outhouses have really been strengthening the leg muscles! It is pretty barren here and the only trees that grow are those that the people tend carefully. Somehow the Ladakhis are able to do enough subsistence farming, while many others are nomadic and move their animals over large areas. Today we climbed up a good sized peak and had a great view of the Indus River as it passes by the school, marking the suture between the Indian subcontinent and the Asian continent.
7 February 2008; Arrived in Leh, Ladakh
I hope that this message finds you all well. I have been very busy this past week. We arrived in Delhi on Saturday morning and spent about three days seeing the Old Delhi which is quite impoverished and the New Delhi, set up by the British in colonial times, and is a contrast to say the least; there is a lot of wealth in this latter area. We had tours and discussions at a Delhi hospital, newspaper, and government building. We also visited a very special school called Manzil where a great man named Ravi Gulati educates pretty nearly anyone for free. He funds this using the rent income from a shop his father once owned, and by running a very inexpensive program; I don't believe he makes any income and his teachers are volunteers, often former students who feel devoted to giving back to this school. Materials and curriculum are mostly all made by the students and teachers together, rather than buying them so that they are motivated and learn from the whole process of creation at the same time.
We all arrived in Leh, Ladakh the day before yesterday. For the most part we have been resting due to various ailments. I needed plenty of sleep and fluids to adjust to the altitude (12,000ft), and to make matters worse I caught some sort of bug from the students or maybe some bad food--or both who knows! I'm well enough to go into town and write to you all though! Tomorrow we will make our way to the school SECMOL where we will be for the next three months, minus some time for treks and homestays. I will include a letter from one of the teachers that includes some contact info.
So far this has been an experience that I could never tell you all about from an internet cafe, but I'll try to tell you about particularly interesting experiences. This is just enough time to let you know that things are going well, there were few hitches in traveling, and things should get even better.
Jullay! (Ladakhi for hello, goodbye, thankyou, please, etc....)
Love, Bennet
We've arrived quite happily here in Ley, Ladakh after an intensely educational and exciting three-day orientation in Delhi. Students are thriving as a community and showing themselves to be extraordinarily insightful and mature in the enormous range of experiences we have encountered thus far. I must admit I am thoroughly impressed in every way! -- and very inspired and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for all of us. Thanks again for taking part and making it all possible for these amazing students!
Throughout the semester, I'll be sending a few periodic updates with any crucial or newsworthy info. For the time being though, we wanted to make sure the lines of communication are clear and open. In terms of email, students will have opportunities approximately once a week to use the somewhat slow and inconsistent connection here in Ley. In addition, there is one dial up line (very inconsistent) at the SECMOL campus, which staff and students will have access to when necessary and functional.
The best way to reach us while we are on campus will be the SECMOL kitchen land line: 0091-1982226120. Best time to find us will be your morning and our afternoon/evening 5PM-9:30PM. Our morning before 9:30AM will also work. Ladakh time is 10.5 hours "ahead" of EST.
When we are not on campus, you can try to reach us on the VIS cell phone, which will be carried at all times by teachers: 0091-9906977437 On most treks and extended trips, there will of course be no cell coverage, but at these times we will be carrying our satellite phone for emergency purposes.
Finally, if you'd like to say hello to any of us between now and Friday morning when we move out to SECMOL campus, feel free to call us at the Oriental Guest House in Ley: 0091-1982253153. We'll definitely be available tonight, tomorrow morning, and tomorrow evening.
Hope this finds you all well, and please let us know if you have any questions or concerns at any time in the next three and a half months.
Best Regards,
Sam, Daniela, James and Curtis
We all arrived in Leh, Ladakh the day before yesterday. For the most part we have been resting due to various ailments. I needed plenty of sleep and fluids to adjust to the altitude (12,000ft), and to make matters worse I caught some sort of bug from the students or maybe some bad food--or both who knows! I'm well enough to go into town and write to you all though! Tomorrow we will make our way to the school SECMOL where we will be for the next three months, minus some time for treks and homestays. I will include a letter from one of the teachers that includes some contact info.
So far this has been an experience that I could never tell you all about from an internet cafe, but I'll try to tell you about particularly interesting experiences. This is just enough time to let you know that things are going well, there were few hitches in traveling, and things should get even better.
Jullay! (Ladakhi for hello, goodbye, thankyou, please, etc....)
Love, Bennet
We've arrived quite happily here in Ley, Ladakh after an intensely educational and exciting three-day orientation in Delhi. Students are thriving as a community and showing themselves to be extraordinarily insightful and mature in the enormous range of experiences we have encountered thus far. I must admit I am thoroughly impressed in every way! -- and very inspired and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for all of us. Thanks again for taking part and making it all possible for these amazing students!
Throughout the semester, I'll be sending a few periodic updates with any crucial or newsworthy info. For the time being though, we wanted to make sure the lines of communication are clear and open. In terms of email, students will have opportunities approximately once a week to use the somewhat slow and inconsistent connection here in Ley. In addition, there is one dial up line (very inconsistent) at the SECMOL campus, which staff and students will have access to when necessary and functional.
The best way to reach us while we are on campus will be the SECMOL kitchen land line: 0091-1982226120. Best time to find us will be your morning and our afternoon/evening 5PM-9:30PM. Our morning before 9:30AM will also work. Ladakh time is 10.5 hours "ahead" of EST.
When we are not on campus, you can try to reach us on the VIS cell phone, which will be carried at all times by teachers: 0091-9906977437 On most treks and extended trips, there will of course be no cell coverage, but at these times we will be carrying our satellite phone for emergency purposes.
Finally, if you'd like to say hello to any of us between now and Friday morning when we move out to SECMOL campus, feel free to call us at the Oriental Guest House in Ley: 0091-1982253153. We'll definitely be available tonight, tomorrow morning, and tomorrow evening.
Hope this finds you all well, and please let us know if you have any questions or concerns at any time in the next three and a half months.
Best Regards,
Sam, Daniela, James and Curtis
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