Interesting Connection

Skip Kindy, the executive director of The Chenrizig Fund, a non-profit heavily involved in the founding of the Tibetan Children's Home is speaking at First Unitarian Society next Sunday Nov 7.

www.chenrezigfund.org

Details:
FUS
900 University Bay Dr. Madison, WI
Landmark Auditorium
1-3pm refreshments served.

Room at Pema Thang, Dharamsala

Here is a sample room at Pema Thang Guest House

Tibetan Doctor

Should you wish to see a Tibetan Doctor in Delhi, this is what I wrote the last time I went there. In my experience Tibetan Medicine is usually gentle and typically addresses issues which are not well-addressed by Western Medicine, including kidney stones, mental imbalances and the common cold. Typically taken 2-3 times a day, it comes in the form of small pills comprised of rolled herbs and other substances. Chew or crush pills and take with hot water.

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We met the loveliest Tibetan doctor in Manjukatilla. Or however you spell it. His name is Dr. Nyima Tsering Lhunkhang (e-mail dor_la@yahoo.com). I will have to tell the story later, but suffice it to say he appeared as the most gentle and caring doctor I have ever met.

Address for the BLOG!

HI TRAVELERS!

The excitement builds!!!

Below is the link that you can share with all your family and friends who will want to keep up with you and your adventures in India! Feel free to copy and paste the link into emails that you can send your loved ones! (***Please note that there is no "www." in front of the link, and that this is actually as it should be! If you put a www. in there, your link will not take you to the blog!)

http://ayindia.blogspot.com/

Also, please know that in order for you, the traveler, to participate in the blog, it is necessary to first respond to the invitation sent out to you by Pema some weeks ago (Sept. 27th) Until you officially reply to the invitation, you will not be able to successfully log into the blog.

So just to be perfectly clear, don't try to use the above link as your own means to initially connect in and register with the blog; instead, follow the link in Pema's email invitation and this will walk you through all necessary steps of registering into the Blogspot for the first time..... then the above link can be used by all your friends and family to connect with you!

As I confessed in my last post, I am somewhat computer and blog phobic, and I triumphantly assure you that it was actually EASY to get set up on the blog! Amazing! I encourage you to give it a try! People are starting to share valuable strategies for jet lag, etc, etc, as well as just the sheer excitement of anticipation! Jump in! Log on! Let's go to INDIA!!!

Blessings!

Pam

DIVING IN!

Hello, Travelers!

I have finally overcome my blogging phobia, and am delighted to discover that..... IT'S EASY!!!!! Imagine!!! Yippee!!!! It was great to see you all on Monday night, and I am just overwhelmed by what a great group we are! Sorry if that seems a bit self-congratulatory, but I am simply trying to express my great excitement about traveling with you all! It already feels like the journey has begun, as we have all slowly been getting to know one another over the last few months through our orientations, and finally, through a yummy and joyous dinner together at Swagat on this past Monday night! Julie, we missed you! And Sharon, we all look forward to meeting you!

Very soon we will post recommendations as to the best commentary and translation of the text that will be the subject of the Dalai Lama's teachings in Dharamshala. The original text is 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva by Gyalsey Thokme Sangpo. We suggest that you wait to purchase a text until we review the possibilities; some of the commentaries can be over simplified while others can be extremely abstruse! Will be in touch again, soon!

Blessings,

Pam

Dinner at Swagat and blogging at last

Great food and drink and lively conversation at Swagat's last evening. I'll take that as a preview of good times to come with new friends and traveling buddies in India .
And, thanks to Pema I have mastered at least the login process for our blog this afternoon.

Accomodations

I ran across this photo of a Wongdhen House Guest Room and thought it would give you a great visual of what the rooms will be like. We will have two people to a room, so that third sleeping area on the floor will not be there. We will also have in-suite bathrooms and heaters which you cannot see in this image.

Looking forward to Indian food

Hello fellow travelers! I'm just now learning about this blog stuff, so this will be short. Hope to see you all monday night...Kate

Packing advice from Nurse Wangmo

What I learned about packing for India...?

1. Traveling light is very very good...the lighter the better...when we went to India, I think we all were overpacked...well except Pema Dorje...who I remember thinking was very lucky for not having to haul a ton of "essentials" around (his bags were lost).

2. Wet wipes and dust masks were essential...and very hard to find in India. Toilet paper was valuable but easily found most of the time.

3. Gauze, tea tree oil, tape were the best things for cleaning and dressing owies in India...forget the fancy first aid kits. I still think the Ace bandage and disposable ice packs were a good idea...thankfully we did not need to use them. Pepto bismal for GI stuff was essential...I used my antibiotic that I brought as well. Would have loved to have Vitamin C and Echinacea along for colds as well as over the counter cold tablets. And we learned that there are mosquiotos in India in the winter...so bug spray was good...Pema's purification essential oil spray was very popular. Other essential oil hits were RC, Eucalyptis, and peppermint. I brought Thieves too...but mostly it was too strong to use...

4. Clothes...we all brought too many...they can be washed...Pema's recommendation had been 3 outfits...that was plenty...and take into account buying clothes when you figure that one out. I found that a skirt with long underwear was the most practical and culturally sensitive option. I just about wore out the skirt I brought. I bought a shawl that was a silk wool blend and that was usually warm enough during the day...for early mornings or cooler days I had a light fleece jacket and hat...I didn't wear the hat much though...but I wasn't in Tso Pema either....was colder there.

5. Find a hot water coil as soon as you can once you arrive in India...was well worth the trouble of searching it out...

6. And I learned that you could use just about anything as a meditation cushion...I'm no longer attached to the one I used before India...so just in case you were wondering how to go on pilgrimage without your cushion...

Time Travel, Jet Lag, and Thanksgivings.

Hi to all,

Our departure date is coming up and I'm quite excited. My suitcase is about half packed in readiness. I think when full it will weigh about 40 lbs.

In regards to jet lag: This is caused when the pituitary gland in the brain is fooled by the shortened or lengthened hours of daily light and doesn't release melatonin on time and in the right amount. An extra dose of melatonin on the plane (you can buy it at any health food store) and sleeping on the plane are my little tricks. I imagine that some (most?) of my fellow travellers would never touch this, but my trick for sleeping on the plane is prescription Ambien, which has a rapid onset of action, and wears off completely in four hours. I took a trip to Ireland with these a few years ago, and arrived rested and refreshed without any jet lag. You can ask your MD for an Ambien prescription for travel, if this appeals to you. The melatonin is considered a harmless supplement, something your body produces and disposes of everyday, but the Ambien is a sleeping pill similar to Valium, so perhaps not for everybody.

I had dinner recently with one of the people I originally went to India with back in the '70s. He has continued to go to India once or twice a year for fieldwork and says this is going to feel like time travel to me. He says it will feel like leaving India in the 1860's and coming back in 2010!
Can't wait.

Also, I just wanted to give thanks now to Scott, Pema, Pam, Jugney, and maybe others I don't know about for all the hard work and thorough preparations they have put in so far for us. I think you all have done such a great job in preparing us to get the most out of this trip, as well as making thoughtful preparations for our safety and comfort.

Namaste,

Dana

Essential Oil Blends

Hello,

I owe someone in the group an apology. At the last orientation, I was asked to make a "feel better" blend with lemongrass and lavender and a "sleepy blend." But so much was going on, I cannot remember who asked me to make these items. If you are still interested please let me know.

Pema

Time for departure and arrival

Please gather not later than 2:15 PM on November 26 to depart for the Chicago Airport on our privately chartered bus.

Our flight is scheduled to arrive back in the US at 5:00 AM on Dec. 11. Based on the planned arrival plus one hour for baggage and customs, the bus should arrive back in Madison at approximately 8 AM.

Interesting Reading

I am reading a fun India travelogue called Bitten by the Bullet - Motorcycle Adventures in India, by Steve Krzystyniak and Karen Goa. As many of you know, I love motorcycles; perhaps as much as I love travel in India. This book combines both those loves!

They spend a great deal of time in Rajasthan, and have this to say:

In Rajasthan, the opportunities to change foreign currency into rupees are few and far between, and the number of shops accepting credit cards can be counted on the fingers of one hand. In isolated places like Bundi and Chittorgarh, Lily and I discovered that there was no way to change any sort of foreign currency into rupees, much less get a cash advance on a credit card.

We'll be in a larger city, so will have more access to the international banking system, though I this reminds us that we're going to be traveling far from the ubiquity of ATMs!

I'm so excited to travel with you all - our trip rapidly approaches!

Namaste,

Scott

Location of departure and return

Hi Everyone, I'm new to blogging and I hope I haven't missed another conversation about our place of departure from Madison on the bus to O'Hare, and then later our return to Madison. I like it being at Mound Street Yoga Center, as (1) it's in a well-lit area, (2) we can wait inside the studio for the bus on our way out of town, and the studio is available on our return while waiting for cabs or family/friends to pick us up on our trip back, which is important, as we'll be returning at midnight, (3) it's close to main traffic areas in case there's a snow storm, and (4) with the grassy areas and sidewalks, there's adequate space for people and luggage. If we have to walk a block or two from a car or cab, maybe we can think of it as good practice for India! Ha! Can't wait!