Cows

Where are all of the cows in the streets going? They all seem like they have a goal. Maybe this is a stretch, but it seemed a good closure to Amy and my conversation in the German Bakery this morning, a conversation about the future, grad school, Ladakh, travel, jobs, etc. Talking with someone coming recently from academia is encouraging for someone considering grad school, but who has been out for a little while. It seems daunting to think about getting back into it, but exciting in the same breath. But this is a speck on the horizon right now, for later today we will roll into Secmol with a working keyboard (the adapter has been fixed), a guitar, a handful of mouth harps and pennywhistles, and a broken accordion. We must discuss with Norgay (science teacher) what kind of project we can complete in our time there to benefit the campus and learn something new. Last spring our group built the solar water heater for the kitchen, and this time there is talk of fixing up solar showers for the washroom, though we'll definitely be active in the gardens and all other aspects of the beautiful Phey campus. I feel good. Up till now I've only had the mental capacity to recap the general events of the past month, and its been so frustrating, but last night I slept through the night (almost) and the old stomach feels a little closer to normal.

Driving up the Suru Valley
View of Stok from Leh
Angmo and Kunzes

Young Monk at Phuktal
The Harvest and our Tents
Tashi-Man (and Chimmy, our trek mascot)

Gumbaronjon
Phuktal Monastery

The Fall '08 Crew at Tashi's
Apricots Drying in Takmachik

Back in Leh

Last night we settled into the guest house in Leh, where we will be staying until finally arriving at Secmol this Saturday, exactly one month after our departure from Burlington, VT. Our extra bags were waiting for us in Leh, as well as hot showers, which, for most of us, were our first bathing experience in this time, save for an occasional splash of the face from a glacial stream. It's interesting to note that the streams are no warmer in the summer, since the sun merely melts more of the glaciers which feed them. They are only faster, an putting your head in there causes a sensation similar to brainfreeze from ice cream, but from the outside in. So now I am clean and clean shaven and am looking forward to seeing my friends at Secmol again, equipped with some music equipment. A frustrating note about that: Stupidly, I plugged the keyboard into an outlet (240 volts in India) with a plug adapter, but without a voltage convertor and the AC adapter for the keyboard is now shot. Of course it's difficult to get a 120 volt adapter in India, let alone Ladakh, so we'll have to wait on the keys until I can figure that one out. This is a big frustration for the time being as the piano was one thing I hoped to work with the students with most. But aside from this one letdown and some stomach trouble all around (similar to that of the spring crew, and seemingly everyone else who comes here), things are going pretty amazingly. Before coming to Leh we spent five nights in Takmachik, west of here and also in the Indus River valley, harvesting grasses for the animals and filling up on apricots. Every available inch of space in every Takmachik home was covered by drying apricots--bedrooms, beds, roofs, courtyards, everything covered. We ate thousands of them and shook walnuts down from trees each day. At the end of the week the village children dressed in traditional outfit and performed songs and danced for us.

Zangskar

Hello from Padum! Our crew of seven students, two staff members, and Tashi have finished a ten-day trek through the Greater Himalayan Range, crossing a 16,500 foot pass through bitter snow in the Zangskar region of Ladakh, and camping beneath 20,000foot peaks. We've been shadowed by twelve ponies, three ponymen, a cook and a helper, to smooth out some of the rough edges of camping here. After the pass the weather gradually grew warmer and sunnier and today we enjoyed a day trip to the 700-yr-old Karsha Monastery wearing T-shirts and sandals. We've now been in India for two weeks, and will not reach our home at Secmol for another fifteen days. I couldn't handle the hair nappiness and decided to have a nice proper shave and haircut today in Padum. During the trek we covered about 80 miles with hardly any altitude problems at all. We harvested barley, played pony shoes, read Siddartha together and sort of adopted a dog for a little while. We visited the famous Phuktal Monastery, built into a cave and cliff above the Kargyak River. Over the next couple weeks, we're going to pass through Kargil in western Ladakh, stay at a nunnery in Mulbekh, and spend a few nights in Tashi's village before helping to harvest in the Sham region. The landscape is different from that I experienced here in the spring. Barley fields cast a golden glow over every village, and even the occassional patches of trees provide greens and yellows at least somewhat reminiscent of our autumn on the east coast, which we will all miss very much. Things couldn't be more beautiful here, but I'm most excited about my role here, and doing whatever I can to help this crew get as much as possible out of these three months here. And in the process I'm learning so much more about this land of intimidating mountains and gentle people, bright sun and glistening glaciers. More to come soon. I miss you all, and can't wait to see everyone at Thanksgiving time!