We've left McLeod Ganj; finished our 2 months of volunteering; and said goodbye to our new friends from all around the world whom we met on our short stay in the Tibetan colony. It's bittersweet leaving McLeod Ganj. We couldn't have asked for more from our experience given the timing and location. For those of you who aren't familiar with exactly why Eric and I decided to venture off to India for 3 months, here goes.
Both of us had our reasons, I should not speak for Eric, but as for me. I felt like this... I'm 25 years old and still felt too naive for my own good. I'm this crazy ambitious woman who wants to find the best way to help the world, but I didn't feel like I knew enough about what was wrong in the world to really know what needs attention. Honestly, you can read as much as you like, but without experiencing it for yourself, it is hard to identify or relate with the people you want to help. Very simply put, this is why it was necessary for me to volunteer in a developing country. Yeah, I know that's so vague...developing country. But I got what I wanted out of the experience!
McLeod Ganj is a Tibetan colony, but not only Tibetans live here, the original inhabitants called Gaddi Nomads still live here, in addition to Kashmiris, and Indians from Dharamsala both poor and wealthy. We taught a class of Tibetans (and sometimes Japanese, Korean, and Indian) students 5 days/week for 1 hour, then directly afterwards we facilitated the English conversation class for another hour (which means we posted discussion topics, instructed volunteers on what to do, and ensured volunteers were spread evenly throughout the room).
In the morning, Eric's primary responsibility was volunteer coordination, meaning he and Rabsel (one of the our favorite favorite LHA employees and good friends) corresponded with prospective volunteers, interpreting confusing and sometimes absurd e-mails, ensuring all expenses and volunteer positions were covered, and that all volunteer arrival and departure logistics were taken care of. They dealt with many situations throughout their time, and built a trusting relationship with each other. Eric and Rabsel will certainly miss each other! As will I, Rabsel is a hardworking, honest man. A man whom I would trust with anything. He works so hard so that his children will have a proper education. He really was an honor (and fun) to speak with every morning. What can I say, the man has a great sense of humor and can speak English really well!
Eric had more of a steady position whereas I did a hodge podge of things (basically whatever random requests they had). For the first week or two I streamlined LHA's financial statements, so that they were easier to read and easier to update. Then I wrote an article for the local magazine, and edited some letters for the Director. About a month into volunteering, I did not feel like I was learning enough on the job, so in addition to helping to edit letters at LHA, I sought more projects. I found another organization called Learning and Ideas for Tibet (LIT) and helped them to register on a new volunteer website that would expose them to a wider volunteer network. I also completed a grant proposal (with the valuable help from an Australian volunteer named Kirsty and my dearest, Eric. While I was sick, they both chipped in to finish the proposal in time for the deadline). In addition while at LIT I helped to assemble a uniform curriculum for their classes in collaboration with a British volunteer named Jessica.
I was still teaching and facilitating classes with Eric at LHA, but I needed more on my plate. Downtime, just isn't my friend. At LHA, I helped to edit two editions of the local magazine as well. This was good fun and good experience, because I was reminded of how meticulous a newspaper editor needs to be.
Eric wanted to learn about other NGOs so he sought out a non-profit called Mountain Cleaners. He met with the founder, and then proceeded to create a website map for her, making it easier to update.
In regards to NGOs that was the extent of our services, but trust me, it was a lot. We jumped right into our volunteer experience! In fact, we also helped our students outside of class. We helped one of our monk friends to write a letter in English to his friend in Australia. We also helped a Tibetan friend apply for permanent residence in another country. The application was horrendously long. I really think that the administration weeds out those who do not put the time and energy into completing the paperwork properly. But we all put our best foot forward!
We helped not only one friend, but also his cousin apply for permanent residence. This was a feat in its own because our friend's English was not very clear, and his cousin spoke absolutely no English;therefore, our friend was our translator! Just imagine trying to learn a person's life, addresses, family members, whole history in a different language, with vague descriptions... Well, we received vague descriptions at first, and then we asked the best questions to elicit the most details from our friend/translator. Throughout this we learned so much of their treacherous journeys across the Nepali Himalaya... that's right, folks, the very same row of mountains as Mt. Everest.
In order to escape from China, thousands of Tibetans hiked through the snow-covered Himalayan mountains! I'm telling you, these people have some of the strongest willpower in the world! Many Tibetans, about 1 million out of 6 million have left their families in Tibet, to seek a better education in another country. Many of them, made this decision on their own when they were teenagers! A very different decision than teenagers in the Western world need to make at that age. Many kids in the Western world are trying to find ways to get out school, while Tibetan teenagers are hiking through the Himalayas for a month to set foot in a proper classroom. Wow... the world is so different. Globalization can only assimilate some things, and willpower through blood is not one of them. Tibetans are strong people. Period. (Full stop, for Tibetans reading this.)
One of the last assignments we had our class complete was a letter to President Barack Obama! I've got to give kudos to Eric, this was his fantastic idea. We taught them the professional format for writing a letter, gave them some tips for writing the content, corrected their letters, and sent them all within about 4 days! Our students had never written a professional letter before, so we explained to them that this could be used for school, work, anything like that. They were thrilled with the assignment, and even students from other classrooms turned in letters. From this assignment, not only did our students learn how to put together a professional letter, but they were also practicing their freedom of speech, a right that they did not always have. We told them that this does not have to be their last letter they write to the President or to an administration, in fact I hope they write many more letters in their lifetime. Freedom of speech is a valuable right to practice. (And just so you know, we read an article on CNN saying that President Obama reads at least 10 letters/day that are sent to the White House, perhaps luck will be with us and he will read and reply to one of our student's letters! AH!)
We spent a lot of time volunteering, but in our spare time, Eric and I planned for our next classes, dreamed about life in Boston, (and foods we would eat once we were back in the U.S.). We played Gin Rummy (Shout out to Tenzin Dawa!), LOTS of basketball, Yoga (just me, Eric wouldn't go), dined at all kinds of restaurants (we had no kitchen at home :( ), and ate our own dietary creations on our rooftop deck. We went hiking (as you know) to Triund, Kareri Village, 2 waterfalls, and some nearby towns, attended a Cricket match with a group of energized Punjabi friends, and took a memorable trip to Amritsar. We attended 2 religious/philosophical teachings given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and went to cultural concerts and demonstrations at the local Tibetan Day School. We even took Hindi lessons in our spare time! (Thank goodness because this was critical to getting around Punjab during our vacation time.) We helped a dear friend celebrate his birthday, the American way, and went to a few dance parties and shopping during our stay. We learned how to make Tibetan bread and pizza as well, and shared delightful memories with friends throughout our stay. Oh! And if you haven't noticed already, we learned a heck of lot about Tibetans and the local Indians! Oh! AND we washed our clothes by hand once, twice, sometimes three times a week, while trying to gauge when the monsoon rains would come so that we could hang our clothes outside. Woo Woo! No laundry service for us! So yeah... really a mix of everything, huh? Well, I got a request from a friend at home, *ahem, Nirut* to tell y'all what the heck us kids have been doin' on a daily basis around here... so in as brief a way as a talkative girl like me can do... there you go!
Both of us had our reasons, I should not speak for Eric, but as for me. I felt like this... I'm 25 years old and still felt too naive for my own good. I'm this crazy ambitious woman who wants to find the best way to help the world, but I didn't feel like I knew enough about what was wrong in the world to really know what needs attention. Honestly, you can read as much as you like, but without experiencing it for yourself, it is hard to identify or relate with the people you want to help. Very simply put, this is why it was necessary for me to volunteer in a developing country. Yeah, I know that's so vague...developing country. But I got what I wanted out of the experience!
McLeod Ganj is a Tibetan colony, but not only Tibetans live here, the original inhabitants called Gaddi Nomads still live here, in addition to Kashmiris, and Indians from Dharamsala both poor and wealthy. We taught a class of Tibetans (and sometimes Japanese, Korean, and Indian) students 5 days/week for 1 hour, then directly afterwards we facilitated the English conversation class for another hour (which means we posted discussion topics, instructed volunteers on what to do, and ensured volunteers were spread evenly throughout the room).
In the morning, Eric's primary responsibility was volunteer coordination, meaning he and Rabsel (one of the our favorite favorite LHA employees and good friends) corresponded with prospective volunteers, interpreting confusing and sometimes absurd e-mails, ensuring all expenses and volunteer positions were covered, and that all volunteer arrival and departure logistics were taken care of. They dealt with many situations throughout their time, and built a trusting relationship with each other. Eric and Rabsel will certainly miss each other! As will I, Rabsel is a hardworking, honest man. A man whom I would trust with anything. He works so hard so that his children will have a proper education. He really was an honor (and fun) to speak with every morning. What can I say, the man has a great sense of humor and can speak English really well!
Eric had more of a steady position whereas I did a hodge podge of things (basically whatever random requests they had). For the first week or two I streamlined LHA's financial statements, so that they were easier to read and easier to update. Then I wrote an article for the local magazine, and edited some letters for the Director. About a month into volunteering, I did not feel like I was learning enough on the job, so in addition to helping to edit letters at LHA, I sought more projects. I found another organization called Learning and Ideas for Tibet (LIT) and helped them to register on a new volunteer website that would expose them to a wider volunteer network. I also completed a grant proposal (with the valuable help from an Australian volunteer named Kirsty and my dearest, Eric. While I was sick, they both chipped in to finish the proposal in time for the deadline). In addition while at LIT I helped to assemble a uniform curriculum for their classes in collaboration with a British volunteer named Jessica.
I was still teaching and facilitating classes with Eric at LHA, but I needed more on my plate. Downtime, just isn't my friend. At LHA, I helped to edit two editions of the local magazine as well. This was good fun and good experience, because I was reminded of how meticulous a newspaper editor needs to be.
Eric wanted to learn about other NGOs so he sought out a non-profit called Mountain Cleaners. He met with the founder, and then proceeded to create a website map for her, making it easier to update.
In regards to NGOs that was the extent of our services, but trust me, it was a lot. We jumped right into our volunteer experience! In fact, we also helped our students outside of class. We helped one of our monk friends to write a letter in English to his friend in Australia. We also helped a Tibetan friend apply for permanent residence in another country. The application was horrendously long. I really think that the administration weeds out those who do not put the time and energy into completing the paperwork properly. But we all put our best foot forward!
We helped not only one friend, but also his cousin apply for permanent residence. This was a feat in its own because our friend's English was not very clear, and his cousin spoke absolutely no English;therefore, our friend was our translator! Just imagine trying to learn a person's life, addresses, family members, whole history in a different language, with vague descriptions... Well, we received vague descriptions at first, and then we asked the best questions to elicit the most details from our friend/translator. Throughout this we learned so much of their treacherous journeys across the Nepali Himalaya... that's right, folks, the very same row of mountains as Mt. Everest.
In order to escape from China, thousands of Tibetans hiked through the snow-covered Himalayan mountains! I'm telling you, these people have some of the strongest willpower in the world! Many Tibetans, about 1 million out of 6 million have left their families in Tibet, to seek a better education in another country. Many of them, made this decision on their own when they were teenagers! A very different decision than teenagers in the Western world need to make at that age. Many kids in the Western world are trying to find ways to get out school, while Tibetan teenagers are hiking through the Himalayas for a month to set foot in a proper classroom. Wow... the world is so different. Globalization can only assimilate some things, and willpower through blood is not one of them. Tibetans are strong people. Period. (Full stop, for Tibetans reading this.)
One of the last assignments we had our class complete was a letter to President Barack Obama! I've got to give kudos to Eric, this was his fantastic idea. We taught them the professional format for writing a letter, gave them some tips for writing the content, corrected their letters, and sent them all within about 4 days! Our students had never written a professional letter before, so we explained to them that this could be used for school, work, anything like that. They were thrilled with the assignment, and even students from other classrooms turned in letters. From this assignment, not only did our students learn how to put together a professional letter, but they were also practicing their freedom of speech, a right that they did not always have. We told them that this does not have to be their last letter they write to the President or to an administration, in fact I hope they write many more letters in their lifetime. Freedom of speech is a valuable right to practice. (And just so you know, we read an article on CNN saying that President Obama reads at least 10 letters/day that are sent to the White House, perhaps luck will be with us and he will read and reply to one of our student's letters! AH!)
We spent a lot of time volunteering, but in our spare time, Eric and I planned for our next classes, dreamed about life in Boston, (and foods we would eat once we were back in the U.S.). We played Gin Rummy (Shout out to Tenzin Dawa!), LOTS of basketball, Yoga (just me, Eric wouldn't go), dined at all kinds of restaurants (we had no kitchen at home :( ), and ate our own dietary creations on our rooftop deck. We went hiking (as you know) to Triund, Kareri Village, 2 waterfalls, and some nearby towns, attended a Cricket match with a group of energized Punjabi friends, and took a memorable trip to Amritsar. We attended 2 religious/philosophical teachings given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and went to cultural concerts and demonstrations at the local Tibetan Day School. We even took Hindi lessons in our spare time! (Thank goodness because this was critical to getting around Punjab during our vacation time.) We helped a dear friend celebrate his birthday, the American way, and went to a few dance parties and shopping during our stay. We learned how to make Tibetan bread and pizza as well, and shared delightful memories with friends throughout our stay. Oh! And if you haven't noticed already, we learned a heck of lot about Tibetans and the local Indians! Oh! AND we washed our clothes by hand once, twice, sometimes three times a week, while trying to gauge when the monsoon rains would come so that we could hang our clothes outside. Woo Woo! No laundry service for us! So yeah... really a mix of everything, huh? Well, I got a request from a friend at home, *ahem, Nirut* to tell y'all what the heck us kids have been doin' on a daily basis around here... so in as brief a way as a talkative girl like me can do... there you go!
Thanks Pammi!
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