Dharamsala

The second big stop on our quarter break trip was Dharamsala. This has been the home of the Dalai Lama since he fled from Tibet in 1959. There is still a large Tibetan community here and this is usually the first port of call for newly-exiled Tibetans fleeing the country. The main Buddhist temple in the town was a popular tourist destination, as well as a place of pilgrimage for the faithful.

There was, of course, an abundance of Buddhist art there.

There were lots of monks wandering around the town and they were often engaged in devotional acts.

In addition to the preservation of religious practice, the Tibetan exile community in Dharamsala does its best to preserve their cultural identity. There were lots of arts and crafts centers where traditional Tibetan jewelry, rugs, and clothes were being produced. There were also some monks participating in what is apparently the traditional style of Tibetan debate, with lots of foot-stamping and hand-clapping.

Of course, we also took advantage of the traditional Tibetan food available in the town.

Because our quarter break was scheduled over the holiday, we ended up in Dharamsala on Easter morning. We found an old Victorian church that was open for a service that morning and made plans to visit.

In addition to a beautiful old building and a friendly pastor, the church had a great old cemetery and fantastic views of the Himalayas.

After being in the big city of Amritsar, it was definitely a nice change to be in a more slow-paced and relaxed town like Dharamsala.

Dave and Beth

Midnight Mass

Since we went back to the US for Christmas last year, we weren't able to experience what the holiday was like here in Mussoorie. We just got back from the midnight Christmas Eve service at one of the local churches. First, though, we went out to dinner at a restaurant near the church.

We got there at about 9:00 but the place was still packed, because that's right about Indian supper time. It was also nice to watch a little cricket on Christmas Eve (India won the series if you didn't watch it).

After dinner we all walked over the the church to attend the midnight mass. We didn't want to turn the flash on to disturb the other worshippers, so the pictures that we took were either dark or blurry.

It was a great chance to remember the reason that we celebrate with a very international group. After the service, there was tea, coffee, and cookies and some good fellowship. Now that we're home...we're ready for bed.

Dave and Beth

Christmas Caroling

The Christmas season has begun here in Mussoorie, and we were greeted by our first round of carolers tonight. Nobody asked us for figgy pudding, but it was a nice treat to have some great music come right to our door.

It was a bit different, of course, from the caroling that we're used to in the states. Most of the songs were in Hindi, but they did sing some familiar tunes.

We've been warned of another set from a different church coming tomorrow night, and we're planning to leave the light on for them.

Dave and Beth

Sunday Routine

After a year here in India, we have developed a fairly steady routine for Sunday mornings. During the second semester, we were asked to fill in as Sunday school teachers at one of the local churches. The elementary school dorm takes all of its students to Kellogg Church, so we always have a full class of grade five students.

We always start out with everyone in the sancutary for the service. We don't always understand the words of the songs that we sing, but there is always a transliteration into Latin script so that we can still sing along.

After the worship time is over, the grownups prepare for the sermon and we take our fifth-graders out for a bible story and craft. You may notice that a couple of these people look older than grade five. We've been blessed to have three high school seniors that come faithfully to help us teach our Sunday school class.

After finishing our craft, we were able to round the kids up on the side of the road for a group picture.

It has been interacting regularly with a group of students outside the classroom. We get a bit weary of having every Sunday morning taken up by Sunday school, but it has been a great experience. We've also enjoyed the weekly trips to Char Dukan (Hindi for "four shops") for bun omelettes and french fries after the lessons are over.

Dave and Beth

Luckwow!

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to see a new part of India. The grade six students at school took a three day fieldtrip to Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. The students were reading a book in English class about the first Indian War of Independence in 1857, so they were there to learn more about the history first-hand.

The first step in our journey was getting there. Lucknow is about 10 hours away, so we took an overnight train that left Wednesday evening after school. The kids enjoyed jumping around from bunk to bunk before we finally made them got to bed. It wasn't the most restful night of sleep, but when we woke up we were only a short distance from Lucknow.

Once in the city, we were off to see the sights. First on the list was the Imambara, a complex built by the old nawabs of Lucknow in the 18th century.

The favorite part of the students was the maze inside designed to keep the Muslim women from finding their ways out of the building and mixing with the men. The kids also enjoyed making it up to the top of the building and taking in the views of Lucknow.

After the Imambara we visited the Lucknow cantonment church. In the time of the British rule, most cities were divided into civil and military areas. This church was built for the garrison and was very similar to the church that figures in the opening of the book that the students were reading for English class. We took the opportunity to get a good group shot of the whole class together.

After a restful night's sleep at the hotel we visited the La Martiniere school. This boys school was established in the mid-19th century (only a few years before Woodstock) and the students of the school volunteered to assist in the defense of Lucknow during the siege of the Residency in 1957. We got our advisor group together for a nice group shot.

Though we did see a lot of historical sights on our tour of Lucknow, we also made some time for modern conveniences. We visited two malls over the course of the weekend to avail ourselves of the air conditioning and enjoy KFC, McDonald's, and Pizza Hut. The students also had a chance to do some shopping for little things that they thought their parents and siblings might like.

After spending a couple hours at the Sahara mall above, we made our way to the Residency. This is where the British Resident lived during colonial times (he was the official government representative in Lucknow). The Residency was the center of the Rebellion of 1857 (as it was called by the British) when it was surrounded and seiged by the Indian forces that mutineed against their officers. The kids looked around and took notes before we played some games in the field waiting for the sound and light show to begin after dark.

The next morning was our final day in Lucknow. We wanted to take the sixth graders to visit a haveli. This was one of the large estates owned by the wealthy in the colonial times and they also figure in the book that the students were reading. We had a connection from school that brought us to the house of one of the descendents of the Nawab of Lucknow. He opened his home to us and gave us a tour of the old estate.

After all the sightseeing, the kids were ready for another break. To kill the time between our haveli tour and the train ride home, we visited the home of one of our students. His family is a little on the wealthy side and they told us that we could use their movie theater. Even though the movie was in Hindi without subtitles, it was still an enjoyable experience. The plush leather seats and massaging footrests were an especially nice touch.

After our taste of luxury, some of the students were rudely greeted with our train home. Due to booking problems, we were in a slightly lower class for the trip back to Dehradun. It was dank and dirty, but the kids still seemed to have fun socializing.

It was a great trip, but it was really tiring. We left on Saturday night to take the overnight train and didn't make it to our home in Mussoorie until about 3:00 in the afternoon yesterday. After a quick nap, we brushed our teeth and went to bed. This left little time for lesson planning so we were, essentially, flying by the proverbial seats of our pants today at school. All went fairly well and we're feeling pretty confident about the rest of the week.

Dave and Beth

Zig Zag

When we were living in Chicago, we had the luxury of leaving for church on Sunday mornings about 10 minutes before the scheduled starting time. We were only about 12 blocks away, so it did not take us long to get into the car and drive over. Here in Mussoorie, things are a little bit different. The church that we have been attending (and at which we are now teaching Sunday school) is all the way at the top of the hill. We usually need to give ourselves at least 40 minutes to get to church on time. Most of the trip is spent negotiating the Zig Zag Trail. This aptly-named trail has 13 switchbacks between our house and the top of the hill (we counted today as we were taking pictures).

By the time we get to the last stretch of the trail, we begin to wonder why we didn't choose to attend a church that was downhill and along the road so that we could just take a taxi. As we clear the last bit of path though, we are given a beautiful view of the Himalayas.

Then we remember that, in addition to enjoying our time at church, we can see the beauty of God's creation.

The hard part, of course, is going to be when the monsoon rains come back and we'll have to check our blog to remember what these mountains look like.

Dave and Beth