Last Saturday, I chaperoned an excursion to Happy Valley (the Tibetan neighborhood in Mussoorie). Our job was to help out at the old folks' home - sweeping, window washing, and cutting grass (by hand). The very little amount of work we did seemed a little pathetic to me, but some of the Woodstock students proclaimed "Wow, I've never swept before!" So I guess it was worthwhile. After we finished, we played with the kids in the building next door. These buildings were constructed through the Tibetan Homes Foundation. It seems like most of Happy Valley (homes and schools) is funded by this organization. One of the Tibetan women told us that 12,000 Tibetans have moved to the area. (I think Mussoorie has around 6,000 Tibetans, which is a high number considering the total population of Mussoorie is 26,000.) Most of the children we played with had been sent by their parents (who remain in Tibet) in order to get a better education. The elders are recent refugees who have no other place to go. The Tibetan kids were very enthusiastic to have new people to play with. I was most surprised when they brought out a carrom board! Who would've thought! The board and pieces were slightly different (the corner pockets about the size of a silver dollar), but it was definitely the same game!
FLAG HILL:
After my excursion to Happy Valley, I headed back to campus and packed for my first camping trip...finally! My host teacher, Christina, and her husband organized a short campout for staff on Flag Hill, which is in walking distance from campus. Only a small group of us braved the looming rain, but it was so wonderful to be camping! Flag hill is a foothill and has great views of the snow-capped Himalayas in the distance (except it is still monsoon, so we just saw a lot of foothills and clouds). And, go figure, it is covered with flags. Tibetan prayer flags. While camping was fabulous, the best part was when we were packing up to leave the next morning and some Tibetan refugees living in Rajpur hiked up the hill to hang flags. They make the pilgrimmage about three times a year. The older woman hand-printed all of the prayers on the flags and then sewed them on the rope - a lot of work! Just about any high point in northern india is covered with these flags. There are five colors to represent water, fire, space, clouds, and earth. It was fun to see the young boy climb the trees like a monkey to hang the them. The belief is that the wind will carry the prayers on the flags. The prayers aren't to a god, but rather are blessings over all people for compassion, good will, and peace. The flags stay up until they fall apart, symbolizing that the prayers become a permanent part of the universe. I think it is a really beautiful concept. It was so peaceful to wake up early (I'm still in the canoe guide habit of waking up well before everyone else) and sit on the hilside looking out into the sunrise over the distant mountains with the prayer flags surrounding me.
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