Home is where the Dalai Lama is

Danny made it to India, more precisely, staying at Pink House in McLoud Ganj, the upper village of the larger hillside town of Dharamsala. He made it two days ago, after flying out of Nepal and into Delhi, taking a taxi to the Tibetan Colony and getting an overnight bus from there to Dharamsala. From the bus stop there, you get a taxi, usually with as many other tourists as you can squeeze in to share the fare, and tires squealing from the exertion of gripping broken pavement on an impossible steep grade, putter up to Mcloud-we were here last summer and felt right at home with the Tibetan settlement, the ringing of temple bells, the monks clad in red walking always to somewhere, and the funky guest houses perched on the hillsides, prayer flags fluttering. The really great thing is, it's the home of the 14th Dalai Lama, who was allowed ot settle here after China invaded his country in 1959. It is now known as the home of the Tibetan Government in Exhile, and the amazing Tibetans have somehow recreated their new version of Lhasa, with places named after places that used to exist in Tibet. Buddhist artwork and statuary, giant prayer wheels, huge Thangkas and ancient scrolls have made their way to the new Lhasa, where the Tibetan community keep a steady practice of their compassion and loving-kindness philosophy in time with the spinning of their hand-held prayer wheels and mala mantras. Danny is happy to have landed here, his emails are upbeat and filled with hope of connecting with friends made last year. There is much to do to keep him occupied, such as working with the Tibet Hope Project, tutoring Tibetan refugees in English and helping monks at the Dalai Lama's temple study their English composition. As the days unfold, it remains to be seen what will happen in Nepal and if Danny can go back any time soon. Our school is fine, Don says a good amount of material is on site, enough for the villagers to continue the construction until Danny makes it back. We hear a little from our friend Rajan. He runs a trekking company, and so is having to deal with taking care of the tourists caught there in this political turmoil despite having no transportation or accessibility to other services for tourists. The Maoists will retaliate if anyone tries to operate a business during this time. So far, credit must be given to all the Nepalis who have restrained from violence during this coup. There seems to be a great amount of patience on both sides, but that is no doubt a result of the past 12 years of bloody warfare with the Maoists, and neither side seems to want to do there again. So for now, we must show the same patience, and Danny will be fine in the land of the Dalai Lama. We think of Nepal and our friends there every day, and pray for peace for all.