Welcome to my virtual home!

I must say, it’s strange to look out my sitting room window and see my manager’s underwear hanging out to dry. I’m working from home today, hence the view from my sitting room. I am reading through Dalit Freedom by Joseph D’souza. Understanding the background, atrocities, and threats of Dalit exploitation helps me focus on the assessment RTDC hopes to complete on the Dalit population within Himachal Pradesh. I just finished an appended article by Udit Raj, “The U.S. Should Stop Caste Virus.” The article outlines how this deep-rooted disease has infiltrated America and I wanted to share a bit with ya’ll. A few years ago, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a 501(c)3 Hindu extremist organization, held a rally to encourage orthodox practices among American secular Hindus. No one objected. This same organization raises funds in the West to support their activities within India such as the 1998 mass murder of minorities, specifically Christians, in Gujarat . One day-to-da...

I can't always get on-line to post, so here are a bunch of posts all at once. Enjoy! Things I miss: -A mgr who speaks my language and is disciplined in his approach to work. -A landlord that ensures everything is clean and properly functioning. -Heat available at the turn of a knob. -A “getaway vehicle” that enables me to get out & explore expediently. -Knowing when to be where with the confidence that scheduled events normally occur as planned. -The food that suits me best. -Clothes for every occasion. -My mobile. -Available internet connectivity on my laptop. -Seeing dear faces everyday in person. Things I enjoy: -The most amazing view. -Evening walks through the field. -Running at a higher elevation. -Practicing simplicity of wardrobe, food, language, travel, scheduling. -Short commute to work. -Encouraging e-mails. -Conversations about family and life purpose (in English, no less!) Let me tell you about the road from Dharamsala yesterday evening. I wish you could have see...

I just finished a lovely, romantic, candlelit dinner. “Do tell,” I hear you saying. Well, my electricity has been out since this morning. Men from the electric company/department (I’m not sure how electricity is managed here) came tonight at 7:45 PM, pulled some wires, and determined the pole holding up my electrical wire is faulty. It was too late at that point for them to do anything, so they will return tomorrow morning to fix it. I went to the market today to buy a torch (aka flashlight) because I had a feeling this might be the outcome. Oddly enough, this actually IS romantic (e.g.; idyllic) to me! Akin to my bus experience in coming to Palampur, I enjoy a bit of unexpected adventure. Let me tell you about my bus experience while I’m at it. I was meant to take a luxury overnight bus from Delhi to Palampur. Little did I know that my bus ticket had NOT been purchased in advance and, much to my chagrin, there were no tickets available when we arrived at the bus d...

Some in my readership are clamoring for details. No, I won’t name them slave drivers, simply motivators to ramble a bit and satiate your curiosity. And, truly, the following blog entry follows more of a stream of conscious than any nice & neat format so here it goes. I went running Tuesday because I simply HAD to get out & move at more than a walking pace. I ran up the road with Prerna (my 8-year old neighbor pictured above with her mom, Bimla) and her friends the previous night & realized how much I missed getting out to stretch my legs. When I returned home, Bimla and her friends suggested I run with them the next day at 6AM. I balked at the time and they said 6AM is really not so early. I guess I am a lazy American, after all! They do not seem to run regularly, but perhaps I’m providing some motivation. I think they also want to show me a nicer, safer place to run. I planned to go to Dharamsala to register as a foreigner today BUT I do yet have proo...

Take a look at the view out my front door! Yes, I have arrived at my post and am relishing evening walks with Prerna , my mentor's daughter, in the shadows of the Dhauladar Mountain range. My mentor, his wife, Bimla , & Prerna live downstairs from me and they have been my hosts at mealtimes, navigating my way through the market yesterday to outfit my flat, and sharing their lives with me. I have heard much about Kirstin, a former volunteer, who became fast friends with Prerna , also. Prerna has been a lifeline of sorts to me since I do not speak much Hindi and my hosts do not speak much English. I have been here two days now and am adjusting to a slower pace where meeting times are merely a nicety, where I have to register as a foreigner before I can get my mobile working, where any trip to the market seems an enormous affair. Even getting drinkable water is an ordeal (thankfully I have purification drops just in case - thanks, Jason!). Despite the beauty of this place, ...

Hmm , I'm about to embark on my adventure to Himachal Pradesh , to the mountains, to a semi-familiar place, to a place where beauty surrounds me, captivates me, and motivates me to live wholeheartedly. My next blogs will be about that, but for now let me tell you about a study in contrasts. We took a trip to Rajasthan to see a rural microfinancing group of women pictured here. They were blessed to be visited and to have their stories heard. They fine their husbands if they attend the meetings! On the other side, we had a private audience with the Ambassador yesterday. I was decked out in a business pantsuit, sitting around a solid wood table on a top floor overlooking an enormous water fountain. Hmm , this country needs agricultural reform, the Ambassador says, and making way for more big business. I seem to remember some words about the least of these, but I have been guarding against a critical spirit that so easily entangles.

Hmm , Sarah's added a picture - why, yes, she has. Fancy that! Yes, my friends, I have re-entered the world of the cyber -savvy in a cafe with free wi - fi (just not between 1-4pm, & I'm not sure why). And guess who's in the above shot. Yep, that's my dear friend, Capt. Plush whom I happened upon in a shop in Delhi. How strange to find this SoCal native halfway around the world. Yes, we were both amazed and simply stared at one another, marveling throughout dinner. I ALSO was blessed to meet Renee, who participated in Jefe's Himalayan Escapade this year. Capt. Plush & I bonded in the Indian Himalayas last year and he returned for another excellent adventure. Also captured in this shot is my trusty sidekick, Monk. You might see him from time to time as he makes cameo appearances throughout the year. And I'm sure he will be one of the world's most widely traveled monkeys cum finger puppets by the end of this year.

I took my first auto rickshaw ride in Delhi this evening to arrive at the internet cafe. After a tour down the road, around the barricade, past the police department, by the hotels, into two off-line internet cafes, our group of 15 or so Americans arrived. One of my fellow Fellows is haggling with the i nternet cafe proprietor sitting behind me, who's reading over my shoulder and asking for a copy of my license for his records. Hmm . . . We enjoyed an afternoon of Bollywood dance instruction and will have a group performance at the end. It felt good to laugh at ourselves looking ridiculous. Off to supper now.