In a Nutshell

There is A LOT to talk about. This past week I've been on a mission to squeeze in every possible activity Dharamshala has to offer! I've been to an Evangelical church service (random I know), lower Dharamshala, walked 4.5 miles through the Himalayans, ate a veg "momo" from a street vendor, went to a Sikh temple (even had to wear a veil to cover my head), digested Tibetan medicine blessed/washed by His Holiness (that caused some very vivid dreams), and now booking my bus ticket for a weekend in Amritsar. The last task is something that I'm looking forward to since it's the home to Holiest shrine of Sikhism-- the Golden Temple. Playing second to the Taj Mahal in tourist attractions, the Golden Temple has thousands of visitors 24hours a day AND offers FREE lodging in the temple for tourists. Thank goodness I will not be making this journey alone, I will have the wonderful company of two other well-experienced AND FEMALE travelers from New York. So I'm safe...no worries everyone :)

I would also like to share a special moment that I had with Pa-La this morning. As many of you know, I've become a BIG fan of red lipstick recently (don't know why), and in efforts of satisfying my female vanity and urge to feel "pretty", I lightly dabbed on the red and headed for the office. Ironically, I bumped into Pa-La on my way down the mountain towards work. Although we had said our goodbyes and hugged at the house only moments earlier, we embraced again and he reached for my hand and firmly held it. In the Tibetan culture, it is a sign of endearment and love towards a family member to walk hand in hand in public. So Pa-La walked an "Indian-lookalike girl" with red lipstick all the way to her work, holding her hand, and with a HUGE grin on his face. This scene was probably the first that anyone has ever encountered in Dharamshala, since Tibetans and Indians don't really get along. But Pa-La is well known/respected within the community, therefore we received no dark stares or words. We just walked together and enjoyed each others company.

Pic of the Golden Temple:

P.S.

Also just found out that the city I'm traveling with Woebum to within the next week --Azhemdabad-- is the birthplace of the Great Mohandas Gandhi. God does work in mysterious ways and everything DOES happen for a reason.

(I'm currently overflowing with joy right now-- Ghandi was the reason I entertained the thought of vegetarianism at the age of 8 and veganism at 21)