Taming the Feminist tounge

Hi Everyone....I'm back! The past couple of days I've been feeling quite under the weather and stuck in bed, but I'm here now and have a funny story to tell.

Today I decided not to be sick. I woke up did yoga and then walked 2 miles to Bagtsu, which is a suburb of Dharamsala. Here you have your elite Indians attempting to separate themselves from the rest of the tourists and commoners of Dharamsala. It's actually entertaining to watch them strut around in aviator sunglasses (mind you it was overcasted), large bellies, and popped collars. I would also like to note that I did this journey alone because it was meant as a form of meditation and self-reflection. Anyways, as you walk deeper into Bagtsu you see the typical shacks with jewlery, spices, herbs, trinkets, and clothes on the side. Then out of no where there is a GIANT pool, the catch is that only Indian men are allowed to swim here. By this time I'm internally hysterical and must have let a smile slip, because a young "Rico Suave" walks next to me and asks for my name. I lied and said Maria (ha). The next question was classic, he asked if I was married. Oh my, you can only imagine all the feminist comments swirling in my mind at this moment. He then proceeded to follow me up the 800 step staircase towards the Bagtsu waterfall, offering me sweets and compliments. I need to digress from the story here to describe the Bagtsu waterfall because it is absolutely brilliant. It was nestled between two green Himalayan mountains and is the main source of water for Dharamsala. On the left side of the mountain is a long outdoor staircase that leads to the source of the waterfall. It kinda reminded me of the Great Wall of China for some reason, dunno why. Back to the story. So my new biggest fan of Bagstu finally left me alone halfway up the staircase BUT then his group of 4 other friends tried to catch up me and we're yelling, "madam, excuse me, madam". I ignored them and heard one rather robust friend say, "omy gosh how is she running this?". Finally they reached me at the top of the waterfall and began to treat me like a celebrity, continuously asking me to take a picture with them and wanting to know every detail about my life. I responded with, "I'm meditating and in need of no male noise. Thank you.", and ran down the 800 step staircase (on the way back down 3 other male Indians asked for my photograph...wtf!).

Lesson? I will now turn these offensive situations into comedic opportunities and say that I'm a Pakistani lesbian who is engaged and practices Atheism. Wish me luck. ha. Now onto a cultural show with thee other interns. A Tibetan elementary school is hosting a performance with traditional dances and music.