Enjoying a honey latte...

I'm updating from the Java Cafe in Thamel, where Tais and I are hanging out for a few hours before dinner back at home in Boudha. After an intense lesson with Tenzin this morning (I really can't believe that I've learned almost an entire new alphabet in two days--I should be getting language credit for this), we spent an hour just talking. She has an interesting perspective on how the Tibetan language is becoming a fusion of Tibetan, Nepali, and Hindi here in Kathmandu; and how the younger generation doesn't use formalities or really the same language at all as the grandparents' generation. Apparently the young people here don't greet one another, not even with tashi delek, and using "real" (old) Tibetan with them will only get blank stares in response. Tenzin's own story is quite interesting itself, having studied and grown up in India and now being in Nepal for a decade or so, where she teaches at a monastery. Though she has five uncles rinpoche, she studies Buddhism with a teacher outside the family, which she said is common for people who come from families with lineage connections...funny.

Home for lunch (Ama-la is a great cook) and then to the stupa for a few hours in the afternoon. It's overwhelmingly wonderful and surprisingly comfortable to be in a country where so many people are devoutly spiritual, and public spaces are just overflowing with ritual and prayer. It's such a different approach to "religion" than the neurotic kind of clinging that characterizes religious observance in New York, let alone the kind of self-righteous piousness that seems to inevitably accompany such observance. It's so much more about the individual's choice and their own internal work, which makes space for there to be a real sense of community. I feel respected not by specific people but simply by virtue of being in a place where--so far--most everyone is just not interested in analyzing other people. Not to say that people are disinterested...people are very friendly! It's just a such a different vibe.

Still, it's only been a few days, and I've been guaranteed by more than one person that I'll get sick of everything here in a few weeks. I'm not counting on it one way or the other. Right now there are too many beginnings yet to...begin...to make any kind of predictions. Tomorrow is my first Tibetan medicine lesson with the Amchi, and Sunday is my first yoga class. On top of that, I have plenty to study already from working with Tenzing.

Side note: Vidhea has apparently done some really interesting work concerning trafficking of women and girls in South Asia. She told me about an article she wrote and interviews she conducted with women who had been trafficked, and some people she knows who have worked with the issue in various capacities. I'm psyched about having the opportunity to interview her at some point, as well as meeting anyone she knows. If this becomes a focus of my time here, I will definitely be happy. It seems that wherever a door closes a window really does open.

Nike! or...
Simja nango! (goodnight in Tibetan!)