Now that we are leaving Dharmasala, en route to New Delhi, I have some time to think about what this was all about. I didn't come to India thinking someone would give me answers or a sense of purpose, which is a good thing because no one tried. :-)
But I was hoping that by seeing things new, getting out of my routine, meeting new people in a different country, maybe I'd start to get a little closer to the proverbial Truth.
I saw enough in Dharmasala to know that theres a lot of tension between the Tibetan population there and the Indian government and Indian people. It's not unusual at all for people to question the motives of any group owho move to a new land and insist on preserving their culture at the expense of easy understanding between themselves and their "hosts." And I'm sure not everyone's motivations are pure. But on an individual level, people are inherently good. We are lying to ourselves if we think we wouldn't do desperate or corrupt things if we believed our intentions were righteous.
I admire the Dalai Lama and feel amazed that I had the chance to meet him, but at the same time I would never follow him blindly. Buddhism is the ultimate exercise in critical thinking and you need to practice in order to reach any kind of understanding. It's not possible for me to see the business of the Dalai Lama as anything but organized religion, and therefore vulnerable to corruption. But the Dalai Lama has brought a lot of light and love to people across faiths and nationalities. I admire that.
The monastery and nunnery sort of reminded me of Catholic school, but since I'm really just an outsider, there's no way I can really grasp or judge any of this. All I can do is remember my thoughts are not the truth, and whatever I take away from the experience of this trip is what I created for myself, not something that was given to me. It's my job to do something positive and keep trying to let go of, or at least become more aware of, my misconceptions and attachments.
Well, I will be able to upload some pictures soon, I'll be home Friday morning (remember, it's 10.5 hours ahead here, so we are traveling backwards in time and arriving Friday morning Minnesota time ha!)-- I will have some little stories about each picture.
Today we hired a driver for about $13 each person for 8 hours so we see more of New Delhi and do some shopping. I would have liked to have not spent that money and just walked around and used it towards shopping, but it takes up a lot of time (walking) and it's really hot, I would have tapped out within a couple of hours and not bought anything anyway. I'm might hate winter, but I'm still a Minnesota girl, and can't handle this heat at all.
Love,
Steph
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Things I will miss a lot...and things I will not miss at all.
I'll miss the food. Haven't had a bad meal yet. I'll miss my classmates. They're sweet, smart and positive. I'll miss the mountains; I have to move to Colorado because I'm not sure I can live without them. And the flowers, trees, prayer flags, prayer wheels and temples. I'll miss the kindness of some of the wonderful people I've met here. Walking down the street and waving and smiling at one person after another. I am obsessed with the dogs here; they're tame- even the wild ones we meet in the woods- so friendly and everywhere. They join us for a little while on walks, visit us in the classroom, and keep the monkeys in their place. I will have to adjust to the fact I won't be seeing cows, buffalo and sweet little calfs wandering around. I'll even miss the crazy traffic. I'll miss the energy of this place. It kept me happy.
I won't miss the poop. I won't miss the traffic (love-hate relationship there). I won't miss being away from my family. That's about it.
I won't miss the poop. I won't miss the traffic (love-hate relationship there). I won't miss being away from my family. That's about it.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Last day of classes- my presentation is DONE
Today was the last day of classes. Hard to believe it's already been 16 days, and I'll be home in 4. It seems like it's been both much longer, and much shorter. Time is funny like that, I guess.
Today my class (16 of us) did our presentations for the doctors and students at the institute. Basically we talked about applying concepts of compassion, ethical behavior, mindful eating, and the like to certain populations, like for people with depression or whatever. Some really good presentations- my classmates are pretty damn smart and insightful. My topic was really broad, basically making yoga more accessible for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. I have more specific goals in mind (like doing a study on using yoga with deaf kids with EBD, or deaf people with chemical dependency, or as a self-care technique for sign-language interpreters with carpal tunnel syndrome, etc.) but the goal of this presentation was just to raise awareness about some of the language and cultural issues related to working with deaf folks. I think it worked, I got a nice response from my classmates and no one in the audience fell asleep. I got a pretty good round of applause, too. So, Mission Accomplished. I've planted a seed! :-)
Tonight at 6:30 we have our final dinner at the institute. Mutton momos and beer, here I come! :-)
Love, Steph
Today my class (16 of us) did our presentations for the doctors and students at the institute. Basically we talked about applying concepts of compassion, ethical behavior, mindful eating, and the like to certain populations, like for people with depression or whatever. Some really good presentations- my classmates are pretty damn smart and insightful. My topic was really broad, basically making yoga more accessible for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. I have more specific goals in mind (like doing a study on using yoga with deaf kids with EBD, or deaf people with chemical dependency, or as a self-care technique for sign-language interpreters with carpal tunnel syndrome, etc.) but the goal of this presentation was just to raise awareness about some of the language and cultural issues related to working with deaf folks. I think it worked, I got a nice response from my classmates and no one in the audience fell asleep. I got a pretty good round of applause, too. So, Mission Accomplished. I've planted a seed! :-)
Tonight at 6:30 we have our final dinner at the institute. Mutton momos and beer, here I come! :-)
Love, Steph
"What am I supposed to do?!"- Being loud and socially awkward pays off!
Ok, so last Thursday's blog mentioned something special might take place on Friday. It's taken me a few days to sit down and write about it, because when I try, I sound trite, or like I'm showing off.
On Wednesday we found out there was a possibility we could get an audience with the Dalai Lama (and before you ask, yes there's only one, and it's the one you're thinking of). By Thursday we were told this would actually happen. Friday morning, we were outside his residence getting checked in and ready to meet him.
Audiences with the Dalai Lama are pretty short and sweet; he's a busy guy, if you didn't know. So we just lined up and he approached. I saw his sweet face and of course, being who I am, I started laughing a bit. I was just so happy to see him. I think he looked at me and smiled. We all approached to say hello and line up for a photo with him. A monk (I'm sure he was highly ranked somehow, but we weren't formally introduced ha) put our khata (definition below) on in a rushed manner. Then apparently I said fairly loudly, "What am I supposed to do now?" I turned around and there was His Holiness, giggling and extending his hand. I did my little bow thing, and we shook hands and shared a nice smile (ok, so I probably shook his hand a little too hard and said "hi!" a little too loud), but he pulled me next to him for the photo. I started to bend down to pose, but he kept my hand and held it for the whole time. It was, for lack of a better word, lovely!
Let me admit, I am not a touchy-feely person. I think I'm pretty loving and compassionate, but actually touching people is only really comfortable for me when it's my kids or my husband. I'm not a great hugger (I want to work on that, though!!). But when with His Holiness, I felt peaceful and just fine. He has such a gentle presence and energy. I didn't feel uncomfortable at all, I didn't even feel like I was meeting someone famous. It was more like I was saying hello to a revered, loving grandfather (and, like I said, I don't know how to write this without sounding trite-- I hope I don't offend anyone, I'm just sharing how I felt on an emotional level, not a logical one).
And that's all I have to say about that.
Love, Steph
KHATA OFFERING: It is customary to offer white scarves (Tibetan: khatag) at this time, or at the very end, but this is not strictly necessary. If a khata is offered (held as in the picture) then it should be placed in front of the lama or at his side. Often, it will be returned to you (with the help of the assisting monk) as a blessing, but not always. They may be available for purchase before the ritual, but if you do not have one, you can offer a smile and a bow.
On Wednesday we found out there was a possibility we could get an audience with the Dalai Lama (and before you ask, yes there's only one, and it's the one you're thinking of). By Thursday we were told this would actually happen. Friday morning, we were outside his residence getting checked in and ready to meet him.
Audiences with the Dalai Lama are pretty short and sweet; he's a busy guy, if you didn't know. So we just lined up and he approached. I saw his sweet face and of course, being who I am, I started laughing a bit. I was just so happy to see him. I think he looked at me and smiled. We all approached to say hello and line up for a photo with him. A monk (I'm sure he was highly ranked somehow, but we weren't formally introduced ha) put our khata (definition below) on in a rushed manner. Then apparently I said fairly loudly, "What am I supposed to do now?" I turned around and there was His Holiness, giggling and extending his hand. I did my little bow thing, and we shook hands and shared a nice smile (ok, so I probably shook his hand a little too hard and said "hi!" a little too loud), but he pulled me next to him for the photo. I started to bend down to pose, but he kept my hand and held it for the whole time. It was, for lack of a better word, lovely!
Let me admit, I am not a touchy-feely person. I think I'm pretty loving and compassionate, but actually touching people is only really comfortable for me when it's my kids or my husband. I'm not a great hugger (I want to work on that, though!!). But when with His Holiness, I felt peaceful and just fine. He has such a gentle presence and energy. I didn't feel uncomfortable at all, I didn't even feel like I was meeting someone famous. It was more like I was saying hello to a revered, loving grandfather (and, like I said, I don't know how to write this without sounding trite-- I hope I don't offend anyone, I'm just sharing how I felt on an emotional level, not a logical one).
And that's all I have to say about that.
Love, Steph
KHATA OFFERING: It is customary to offer white scarves (Tibetan: khatag) at this time, or at the very end, but this is not strictly necessary. If a khata is offered (held as in the picture) then it should be placed in front of the lama or at his side. Often, it will be returned to you (with the help of the assisting monk) as a blessing, but not always. They may be available for purchase before the ritual, but if you do not have one, you can offer a smile and a bow.
Update on Deaf Tibetans
Well, I've been looking for some Deaf Tibetans. There's not a lot of information readily available, basically. Like I mentioned before, Tibetans take especially good care of their pregnant mothers and infants, so the rate of hearing loss is much lower than in the U.S. (not that I'm blaming American moms for all incidences of deafness in their children!!!- don't misunderstand- I love being Deaf!). Anyway, when I asked one of the doctors how they treat (medically) and educate their deaf children, I wasn't really satisfied with her answer. She basically lumped deaf kids in the same category as children with other disabilities; no different than many people in the U.S., so I'm not faulting her for it or anything. Just wasn't a satisfying answer.
Fast forward a couple hours later, my wonderful teacher Dr. Mim brought her good friend to meet me. I wish I could remember her friend's name, but she was the wife of one of the members of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile. She let me know that there is a group of deaf children about 3 hours outside of Dharmasala who go to school with two teachers and an assistant, and all of them know sign language. They grow up together in a foster home as well (typical for most Tibetan children who are sent to the area while their parents stay behind in Tibet- some of the foster homes have up to 30 kids - but as I said before, they're well taken care of). I was really happy to hear this! I want to come back and visit the school and play with the kids, maybe write a little story about them for publication, because the culture of compassion in Tibetans is so wonderful and I want to see that in action with deaf children. :-) She reports they're really happy, normal, they grow up to do things that are similar to other Tibetans (Thangka painting, etc.). The woman was just clearly well-aware of the issues related to raising deaf children well, and I was so glad. There's another program for kids with special needs through the Tibetan Childrens Villages, and they have a couple of kids with some degree of hearing loss, I'd like to visit that program as well. I just want to learn as much as I can about how they educate the kids and practice Buddhist philosophy in those kinds of settings.
I feel really lucky that my kids go to the school they do; Madeline goes to a school with a classical education model. Honestly, I just picked the school because it sort of sounded good, she would wear a uniform, it's a charter so we could move to Minneapolis if we needed to, etc. But they diligently teach ethics and virtues as well, and I'm increasingly seeing some parallels with Buddhist teachings. And the more I learn about both philosophies and pedagogies, the more I realize that's pretty damn sweet.
Love,
Steph
Fast forward a couple hours later, my wonderful teacher Dr. Mim brought her good friend to meet me. I wish I could remember her friend's name, but she was the wife of one of the members of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile. She let me know that there is a group of deaf children about 3 hours outside of Dharmasala who go to school with two teachers and an assistant, and all of them know sign language. They grow up together in a foster home as well (typical for most Tibetan children who are sent to the area while their parents stay behind in Tibet- some of the foster homes have up to 30 kids - but as I said before, they're well taken care of). I was really happy to hear this! I want to come back and visit the school and play with the kids, maybe write a little story about them for publication, because the culture of compassion in Tibetans is so wonderful and I want to see that in action with deaf children. :-) She reports they're really happy, normal, they grow up to do things that are similar to other Tibetans (Thangka painting, etc.). The woman was just clearly well-aware of the issues related to raising deaf children well, and I was so glad. There's another program for kids with special needs through the Tibetan Childrens Villages, and they have a couple of kids with some degree of hearing loss, I'd like to visit that program as well. I just want to learn as much as I can about how they educate the kids and practice Buddhist philosophy in those kinds of settings.
I feel really lucky that my kids go to the school they do; Madeline goes to a school with a classical education model. Honestly, I just picked the school because it sort of sounded good, she would wear a uniform, it's a charter so we could move to Minneapolis if we needed to, etc. But they diligently teach ethics and virtues as well, and I'm increasingly seeing some parallels with Buddhist teachings. And the more I learn about both philosophies and pedagogies, the more I realize that's pretty damn sweet.
Love,
Steph
Backing up a little bit....
So last week we went up to Dolma Ling Nunnery and Norblingka. I don't really intend to make this a travel blog (well, kind of, but it's supposed to be more like a narcissistic collection of my personal reflections). However, I do want to talk a little bit about both places, because they were part of a beautiful day up here and I don't know if everyone who wants to travel to India thinks about visiting places like this. So the link to some information about the nunnery is http://www.fpmt.org/projects/other/mongolia/dolma-ling-nunnery.html. It's a really beautiful place, and if I'm being honest it was also cleaner than the monastery (no offense, men).
It's a very empowering place; Tibetans really respect their women and educate them right alongside the men. Here in India, there's a dire shortage of women, with a ratio of something like 93 women for every 100 men (supply and demand, people...supply and demand). It's really obvious everywhere you look; at first I thought it was just because women stay home more often, which might be the case, but no. The women who are around are generally married off by the time they're 18. So, ladies, if you're looking for a husband and are willing to put up with some serious cultural barriers, head over to India. But my point is, that isn't the case for the Tibetans in the area, and all the literature I find supports this idea. So the nuns at Dolma Ling (and anyplace) are well-respected and well-educated in Buddhist philosophy. I love Tibetans! Here's a cool clip- worth watching, I promise!- of nuns doing their daily Buddhist-style debating in the courtyard over at Dolma Ling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSXAlwz8VtE
Now, Norbulingka was another terrific site. http://www.norbulingka.org/ The gardens are Japanese-style designs. Really relaxing and beautiful. We got to visit different workshops where they were learning to make thankga, bronze figurines and wood furniture etc. Josh would love this place. Check out the website for more information.
It's a very empowering place; Tibetans really respect their women and educate them right alongside the men. Here in India, there's a dire shortage of women, with a ratio of something like 93 women for every 100 men (supply and demand, people...supply and demand). It's really obvious everywhere you look; at first I thought it was just because women stay home more often, which might be the case, but no. The women who are around are generally married off by the time they're 18. So, ladies, if you're looking for a husband and are willing to put up with some serious cultural barriers, head over to India. But my point is, that isn't the case for the Tibetans in the area, and all the literature I find supports this idea. So the nuns at Dolma Ling (and anyplace) are well-respected and well-educated in Buddhist philosophy. I love Tibetans! Here's a cool clip- worth watching, I promise!- of nuns doing their daily Buddhist-style debating in the courtyard over at Dolma Ling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSXAlwz8VtE
Now, Norbulingka was another terrific site. http://www.norbulingka.org/ The gardens are Japanese-style designs. Really relaxing and beautiful. We got to visit different workshops where they were learning to make thankga, bronze figurines and wood furniture etc. Josh would love this place. Check out the website for more information.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
"If they throw blood, then throw milk back"
Today...today was incredible. Right now I am sitting here in a dinky internet cafe filled with truck fumes, and I'm just filled with joy (unless the truck fumes are making me high- but I'm pretty sure that's not it, since I have been filled with joy for several hours now).
We began our day with breakfast at Pema Thang at 7am. Did I mention we are staying there? If you ever make it up to McLeodganju, stay at Pema Thang guesthouse. Best vegetarian meals in the area, reasonable prices, wonderful staff! Then we hopped in a few taxis and drove several kilometers to Gyuto Monastery. It's a beautiful place, another wonderful view of the Himalayan mountains, with rolling hills, farmland, cows. The structure is well maintained. There were a few 5 year old monks, who were precious in more than one way.
We had a tour. They gave us tea. Then my class (15 students, my instructor Dr. Miriam Cameron, her husband Mike, and my two rocking interpreters) had an audience with His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa (http://www.kagyuoffice.org/karmapa.html). There were several other individuals and groups in the waiting room, but we all went in separately. Being such a large group, we went in last.
I'm not sure right now what I want to say about this. He was very kind, and patient. He let us stay awhile longer than we probably should have (maybe 30 minutes) and ask a variety of questions. One question was about his daily routine, which led to a question about how many languages he is studying. He is studying about 6. I very helpfully suggested he consider adding sign language to his repertoire. To my surprise, he is actually interested. He said he saw a documentary and found the language to have a great deal of feeling. AW YEAH! But first, he said, he needs to find a good teacher. I joked that I'd volunteer (and if you know how pidgin my ASL is, you'd find that even funnier). He gave some very profound responses to other questions my classmates asked, but again I'm not sure how to write about it
I will say, of all the profound things he said, what brought tears to my eyes was his comment that even in the most difficult and
dark conditions, there has to be light and laughter. Sometimes I get embarrassed because I feel like I'm constantly laughing and giggling like a kid, but joy doesn't detract from the seriousness of any terrible situation. Have you had a good laugh today?
I don't know what I've done in this life or past lives to be able to have this experience, but I am so humbled. If you want to hear the Karmapa talk, go to http://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_the_karmapa_the_technology_of_the_heart.html. Beautiful.
Well I have to pee and I've been sitting in this stinky cyber cafe for over two hours, so I don't think I'm capable of waxing poetic about one of the most wonderful days of my life. I will have to talk about our visit to Norbulingka Institute (unbelievable- Josh, you would LOVE this place) and the Dolma Ling Nunnery (inspiring) later. And tomorrow is another big day, but I'm not ready to talk about what might happen tomorrow. ;-)
We began our day with breakfast at Pema Thang at 7am. Did I mention we are staying there? If you ever make it up to McLeodganju, stay at Pema Thang guesthouse. Best vegetarian meals in the area, reasonable prices, wonderful staff! Then we hopped in a few taxis and drove several kilometers to Gyuto Monastery. It's a beautiful place, another wonderful view of the Himalayan mountains, with rolling hills, farmland, cows. The structure is well maintained. There were a few 5 year old monks, who were precious in more than one way.
We had a tour. They gave us tea. Then my class (15 students, my instructor Dr. Miriam Cameron, her husband Mike, and my two rocking interpreters) had an audience with His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa (http://www.kagyuoffice.org/karmapa.html). There were several other individuals and groups in the waiting room, but we all went in separately. Being such a large group, we went in last.
I'm not sure right now what I want to say about this. He was very kind, and patient. He let us stay awhile longer than we probably should have (maybe 30 minutes) and ask a variety of questions. One question was about his daily routine, which led to a question about how many languages he is studying. He is studying about 6. I very helpfully suggested he consider adding sign language to his repertoire. To my surprise, he is actually interested. He said he saw a documentary and found the language to have a great deal of feeling. AW YEAH! But first, he said, he needs to find a good teacher. I joked that I'd volunteer (and if you know how pidgin my ASL is, you'd find that even funnier). He gave some very profound responses to other questions my classmates asked, but again I'm not sure how to write about it
I will say, of all the profound things he said, what brought tears to my eyes was his comment that even in the most difficult and
dark conditions, there has to be light and laughter. Sometimes I get embarrassed because I feel like I'm constantly laughing and giggling like a kid, but joy doesn't detract from the seriousness of any terrible situation. Have you had a good laugh today?
I don't know what I've done in this life or past lives to be able to have this experience, but I am so humbled. If you want to hear the Karmapa talk, go to http://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_the_karmapa_the_technology_of_the_heart.html. Beautiful.
Well I have to pee and I've been sitting in this stinky cyber cafe for over two hours, so I don't think I'm capable of waxing poetic about one of the most wonderful days of my life. I will have to talk about our visit to Norbulingka Institute (unbelievable- Josh, you would LOVE this place) and the Dolma Ling Nunnery (inspiring) later. And tomorrow is another big day, but I'm not ready to talk about what might happen tomorrow. ;-)
Can you hear me now?
This is a hard post for me to write, and the reason I have not posted so far this week. I've been struggling with how to discuss this subject with much-due respect but still make a necessary commentary on what my experience was like, both for me personally as well as what I see as possible implications for children seen by Tibetan doctors. I guess I'll just stick with the facts.
Tibetan medicine is an incredibly holistic practice; it's ancient, it considers the individual, the community, the physical and the metaphysical . It has wisdom that Western medicine is only beginning to understand.
When a patient sees a Tibetan doctor, they can expect a very thorough examination that will help them understand their true nature and what they need to do to come back into balance. The doctor will examine different aspects of the patient's pulse, appearance and urine that will provide insight that even modern technology cannot. I had a wonderful consultation at the University of Minnesota last Fall that helped me immensely.
On Tuesday I arrived at the office and there were two doctors in the room. They realized I was deaf (I had my interpreter with me) and it took a few minutes for them to get settled into the interaction, which was kind of surprising for me because so far here in India, the different people we have met have had no problems with this.
The doctors asked the interpreter a few questions, like "So you learned her language?" Fair enough. I was expecting them to examine my urine (sorry if that sounds gross, but it's really amazing what they can learn once you understand the process), but they just glanced at the bottle and announced that I had a certain kind of imbalance.
Then they asked a couple of questions like whether I sleep well or have headaches. I replied that I sleep great and never have headaches. Then they had both my hands pinned down while they were checking my different pulse points and asked me another question, so I decided to use my voice because I know my interpreter can understand me fairly well and could re-voice for me. The doctors faces kind of changed and they said, "She can speak!!" And I got a little flustered and embarrassed- my ability to make sometimes-intelligible sounds with my mouth and throat is not something I'm especially proud of. They encouraged me to talk more and free up my voice; I explained I talk plenty as I have three children and use my voice with them sometimes, but I generally prefer to sign.
Then one of them got really interested in the whole thing and asked me to move to a different chair; he did some different chants and worked some pressure points (crown chakra, etc). Then he whispered in my ear, "Can you hear now?" I was just kind of trying not to laugh, because the fact is, Western doctors really are no different. If they find out a kid is deaf, their first response is to see if there's a way to fix it. No matter where you go in the world, deafness is viewed as a pathological condition. This was just a different approach as far as I'm concerned.
Anyway, he asked again if I felt any different and I said no. I tried to explain that I don't really want to hear, I am very content and find it peaceful, so I'm quite fixed in my ways. There was a bit of a language barrier there but I did try to help them understand my perspective. Well, they prescribed some pills for me, told me I was too screwed up for them to derive my true nature (not because of the deafness, but apparently my liver is a bit disordered....no comment on that one...). I decided not to fill the prescription. Later on in class, a different doctor looked at my urine and came to a very different conclusion, one that I could buy because it matched up with my actual behaviors and physical functioning. That kind of reinforced my sense that the first doctors were too focused on what was going on in my ears and throat to truly take a holistic perspective.
Later on I freaked out a little bit- "What if it had actually worked??!!" After being deaf for 34 years (and not even being able to hear a plane overhead for about 20) my brain would not have any clue what to do with sound, and it probably would not be able to rewire itself to learn. I would go nuts!! :-)
Honestly, I was not offended in the least. I know he was just trying to help. But I also got a little worried about what does happen if a family brings their deaf child in- isn't there any suggestion of the family using some kind of visual language with the child so they have a shot at normal development? I know I should have done more research before I came here because there's been plenty of work done in the field of Deafness in developing countries, but at the same time I think it's a good thing that I'm seeing this with fresh eyes.
Anyway, I was happy to learn that in Tibet they recently opened their first school for the Deaf. China has its problems (which is an understatement), but I think they understand a thing or two about educating deaf children. But there's nothing like that in this area, and the Indian doctor (who was brilliant, handsome and awesome ha!) we visited at the Western-style hospital across the street from the MTK said hearing loss is not a problem around here. Yeah, any instances of childhood deafness are are probably overlooked more often than not(meaning no language exposure = poor cognitive development = emotional and behavioral issues)-- BUT I'm assuming the good doctor is probably correct, since Tibetan mothers take very good care of themselves during pregnancy, both emotionally and physically, while American mothers are exposed to all sorts of toxins and are expected to work until they're 8cm dilated. And, of course, fragile babies are probably more likely to survive when they're born in a country with more resources.
This is all common sense, I know, nothing I did not know before, but it's still something I'm pondering regardless; a person can understand the exact same thought on a whole new level, you follow me?
Tibetan medicine is an incredibly holistic practice; it's ancient, it considers the individual, the community, the physical and the metaphysical . It has wisdom that Western medicine is only beginning to understand.
When a patient sees a Tibetan doctor, they can expect a very thorough examination that will help them understand their true nature and what they need to do to come back into balance. The doctor will examine different aspects of the patient's pulse, appearance and urine that will provide insight that even modern technology cannot. I had a wonderful consultation at the University of Minnesota last Fall that helped me immensely.
On Tuesday I arrived at the office and there were two doctors in the room. They realized I was deaf (I had my interpreter with me) and it took a few minutes for them to get settled into the interaction, which was kind of surprising for me because so far here in India, the different people we have met have had no problems with this.
The doctors asked the interpreter a few questions, like "So you learned her language?" Fair enough. I was expecting them to examine my urine (sorry if that sounds gross, but it's really amazing what they can learn once you understand the process), but they just glanced at the bottle and announced that I had a certain kind of imbalance.
Then they asked a couple of questions like whether I sleep well or have headaches. I replied that I sleep great and never have headaches. Then they had both my hands pinned down while they were checking my different pulse points and asked me another question, so I decided to use my voice because I know my interpreter can understand me fairly well and could re-voice for me. The doctors faces kind of changed and they said, "She can speak!!" And I got a little flustered and embarrassed- my ability to make sometimes-intelligible sounds with my mouth and throat is not something I'm especially proud of. They encouraged me to talk more and free up my voice; I explained I talk plenty as I have three children and use my voice with them sometimes, but I generally prefer to sign.
Then one of them got really interested in the whole thing and asked me to move to a different chair; he did some different chants and worked some pressure points (crown chakra, etc). Then he whispered in my ear, "Can you hear now?" I was just kind of trying not to laugh, because the fact is, Western doctors really are no different. If they find out a kid is deaf, their first response is to see if there's a way to fix it. No matter where you go in the world, deafness is viewed as a pathological condition. This was just a different approach as far as I'm concerned.
Anyway, he asked again if I felt any different and I said no. I tried to explain that I don't really want to hear, I am very content and find it peaceful, so I'm quite fixed in my ways. There was a bit of a language barrier there but I did try to help them understand my perspective. Well, they prescribed some pills for me, told me I was too screwed up for them to derive my true nature (not because of the deafness, but apparently my liver is a bit disordered....no comment on that one...). I decided not to fill the prescription. Later on in class, a different doctor looked at my urine and came to a very different conclusion, one that I could buy because it matched up with my actual behaviors and physical functioning. That kind of reinforced my sense that the first doctors were too focused on what was going on in my ears and throat to truly take a holistic perspective.
Later on I freaked out a little bit- "What if it had actually worked??!!" After being deaf for 34 years (and not even being able to hear a plane overhead for about 20) my brain would not have any clue what to do with sound, and it probably would not be able to rewire itself to learn. I would go nuts!! :-)
Honestly, I was not offended in the least. I know he was just trying to help. But I also got a little worried about what does happen if a family brings their deaf child in- isn't there any suggestion of the family using some kind of visual language with the child so they have a shot at normal development? I know I should have done more research before I came here because there's been plenty of work done in the field of Deafness in developing countries, but at the same time I think it's a good thing that I'm seeing this with fresh eyes.
Anyway, I was happy to learn that in Tibet they recently opened their first school for the Deaf. China has its problems (which is an understatement), but I think they understand a thing or two about educating deaf children. But there's nothing like that in this area, and the Indian doctor (who was brilliant, handsome and awesome ha!) we visited at the Western-style hospital across the street from the MTK said hearing loss is not a problem around here. Yeah, any instances of childhood deafness are are probably overlooked more often than not(meaning no language exposure = poor cognitive development = emotional and behavioral issues)-- BUT I'm assuming the good doctor is probably correct, since Tibetan mothers take very good care of themselves during pregnancy, both emotionally and physically, while American mothers are exposed to all sorts of toxins and are expected to work until they're 8cm dilated. And, of course, fragile babies are probably more likely to survive when they're born in a country with more resources.
This is all common sense, I know, nothing I did not know before, but it's still something I'm pondering regardless; a person can understand the exact same thought on a whole new level, you follow me?
"OK, your price!!!"
Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty laid-back days; lots of lectures. MTK makes lunch for us and let me tell you: DELICIOUS! And abundant! Rice, momos, cottage cheese rolls, soups, just YUM. I still don't have much of an appetite, but I still enjoy eating because damn it's good stuff.
I do have to confess that I started shopping a bit. Minus the Taj Mahal trip, I've only spent about $60 so far, but I've now spent at least that much in two days. Whoa. I'm trying to find good things to give to people when I return. I could not have made this trip without the support of so many. But I realized that there really is nothing I can buy that will repay them. In a way I just have to accept their love, support and compassion as a gift and hopefully I can do something good for the world as a result. Having said that (ha!), I did decide what gifts I do get will be produced by the Tibetan community up here. There's some wonderful Indian goodies here, but at the end of the day I am here to learn about Tibetan medicine and culture, so that's what I should bring home with me. So I have accumulated a pretty good collection of teas, lotions and oils to bring home with me and give as gifts. I also found a birthday present for my Josh! ;-) I'll also confess, I did buy a couple things for myself; a wood "wedding ring" for 85 cents, since I left mine at home; a shirt for $2 and some pants for $6 so I'd have something nice to wear. As far as one item goes, I'm pretty proud of my mad bargaining skillz-- I found a lovely orange mala. The woman was asking 350 but I got her down to 100 rupees (about $2 American). Honestly, I was not trying to take advantage or anything, that was literally all I had on me at the time! WIN. But if I ever came back to the region, I would bring a boatload of cash because there's some beautiful Tibetan art to be had around here...more on that later...
I do have to confess that I started shopping a bit. Minus the Taj Mahal trip, I've only spent about $60 so far, but I've now spent at least that much in two days. Whoa. I'm trying to find good things to give to people when I return. I could not have made this trip without the support of so many. But I realized that there really is nothing I can buy that will repay them. In a way I just have to accept their love, support and compassion as a gift and hopefully I can do something good for the world as a result. Having said that (ha!), I did decide what gifts I do get will be produced by the Tibetan community up here. There's some wonderful Indian goodies here, but at the end of the day I am here to learn about Tibetan medicine and culture, so that's what I should bring home with me. So I have accumulated a pretty good collection of teas, lotions and oils to bring home with me and give as gifts. I also found a birthday present for my Josh! ;-) I'll also confess, I did buy a couple things for myself; a wood "wedding ring" for 85 cents, since I left mine at home; a shirt for $2 and some pants for $6 so I'd have something nice to wear. As far as one item goes, I'm pretty proud of my mad bargaining skillz-- I found a lovely orange mala. The woman was asking 350 but I got her down to 100 rupees (about $2 American). Honestly, I was not trying to take advantage or anything, that was literally all I had on me at the time! WIN. But if I ever came back to the region, I would bring a boatload of cash because there's some beautiful Tibetan art to be had around here...more on that later...
Monday, May 23, 2011
First Day of Classes
Today was the first day of classes at the MTK. Just a pretty basic review of Tibetan Medicine and all that entails. It's not quite as similar to Ayurveda as I thought. If you're interested in learning more, let me know and I'll go into more detail. The hike up and down the mountain is half a mile and it kicked my butt. I'm going to be in awesome shape by the end of this week! Now I'm just puttering around on the computer, worrying about the weather and the chaos in North Minneapolis back at home. :-( I know it's not really in my area, but it's still "home."
Just wanted to mention really quick that my interpreters are AMAZING. I can't believe how hard they're willing to work to make this trip a success. They are super professional but still flexible and fun. They're such an asset to the group and I think they're really doing a wonderful job representing their profession. We had a nice discussion today about maybe once I'm a certified yoga teacher and have my M.Ed. I should develop some kind of course for interpreters to take to learn about self-care, since so many develop carpal tunnel syndrome and have surgeries that don't really help (especially since recent research confirms CTS starts in the neck). YAY new goal.
Love to all.
Steph
Just wanted to mention really quick that my interpreters are AMAZING. I can't believe how hard they're willing to work to make this trip a success. They are super professional but still flexible and fun. They're such an asset to the group and I think they're really doing a wonderful job representing their profession. We had a nice discussion today about maybe once I'm a certified yoga teacher and have my M.Ed. I should develop some kind of course for interpreters to take to learn about self-care, since so many develop carpal tunnel syndrome and have surgeries that don't really help (especially since recent research confirms CTS starts in the neck). YAY new goal.
Love to all.
Steph
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Yoga Marathon
So today my big thing is I'm doing a yoga marathon. I think people I've talked to about my trip have the impression that I'll be doing yoga the entire time. :-) That's actually not true, traveling and getting settled took a full week but we finally start classes at men-tsee-khang ( http://www.men-tsee-khang.org/ ) tomorrow. I'm not exactly sure what the topics are but it's all about Tibetan medicine and I'm sure the speakers will be fascinating.
But back to the yoga marathon. Since I'm not doing yoga classes all that often, today I decided I'm doing as much as possible. First I started out with a Tibetan yoga class from 7am to 9am - and I was wrong, it wasn't with a monk. I don't know why I thought that. So we sit there cross-legged for 2 hours while he makes suggestions on how we can improve ourselves through better living. Once he realized I was Deaf he suggested alternate nostril breathing for my eyes, ears, and brain (hee-hee). But again, very respectfully. I'm not so sure the woman sitting behind me who had severe acne thought his suggestions for skin care and nutrition were so respectful, though.
Then I had some coffee and a piece of toast, and on to session 2 from 10am to 11:45am. This was with an Indian yogi named Dr. Sushil, I am super-bendy now. Both Dr. Sushil and the Tibetan instructor spent a lot of time on the breathing exercises (pranayama). So now I'm super-breathe-y as well.
At 3:30 I have my final 2-hour session for the day. I'm sure it will be awesome. I get my very own mat when it's done! Yeah! Nicole would be happy to learn I did actual yoga in the pants she custom-sewed for me. I have slept in them everyday since arriving in India and didn't bother to change out of my pajamas this morning. Ha!
I haven't talked enough about the food here. I'm all about rice and paneer these days but only when I actually eat. I have ZERO appetite up here. If there's a momo in front of me, I'll eat it, but otherwise I don't even think to eat, drink or have coffee. I don't know why, maybe it's the altitude? Whatever the reason, I'm enjoying my lack of appetite while it lasts!
One more thing, here's the link for the Tibetan Children's Village if you're interested in sponsoring a child. I always thought those child sponsorship things were creepy, but I promise this is a wonderful thing. http://www.tcv.org.in/
But back to the yoga marathon. Since I'm not doing yoga classes all that often, today I decided I'm doing as much as possible. First I started out with a Tibetan yoga class from 7am to 9am - and I was wrong, it wasn't with a monk. I don't know why I thought that. So we sit there cross-legged for 2 hours while he makes suggestions on how we can improve ourselves through better living. Once he realized I was Deaf he suggested alternate nostril breathing for my eyes, ears, and brain (hee-hee). But again, very respectfully. I'm not so sure the woman sitting behind me who had severe acne thought his suggestions for skin care and nutrition were so respectful, though.
Then I had some coffee and a piece of toast, and on to session 2 from 10am to 11:45am. This was with an Indian yogi named Dr. Sushil, I am super-bendy now. Both Dr. Sushil and the Tibetan instructor spent a lot of time on the breathing exercises (pranayama). So now I'm super-breathe-y as well.
At 3:30 I have my final 2-hour session for the day. I'm sure it will be awesome. I get my very own mat when it's done! Yeah! Nicole would be happy to learn I did actual yoga in the pants she custom-sewed for me. I have slept in them everyday since arriving in India and didn't bother to change out of my pajamas this morning. Ha!
I haven't talked enough about the food here. I'm all about rice and paneer these days but only when I actually eat. I have ZERO appetite up here. If there's a momo in front of me, I'll eat it, but otherwise I don't even think to eat, drink or have coffee. I don't know why, maybe it's the altitude? Whatever the reason, I'm enjoying my lack of appetite while it lasts!
One more thing, here's the link for the Tibetan Children's Village if you're interested in sponsoring a child. I always thought those child sponsorship things were creepy, but I promise this is a wonderful thing. http://www.tcv.org.in/
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Saturday May 21st
The internet is really slow here, for some reason I thought the computers would be better. But I don't even have a place to plug in my memory card and upload pics, or use wifi. Hopefully it won't be too anti-climatic when I finally do upload some. The group is all going to dump our pictures in one place on photobucket or flickr, which is good because the girls here have some really nice cameras.
So now that I'm finally online I will just type out a long email about what has been going on so far.
Last week we landed in New Dehli; we basically lost two days because of the flight and time change. It's 10.5 hours later here, so right now it's 1:45pm and your time it is 2:15am. Kind of weird. But I adjusted really quickly because I took melatonin and went to bed super early, I'm talking 5:30 pm for 3 nights in a row. But I also woke up at 5am everyday so it wasn't like I missed anything.
In New Delhi the first full day we looked around and shopped a little. I haven't bought much; stuff is really cheap here but I'm stingy. New Delhi is pretty much exactly like you would picture it- incredibly busy, the traffic is unbelievable and there are no rules. It was a huge culture shock. Within one block there will be a 5 star hotel packed with BMW's and Audis and then some homeless beggars and then someone peeing on the wall. It was really surreal. You'd enjoy the shopping, Josh, it's all about bargaining. They are so good at the sales pitch here, you'd have a great time. The food is great, we split great meals in a restaurant for $2 to $5 each.
The second day was an 8 hour drive to Agra, which is south of New Delhi. That's where the Taj Mahal is. My classmates were saying their drivers were silent the whole way and didn't speak much English, but we lucked out, my roommate is great at getting people to talk and our driver was hilarious. After about 5 hours he pulled over in front of this decrepit but authentic looking Taj Mahal and said "we're here!" and we started to get out, wholly disappointed. He finally fessed up. After that he started talking about all sorts of things about India, like how the different religions interact and what he eats at home, that kind of thing. His English wasn't perfect at all, but that kind of made it better. :-) Anyway, so we drove 8 hours. Not once in that whole time was there nothing along the side of the road- you know how you drive anywhere in the US for 8 hours and there will be long boring stretches? Yeah that doesn't happen here. I took lots of pictures, but it's just basically people, shops, farmers, horses, buffalo, sunflowers, factories, half-finished abandoned construction projects, cloth huts, cow patty huts (they use cow patties to start fires), all within a city block, constantly. I never stopped watching and eventually it started to feel kind of normal for me.
Don't misunderstand, though- like I mentioned about the traffic having no rules, that's not really true. There's no observable road rage here, people drive 2 inches apart from each other, drive 55 through narrow roads in densely populated areas, but there's a system of communication that is well-understood. They don't care if you pass them or cut them off, etc. It's like a well-executed dance. There are accidents, of course, but it's more because of how many people and cars there are than because of carelessness or anything.
Anyway, so we finally get up to the Taj Mahal and, yeah it's beautiful. :-) It was also 109 degrees. I think I enjoyed the Red Fort more, which is across the river from the Taj Mahal, and that's where the Emperor who built the Taj Mahal lived. I don't know if you know this, but the Taj Mahal was built to honor his favorite wife and mother of his 14 children. He was so grieved when she died, he asked what he could do to remember her, and she said never marry another, pay equal attention to all 14 of our children, and build something that will show the world that our love is unmatched. SWOON. But the Red Fort was kind of more exciting for me.
Anyway the next day was the big drive up to Dharmasala. Same driver, same roommate, same banter. Good times. But more importantly as we moved further north, it became cooler and started to look more like Minnesota. Now we are in the Himalayas and it is just incredible here. Seriously, I am not homesick at all because it looks like Minnesota but on top of a mountain, same flowers, same evergreens, with the addition of beautiful ficus trees and these huge trees with vibrant purple and pink flowers. You know how much I love flowering trees! SPRINGTIME. I miss you and the kids beyond measure, but when I look around it's like you guys are supposed to be here with me, all I have to do is go to our house down the block and you will be there.
So we got here on Wednesday night. Thursday we didn't do much, it was kind of a bonus day because we had to change our flight from the 16th to the 15th. So there was nothing really planned. Friday morning we did yoga at 7am to 9am with this Buddhist monk. Then we went to the Dalai Lama's home base, his monastery and walked around. Went on this sort of holy walk through the woods where they put different icons and things up. I don't know all the terms otherwise I would describe it better. Lots of prayer flags and prayer wheels, that was the most impressive part. Then at night they had a buffet dinner and some Tibetan dancing and a sitar player in our honor. Yeah, it wasn't as exciting as it sounds (ha), but hey it was an experience.
Now it's Saturday. Today was my favorite day so far. We went up the mountain about 500 feet and visited the Tibetan Children's Village. The organization serves about 16,000 children aged 3 to 23 (not in just one location, various locations around the area) and they're working on setting up a college to help preserve Tibetan culture and the language, since many of the children go off to Indian colleges and lose fluency.
My instructor warned us that after we saw the village we would be inspired to want to do something to help them because they have so little yet were so happy and healthy, untraumatized by their losses (leaving their parents, trekking through the mountains, etc), but I had a different perspective. The director of the school was explaining how the kids are really happy, they don't think about what they've lost. They don't sit there crying all day for their parents at all. And when we were walking around, I was just thinking to myself, wow, if this kind of school was set up in the U.S. parents would pay through the nose to send their kids there. They teach ethical behavior and compassion, they teach in two languages, there was this little barely-5 year old girl who guided me around by the hand and she sat down on one of those magnetic drawing boards and wrote out the numbers 1-35 perfectly so clearly they are bright (the 6 year olds were also reading to us from what looked like grade 2 texts) and clearly they are doing a good job teaching the kids. They work with plants in the home and out in the gardens, they have a humongous courtyard for cricket and soccer. Buddha is everywhere. We watched some 5th graders debate Buddhist-style - hard to explain- it was a chant and response thing (and it was spontaneous, we just walked past them in one of the open air classrooms). They teach independent living skills in the home, washing their own clothes and making their own beds from the time they show up. Kind of awesome. Ok, so their toys are kind of run down. Big deal when you're surrounded by so much beauty.
Today we are free, tomorrow we are doing some kind of yoga thing with a Tibetan monk again. Monday we finally start classes, so I will have more to say then. I think the funniest thing here is that a lot of people stop and take our pics -we are a huge group of US women, but I'm not sure what the fascination is, especially in Dharmasala because this is a really international area. I assume the people who are asking are also tourists from around India. I also have to mention that the people here have been awesome about working with the interpreters, really laid back and respectful about it. People in the U.S. have a much harder time adjusting to the unexpected.
So now that I'm finally online I will just type out a long email about what has been going on so far.
Last week we landed in New Dehli; we basically lost two days because of the flight and time change. It's 10.5 hours later here, so right now it's 1:45pm and your time it is 2:15am. Kind of weird. But I adjusted really quickly because I took melatonin and went to bed super early, I'm talking 5:30 pm for 3 nights in a row. But I also woke up at 5am everyday so it wasn't like I missed anything.
In New Delhi the first full day we looked around and shopped a little. I haven't bought much; stuff is really cheap here but I'm stingy. New Delhi is pretty much exactly like you would picture it- incredibly busy, the traffic is unbelievable and there are no rules. It was a huge culture shock. Within one block there will be a 5 star hotel packed with BMW's and Audis and then some homeless beggars and then someone peeing on the wall. It was really surreal. You'd enjoy the shopping, Josh, it's all about bargaining. They are so good at the sales pitch here, you'd have a great time. The food is great, we split great meals in a restaurant for $2 to $5 each.
The second day was an 8 hour drive to Agra, which is south of New Delhi. That's where the Taj Mahal is. My classmates were saying their drivers were silent the whole way and didn't speak much English, but we lucked out, my roommate is great at getting people to talk and our driver was hilarious. After about 5 hours he pulled over in front of this decrepit but authentic looking Taj Mahal and said "we're here!" and we started to get out, wholly disappointed. He finally fessed up. After that he started talking about all sorts of things about India, like how the different religions interact and what he eats at home, that kind of thing. His English wasn't perfect at all, but that kind of made it better. :-) Anyway, so we drove 8 hours. Not once in that whole time was there nothing along the side of the road- you know how you drive anywhere in the US for 8 hours and there will be long boring stretches? Yeah that doesn't happen here. I took lots of pictures, but it's just basically people, shops, farmers, horses, buffalo, sunflowers, factories, half-finished abandoned construction projects, cloth huts, cow patty huts (they use cow patties to start fires), all within a city block, constantly. I never stopped watching and eventually it started to feel kind of normal for me.
Don't misunderstand, though- like I mentioned about the traffic having no rules, that's not really true. There's no observable road rage here, people drive 2 inches apart from each other, drive 55 through narrow roads in densely populated areas, but there's a system of communication that is well-understood. They don't care if you pass them or cut them off, etc. It's like a well-executed dance. There are accidents, of course, but it's more because of how many people and cars there are than because of carelessness or anything.
Anyway, so we finally get up to the Taj Mahal and, yeah it's beautiful. :-) It was also 109 degrees. I think I enjoyed the Red Fort more, which is across the river from the Taj Mahal, and that's where the Emperor who built the Taj Mahal lived. I don't know if you know this, but the Taj Mahal was built to honor his favorite wife and mother of his 14 children. He was so grieved when she died, he asked what he could do to remember her, and she said never marry another, pay equal attention to all 14 of our children, and build something that will show the world that our love is unmatched. SWOON. But the Red Fort was kind of more exciting for me.
Anyway the next day was the big drive up to Dharmasala. Same driver, same roommate, same banter. Good times. But more importantly as we moved further north, it became cooler and started to look more like Minnesota. Now we are in the Himalayas and it is just incredible here. Seriously, I am not homesick at all because it looks like Minnesota but on top of a mountain, same flowers, same evergreens, with the addition of beautiful ficus trees and these huge trees with vibrant purple and pink flowers. You know how much I love flowering trees! SPRINGTIME. I miss you and the kids beyond measure, but when I look around it's like you guys are supposed to be here with me, all I have to do is go to our house down the block and you will be there.
So we got here on Wednesday night. Thursday we didn't do much, it was kind of a bonus day because we had to change our flight from the 16th to the 15th. So there was nothing really planned. Friday morning we did yoga at 7am to 9am with this Buddhist monk. Then we went to the Dalai Lama's home base, his monastery and walked around. Went on this sort of holy walk through the woods where they put different icons and things up. I don't know all the terms otherwise I would describe it better. Lots of prayer flags and prayer wheels, that was the most impressive part. Then at night they had a buffet dinner and some Tibetan dancing and a sitar player in our honor. Yeah, it wasn't as exciting as it sounds (ha), but hey it was an experience.
Now it's Saturday. Today was my favorite day so far. We went up the mountain about 500 feet and visited the Tibetan Children's Village. The organization serves about 16,000 children aged 3 to 23 (not in just one location, various locations around the area) and they're working on setting up a college to help preserve Tibetan culture and the language, since many of the children go off to Indian colleges and lose fluency.
My instructor warned us that after we saw the village we would be inspired to want to do something to help them because they have so little yet were so happy and healthy, untraumatized by their losses (leaving their parents, trekking through the mountains, etc), but I had a different perspective. The director of the school was explaining how the kids are really happy, they don't think about what they've lost. They don't sit there crying all day for their parents at all. And when we were walking around, I was just thinking to myself, wow, if this kind of school was set up in the U.S. parents would pay through the nose to send their kids there. They teach ethical behavior and compassion, they teach in two languages, there was this little barely-5 year old girl who guided me around by the hand and she sat down on one of those magnetic drawing boards and wrote out the numbers 1-35 perfectly so clearly they are bright (the 6 year olds were also reading to us from what looked like grade 2 texts) and clearly they are doing a good job teaching the kids. They work with plants in the home and out in the gardens, they have a humongous courtyard for cricket and soccer. Buddha is everywhere. We watched some 5th graders debate Buddhist-style - hard to explain- it was a chant and response thing (and it was spontaneous, we just walked past them in one of the open air classrooms). They teach independent living skills in the home, washing their own clothes and making their own beds from the time they show up. Kind of awesome. Ok, so their toys are kind of run down. Big deal when you're surrounded by so much beauty.
Today we are free, tomorrow we are doing some kind of yoga thing with a Tibetan monk again. Monday we finally start classes, so I will have more to say then. I think the funniest thing here is that a lot of people stop and take our pics -we are a huge group of US women, but I'm not sure what the fascination is, especially in Dharmasala because this is a really international area. I assume the people who are asking are also tourists from around India. I also have to mention that the people here have been awesome about working with the interpreters, really laid back and respectful about it. People in the U.S. have a much harder time adjusting to the unexpected.
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