Tibetan Cultural Center-An Email To A Teacher

Tibetan rock painting


I am writing you from Dharmshala India. India is an amazing country full of contrast, color and pollution. I’m staying where the current Tibetan Govt. is located, in the foothills of the Himalayas. A few days back we went to the Tibetan Institute For Culture And Art about 20 minutes away from town and got to see how the traditional artists learn their trade. It was so amazing how focused those kids were. Many of them would spend more then 10 years studying their craft, be it painting or sculpture or clothing. All of their art has a religious basis and they do general prayers every day before beginning their work. I've spent most of my time teaching...schooling here is a different world. There are usually between 50-150 children in the primary schools and the building consists of a square concrete structure with a stonewall around it. The teachers seem to come and go as they please and a few never show up at all. It’s amazing that the kids learn at all. Teaching is a challenge because they kids have no supplies (no pens or paper or books) and most only know a few words of English. Any ideas how to teach kids you cant communicate with and who have no supplies? :-) Well, its going pretty well all things considered and I love India. Its so hard to explain...anything I tell you, the opposite will also be true, so what can I say? Its colorful, full of smells and pollution, friendly people, crooks, animals, rickshaws, beautiful and intricate art, trash and millions of children. I spent a week in Jaipur, which is a city about 5hours from Delhi, and it was a different world from the Himalayas. Camels, elephants, cows, turbaned Sikhs, you name it, you can find it on the streets of Jaipur! I went to a clothing factory there and saw the dying process of the saris and khamizes as well as the stone cutting factory. The stone cutting factories there use ancient techniques and tools that have been passed down from generation to generation and have hardly changed at all over the past hundred years. Anyways, as far as history, India is full of it. Its amazing how everything has been around so long here....I went to a village outside of Jaipur where most of the houses were nearly 500 years old and had been owned by the maharaja. The religious mix is also interesting here. You have this idea about something like Islam or Hinduism or whatever and when you come here you realize there is no one Islam or one Hindu, they are completely different in different areas. When I thought of Islam I though conservative, but in India most of the Muslims are much more open then I would ever expect and most don't even pray 5 times a day. Some Muslims believe in karma and have gurus, weird ha? I saw an anti American protest to! I’m sure you would have been interested to see it. We were warned to stay inside on Friday because its the Muslim day for prayer and they had planned an anti war march through Old Delhi. My friend invited me out and I went. and before I knew it I was in the middle of about 200 Muslims chanting in Hindi, it scared me to death but it ended up alright.....everyone hates Bush here, including the Americans I’ve talked to but they don’t seem to be overly resentful of American people in general which is good. Anyways, I better go. The rains have stopped for the moment and its getting dark (walking alone at night is asking for trouble here