The week has started quietly as expected. I've given a few tuition lessons but mostly I'm having to think of how to occupy my time. I have started reading a book I borrowed from Ken: Tears of Blood, which is about the history of Tibet since the Chinese invasion that started in 1950 and continues to this day. It is a compelling read and one that I would like more western people to read as the world has ignored China's atrocities for more than 60 years. I would like to give a quote from one of the interviewees accounts to give you an idea of why we should be trying to get away from our links with China and stop supporting their economy by buying everything they manufacture in bulk. This comes from reports in 1959 and 1960 to describe what happened if the Tibetans opposed the Chinese who wanted to 'liberate' them from their peaceful way of life:
“The methods employed included crucifixion, dismemberment, vivisection, beheading, burying, burning and scalding alive, dragging the victims to death behind galloping horses. Children were forced to shoot their parents, disciples their religious teachers... Monks were compelled to publicly copulate with nuns and desecrate sacred images before being sent to a growing string of labour camps in Amdo and Gansu.”
To put this into context, this system of abuse is still going on today. The world has been ignoring it. Most of the world is buying goods from China and therefore supports it and depends upon it. Now imagine that if the Nazis remained in power in Europe. Would you be happy to buy the goods they manufactured, knowing what they did to people? The Chinese communists do the same; there is torture and forced labour happening in the same ways. But we are blissfully ignoring all of this and paying attention to the fact that we can buy their goods cheaply. Do you think that this is acceptable on our part?
Wed: We have the next two teachers arriving on Thursday, two days before the Americans leave. This means a problem with sleeping arrangements but as some students are still away, the manager an the cook will sleep in the students' rooms until the sheds are free. I plan to make them feel welcome and help them out as much as they want as I know it can be hard to arrive in a strange country and get settled, just like I experienced.
Rute asked me if I preferred India or Ecuador. This was an interesting question as I haven't really thought of it like that before. I would actually say I prefer Ecuador. This is for various reasons. Obviously the two can't be compared easily; I have done very different things in very different countries but I feel that I couldn't really connect with Indian culture as much as Ecuadorian. I like to be able to go to cafés or other simple things like that but where I am living, this is not really an option. I only go to the Norbulingka café to use the internet (the service is terrible) and it is usually fairly empty there. I'm sure it would be different if I was living in a city but as I used to think about going to Asia, I find it just too different for me to be able to connect with.
Also, in Ecuador, there were more volunteers and more of a social aspect to it, which I liked. We went away for weekends together but here there is very little to visit nearby, as I said before, so it is less interesting to live here because of that.
It's also not as 'Buddhist-orientated' as I'd hoped. Whereas most of the students would say they follow Buddhism, it doesn't have that feeling in general. They are generally nice and compassionate but in the end, they are young adults who are discovering western culture through the TV here.
I have possibly been feeling more like this because of it being the holiday and having too much free time on my hands. After this week I'll have 4 more weeks of teaching and I hope that I feel more positive once we get back into the routine.
(This is an example of the kind of food we eat at school- this is a noodle soup. Most of it is soup-based, other times with rice but it is generally nice.)
Fri: Two new teachers have arrived, one from Australia and one from America. They are both older people again and I have being giving them information about how the school works and so on. They seem nice, calm people but want support as they are not very experienced as teachers. We actually have another coming next week, due to an error in giving places. There isn't enough space to sleep five teachers so I don't know what will happen regarding that.
Sat: I went up to McLeod with Ken and the new teachers yesterday, although I didn't spend much time with them. We ate lunch together then I checked into a hotel while they saw the temple. They left after that but I saw Maggie and Kendall and said goodbye to them. I then went on a candlelight procession in honour of three Tibetans who are on an indefinite fast outside the UN building in New York. This is to try to get the UN to actually take some action and stop ignoring the Tibet issue. I was pleased to join it as I missed the previous one. I met two students there as well and we went to a speech in an open area. The candles were placed on the ground that spelled out the words “Wake up UN”. After that, I went to eat and read a Sherlock Holmes story. I had never read any before but I am enjoying them. They are short enough to read over a meal and I read another one at breakfast. The weather up there was much nicer – sunny and warm so it was finally nice to be outside, walking round the streets or sitting on a terrace reading.
I went back in the afternoon and the students were all returning. It was nice to see them again and after feeling like I wasn't that enthusiastic about being here the other day, it felt better again.
(These are fried momos from McLeod. You get four for 10 Rupees, about 15p and they are really good.)
We were given the next week's timetable and it will be different from now on – the summer timetable which starts an hour earlier (teaching starts at 8) and all lessons happen before lunch. It would have been nice if we had been informed about this change but I've got used to this kind of thing now...
The other new teacher is now due to come next Saturday so we don't have to worry about the complications just yet.
I went for a walk on Sunday morning and Margo said she wanted a couple of things for her room – a curtain rail and something to hang her clothes holder on so I said I'd find some sticks and make them for her. It was good to be able to make some things again after quite a few weeks.
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