To Phey and Back - Thayer Maclay

Striking out into the cool clean air, the sun shone down upon us creating eight shadows, warming our backs. Stanzin, Tsomo, Deachen, Tashi, Othzer, Mama Kunzes, Kayla, and I were on our way to the closest town, Phey, to visit the primary school there. Kayla and I both wanted to talk to the teachers there about our projects. The others seemed to be along just for fun as a vibe of adventure pierced everything around them.

 

Already signs on winter had presented themselves, not only in the landscape but also in our activities during the day. The leaves had fallen off of most trees, irrigation channels had become outlined with ice after each night, and snow had begun to creep down the slopes surrounding the SECMOL campus. We spent one work hour raking leaves and storing them, another picking and harvesting the last of the vegetables from the garden, and another cutting and drying surplus food for the coming winter months.

 

Passing the solar collectors on our right, we continued east down the only road leading to SECMOL. At the edge of the campus we descended down to the gleaming turquoise water of the Indus, following it to the neighboring town. We picked our way through the thorny sea buckthorn, a vicious plant bearing small sweet orange berries, and then hiked through soggy pastures. Rejoining the road, weathered stupas, over a hundred years old, came into view. Painted white and crumbling they resembled the still and snow capped peaks of Ladakh in the background.  Walking on, Kayla, Kunzes, and I, chatted away with the SECMOL students behind us. As we walked we began to see the first houses of Phey, larger than most, highlighted in white against the many brown colors. Yak meandered through the recently plowed fields, while a flock of pigeons took flight. We caught up with an old man carrying firewood on his back, and passed a young teenage monk, exchanging "julley"'s.

Winding through town we found our way to the school, which was closed. Sitting down and snacking on fresh picked apples, we stayed in the town for a little bit, watching another Yak slowly make his way down the road, seeming to have no destination. Finally deciding to walk home, we got up and returned to the road, with another half hour walk ahead of us. The sun now at our fronts, we began retracing our steps back west to SECMOL. Sitting just a little ways above the mountains behind SECMOL, the sun urged us on with its warmth. I walked with Othzer in the back this time, our arms around each other’s backs, singing made up songs. In front of me, Kayla and Kunzes walked hand in hand, deep in their own conversation.

 

Everything around us seemed to be glowing, but maybe that was just our own aura bouncing back. Along the way, Katy joined us, out for her own walk and we arrived back at campus around 4:15, just over two hours after we left. In terms of our projects, the walk had been a failure, but I think it became one of the most enjoyable experiences of the trip thus far.

Nubra Trek

Just a quick note to let you know that the VISpas are back from the Nubra Trek, it was a great trip--out to Pangong Lake near the Tibetan Border (the lake itself is directly on the border), over Chang-La pass, then to Chatskaskool & Relly for homestays with the families of some of the SECMOL students, over the MegBon La pass, first on horseback, then on foot, then up to Northern Ladakh to the Nubra Region, a sandy desert where we rode camels. This is a photo of the whole group, VISpas, Tashi, and Stanzin and Tenzing, two SECMOL students who came along with us.
Julley,
Amy

Karsha trip video

A fun video of everyone in the jeep on the way to Karsha from Padum, to visit the Karsha Galukpa Monastary. Stay tuned for more, VISpas are making a VIS movie of our adventures here in Ladakh!

-Amy

SECMOL

We arrived at SECMOL, our home base for the rest of the semester one week ago. SECMOL is a beautiful campus, mud brick buildings built to use passive solar heating to stay warm in the winter, cold in the summer, with large south-facing windows, wood floors, black trim that collects heat. A main building houses the main meeting hall where VIS students and Ladakhi students get together for English conversation in the mornings, and in the evenings the perfect space for hanging out and dancing! Down the hall on the main floor is the VIS office and classroom, where the keyboard James lugged all the way over here is now residing, and James has started giving piano lessons to interested students.

The second floor houses the girl's dorm, VIS students and Ladakhi's, as well as a beautiful sunny library. All the buildings have electricity, thanks to solar electricity and photovoltaic panels. Next door is a small bathhouse, where VIS students will be constructing a solar water heater in the hopes of one day having a hot shower! The next building over houses the dining hall space where we meet for dinner, and the boy's dorm. Just below this building, carved into the hillside down some stairs is the kitchen, and a smaller dining room where we eat breakfast. To the left of the kitchen is a greenhouse bordered on one side by the women teachers' rooms, where I live, and to the right another greenhouse bordered on the hillside by the male teachers' rooms, where James lives.

On the flat plain out front there are two more greenhouses, a garden, and volleyball courts, where Ladakhi students and sometimes VIS students spend evenings playing some very serious volleyball! We're settling into a routine here, with breakfast followed by work hour--everything from chopping vegetables for that night's dinner to small building projects, we'll be starting work on the solar water heater soon. After work hour we have English Conversation, where we partner with grade 10 Ladakhi students and they practice their English in preparation for the infamously difficult Grade 10 exam. Following a tea break, VIS students have Ladakhi Language lesson, taught by Kunzes. We've moved beyond "jul-ley" (the Ladakhi word for hello, goodbye, thank you, etc.) and are tackling the pleasantries like: Timo jimpo rak-le! (Smells good!) and Gongzen chi duk? (What is for dinner?)

Afternoons are flexible with most students starting to work on their projects, the occasional guest speaker, or group meetings and activities. Evening is dinner in the big dining hall followed by someone speaking on life in Ladakh or the U.S., and sometimes evening activity, either a movie or singing & dancing. We're enjoying getting to know Ladakhi students over English conversation, tea time, meals, and volleyball. It's been nice to settle into one place and start making friends here. The other highlight has been getting MAIL!! (and the occasional care package!)

VISpas and Ladakhi students are enjoying a day off today from class, and we're getting ready to attend a wedding on Monday in the nearby town of Shey.
Jul-ley,
Amy