Maybe it wasn't realistic to expect to fit all my fun into one more post...

I'm still in Paprola's internet café-cum-PS2 house. I posted the last one, again in case of powercuts (though none yet - touch wood). Mike has just turned up, sort of out of the blue, though he knew where I was.

Anyway, to Tashi Jong. The journey there was a couple of hours by taxi (cost Rs850 = £10.60 - still no pound sign, I just looked up the ASCII code this time). There was very little of note regarding the journey, except the stunning scenery that the Kangra Valley is set in, and the fact that I fell asleep then smacked my nose off the taxi window frame whilst dreaming. We arrived and were met by Lekshey, who presented us with khata which are ceremonial white scarf-like garments. Lekshey is a cheerful guy who seems to run the office at Tashi Jong. He is not a monk, I imagine monks haven't enough time to do his job, but he works very closely with them (being the secretary to the V.P. the Ven. Popa Rinpoche). We were shown round by another member of the office staff who is a little odd, but seems to have good intentions. He informs us of mealtimes pretty much everytime he sees us. We met and delivered a parcel to Norbu Tashi, who owns the Tashi Jong internet café (slightly more expensive, slower connection, and far shorter opening hours - 9am-12 noon - than this one in Paprola, but right outside our room), and is a really friendly guy. It is quite warm still in Tashi Jong, and we've had quite a bit of rain. Monsoon season lasts until the start of October, so this will be the weather for the next month or so.

We were left a card with advice on it from one of the last gappers, Bhaarat, in our room. It had a lot of useful advice (such as who to make friends with, etc.), but he did stress that you really have to work out most things for yourself here. We've spoken with Hugh (also in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery) who is finding exactly the same thing. I imagine all those in monasteries are. Dinner was at 7pm that night, so we were told, but when we turned up (admittedly 5 or 10 minutes late) a smiling monks informed us it started at 6.45pm and we'd missed it. He came with us to the restaurant next to the internet café (again this is all 10 seconds from our room), and sat with us to chat while we had momo (sort of dumplings, very similar to Chinese dim-sum dumplings). This, we are learning, is the sort of thing the monks do - they make an effort to be nice to you. This monk (Tibetan term = lama) sat and talked with us for about half an hour or so, which helped us feel a lot more welcome here. Unsurprisingly, we went to bed early that night.

Next day was (if you've lost count) Saturday. We got up at about 7.30am (breakfast is at 7). I should mention to you the situation with the facilities. We have a shower (yay!), which was only installed a couple of months ago. We don't have (I don't think) running hot water, but we'll survive I'm sure. We have a toilet, but it doesn't flush. Instead there is a bucket and a tap, so you sort of DIY flush with them. It's basic, but it works (I have indeed tested), which is what matters. We saw Lekshey again, to sort out some police registration forms and such like. We were then introduced to various people in the village (such as Dorma who owns a teahouse of sorts). One of the lamas named Dechen, who is 18 (though he looks younger), came to our room to say hello. It was nice to be recognised like that, even though the exchange was a little awkward due to his shyness, and the language barrier. But hey, isn't that why we're here?! We had some chai (sweet tea) later on then I posted the first two sections of this super-post on here. I also found out Kubichek! are playing at the academy today (Sunday), so if anyone is going/went I hope it is/was good.

Lunch (which we got to on time) was a dish of rice with veg and a little bit of meat. We ate in the dining hall with the lamas - again we were made to feel included. The meal was nice, though I don't remember the name for it. We didn't have cutlery (my KFS set was buried at the bottom of my bag, and I didn't unpack until that afternoon), so two monks promptly cleaned theirs and gave us them. It was a very kidn gesture, but slightly embarassing for me - if truth be told - especially as they wouldn't hear of us not taking them, nor giving them back afterwards. Although they appeared content to eat with their fingers, it didn't make me feel much better about stealing their spoons!

I then unpacked everything (including the KFS set), finished reading 'Cave in the Snow' (a biography of Ani Tenzin Palmo - look her up), and then read some of my TEFL book and began to think about my first lesson. I'm a little concerned about what to teach, what level to gauge it at, discipline, and teaching a lesson that's fun, interesting and useful. my book says all teachers feel like this. On the point of discipline, the young lamas may well be monks, but they're still kids no matter what, so they may be better behaved than many British brats, but I can't expect them to be perfect little Buddhas.

After more rain I went for a wander around the monastery complex, taking lots of photos (I promise I'll sort those out for you lot to see at some point). I saw Lekshey hoping on a motorbike (I wanted to ask him some questions, but I just missed him it seems). Mike had been for a long walk (down to Paprola, where we are now) and showed me photos of all that. We have been given a schedule of teaching, which at the moment is only an hour a day each, but it will definitely expand as we get into it and start doing some one-to-one stuff as well (with monks and lay people). I'm eager to get started. I should start tomorrow (Monday), although we hear that H.H. Dalai Lama is in McLeod Ganj, doing some teaching. If the monks go off to that, then we'll join them (but we haven't heard anything on that from the monastery or the monks, just the McLeod gappers).

Dinner Saturday night was thukpa (pronounced tukpa, with a harsh, sharp t sound (with the slightest hint of a d sound to it) that we don't really have in English). Thukpa is a really good dish which contains some ribbon-shaped pasta-like stuff (I think it is pretty much the same as pasta) with veg. A mini-monk (a lama who looked about 7) came around with some hot chilli sauce to put on top (which I had a bit of). It was very good; I think I'm getting into Tibetan foods (except butter tea, more on that in a bit).

I've started on, and made a huge dint into, 'A Clockwork Orange', which is a fantastic book (it would be even without Burgess's brilliant slang-style).

And so we come to today (finally). Sunday. Today is apparently a day off for everyone, but we still got up at 6.45am to go for breakfast at 7am. We were given butter tea, which is, simply put, foul. It is ridiculously salty and nowhere near as nice as sweet tea (a monk we were sitting next to agreed with us). I finished it (just), because I want to try everything the offer, but I'm not sure if I'll be up before 7am for that again. Mike described it as "boiled sea water", which I think is pretty fair really. We went to the restaurant next, and had bread (roti, I believe) and jam (very sweet). The restaurant, I should explain, is not so much a restaurant, as someone's house (which it is). There is a TV which the monks come and watch occasionally, and a bunch of plastic chairs and tables laid out for whoever wants to sit down.

I caught up on some more sleep, then went for a walk, first a little way up, then down to the main road. I was offered some batter by some local kids, which is politely declined. It is a really nice feeling to be able to walk through the village and for people to say hello with no motives other than to be nice. Now we're out of Delhi, we're treated as people, not as targets. Not long after that I went back. We missed lunch (which on Sundays is at 11am - very early really, especially since I had lunch around 2 or 3pm during the Summer holidays...), but I wasn't particularly bothered. Then, not long after that, I walked down to Paprola, where I am now (the end is in sight folks!). The town is very nice, with loads of shops in the alleys and on the main street. The first internet place I stopped at didn't really work very well so I left there (cost me Rs12 (=15p or so) to find out I had no emails). And then I came here, and I typed.

And that's that. From now on, my posts should get less frequent and far shorter, as I get into a routine of teaching. I will still keep you up to date on anything fun we get up to (weekend trips, etc.), but you may have to be patient!

Until next time, goodbye!