Mcleod Ganj

"Where we love is home,
Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts."
Oliver Wendell Holmes

Nothing helps sooth the heart like some quality family time. After almost 2 and half months of traveling with no place to call our own, we found ourselves a home. For 8 days McLeod Ganj served us up a steaming plate of family lovin', which is exactly what we all needed. Our homestay began in the afternoon after the long journey from Amritsar. We had only a few moments to say goodbye to group members before we were rushed off by parents or elder siblings to our week long homestay. Tibetan families welcomed us with open arms into their homes of all shapes and sizes.
The week literally vanished before our eyes as each day was spent getting to know eachother better and accomplishing our various internships. Kathryn, Rozzi and I enrolled ourselves in yoga classes which provided a healthy and relaxing start to our mornings. We felt like yogi masters having already accomplished a prior week of yoga study at the ashram. Alex, who missed the Hindi classes due to tummy aches, decided to brush up on his Hindi and took classes each afternoon. Saorise independently branched out and did environmental volunteering, where she spent a day beautifying a local water fall by picking up trash. Bobby, Elaynna, Sarah and Laura took a several different massage courses. The girls satisfied their curiosity and interests through a 2 day program while Bobby took a 6 day course getting certified in Tibetan massage. Needless to say our internships were successful.
Outside of our classes there was still an abundance to learn. McLeod Ganj is known for being a home to Tibetan refugees. I spent three incredible afternoons at the Tibetan Hope Center involved in English classes. Classes such as these are amazingly beneficial to the community by improving local Tibetans English and furthering their connection with travelers. For an hour-and-a-half, myself and two Tibetans would talk about simply everything and anything. I heard long, emotional accounts of heart breaking choices to flee Tibet and the struggle to cross into India on foot. On lighter notes I discovered how many Tibetans had never tried Pizza and that most of their favorite foods consist of Momo's.
But we all know,
Mo momo's mo problems.

This past week was a perfect way to soak up the last bits of North Indian culture before beginning our free travel. McLeod Ganj provided many beautiful experiences for our group. Our enthusiasm for our homestays only increased as the days went by. Family relationships grew stronger as each of us started to truly feel at home in this small Indian/Tibetan town. Oliver Holmes was right, even though we are no longer physically in McLeod Ganj a piece of Carpe Diem's heart still beats there.

paz & amor
dev