FREE TIBET!

TIME IS A FUNNY THING THAT SEEMS TO BEND AND STRETCH AND SHRINK DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU ARE AND WHO YOU ARE WITH. MCLEOD WAS ONE OF THOSE PLACES THAT YOU FALL INTO AND NEVER REALLY WANT TO LEAVE. WE ARRIVED PLANNING TO STAY A WEEK OR SO BUT ENDED UP LEAVING TWO WEEKS LATER EVEN THOUGH IT STILL WASN'T ENOUGH. MCLEOD GANJ IS A BEAUTIFUL SMALL TOWN IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE HIMALAYAS WHICH HAS AN INTERESTING MIXTURE OF INDIANS, TIBETANS AND WESTERNERS. IT IS HOME TO THE DALAI LAMA AND THE TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE. HERE WE MET SOME OF THE MOST AWESOME AND INTERESTING PEOPLE WE HAVE ON THIS WHOLE TRIP. EARLY ON IN OUR STAY WE MADE FRIENDS WITH SOME TIBETANS REFUGEES BY THE NAME OF PEMA AND TAMPA AMONG OTHERS. THEY RUN A TIBETAN RESTAURANT CALLED MOMO CAFE...MOMS BEING THE TRADITIONAL DUMPLING FOOD OF THE TIBETANS. EACH DAY WE WOULD MAKE OUR WAY OVER TO THE RESTAURANT AND SHARE STORIES ABOUT THEIR LIVES AND OURS. THEY RECOUNTED TO US THEIR SITUATION AS REFUGEES AND TOLD US OF THE ATROCITIES AND DIFFICULTIES THAT THEY FACE IN THEIR COUNTRY UNDER CHINESE OCCUPATION. IT WAS HEARTENING AND INSPIRING TO TALK TO THEM ANDGAVE US A FIRST HAND INSIGHT INTO THE COMMUNIST REGIME IN CHINA. WE ALSO TOOK FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE AMAZING OPPORTUNITIES TO REVEL IN THE BEAUTY OF THE HIMALAYAS. WE HIKED THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS, UP TO WATERFALLS AND TO A LAKE, AS WELL AS VISITING THE NUMEROUS MONASTERIES, TIBETAN SCHOOLS AND ORGANIZATIONS. APART FROM ALL THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION ON THE TIBETAN CAUSE, THERE ARE MANY THEATERS THAT PLAY DOCUMENTARIES, COFFEE SHOPS THAT PUT ON REFUGEE NIGHTS AND IN GENERAL AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON. WE LEARNED AS MUCH AS WE COULD AND TOOK IT TO HEART. IT MADE US FEEL MOTIVATED TO HELP PRESERVE THIS RICH CULTURE AND PEOPLE IN WHATEVER WAY WE CAN. AFTER SPENDING THE EXTRA TIME IN MCLEOD, WE REALIZED WE WERN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO COVER ALL THE PLACES THAT WE HAD ORIGINALLY THOUGHT WE WOULD, AND THAT UNFORTUNELY IT WAS TIME TO MOVE ON. WE LEFT WITH SOME AMAZING NEW FRIENDS AND A INSIGHT INTO TIBETAN CULTURE AND THE TIBETANS PEOPLE'S STURGGLE AS WELL AS A NEWFOUND APPRECIATION FOR OUR OWN CULTURE AND THE PERSONAL FREEDOMS THAT WE ARE ALLOWED IN THE US.