I have to be honest with you. I'm not sure it's a good idea for me to start this blog because I'm not sure I can be disciplined enough to keep up with it. I have no motivation to write without a deadline. Chuck said his Google Reader will cut me if I post less than once a week... we can't have that happen!! So let me elaborate a little on what's going on...
My week-long journey to India begins tomorrow. ((Oh, how I wish I were going overland!!))
My friend James Doolittle suggested the place to me back in February... I was trying to pick a place somewhere in Nepal or Northern India to volunteer for the first leg of my trip. I figured that although Kathmandu sounded nice, it could be too urban and crazy for me... James, who had just returned from South America-- and Antarctica!!-- mentioned, 'I would love to go back to Dharamsala and work with the Tibetan refugees.' He had studied abroad in India many years ago through Long Island University. When I Googled it and saw that it was the headquarters of HH Dalai Lama's Tibetan government-in-exile, it all made sense to me, and I knew that I was supposed to go there.
Now the time is nigh!! I have a week of transit to look forward to and I hope--but really can't guarantee--that I'll be arriving in Mcleod Ganj (aka Upper Dharamsala) by Sunday morning. I'm looking forward to the airport solitude but not to the incessant search for an open or free wifi network. :-/ Health precautions must be taken. Ipod charged. Books. Snacks. Mags. Movies. Partaking in some of life's great distractions.
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One of the things I love best about traveling is the juxtaposition of my fantasy with my reality. After reading about a place and seeing photos or videos, I tend to make a virtual world in my imagination. The moment I experience a place in person, the fantasy collapses and gets replaced in my head by the real memories and senses. And my perception of a place just grows and grows. And I'm on the brink!!
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