H.H. The Dalai Lama!

Hello again! Allow me to apologize preemptively for what will likely be a quick blog entry; there are people waiting in line for internet getting angry!

For several days we loafed around Udaipur with only a few structured events on the schedule. One morning we went to a polio hospital that I found particularly interesting. The hospital completes 40-50 surgeries a day. Unfortunately, I was able to watch because they were taking a tea break .

Our last night in Udaipur we spent the evening meeting and playing games with Indian children at St. Matthew's Christian School. The kids were all very cute. It's exhilirating to be able to share an understanding and enjoyment of simple games when languages are so different. Games we played: freeze tag, duck duck goose, sharks and minnows, and red light/ green light. It was also great to hear stories from the school's founder of Christianity turning lives around in the Villages despite persecution. I have to question if my faith would be able to stand up against heavy harassment and imprisonment.

The next few days were spent in Ranakpur at a resort. We visited several Jain temples, but the rest of our time was open. Free time was greatly enjoyed through swimming, playing chess, and competing in windy badminton competitions. I blame the gale on my early elimination...

After driving back to Udaipur, we took an overnight train to Delhi. As usual, we've had two days of in-between destinations time. We were surprised to hear from our guide that although we hadn't been able to see the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, he was coming to Delhi and we had a chance of getting into the conference. We went all the way to see him in Dharamsala, but we just had to wait for him to come to us! Yesterday, we were fortunately able to get in and were able to get in and hear the Dalai Lama talk at the Thank You India conference. The conference was a way for Tibetans to express their gratitude to India for accepting them as refugees 50 years ago. The Dalai Lama is an excellent speaker, and the 50 min. that he talked went by very quickly. The tiger may have eluded us, but we caught the Dalai Lama! Opportunity: not lost.

Tonight we board the train for Mussori, a town back in the cold of the Himalayan mountains. This will be our last excursion of the trip. 2 and a half weeks should go quickly and I'll be back in America before you or I know it. I'm thinking about all that I miss regularly and I'm excited to catch up when I return! Take care!