Apricot Blossoms and Small Baby Goats
We are cozy and well-fed here at Namgial's house in Domkhar. The apricot trees are in full bloom - their white flowers are only just starting to fall making way for the most popular fruit in Ladakh. Many families harvest the fruit from the trees and sell them dried, pitted, un-pitted, as juice, jam, harvesting the nuts from inside the shell for eating, or pressing into oil that's used for keeping babies faces from getting chapped in the cold cold winter months.
Spring is all around us... The weather is warmer (but still freezing cold at night!) and families have moved to their houses lower in the Indus river valley from their winter homes built much further up the hills. These homes get much more sun light (read: warmth) in the winter months. As the days get longer, moving to houses lower in elevation and closer to the fields, apricot trees, apple trees, and water sources makes more sense.
There are two baby goats here at Namgial's house that were born the morning we arrived here. We've taken our arrival as a sign that these two babes should be named after Harrison and I. They are twins. Yesterday, after a wonderful afternoon of conversation with Domkhar High School students, a short hike and visit to Domkhar's monastery and a talk on the meaning of stupas, we returned to Namgial's house for tea. The goats were making lots of noise and trying to suck milk out of our legs. HB and I picked them up and cradled them for a while. They quickly fell asleep in our arms as we stroked their ears. So Baby Goats Harrison and Tracy have a really nice life here in Domkhar. We will follow their progress in semesters to come, so keep reading the blogs! Photos to come when the internet cafes in Leh lift their ban on uploading photos.
Long story short, all is well in Domkhar. Homestays are going wonderfully and today all of us will present a short lesson to the students at the government high school. We are all enjoying our last month together very very much!
Love,
Harrison and Tracy
Comments
Tracy-weird story. So it's probably pretty obvious that I have been bumming pretty hard since I got home and haven't felt like myself at all. Well, today I woke up, bumming again. I spent my whole day at school bumming. Then sometime this afternoon I all of a sudden got really happy and had a great time with my friends and started feeling like myself again. I couldn't figure out why, I thought maybe the nice weather. I looked down at my wrist and saw the bracelet you had tied on me at orientation was gone. I know I had it on at school so it must have fallen off sometime in the afternoon. So I want to thank you for your good wishes, because they have transferred into my heart. I just want you to know how important that is.
Posted by: Al Fut | April 24, 2008 02:53 AM
Hi Al,
That's not a weird story at all! So you've been released! and space has been created for you to connect back where you are - that sounds like an amazing shift, even if just to notice the shifting. It's a beautiful story, actually.
The girls have certainly been receiving your messages and are appreciating the support you're sending. That said, I want to tell you how proud I feel of you and how you've been focusing through this spring being in a place that you might not want to be. You continue to inspire me, my dear.
Did you read any of the books we talked about during retreat? I'd love to hear what you think about them... send me an email if you have some time.
Big Hugs.
p.s. Namgial says hi!
Posted by: Tracy | April 24, 2008 04:52 AM