From Tracy Goldman

OK, so the spiders are a little big, the rain is a little loud, but I live in the Himalayas, I have the nicest view ever, the food is amazing, the culture is so different, there are animals everywhere, and I’m working for a cause that is in so much need of supporters to help make a difference for an entire society. Holy cow, we’re in INDIA!! That’s about the seven millionth time I’ve said that and I’ve only been here for about two weeks. And I still can’t believe it! One day I’m doing research to find out the problem of climate change in Tibet and teaching English to a group of women who just recently arrived in India from Tibet, the next day I’m walking up and down the busy streets of the local village buying anything I want for under five dollars, and finally one day I’m sitting in the Dalai Lama Temple listening to his teachings awaiting him to graciously walk right passed me. As I said before, wow, I’m in India! Everyone at home I miss you a lot, but I have to say I could really get used to staying here for a long while. With the 45-minute hike up and down the mountain everyday to go volunteer and the relaxing group meals we have together, weekends off and evening activities, this trip is perfect and is such a wonderful experience. A few days ago I think I had the most culture shock experience yet. My roommate Sandra and I decided to go to Baghsu, another town nearby, just for the afternoon. As soon as we entered the town we were swarmed. I couldn’t believe my eyes but there were about one hundred men ranging in age that were staring at us and making comments to us and most of all: taking pictures of us!! I seriously felt like I was famous at first and my mind was blown away, but then I started to get very irritated. If anyone knows me, you will know that I get very aggressive and loud sometimes. So of course I started flailing my arms around and screaming at them as I was pushing my way through the crowd. It didn’t help one bit. All I could hear through all the noise was “one snap”. This is the most common thing someone will hear while walking down the street; if you look somewhat different, that is. One snap means “let me take as many pictures as possible of you on my phone please”. It’s as if they have never seen someone with light skin before in real life. So to them, since they’ve only seen Westerners on TV, we were actually famous! Once Sandra and I finally got to our destination, we hid out for a while hoping we would quickly be forgotten. This was not the case, as there was a lineup of guys outside the store taking “snaps” of us while we were shopping. So eventually we decided to leave and walk back, but this time we were a little smarter about it. We tried covering ourselves as much as possible. I didn’t have much to work with, but Sandra had her scarf wrapped around her whole head except for her eyes, and had her sunglasses on. It didn’t help at all. I was just so totally shocked and mind boggled at this experience and behaviour from the locals of a place where I will be living for a month. I guess that’s just one of the circumstances of being in India!
-Tracy Goldman