July 22nd
Today we had morning and afternoon classes. Students are showing some great progress in terms of their speaking skills and listening comprehension. They are working hard.
Later in the afternoon, we wrote notes for Dave Pilla on colorful prayer flags and walked the string of flags up to the temple. We found two nice trees, one young and one old, and Marshall Holley and Nathaniel Dunbar helped to tie the flags between the trees. The flags look out over a beautiful mountain view and flap in the wind. On the way back down from the temple, our group saw a very robust-looking, large rabbit looking out at us from some undergrowth near the incense-burning area. An unusual and special sighting!
Two days ago we had a stroke of luck with the weather and took the afternoon to explore the Napa Hai valley by bike.
This afternoon our group participated in a traditional Nixi Black Pottery. They created masterpieces!
This week, students will wrap up coursework, take another cooking class, and even visit a local natural hot spring on the night of the 27th. On the 28th, our last night in Shangri-La, we'll celebrate with a traditional Tibetan Hot Pot dinner. Of course, as the week comes to a close, students will also say goodbye to their host families and prepare to begin their voyages home and to other destinations.