July 8th
We all arrived safely in Shangri-La yesterday. As soon as we got to the hotel, many students were impressed by the traditional decorations and antiques that line the walls and fill the corners of the space.
The staff of the hotel invited us to drink strong ginger tea to help with the altitude adjustment (we're now above 10,000 ft.). The hotel itself is right on the edge of the old town's northern gate, so students have access to the narrow cobbled roads and intricately carved wooden shopfronts of the old town, but can also explore the "new town" (the more developed, modern section of Shangri-La) and shop at small malls, grocery stores and clothing stores nearby. Many of the home stays are located just outside of the old town, so students will become acquainted with both sides of Shangri-La while they're here. Everything they need, though, is in the old town.
Yesterday was Declan Healey's birthday, so we celebrated in style with a lavish meal prepared by the hotel staff. After the meal, we ate a large, fancy raspberry cream sponge cake covered with different fruits. The only flaw that anyone could find was the fact that one of the sections on the cake was a layer of cherry tomatoes. I remember hearing Tahg say: "Hey, tomatoes are fruits."
Declan wore a birthday hat and Marshall's angelic voice rose noticeably above the rest of the group's as we sang 'Happy Birthday' in Mandarin. After dinner and cake we explored the old town, which is absolutely stunning at night. The golden temples and white stupas are always well lit and look out over the town brightly. Every night in Shangri-La, the locals and any willing visitors dance in the town square to traditional songs, some fast, some slow. Last night was no exception, and our entire group jumped right in and tried to follow the traditional dance movements. It was really fun to have our whole group there, and it was touching to see our little community join with a larger one.
After dancing, we climbed the steps to the main temple in town, and as we climbed, it started raining suddenly, so...we climbed faster. Everyone (except for Tashi, our guide, who is a Tibetan) was panting violently by the time we got inside the temple. While we waited out the rain, Tashi gave us a brief history of Tibetan Buddhism and explained a bit about the different sects that exist in China. After it stopped raining, students pushed the enormous golden prayer wheel next to the temple with some locals.
Today we visited the beautiful Songzanlin monastery.
We had the rare opportunity to sit and meet with one of the head lamas of the school, a professor who talked to us at length about the tenets of Buddhism and the importance of having compassion for ourselves as well as for others. One of the students commented afterward that she felt peaceful and calm in the presence of the lama, and that she loves being around people who are deeply involved in spiritual pursuits for that reason. He welcomed us into his home and spent over an hour speaking with us. It was a very special moment for our group.
Tomorrow morning students will be introduced to their homestay families and move in for the next week before we go on our trek into the mountains.