LONGGG Update

I'm stuck again, unable to decide what words can possibly summarize my past few weeks. And yes, it was an incredibly awesome few weeks.

Our first day of the trip was a long car ride to town called Lamuru. So many amazing little events added up that I think it easily makes my top five favorite days in India. Lamuru is a semi large village (in Ladakhi standards) with a famous monastery. I was able to explore in that perfect time of the afternoon when the sun is still strong and lights up everything in its path in this beautiful glow. Exploring the monastery with this light was breathtaking, every corner revealing another beautiful niche.

Finally I met up with Simone and we decided to hike up a small hill where a gimp sat decorated with prayer flags. Our path was small, carved into the hill. Suddenly some goats and sheep appeared up above, heading straight at us. We were both excited, hoping to get close enough to pet them. However, soon more and more appeared until at least two hundred were staring down at us. We were in a deadlock. Simone and I were afraid to move through them in fear of the narrow ledge. They were afraid to move because they didn't trust us. Both sides sized each other up before the animals decided it was safe enough to crowd around us. Beneath the evening sun we stood still, laughing at our predicament as sheep and goats poured around us, some even scampering up the side of the mountain to avoid us. It. was. awesome.

At the top of the hill we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset, a breeze keeping the hundreds of prayer flags flapping. This is why I love India. I feel so completely free and open to each and every moment here. I have grown accustomed to never knowing what will happen in the next hour, day or week. I think I am almost dreading that when I get home - falling back into the same monotonous routine. I am afraid to leave behind this lifestyle where I live completely (well, almost completely) in the moment. Sure I have school here and I am certainly in that end-of-quarter crunch mode, but I still feel so free! Anytime I need a break, I walk to the kitchen for tea. Mountains, who have sort of become my friends, loom over the Indus. I just need one glance to look at their huge peaks to remember "I am in fricken India" and a smile spreads over my face, the stress of the latest school project disappearing. Granted, it is harder to escape from school projects since the classroom is right below my bedroom, but…..its different.

We spent the week in Urtsi, a small village on the outskirts of the Zanskar range. Rigzin, a community member and former SECMOL student, is determined to make Urtsi into a "model village" through increased cultural preservation and self sustainability. When the floods in August hit, leaving a trail of devastation, houses and fields were damaged and the community center was also demolished. VIS worked throughout the fall to raise money to help Ladakhis, and Urtsi was chosen to receive some of the donations. Rigzin also specializes in passive solar energy building methods, allowing the village to become an even further model in its efforts to rebuild the community center while make it energy efficient.

Ironically, the village is also facing water shortages despite the recent floods. A potential solution to the increasingly alarming problem is an artificial glacier. Invented by Chewang Norphel, they use simple materials to divert spring water and let it freeze over the winter. During the spring and summer it slowly melts, releasing water when villagers need it most for crops. Urtsi has a potential location and the spring water to create an artificial glacier, but they don't have the money.

Surrounded by such inspiring work, it is hard not to feel energized in such a close tight community. Every night, when my Amalay feed my nono, nomo and myself, I couldn't help but wonder about their future. Most villagers have lived in the village their entire life - a shortage of water has the potential to alter the village's location for future generations. I was not alone in my concern for my new family - Moya soon confessed her growing urge to help. Unwilling to sit by and doing nothing, we sat down on a cliff of mud, brought by the floods, overlooking the village. In the late afternoon, the sun warming our backs, WorldYato was created.

Yato is the Ladakhi word that means both friend and help, a perfect summary for our intentions. It also is an acronym, standing for "Youth All Together as One." Although there is not much we can do while in Ladakh, with our limited abilities to access the internet, we are planning multiple fundraisers for the future. John Mingle, a past VIS teacher and coordinator between Ursipas and VISpas. predicts that the glacier will cost approximately $8,000. Ideally, Rigzin, the mastermind behind the plan (again), would like to start a preliminary process by mid-August. So…although nothing is set up yet for fundraising, I want to share about this village and its need for outside help.