Steve and I are now in McLeod Ganj, a small town in the Himalayas which for the past 50 years has been the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile. Before I go into anything else, I will say it's f**king COLD HERE!!!
I will not go into the awful harrowing tale of the Tibetan people, as I am sure most of you now it well by now. I will say that despite the oppression these people have faced for so long, this town is one of the most happy and joyous we've come across.
We happened to arrive on a particularly cold day, and the next morning we woke up to snow - and lots of it! The locals told us that it was the first time they had snow in 3 years, so there was a lot of celebration. Young Tibetan men in the middle of the street were throwing snowballs at eachother (and us!) - and Steve even engaged in a snowball fight with 3 guys standing on a balcony (they kicked his ass).
We walked around and visited the Buddhist temple and the Tibetan museum.
But everything we have done on our trip has paled in comparison to the experiences we had in meeting one man: DK.
Steve started up a conversation with DK because he was working on a Mac while we were eating breakfast. One thing led to another, and as one Mac geek is always attracted to another, a long conversation ensued. DK has the most amazing and natural way of blending the tenets of technology into Buddhism, life, love, and a mixture of everything in between. We found out that DK is the Managing director of the Norbulingka Institute - the only Institute in the world that is dedicated to preserving Tibetan Culture. Please check out their website
HERE. It is an incredible place.
Now, the reason this was all so special is that DK, as the managing director of the Institute, needs quite a bit of technical assistance. So, as his honored guests, we were escorted up to the Institute where we got a private tour. Then, of course, Steve went off to work as his new technical advisor! We saw their artisans at work creating original Thankgka paintings, brass statues of Buddha, and ornate wood carvings.
Oh, and no big deal, really...but we also saw His Holiness' bedroom when he stays at the Institute. Like I said, things you see everyday, right?
Then Steve went off about his merry way helping them to find systems to... what am I talking about? Why am I going to try and explain what he helped them do? I don't understand it, so let's just say he helped them with some really smart people stuff. When he finished and got them all situated, they said that the problem he fixed was one they had been working on for five years. Then Steve comes along and it's done in 2 hours. If the key to a happy and fulfilled life is all about being constantly impressed by your partner, then I am golden.
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