Hi all,
So there's a bit of an update re: my plans to travel and volunteer in India. Basically i've got the opportunity to do some really exciting voluntary work with an NGO right here in Dharamsala so i've cancelled my trip to the south to volunteer in Kerala and will be staying put where I am until just before I leave India at the beginning of September! Everyone i've met that has come from the south said the weather is dreadful and not to bother going at the moment so I think i'll just have to save the bottom half of India for another trip. The climate here is pretty good, it's monsoon so it rains a lot but you get spectacular storms rolling around the foothills (the view out of my bedroom window!) and when the sun does come out it's lovely and warm and not at all humid. So I sort of decided i'd be mad to leave here when i'm enjoying it so much. The other benefit is that there are lots of other Westerners travelling here and those of us who are staying for any length of time tend to stick together and go to the various film/music events that are put on most evenings in the Tibetan cafes. It's handy for making sure that you're never walking around alone at night because (as with most places) there are reports of people being attacked. Not by the Tibetans I should add, the monks in particular are a bit too chilled out for that! The nightlife here is pretty quiet and most hotels have locked the gates by midnight, but seeing as i'm not drinking while i'm in India anyway i hsven't felt deprived at all.
So anyway the good news is that now that i know i'm going to be here for a while i can start to buy the little luxuries that you normally forego because they're too heavy to carry. The Tibetan handicrafts are beautiful (and cheap!) so the item at the top of the list is a big yak wool blanket for those chilly nights when the cloud has come down all around you and you just sit and read for hours at a time!
Hope you're all well, send me news from the UK please - i haven't got a clue what's going on there! Kat xx
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