This time around feels different....

     When we were planning our return to Sikkim, I was looking forward to the fact that we knew so much more clearly exactly what we were getting into by coming here.  Things would feel comfortable, normal, after having spent the Fall adjusting to our life here.
     The reality is that I am now instead confronting a wall: my inability to get outside of the day-to-day routines we have set up.  When we were here in the Fall, it was all we could do to get through the day, do homework and then collapse into bed early as a reward for a hard day's work of coping with such a new way of life. Now we know the routine, we have made friends and have a level of comfort regarding our current existence.  The next step is to go outside the routines and try more new things, but I find myself creating all kinds of reasons for not doing just that.  There are logistical challenges for sure, but they aren't insurmountable.  Really, Corrina and I should be taking an outing every weekend to see new places and learn more about the area.  For instance, there is a temple on the way to school called Ganeshtok.  It is easy enough to get to, but we haven't been to it yet.  It requires finding a taxi that will take us up there and managing a bit of a language barrier while we are there, but the payoff could be wonderful. I bet it has a gorgeous view since it sits on a precipice overlooking Gangtok.
     When Glenn was here I had a bit more courage and drive.  One day I arranged for us to go to Rumtek, a famous monastery below Gangtok.  We met the taxi and he drove us there, which took about an hour, only for us to find out that we needed our passports and Innerline Permit, neither of which I had thought to bring. So, we turned around and headed back home!  I seemed to be the only one disappointed, the rest of the gang was happy to head home and hang out at the ranch...
     Grace, Corrina and I are leaving soon, sooner than we had originally planned. And I worry that I will leave here wishing we had take the opportunity to do more things. I guess that means we will have to come back.  I really want to visit Bhutan!

Grace's New Digs

      The day after Corrina's birthday, just over a week ago, Grace moved into the hostel at Taktse.  It has been an adjustment for us all, but one that has not been too hard to manage.  She doesn't seem to mind the infrequent showers, the lack of any hot water, the hostel diet of mainly rice and dahl, and the "4 pieces of clothing" limit on the laundry service.

     We were lucky that at the end of her first week she got to come home for the weekend, but now we won't have her at home again for another 5 weeks.  The students in the hostel are allowed to go home every 2nd Saturday of the month. 

     On the one hand it is hard to believe that our Grace, lover of creature comforts, would choose to immerse herself in such a primitive living environment.  On the other hand, she was bored and lonely at Chanbari House, especially on the weekends when it was hard to see her friends. I miss her a lot and even Corrina agrees that it is too quiet at Chanbari House without her.  

     Below are photos of the girls' dorm, with the new pink curtains recently installed.

The view from the doorway into the hostel

Where all of the shoes and laundry bags are kept,
just outside the hostel room

The "village" where Grace sleeps.  Her bed in on the other side,
crammed into the corner.

Grace's bed area

The main area of the hostel room

Corrina turns Thirteen

This weekend it was Corrina's turn to have a birthday, it's hard to believe she is a teenager now!

Her birthday consisted of crepes for lunch with her friends and then an afternoon of playing and hanging out with them on the terrace.

Left to right: Metok, Corrina, Nwawang and Ariel

For dinner we had chicken stewed in tomato sauce over pasta, fresh green salad (which is really sliced cucumber and carrots with lime and salt sprinkled on top) and chocolate cake with white frosting for dessert.

Both girls handled their birthdays far from home with great aplomb.  Each has the promise of an extra gift when they get back to the US. Grace is hoping for a ukelele, Corrina a saltwater fish tank.