Urine for a Treat

Hello! My name is Will Constable and I am the author of this blog post, which will look back on our final week at Sarah College. Academically, this week has been the busiest for us students so far. We bunkered down and buckled up to finish research proposals, life-history papers, and reflection essays. Our research topics include mental health, environmental issues, and parenting in Tibet. For the life-history project we each interviewed a Tibetan or Himalayan person and compiled a ten-page narrative of their life. All while preparing for our Tibetan language midterm (དཀའ་ལས་ཁག་བོ). Additionally, some of us even had to give presentations or write a beautiful blog post. Although our academics took up most of our time this week, we still found time to have some fun. On Tuesday evening we went out for dinner with our Tibetan roommates to celebrate Sam’s 21st birthday and thank our wonderful new friends at Sarah College. Our jaws dropped as we walked out onto the restaurant’s terrace, overlooking the vibrant Kangra Valley. The air filled with chit chat and laughter as we filled our bellies with delicious Indian food. As the feast came to a close, we smilingly looked back upon our time together. We shared our gratitude for our roommates’ hospitality and generosity. This was surprisingly followed with a spontaneous talent show. Our roommates rapped, sang, and one performed with nunchucks. This week in our Buddhist Philosophy class we studied the Tibetan art of debate. On Wednesday we got the opportunity to watch Tibetan monks debate each other on the topic of opposites. The rigorous debate is meant to refine the participants views and narrow down all generalizations. We watched in bewilderment as two monks debated in Tibetan. Contrary to what one might think, the debate is lively and competitive, including vigorous claps to emphatically signify the end of one’s question.

Earlham and Sarah College students mingling at dinner

Tibetan Buddhist monks debating

In Tibetan Medicine analyzing the patient’s urine is an important diagnostic method. So, for our Tibetan Medicine class on Thursday we brought in small, or large, samples of our urine. This was exciting, embarrassing, and interesting all at the same time. Our lecturer, a professional Tibetan doctor, showed us how she made her diagnoses as we did our best to act like mature young adults. In the afternoon we drove up to McLeod Ganj and met the Tibetan families that we will be living with following our pilgrimage trip. After sharing tea and cake at the I.B.D. (Institute of Buddhist Dialectics) we followed our hosts to their homes and met some of our Tibetan family members. My hosts were gentle and kind. It was new and exciting, yet I couldn’t help feeling a comforting familiarity. As we drove back, I was overwhelmed with a vast feeling of gratitude pouring from my heart. I smiled serenely out the window as mountain trees passed by.

Tibetan Doctor diagnosing our urine

Today is Friday and tomorrow we leave for our pilgrimage to Spiti Valley. Spiti is the closest we will come to Tibet, geographically and culturally. Full of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, Spiti is considered to be a sacred land. Our anticipation is building as we enjoy our final night with our roommates at Sarah College. We will be driving and hiking through Spiti’s awe-inspiring landscapes for the next week. As we begin this spiritual journey, I wish you peace, love, and happiness. Thank you for taking this time out of your busy day to read our blog. Come back next week for our next update.

Earlham students and Tibetan host families meeting at I.B.D.