volunteering dharamsala

Cardinal Divide

t'estime, You may have luck find positions that provide accommodation on the Volunteer Tibet website http://www.volunteertibet.org.in/home.php Be aware that positions that provide room and board are almost always in rural areas.
I suggest that you contact Tibetan Delek Hospital if you want to volunteer as a dentist. Their e-mail address is: delek@nde.vsnl.net.in Phone # 1892-222053

skk

Since its already been mentioned, the tibetan childrens village, albeit in a much earlier post, yeah, its there if people want to do this stuff; I "knew" the gen. sec Mr. Phuntsok Tashi at a kid to kid level; so I'm comfortable with facilitating contact.

Not that I agree with this charity lark, but in the sense of "whatever floats your boat", and that at least at that place, they'll know that somebody could potentially be keeping an eye on them and that the volunteer has "contacts", then I offer that piece of data. I don't agree with the charity lark of course.

-skk

Cardinal Divide

McLeod Ganj town is as safe as anywhere however the same cannot be said for the paths and roads out side the town. Migrants come to McLeod seeking work and if they don't find it they sometimes resort to mugging to finance their way home. I lived next door to a local nurse for a year and she kept me filled in on incidents and these days local friends keep me up to date. Typically a foreigner, male or female, walking alone, was relieved of their camera and/or money by a group of two or more men and tipped down the hill into the rocks and stinging nettles. I never once heard of the perpetrators being caught.
In one tragic incident a couple of years ago an incredibly gifted long tem volunteer was murdered during a mugging in the cemetery at St John’s Church. He had gone down to write Christmas cards in the church yard. At least once or twice a year a tourist dies from a fall near the waterfall at Bagsu. Often they are alone so by the time they are discovered it is too late.
I have never had a problem in McLeod but I always walk outside of town with a companion. I am tough and street savvy and know every path and road like the back of my hand but I am aware that as a foreigner I could be a target. Use common sense and you should not have any problems.

Austin Allegro

That's a shame. I was hoping to do daily walks of 1-2 miles in the woods around town etc. Are there any 'safe' areas you could do this?

Cardinal Divide

A really nice walk is the Kora around the main temple and the Dalai Lama's residence. The Kora is a religious walk. A devout Buddhist with do three circumambulations in a row daily usually early in the morning. Follow Temple Road down past the main gates of The Temple (it’s official name is Tsuglagkhang but in English everyone calls it The Temple) and shortly you will come to a path heading to the right. It is a pretty, peaceful walk. No major rules to follow. It is fine to walk fast. Dress modestly. The old folks will appreciate it. You should only walk it in a clock wise direction. The same goes if you stop to spin prayer wheels. Keep your eyes open but this is generally a very safe area because of security for the Dalai Lama.
You should be fine to walk on roads outside of town if you follow a group of other walkers. Very few people own cars or motorcycles so there are a lot of people walking. I haven’t ever heard of Tibetan, local Indians or family groups mugging tourists. Tibetans are easy to spot but it can be much harder to tell which Indians are local. If you feel unsure follow a family group. Socio economic status is no indicator. Usually poor looking people will be just fine. I keep my eye on well dressed young males!
One of the nicest walks is a path from McLeod Ganj to Dharamsala. I think it takes about an hour or so. There are sometimes muggings on this route so go with a companion just to be on the safe side. From the bus stand follow the path down past Om Guest House and just keep going. I think this was once the road to Dharmsala as you will see old horse troughs and other indications along the way. The path can be a bit rough in a few places as monsoon causes washouts. At a certain point you will have to cross a road. Keep to the right of the fancy house and the path will continue down. Eventually you will come out in Dharamsala. Keep your eye open for the illusive public toilet. It may come on handy sometime! You can walk back up or catch a jeep for a few rupees.
There are some nice walks through Dharmcot and a trip to Triund is a must do if it is free of snow. Triund is 1000 vertical metres above McLeod Ganj so it is a long hard hike much of it up hand built stone steps (most walks off road involve stone steps because of erosion). There are several chai shops along the way and be aware that the prices go up the higher you get because everything must be carried up by man or mule. Chai shops on a hiking path may sound like an abomination but my son and I can still remember how good those cheese omelettes tasted and we haven’t done that climb in years!
McLeod Ganj is a friendly place so it is easy to make friends with locals or fellow tourists to go on walks with. Locals don’t usually walk up hill for pleasure so I usually offer to buy them lunch if they will take me on a hike!

Brisso

I've spent a bit of time in McG and walked everywhere - day time excursions are quite safe - very rare to be out of sight of people for any length of time. After dusk, I might be a bit more cautious.

Cardinal Divide

Food for thought:

http://www.tong-len.org/projects/the...key_centre.php

Fantastic charity by the way. They spend every penny carefully and thoughtfully. I sponsor a student through them.

little_o

Hello everyone!

Update on my situation - I am now in McLeod Ganj! If you read my earlier posts you know I went with Volunteer Tibet and had them arrange my transport from Delhi to Dharamsala.

I must say, they were very thorough and every detail was thought of. I was met at the aiport, driven to my hotel, and the hotel had been booked already. It was midnight when I checked in, so it was very nice to have a clean, safe place to sleep. In the morning I discovered that the hotel had been paid for already (included in the price of the service) as had the taxi. Since my bus to Dharamsala did not leave until the evening, when I checked out I had several hours to wander Delhi on my own. The travel agency looked after my bags for those hours. When I came back, they had arranged a rickshaw and then an auto-rickshaw, along with an escort, to the bus stop. Then the guy who escorted me even spoke to the drivers on my behalf. All of this was paid for in the price of the service, so I paid nothing but tips.

The bus ride was grueling, I do have to say. It took 16 hours total to reach McLeod Ganj, but that included a number of rest stops and a meal break at a dhaba. The bus had no toilet, but the driver was willing to stop along the side of the road if you asked. Luckily for me I was able to hold it until we stopped at a dhaba each time (which had squatties). Next time i think I would rather fly or use the train.

When I arrived in McLeod Ganj, Lobsang (of VT) was there already, to meet me! He had booked me a room in a guesthouse and helped me to carry my luggage there. The next day (today) he gave me a tour of the town and took me to the museum. He seems very nice and he obviously works incredibly hard.

On Monday there is an orientation for us volunteers who just arrived, and also I will be setting up my permanent residence, so if you like I will tell you what that's like.

Just wanted to let you know, I have so far no complaints whatsoever about Volunteer Tibet and it's been a very positive experience.

Also, McLeod Ganj is lovely. I am already so happy to be here and it's only been a day and a half. I've done quite a bit of walking - walked to Bhagsu today and plan to do Dharamkot tomorrow - and had no problems. Of course I have not been walking at night, but most people are very friendly.

If any of you are coming, feel free to PM me as I'm always happy to meet new friends.

__________________
I said yes I said yes I said yes
I prayed a thousand times yes
And the no that hung over the buildings
Faded like the moon at dawn

-Yoko Ono

skk

Great report - do please continue the reports.I dunno if Lobsang is older than you or what the power relationship is - but sticking in a "la" at the end when talking with him, won't hurt - as in Lobsang-La.

And if there's some intricacy which makes use of that suffix idiotic in your context, tell ME !

-skk

little_o

Hm, thank you for that tip, I wasn't aware of that method of addressing people who are older. He is older than me, but not terribly so. The others seem to address him as "Lobsang" but that might be because they are more familiar? Is that a formality? Please explain more! I don't want to make a faux-pas, haha.

I will continue the reports - tomorrow I am registering for my volunteership so will find out exactly when/where I'll be teaching, and also where my permanent residence will be. Also I will be meeting the other new volunteers, of whom there are five who just arrived.

It's a strange mix of people here, to be sure. Of the Westerners I've noticed a few different types - ranging from quiet, respectful, and culturally aware, to loud and a bit off-putting. Not sure quite where I fall in on the scale, but I'm trying not to be rude or obnoxious or otherwise offensive.

skk

For the moment, I suggest just try and see what response it elicits - it won't be bad, I assure you ( famous last words .
But of course you are there in person, so you have the stuff right in front of you. Enjoy.

For more detail, which gets religo/socio/politico, its best if we go offline - this isn't the right forum for that edgy stuff.

-skk

little_o

Okay. Thank you! Perhaps when I start my Tibetan language lessons that will be explained to me in greater detail.

I got my volunteer position today - there were no positions open for teaching English, but that is expected to change in the upcoming months as many people clear out in the winter. Instead I was asked to teach an intensive photography class (I am a photographer). That is right up my alley! The hours are perfect and it's only a month. Hopefully after the holidays some Enlish-teaching positions open up.

It's great here and so far I've enjoyed it a lot. I've done some serious hiking during the day and no problems to speak of - lots of people around, doesn't seem particularly sinister to me, even while alone in the woods. Yes, after dark I am cautious, though, as there are no streetlamps and some roads get quite deserted. You never know.

Looking forward to a hike to Triund before the winter sets in.

skk

Its fantastic that you are looking at learning the language - the spoken language is most important of course, but, btw, if you want to, at some time in some future, write it online, meaning the display font and keyboard mapping software, meaning, well you know what I mean,in Tibetan I can help you there.

Hey, having multiple skill-sets is useful, huh ?

I'll enjoy reading more of your reports.

-skk

Cardinal Divide

I found that learning to read and write Tibetan is critical to pronunciation and developing my vocabulary. It is really hard to write Tibetan words phonetically in English because of the unfamiliar sounds and tones. I struggled for years until this summer when I bought a book and cd’s and forced myself to learn properly. My Tibetan is still awful but at least now I can write down words that I want to memorise and use a dictionary. Learning the alphabet, accents and character combinations (not to mention memorising how to describe them) was really brutal for me but well worth the effort because I have a lot of Tibetan friends and some of them don’t speak English.
I’m learning oral Amdo dialect so there aren’t a lot of resources available on the internet but for anyone wanting to learn standard Tibetan as it is spoken and taught in Central Tibet and India then this is a great website to get you started: www.learntibetan.net My only criticism is that the audio portions don’t include the oral “spelling” of the accents and character combinations.