{"id":14930,"date":"2017-09-20T07:23:33","date_gmt":"2017-09-20T07:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fsl-india.org\/blog2\/?p=14930"},"modified":"2019-02-22T05:30:40","modified_gmt":"2019-02-22T05:30:40","slug":"wc-630-dharamshala-marcy-holden-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fsl-india.org\/blog\/wc-630-dharamshala-marcy-holden-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"WC 630 – Dharamshala: Marcy Holden, Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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When I first got to\nDharamshala to meet up with my FSL Volunteer group I had no idea what to\nexpect. I had read about the culture and the project we would be working on but\nnothing could have prepared me for the experience I would have during my stay\nthere. Dharamshala is so entirely different from my home but the beautiful\nguest house in Dharamkot allowed me all the comforts of home, while also\ndirectly immersing me in to a new culture and way of living. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our meals were hot and\nfreshly made, and almost always consisted of traditional Indian dishes. We were\nalso within walking distance of the main strips of local villages, making it\neasy to explore, shop and connect with the locals. The locals aren’t just\npeople though; the villages were littered with the likes of monkeys, cows,\ngoats and countless dogs and puppies. It made exploring town that much more\nexotic and intriguing. However, at work is where the real connections were\nmade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We were a group of ten\nvolunteers, and each day we walked one hour through the forest to the school\nwhere we bonded over laughter, sweat, tears, and a few bug bites. But most\nimportantly we bonded through hard work. In our ten days of work at the school\nwe were able to build a retaining wall, teach a few English classes, do arts\nand crafts, play games, and paint the class rooms with murals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The days were long and\nthe work was tiring but there was no greater reward than to connect with the\nstudents. They wanted nothing more than to play and practice their English with\nus, and they were more than happy to share their space. It was an honour to\nplay even just a small part in making their school a little safer and a bit of\na brighter place to learn. But the work didn’t just connect us with the\nchildren, it helped us to connect with each other as well.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being far from home can\nbe hard, but the friends I made through this work camp quickly began to feel\nlike family. We shared each meal as a group and ended each night with a meeting\nto discuss our experiences for the day and how we were feeling. Our nights\noften lead us to one of the small caf\u00e9s in town to hang out and have tea while\ndiscussing life, love, work and cultural differences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Though most of the\nvolunteers spoke English as a second or third language, we always found a way\nto understand each other and as a group we learned from each other. We were\nable to plan weekend excursions together, leading us to visit the Golden Temple\nof Amritsar, shop in McLeod Ganj and even go Paragliding in Bir Billing!\nThrough our work at FSL we were all able to make memories and create\nfriendships that I am confident will last a life time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from adventuring,\nworking at the school and checking out all the best spots for masala chai, our\ngroup also explored Indian and Tibetan cultures in ways we would not have been\nable to without our guide from FSL. We teamed up with Waste Warriors to learn\nmore about the waste management issues throughout India and to volunteer doing\na cleanup treck of the Bhagsu waterfall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We all felt so\naccomplished having helped to preserve the beauty of such a magical place.\nWaste Warriors also helped us to organize an up-cycling workshop with the kids\nfrom our work camp school. With their help we created pencil cases, animal\nmasks, and wonderful mosaics with the students, all using recycled materials!\nIt was a powerful experience to contribute to a fresh mindset in Indian youth\nand to help them look at recycling differently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning about Tibetan\nculture was entirely different but equally exciting. With our guide we went on\nexcursions to the Dalai Lama Temple, Tibet Museum, LHA Charitable Trust, The\nTibetan Institute of Performing Arts, Tibetan Children’s Village, and the\nNorbulingka Institute. We were all humbled and changed by our experiences in\neach of these places, leaving them with a better understanding of the current\nsocial and political states of Tibet, and the hardships Tibetan people have\nfaced. We also developed an appreciation for the all of the beauty and\ncomplexity that is Tibetan culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After two weeks of\nsoaking in all of that, the trekking adventure was like a giant cherry on top\nof an already amazing trip. It was a great physical and mental challenge, but\nthe pay off was beyond worth it. After two days of walking, climbing, sitting\nunder the stars and camping out in a temple in the mountains, reaching Triund\nwas a magnificent triumph. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can’t put into words\nthe feeling of awe I felt on the third day when we reached the snow line of\nTriund. We sipped tea surrounded by bulls, clouds and mountains, and exchanged\nour feelings of pure joy from all we had accomplished over the past 3 weeks. We\nspent two nights in a guest house at Triund, having dinners by candle light and\nbreathing the freshest air our lungs have ever felt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we returned to the guest house we had one last night together before the group started departing one by one. It’s still so bittersweet that the adventure has ended, but I am going home with an experience I would not trade for anything and with friends from five countries around the world. I know we will all see each other again, and I am hopeful to be able to return to Dharamshala again and contribute more to this diverse and magical place. Until next time though, my heart is happy and full of thanks to FSL-India and all the individuals I have met along the way. Thank you!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When I first got to Dharamshala to meet up with my FSL Volunteer group I had no idea what to expect. I had read about the culture and the project we would be working on but nothing could have prepared me for the experience I would have during my stay there. Dharamshala is so entirely different from my home but the beautiful guest house in Dharamkot allowed me all the comforts of home, while also directly immersing me in to…<\/p>\n

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