healthy and happy

After being in the small mountain village of Mcleod Ganji for four days, Moly and I had plans to travel further north to get a closer look at the beautiful Himalayas. We had planned to travel over the coarse of three days up and over the worlds highest mountain pass to the town of Leh.
One hour before we were supposed to board our bus and embark on the first leg of the trip, Molly became very sick. She had a red hot feaver that was later replaced by dhiareah. She was sick in bed for two day. We were so luck to have still been in MCleod Ganji and not on the bus heading north when this happened. So our plans for the north country have been put on hold for now.
Molly is up and healthy again. We start out volenteer project tomorrow. We will be working at the Tibetan handicapped childerens craft home. We will be assisting children with arts and crafts projects, using art as theraphy. Molly and I bought a big bag in Ca. and filled it with art supplies. I brought the bag by the center yesterday. The little Tebetan woman who is in charge of the center was so excited. Tears filled her eyes. I am so excited to have the opportunity to take something that I love and use it to help these childeren.
Everyday in India is an adventure. My senses are so overwhelmed by all the busteling activity, smells, color and life that is present here. We have been finding balance in the chaios through yoga and art. We just stumbled onto this beautiful brand new yoga studio. The teacher is amazing. I have never seen a body move in such a flexible and athletic way. Yesterday we took a Tonka painting class with this Tibetan man by the name of Labsong which means wisdom. It takes great wisdom to be a master of Tonka painting. It is an ancient form of painting which is taken very serously. It is a very percise and mathematical way to paint the gods and goddesses in the Buddist religion. If the artist fails to follow certain guidelines and use the exact colors to depict these dieties it is considered a great sin. For those of you who have seen me create art you can imagine how hard this was for me. It tested my patience a great deal. I learned a lot about the importance of a straight line and percise measurement for without these the entire image is incorrect. I had to redo my drawing several time before I got it right. Tonka painting is a meditation in itself.
I hope that you are well and enjoying the summer months.
sending you much love.
Namaste Tashi Delek, Abby