People have been asking me to to tell about things like the city here, the school I teach at, the people living here and the war situation. All of these I plan to do, but things keep happening that I need to get down before they are old. This week is festival week in Leh, but first I need to tell about a STRANGE WEEK that I had in mid-August. In 6 consecutive days, I had 6 major events, all starting with the letter S: a Shower, a Spectacle, a Sermon, a Splash, a Sunburn and a Service!

August 14, a Shower. For the first time in years, we had a downpour in Leh, reminiscent of the monsoon further south. Kima, who lives downstairs, asked if my apartment leaked, and I couldn't find any. Until later. After dark. At midnight. After the power had gone off for the day. I was asleep when all of a sudden I was wet. The roof, which was made of brick and clay had saturated and I had an instant waterfall inside the house! It came down INSIDE the window, hit the window sill and splattered mud all over me and my bed. A second waterfall was between my bedroom and the front room (yes, blocking my way out of the house), and the third was right over the sink, soap and toothbrush in the bathroom. My tent was set up in the front room drying from my Stok Kangri climb, so guess where I slept? That's right - in my sleeping bag in my tent in my house. Since then, the carpenters from the school have put a corrugated tin roof over the house and repaired the masonry work.

August 15, a Spectacle. This was India's Independence Day. On this day in 1947, India and Pakistan became independent countries and the tensions over here started. The celebration was at the polo grounds, and I arrived early. But, Indians are not the most polite people, and a little old lady elbowed her way in front and squatted down on my feet for about an hour and a half. The ceremony consisted of 5 military regiments and 13 school groups of 31 each all parading around the stadium using a goosestep all the while a band of bagpipes and drums (yes with kilts) played. That was a carryover from the British times yet. After the procession, all the children sat down in ranks, and there was an exhibition of Ladakhi and Tibetan dances and songs. Ladakhi music has drums and sornas (bad-sounding oboes) and fast temples, but small and delicate footwork on the dances. Tibetan music is similar to Chinese and had flutes playing instead of sornas, and the footwork was more fancy. In the middle of the program, a student recited for memory the speech Nehru gave in 1947 on Independence Day.

August 16, a Sermon. I caught a bus down to the Tibetan village of Choglamsar and heard the Dalai Lama speak. He spoke in Tibetan, and was good to listen to. Although I couldn't understand the Tibetan, he is a very good speaker with voice inflections. Every now and then, he would tell a humorous anecdote and chuckle. The translation was in Ladakhi. Later, I found his speech to be about kindness and compassion. Examples given were that there are many wealthy or influential people in the world. But, this is nothing without compassion. A few of the Ladakhi words I recognized, so I had a clue as to the topic. I was near the back of the crowd of 40-50,000 people. So, I had my binoculars, which I shared with the locals near me. You have never seen people so grateful. Many times, ladies would hand them back to me with a hand or two held with the edge vertically against their forehead, a sign of respect and thanks. Behind me there were others on the hill slope giving the image of the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus gave. I was waiting for the "feeding of the 50,000, though."

August 17, a Splash. Because of the Dalai Lama, we have no school for the third day in a row. I could have gone to hear his second sermon, but was invited by friends from the school and church to go river rafting on the Indus River. It was very similar to trips I've taken on the Green River in Dinosaur Monument in Utah or the Snake River in Wyoming. We had class 3 rapids, with one class 4. Canyon scenery was just like Utah. The only difference was that our guide, Eddie, didn't really know what he was doing. He succeeded in keeping the raft in the center of the river, but that was about it. I felt like calling out directions. But, this made the trip more exciting as we would hit big waves sideways, or even backwards.

August 18, a Sunburn. I forgot my sunscreen yesterday. Enough said!

August 19, a Service. This morning, I was asked if I was going to the wedding ceremony at church after school. It had been announced at church during the past month, but I said no, as I didn't know either person. Then, I was asked to play keyboard for this service! It was a Ladakhi wedding between a person from church, and another from Srinigar. I didn't have any wedding music with me, so I (and the guitar player) played and sang hymns. With everyone squatting or sitting with legs folded, that room was packed. And, I was up front by the wedding party. For having no practice time, I did very well. The only mishap was during the recessional. In Ladakh, they throw flower petals at the bride when she leaves. Being up front, I found it difficult to play keyboard while trying to blow petals off the keys!