Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Sacred Arts Tour begins.... day one


Today the Tibetan monks arrived in Chapel Hill after a long stay and drive up from Atlanta. Finally they were able to get out of the ice and snow we had recently in the deep south. I had dinner with them at the coordinators house; vegetable curry, rice and naan, much the same as we eat every night, it was so good! After dinner the monks performed a tea puja and it brought back all of those wonderful memories from last June when they were here in Saxapahaw. There are seven monks and their driver and they will be split up between three houses including mine. After the puja, everyone got packed up, said goodnight and we loaded up the van. Me, four monks, a former monk that is now a taxi driver in New York and acting as their driver while they are here, and one determined and focused coordinator extraordinaire. Off we went into the dark rainy night, oh boy!

The rain continues, will the sun ever shine again? The driver, Tenzin, brought me back to my house with my two house guests, and as I type this, the rain falls gently on the roof and two young monks from a faraway world sleep upstairs quietly. Tashi and Jamphel will be our guests here until February 16. This is the longest we have ever had someone stay with us and they barely speak English. Tashi almost none, Jamphel understands just enough that we can communicate and he translates to Tashi. The first question after our brief tour of the house was "wifi?"   they are dialed in!

My heart is full, I am in such awe of these young men and the life they have chosen, and I hope this experience will be a good one for them. I love them already. As I sit here, I worry about them just like a mom. Are they comfortable in our old squeaky beds? Are they warm enough, is it too warm? Are they homesick? What if they get sick? Do they need some tea? What should I have for breakfast?
Oh dear!  This is going to be quite an experience!  I hope that some of you can make it to the Artscenter during the time they are here. The pageant is Wednesday night, there will be an opening ceremony for the sand mandala on Sunday, and then the construction will be going on all next week. There will also be an opportunity to buy beautiful scarves and beads and clothing from them. Please try and come if you can!



9 comments:

cookingwithgas said...

WiFi.....I hope it us enjoyable for all.

Tracey Broome said...

I do too Meredith! They do love those smart phones, haha, it's so funny, they are just like the other two I live with, they can all sit in the living room together and stare at their phones, while I read a good book!

Trish said...

Exciting, Tracey!..What a great experience for ALL of you.

Tracey Broome said...

Hi Trish, yes very exciting! I could barely sleep last night! There were monks sleeping down the hall :-)

Lori Buff said...

It sounds like the sun is shining on you right now.

smartcat said...

What an experience you are having. I will be with you in the virtual world.
Do you know if any of the items they are selling are available on line?

Sandy Miller said...

What a treat! For you and the monks :)

wifi........

Does this make you the Dalimama?!

Tracey Broome said...

Lori, its raining here but the sun is truly shining, you are so right!
Suzi, no online sales but I am happy to take photos of the items and let you know about them..
Sandy, YES! dalimama!!!! love it!

Sandy Miller said...

You blog made it to Benin! She LOVES it! So funny...... me too! loving this adventure :)