Two weeks!!

Hey all, it is now just over two weeks until departure to India on September 1st!! It is getting closer and closer to the time when my world will change dramatically for four months.

For those of you that I haven't spoken to, here is a brief outline of the semester: The first five weeks will be in Mecleod Gangj, a small town above Dharamsala, India. It is the center of the Tibetan exile universe, home to the residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as well as the Tibetan Government-In-Exile. During this piece of the semester we will be doing a homestay, learning Tibetan language, and becoming immersed in Tibetan culture. After Dharamsala, we will travel to Kathmandu, Nepal for a week before traveling to Tibet for four weeks. We will be centered in Lhasa but will travel around, visit important sites, trek in the Himalayas, and continue the language classes and seminars. Next we will travel back to India where we will spend a few days preparing before heading out for four weeks of Independent Study Project on our own. During the ISP we will conduct research and write a huge paper. After this we will come back together to present to each other and wrap up the semester. On December 15thish the program ends and my parents are coming to visit, then I'll be flying back to the states on December 31st.

So that is four months in a nutshell. A really big nutshell. I have been reading nonstop and practicing Tibetan characters. I'll write again before leaving. I wanted to get this sweet blog rolling.. :)