Birthday with the Dalai Lama

Birthday with the Dalai Lama

Novembe 13, 2010

I’m in McLeod Ganj, a small town near Dharamshala, where the Tibetan government is in exile. I arrived in the morning at 6.30 on a bus from Delhi.

The bus was like the oldest public buses we have in Italy, that we don’t see on the roads anymore, and seating next to me a man weighing 150kg, of course. It’s weird how our mind understands what we want to understand, sometimes. I thought the guy told me he was getting off 2 hours from Delhi, he actually got off after 10 hours, when there were 2 hours left to Dharamshala.

There was cold air coming in from the windows. A gravel road and the driver going like crazy. Nevertheless I was able to sleep. Not very well, but I’m not particularly tired. And my arrival here couldn’t be better: a guy offered me breakfast because I’m a guest and it was his duty.

In the square where the bus arrived there’s a Coffee Day, a chain of coffee shops where they make that gelato affogato that I sometimes dream at night (but I don’t know if I will be able to have it here because it’s too cold, we are at 1770m above sea level), there’s a hot shower in the guesthouse and a clean dormitory where a bed costs me only 1,5 euro per night.

There’s also an ayurveda massage school at the guesthouse. Tibetan momos in the streets. A coffee shop with free wifi 10 meters from there. And that is exactly where I rushed as soon as I changed my shoes.

It’s 5 am in Italy, why is there no one on skype? But what do I find on Facebook? I beautiful birthday video made by my family. People were looking at me and wondered why I was crying and laughing. Thanks a lot for the birthday wishes. I would spend all birthdays away, if this is what I can expect.

The Dalai Lama lives here. Maybe he’s around these days? I might tell him it’s my birthday… Oh no, I checked their website and he’s in Japan now, for a Peace Nobel price summit. Maybe next time…