Thursday:
I awoke early this morning, as I have tended to do since arriving in McLeod Ganj. My room was very cold, so I stayed under the covers with my hot-water bottle. Finally I mustered the nerve to face the day, and went down to order a chai. I drank my tea on the rooftop terrace, which is warm and sunny, and provides a view of the valley and the Himalayan peaks beyond.

I went down for breakfast and met an American, newly arrived in India. Speaking with him, I was reminded of how disoriented I was upon my arrival.
After breakfast I stopped into the class which I will be teaching next week. Then I went to my first private lesson at 11:00. My student, Sunam, is a young monk from a monestary in Southern India, who is here to study English. I met him in his small room, and we talked for an hour. When we were done with our lesson, he offered to cook me lunch. He prepared spinach withlots of garlic and onion, which we ate with a type of tibetan bread (like a giant english muffin).
Right after lunch I went for a tibetan massage, which uses lots of scented oils. My back had been hurting, and this helped. I had some time after the massage, and wandered around town. At 5:00 I taught another private lesson to another monk. Then I stopped and bought a large red shawl, like the monks wear. It is getting quite cold here, and I still don’t seem to have enough warm clothes.
At 7:00 I went to a meditation class, which I’ve been attending all week. The class is run by a young Tibetan man at one of the many language schools in town. I find it very relaxing.
I had dinner with my French friend Christine (whom I met in Mussoorie). We went to a tibetan restaurant and had noodles and momos. We shared a table with an Israeli man and a Tibetan woman. I like the diversity here…it reminds me of Berkeley.
Finally I returned to my hotel, grabbed a hot-water bottle, and headed to bed by 10:00.