Momos and Yak Butter Tea

Greetings!

This is our last day at SECMOL before we leave for the trek. Since we've last written, everything has been going wonderfully! We have all adjusted to the altitude and are over jetlag. In the past few days we have visited two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Leh--the Snow Leopard Conservation Society and the Women's Alliance.

On Friday we climbed SECMOL mountain, a small mountain the school has adopted as its own, with our trekking guide Kunzes and some Ladakhi students. The hike took about three hours, including a nice rest and snacks as we enjoyed the view up top, and was great preparation for our trek. For dinner that night, everyone staying on campus pitched in to make momos, Tibetan-style vegetable dumplings.

On Saturday we drove to Phyang, a nearby village, with the 40 Ladakhi students who are currently studying at SECMOL. Kunzes paired our students up with the Ladakhi students for a village-wide scavenger hunt. Our students had a blast--several were invited to join in a small festival, where they were given some of the infamous yak-butter tea! We then had a picnic lunch and visited Phyang gompa, the local Buddhist temple and monastery.

At the Women's Alliance this morning, women from a nearby village showed us how to spin wool into thread and how to extract apricot oil from apricot seeds (little nuts that look and taste very much like almonds). Our hostess also briefed us on the Women's Alliance's work to promote traditional crafts in Ladakh. The students then took turns helping the Ladakhi women spin wool and grind seeds. Everyone is now enjoying a little time to walk around Leh and pick up any last minute trekking essentials. We'll meet up in a few minutes to visit Leh palace and then head back to SECMOL to have dinner and pack up for the trek.

The students all report that they are getting a lot out of this trip so far. They are an enthusiastic, lively, and thoughtful group, and we're enjoying them so much!

Cheers,

Andrew and Joanna