Third Day in London

One of my top goals for this trip was to go to the Highgate cemetery.  It is a bit out of town, so I took the Tube.  Even with taking the tube, I had about a 2km walk to get to the cemetery, though most of it was through a lovely park.

The Highgate cemetery is from the 1800's and on.  It is where Karl Marx, Douglas Adams, George Eliot, and many political leaders are buried.  The East part is open, but the West part requires a tour.  I purchased my tour ticket and wandered the East part for about an hour.  The tour of the West part was quite interesting - it is the older part, and was constructed (originally) to attract visitors.

After the tour, I spent a little more time on the East side of the cemetery.  I made my way back to town and found an Italian restaurant to grab a late lunch at.  I took the tube back to my hotel, and then set out in search of a bookstore I wanted to see while I was here.  As I wondered around, I found an interesting used bookstore.  At this point, I've bought books at 3 shops - my bags were already so heavy!  Oops.  It was getting to be later in the evening, and I was again very tired.  I had a cliff bar for dinner and went to bed.

Second Day in London

Originally, when  I booked my 10 AM ticket for a tea tasting, I was concerned that would be too early.  I guess I didn't understand how jet lag would be working... I woke up around 4:30 AM, confused how it was light outside.  I dosed a little more before breakfast (7:30 AM) and set out into the city.

I reached my destination, Postcard Teas, rather early.  It is in a major shopping area, but most of the stores hadn't opened yet.  I mostly window shopped, and popped in to a few of the earlier opening.  I returned to Postcard Teas a few minutes before 10 AM.

The tea tasting was excellent.  Tim explained the teas to us, while Jonathen brewed the tea in the back.  We started with green teas, with a comparison between Japanese and Chinese green teas.  We were shown pictures and videos of the tea making processes, and told about the different tea masters who produced the teas.  The second batch was Oolong, comparing different oxidizations.  These were my favorite - I love the complexity of this style.

We finished with Darjeeling and Assam.  We tried three different seasons of Darjeeling: spring, summer, and fall (or first, second, third flush).  I hadn't previously appreciated the variation that Darjeeling could have; I certainly preferred this to the darjeeling i have had in the past.

When the tasting was over, I tried two additional teas: a roasted oolong and a pu-erh.  I bought both teas; the prices at this shop were not as high as I expected, given that these were handmade teas from specific estates.

I returned to my hotel, about a 20 minute walk, and then set out for the Tate.  It was a fairly long walk; I stopped at a pub halfway.  I had a pint and fish and chips.  After, I crossed the Thames and found the Tate.  The museum was excellent - I didn't go to either of the specially-ticketed exhibits, but there was plenty of see of their standard exhibition.  They had a video piece that I had seen before (I'm not sure where) that has been one of my favorites, so I was thrilled to see it again.

Feeling a bit exhausted from all of the walking, I took a water bus from Tate Modern to Tate Britain.  I thought it might lead to a shorter walk, but that wasn't true.  On the boat I was able to see some great views of Big Ben, the London Eye, and other landmarks.  I didn't actually go into Tate Britain, but walked to Big Ben and Westminster.

At that point I wasn't too far from Buckingham Palace, where I walked next.  I wasn't there for the changing of the guards, but there were palace guards out front, wearing the funny hats and looking very serious.    I headed back to my hotel, walking through a different part of London from what I had seen so far.

I'm not sure how many miles I walked in total - possibly 10.  I was exhausted, and meant to take a nap.  That nap happened to last all night.  When I had planned this trip, I thought I might be out pub-hopping all night, but I'm too tired to do such things.  I also seem to be jet-lagged to be on an incredibly early schedule. 

First Day in London

The process of getting from the monastery to London took over 24 hours, but everything went as planned.  I got a reasonable amount of sleep on the (long) flight from Mumbai to Frankfurt.  In London, I took a train from the airport to the downtown area, and then a taxi to my hotel.  The taxi driver was very nice, explaining the sights along the way and telling me about other attractions
around my hotel.

I arrived a few hours before I could check in, so I dropped my bags off and started wandering.  The first thing that happens is that I find a used bookstore a few blocks from my hotel and buy a few books - including an exciting astronomy book from the late 1800s.  Oops.  I better get more of the books that I brought read, so that I can leave them behind.  My bag is far too heavy.

I aimed towards the West End, thinking I'd get theater tickets for tonight.  I found the theater where "Bend it Like Beckham: The Musical" was showing, and bought a ticket.  I kept walking and found the most amazing comic store.  It was geek heaven - two floors of books, dvds, comics, and merch.  I managed to walk out without buying something, mostly with my heavy suitcase in mind.  I did, however, read through a new issue of a comic that I know is waiting for me at home.  I'm not a patient person...

I found a small craft beer bar and decided to grab a pint.  It was certainly afternoon (if not yet late afternoon) but it was probably night in India.  They had a great selection of sours, and I got an amazing beer called "Cool as a Gherkin" - I'm fairly sure I have heard of it before.   I made it back to the hotel, showered, and took a nap.

I found a great Italian place for dinner on the way to the theater.  I was somewhat worried that it might take too long, but my food came quickly and I devoured it.  Arriving at the theater somewhat early, I walked around the block and found a cute garden out back.  I enjoyed the plants for a few minutes, then went into the theater.

The show was amazing.  It only opened 3 weeks ago, and this is the world premier.  The tone is slightly different than the movie, but the plot is largely the same.  The music was a mix of typical "musical"-type numbers, as well with some traditional Indian songs, and Bollywood-like numbers.  It was very fun!  The theater was beautiful, and the set design was incredible.  Most of the productions I have seen recently are college or community produced, so the level of a West End show blew me away.

I have some pictures from today, but the internet is rather spotty at the hotel.  I look forward to getting a full night's rest (on a completely horizontal surface) and getting up tomorrow for my tea tasting class.  

Animals Sighted in India

Eventually this will have pictures, but I need to start making the list before I forget.  Vaguely ordered in terms of awesomeness.  Hopefully there will be updates on the drive to Belgaum tomorrow!

• 3 monkeys (no pictures though!)
• 1 mongoose (it was not eating a snake)
• 1 tiny hummingbird the size of a bee
• One parrot, seemingly racing the car
• A few geckos/salamanders of various sizes in my bathroom and bedroom
• A dozen or so feral dogs, a few of which want to be friends and get fed, but most of which know to keep away from people
• One adorable feral puppy that really wanted to be friends
• a number of black bees, the size of small sparrows
• Wild pigs, both at the monastery and in the middle of large towns
• Many cows, which mostly look too thin, one of which was dead
• A reasonable quantity of sheep and goats, in places that are reasonable to find them
• A few frogs, which became a bazillion frogs after the rains.  I was worried about stepping on them at night, but the closest call came when one jumped onto my foot.
• Beautiful birds - some varieties of cranes and similar birds.
• Butterflies, sometimes a dozen at a time.  Many likes resting on the walls of the guesthouse.
• A few cats, one of which went into the monastery during the rain.  Maybe it is still in there, somewhere.
• Ants.  Ants everywhere.  I had no idea I could peacefully exist with so many ants.

Jangchub Choeling Nunnery

This afternoon, Tsondue and I went to the nunnery (I learned its name: Jangchub Choeling) and I gave a talk and answered some questions.  There were about 40 nuns there, and the talk itself was in the prayer hall.  I wasn't sure how long I would be expected to talk for, or how long the talk would become with translation.  I also wasn't sure the level of physics the nuns would be familiar with.

After introductions, I asked them if they had studied much physics.  A few of them, but they said mostly biology.  I also saw that translation was making everything take longer than expected, so I scaled back my talk significantly.  I started with conservation of energy, connecting it with causality and giving some simple examples (such as dropping objects).  I then talked about how we observe that galaxies (it took Tsondue a long time to explain galaxies) rotate too fast, given what we observe their mass to be.  Hence, I talked about dark matter and how it is an open question that we are pursuing experimentally.

The talk, including introductions, took about 30 minutes.  I wasn't sure when they had dinner or puja, so I wasn't sure how long questions would go.  We ended up answering questions for about 45 minutes.  Some of the nuns spoke flawless English, but others asked their questions in Tibetan.  A number of questions asked me how science relates to specific ideas in Buddhism - Tsondue addressed one of the questions that required a detailed understanding of Buddhism.

My favorite question, the 2nd one asked: "When I first learned science, there were 9 planets.  Now there are only 8.  What happened to Pluto?".  I explained that it was just a clarification of terminology, since we now know of many Pluto-like objects.

There were also questions about biology, which I took a stab at (and admitted my lack of expertise).  Two of the nuns were responsible for most of the questions.  One had been enthusiastically taking notes the entire time, and the other asked for our contact info at the end.  I wish I could bring them back to Agnes Scott!

The Tibetan monks and nuns are incredibly intelligent and want to understand the world, but they come from a completely different perspective from science.  I got few "out of left field" questions from my monks, which I attribute to them already having one summer of science through ETSI.  The nuns asked more questions that showed that they are thinking about scientific facts that they are learning, but don't know the "scientific perspective":

• In E=mc^2, why is the speed of light c and not a or b?
• Science says that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.  In Buddhism we say the mind travels faster than light.  Can you explain why you say nothing travels faster than light?
• Are atoms living? 

The nuns were enthusiastic, and it seems like many of the ETSI people are interested in establishing better connections with them.  It was great to talk there.  They had snacks and water at the table we were sitting at, and gave us tea part of the way through.  (The nuns have fancy china, the monks do not)

Tsondue and I with the some of the nuns, in front of the prayer hall.

I'm really glad that this talk came together, since it seemed to be a great experience for them and I really enjoyed it.  There is now talk of trying to do more events like this while ETSI faculty are in the area.  Only a small fraction of the local monks are in our program, and our curriculum is fairly narrowly defined.  Giving topical talks and answering questions would be a great way to more broadly present scientific ideas here.

While I was sipping tea in the prayer hall, looking out at the nuns and listening to my ideas presented in Tibetan, I definitely thought "this is the coolest thing I have ever done".  It was a great way to end my time here.  

Last Lunch, afternoon

Today we had lunch in a different place - small, rather lavish, room on an upper floor of the monastery.  We were joined by the current Abbot of the monastery, as well as two former Abbots of other monasteries.  There was an offering ceremony (by a Tulku about the Geshe exam) made to us.  The biology instructors are here now, so some of the things I am seeing at the end of my time (this, Saga Dawa) is what they are starting with.

It looks like I will be heading over to the nunnery.  Since it is the only nunnery in the area, no one actually calls it by name (unlike the monasteries).  I'll try to figure out the name later today. It is still somewhat unclear what will occur.  There may be another physicist going who brought more demo equipment than I did.  Otherwise, I think I'm going to be lecturing (no slides or visuals or anything) by myself.  It also sounds like I'll be speaking in the prayer hall itself...

I'm not quite sure what to teach.  The nuns do learn science, but I'm guessing any audience would be made of a variety of ages and education levels.  I'm not used to "lecturing" without slides or visual aids.  Also, there will be a translator.  And I have less than 2 hours to prepare at this point... I'm thinking of trying to talk about some of the basic ideas in science, like conservation of energy.  I want to try to hit some topics I'd guess some are familiar with, but then try to draw connections to modern fields of research and unanswered questions: like dark matter.  

Class Pictures

This morning, right before class, we did a large group photo at the front stairs of the monastery with all of the students from both classes, the instructors, and translators.  I don't have a copy of that picture yet.

I wanted a picture of my teaching group and my students - we tried going to the front of the classroom, which was a terrible idea.  We could have crammed together, but then all of the pillars would have been in the way for the picture!  We went to the roof and I got some photos on my camera - someone came up with the nice camera, so I hope to get some better pictures later.

My students, translators, and Tsondue.  Our classroom is the windows to the right (in the picture).  The monastery in the distance is Gomang.

The teachers!

Did they learn anything?

Happily, my students have learned something.  I have done an initial analysis of the math assessment, and there is a statistically significant increase in scores.  Not every student did better, but some did incredibly better.  I was skeptical that math could be "taught" in two days, but it certainly looks like we were able to increase their math skills with two days of focused math instruction and practice throughout the physics section.

My students are now taking their final exam.  I am unsure how involved I will be in grading it - much of it is multiple choice, so I should be able to grade those questions, even in Tibetan.  I don't know what scores I would be "happy" with on the test.  I think the test is too long for the time they have to take it - nominally, 2.5 hours.  I expect they are better at staying focused on a task for that long, compared to American students.  It is clear that some of them had reviewed their notes, since today there were some very specific questions on material I had previously covered.

I really think this program is "working".  The students are naturally creative and inquisitive, but they are not used to approaching scientific problems.  Watching them in lab and based on the questions they asked, I think they are acquiring the ability to use a scientific framework.  Based on what the first year instructors talked about, it seems like there is a difference between the students' questions in their first year of the program versus the second year.

I want to learn more about Tibetan Buddhism, especially their approach to knowledge.  They are extremely logical and have a well developed system for analyzing and debating phenomena.  There are certain challenging physics topics - like the possible existence for a third type of electrical charge - that they might be able to understand much more quickly than American-trained students.  Pedagogically, it is always important to know what knowledge (and misconceptions) students come into your classroom with.  Here it is even more important, especially if I work with a different translator in the future.

Saying Goodbye

Tomorrow is my last day of teaching - and even then, it is mostly handing out the exam.  I want to cover universal gravitation first, but that is it.  Today we had a closing ceremony - all of the students piled into one classroom and there were comments from the administrators of Gomang and Loseling.  Us instructors made some comments, and we were presented with beautiful wall hangings.  I'm probably going to move my PhD in my office to hang this (once I figure out how to get it back to the US).

The biologists have arrived, who teach the next section.  It is strange to think of handing over "my" students and "my" classroom to them.  I've only been here slightly over a week - I don't feel ready to leave.  I'm not just planning on returning next year, I'm planning on returning most years.  While I may not be able to pick what topic and monastery I teach at next year, I'm sure I can make a request.  I'm already debating whether I want to teach the same topic, since I have so many ideas for improvements, or whether I want to teach the same students the next physics class in the sequence.

I'm not sure there are plans for what I will be doing tomorrow, once my students are taking the exam.  There was discussion of going back to the nunnery (whose name I should learn!) to give a small physics lecture.  If that doesn't happen, I'll be packing up.  We leave Thursday morning; it is a few hour drive to Belgaum, where our flight departs (probably) at noon.

Saga Dawa (Vesak)

The monastery, lit up specially for

Today is Saga Dawa (Vesak), which celebrates Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and death.  I think that makes it Easter and Christmas, all in one day.  The lights on the monastery temple are incredibly impressive, and there is an extra amount of chanting today.  I even heard the horns, for the first time!

At Sunset.

Everything is beautiful, and the chants are louder than normal.  There have been lay Tibetans all around the monastery, and some of the students didn't come to class.  I went to one of the later pujas, which included a light offering.

I had been told that we could just go in the "front door" and there would be a place for us to sit.  But when you walk up to a huge door and inside there are a few hundred monks chanting... it feels a little intimidating to just walk in.  Especially since the monks aren't facing away from the giant door...  After a bit of standing outside, we went to the 2nd floor overlook area.

I'm most impressed by the lack of broken lights, especially after the storms the past 2 days.

From the overlook area it was easy to hear (and it occasionally bordered on deafening) and see.  I couldn't actually see who was leading the chants - I think they were blocked by the pillars.  After some time a monk brought us some cushions to sit on - as he walked up, I was expecting to be told to leave.  I keep feeling like I am going where I am not supposed to.  I'm somewhat concerned the Tibetans are too nice to tell me if I actually did...

After a little bit, the monks filed out for the light offering.  Everyone had candles, there was additional chanting, blowing of horns, and then placing the candles on the ground around the plaza.  The group of monks I teach are roughly my age, but this group had many teenagers and children.  many of them took to jumping over the candles and bushes.

Monks in the plaza chanting

Candles were left at the edge of the plaza, but it seemed like some monks were taking their candles farther away as well.

After the light offering, I went back up to my spot overlooking the prayer hall.  A group came in (I think they are from Taiwan) and made offerings at the altar and to the monks.  There was much more chanting, and I think a reading.  At one point, large groups of younger monks (maybe 10?) ran in - they seemed to be racing each other - and started pouring beverages for the other monks.  Later, there was some sort of ceremony involving 3 monks, elaborate outfits, and the altar.

My view from the overlook, towards the altar

I stayed for an hour (after the light offering).  As I was getting hot and thinking about dehydration, one of the monks brought me a juice box and water.  Later in the ceremony, there was a huge stampede of young monks who ran in and grabbed boxes in the front.  They tore open the boxes and started handing out the contents to the seated monks.  I'm pretty sure I saw bags of chips - I think other things were snacks as well.  Other monks dragged in tubs of bananas.  So, Buddhist equivalent of opening the stockings?

My joints were starting to hurt and I realized I had work to do for tomorrow, so I headed home around 10:30 PM.  I'm very glad that I went, and I hope that Saga Dawa falls during the Physics ETSI week in the future.  Its placement is based on a lunar calendar, so it could be a few years before my ETSI week and the holiday intersect again.  Next time, I'll find out if I was really supposed to walk in the front doors during the chanting and be a bit more bold.

Tour Day: Gaden

We started our tour by picking up the other ETSI instructors.  They are at Gaden, a monastery a short drive from our monastery.  They stay farther from the monastery building, so get driven in every morning.  It seems like the arrangements there aren't quite as good - no air conditioning, not as good food, etc.  So when I return in future years, I certainly hope to be back at Loseling...

Ganden is comprised of two different main monasteries.  Both were rather lovely.  Most of these buildings are very old - there was a large influx of Tibetans into India in the 1990's, so the monasteries grew a lot shortly after.  Loseling was built in the 2000's, though there are older (smaller) buildings nearby.

At Gaden we were able to see one of the kitchens.  These are at "industrial" kitchen scale, but don't feel like a factory.  Food gets made for 100s of monks, including pieces of bread and buns shaped by hand.

Mural at the entrance.

This is a side "chapel", where monks chant for the protector spirits of the monastery.

The prayer hall - monks would sit on the foam pads.

These statues are probably 8-10 feet tall.

I assume that candles were traditionally used, but now there is an assortment of colored bulb, flicker bulbs, and even some color-changing LED lights.  Offerings are made for each of the statues.

The central Buddha is about twice as tall as the others.

A 3-dimensional Mandala, depicting a temple where the gods dwell.  These are presented as gifts during visits from lamas and during important teachings.

A wok big enough to bathe in.  The stack of pans are steamers, and the burner is about 3 feet in diameter.

Cooks preparing to take the bread that has been made.  Monks rotate through cooking duty.

The many Buddhas are representative of the belief that there will be many Buddhas (enlightened ones).

Got me to a Nunnery!

(I had to get my pun on, sorry)

Just like Tibetan monasteries, there are Tibetan nunneries.  We went to one nearby - unfortunately, I didn't get its name.  The Tibetan nuns have a similar curriculum to the monks, but their educational structure was established much more recently.

We arrived as the nuns were filing in to the temple for lunch and chanting.  Once they started, we headed in as well.  I feel very awkward watching someone else's worship (and taking pictures), but I guess it is ok.  One nun had a microphone and appeared to be leading the chant, but it didn't really seem to be in unison.  Many of the nuns were chanting from books, while others seemed to have the passages memorized.

In addition to the many nuns chanting and us ETSI visitors, there were nuns serving food and other women sitting around the edge of the room.  The women were not nuns, but were also chanting and receiving food.  Most of the nuns serving food were younger.  They did offer it to us, but we couldn't have most of it since we didn't have silverware or plates.  We were given an apple and cup of kurd (yogurt).  The kurd was brought by an adorable nun, who was probably about 6.  The box of kurd probably was half of her weight!

Nuns entering their prayer hall.

The shoes here are a little more colorful than at the monastery.

The nuns eating and chanting.  This was smaller than the monasteries we visited.

Tour Day: Gomang

Gomang is the monastery across the street from where I am teaching.  I don't fully understand the system here, but it seems like there are always two monasteries that are together.  I'm at Drepung, which consists of Drepung Gomang and Drepung Loseling (I think).  I'm teaching in the Loseling building.  Many of the monks in my class are from Gomang.  In addition to their monastery, monks also have a specific house they are from.

Gomang was decorated with many garlands.  There is a major holiday tomorrow, so the monasteries are extra decorated.  At Loseling they have hung lights outside.  I hope to see them lit up tonight or tomorrow morning.

Gomang is slightly smaller than Loseling.

All of the pillars and support structures are beautifully painted, in the Tibetan style.

Doorways, when not in use, and hung with these types of cloths.  Tibetans seem to place emphasis on everything being beautiful.

I think the garlands are for tomorrow's holiday.

Another beautiful shrine.  Some of the figures represent different deities, Buddha, and different scholars.

Even the ground is decorated.  Also, the monastery floors are incredibly beautiful marble.  The building in the background is "my" monastery, Loseling.

Tour Day: Drepung Loseling

Our last stop on our tour was the monastery I have been teaching at.  I was very excited to see the main hall. Even after the other monasteries, this was very impressive.  I had walked through a hallway that overlooks the hall, but I hadn't been able to clearly see the shrine at the front.  This was bigger than the other monasteries, and seemed somewhat fancier.

I walked by this door on my way too and from my classroom.  Occasionally it was open, showing the splendor of the prayer hall and letting out the incredible sounds of the chanting.

Not our usual entrance to the monastery!  When going in to classes we take the "back way" and are allowed to keep on our shoes.

The main altar of the Drepung Loseling monastery.

Certain figures or works of art have specific sponsors.

The hall, where the monks sit.  There is a hallway that runs along the top, which I had looked in on previously.

Now I know what is on the other side of the 202 door!

Decorations at the top of the pillars, taking from the 2nd floor walkway

In addition to the beautiful colors, the building is decorated with ornate carvings as well.

Everything on the outside is beautifully painted.

Tour Day: Shopping and Tea in Camp 3

After lunch today, I hoped to go shopping in the local town.  I hoped others would go, since I didn't want to walk by myself or negotiate a rickshaw by myself.  Most everyone wanted to go, so one of the monastery's drivers took us.

We stayed in the main cluster of shops, which had many monks shopping and socializing as well.  There were a number of small Indian children begging - they were impressively persistent.  One of the women I was with gave one of the girls money, but they didn't leave after that.  Later, the monks gave them coins and the children left.

As we were about to walk back to Drepung (about 3 km) a large group of our ETSI monks (those who are translating and helping us) arrived and we joined them for tea under a tamarind tree.

There is more to town (Camp 3) than this, but this is where we shopped.

I figured out how to take a selfie!  Shopping area is behind me.

The monks invited us to join them for tea.  The tea is sweet and milky and very hot.