Would you like to go to Bhutan?

One knows that it is not so easy to travel to Bhutan. The entry into the country is controlled by the royal family and strict rules for travelers apply. So here I am sitting in India, talking to a wonderful woman who I just met named Maggie. She is talking about being tired and leaving for a trip next week. Innocently I asked: Where are you going? Bhutan, she says. Little did I know that she is the Bhutan expert and the main traveling teacher from our Buddhist sangha for the subject Bhutan. She knows the country inside out and all the stories around it. This year she is telling me is special because the group was only going to be 12 when usually close to 60. And then she said: Do you want to go? I only hesitated for a second due to cost considerations, but all of me was screaming YEEEES. I circled the meditation hall three times and slipped a note under her door: Please take me with you to Bhutan!!! Thanks to my sister helping me out with the money transfer I am now all set to go. I am really going! I still can't believe it. I hope I am making myself clear how unbelievable this is for me to get a last minute opportunity like this. It does not happen like this or it does. And surely higher powers are at play here. We are leaving for Nepal on Saturday and then with a small plane along the Himalayas and on with jeeps into Bhutan for a 10 day trip. I can't say how wonderful it feels to be free to be able to accept an offer like this, or any offer in that matter. I feel the freedom to take chances and follow my heart like never before. I am still planing to make it down to Kerala in the second part of my trip, but who knows what else is coming my way until then.....
Maybe a little more about where I am right now:
KIBI - Karmapa International Buddhist Institute
Every year our Buddhist group offers a three months course to study Buddhism here in India. The course is serious and I have previously multiple times checked out the curriculum. I don't think there is a better opportunity like this to study Buddhism with some of the highest and most respectable teachers in the field. I didn't make it to partake in the course this year, but will keep it in mind for the future. It must be possible to create a life which supports more freedom for ones studies and spirituality. The students live here at the center and study all things Buddhism, including learning Tibetan language. At the end of the three months course a public course is held for seven days, also with teachings. This is the part that I am partaking right now. The course is a combination of studies and days of initiations by our head lama - a rare and special honor, following a long Tibetan tradition within Buddhism. My days have been pretty full with teachings and not much free time. I was able to get a space here in the Institute with a super nice American girl, Ryan. She is one of the whole semester long students and kindly let me crash in her room. I have the highest appreciation for all the 60 people who came here from all over, who interrupted their lives back home only to focus on studying Buddhism in the solitude, only for their own development. What a commitment!!! In between I have been able to check out Delhi a bit and must say I like it. I can't talk about the poverty I have seen and some of the conditions within people are living here every day. I can't talk about it simply because I don't have words for it. I choose not to ignore it either and in between somewhere I ended up in my own experience of acceptance and just taking in without taking it on. And then the space is provided for the actual experience. I am pretty brave in terms of getting places and trying everything - including foods from the street. How could you not! It looks and smells wonderful. Everyone tells me I am going to get sick anyways, so why miss out on at least trying what looks new and interesting. The food is wonderful and gives me inspiration. The rest of the time we get fed at the center and spoiled by a wonderful Tibetan cooking team. I love Asian food!!! I have been to several markets and so far found whatever I was looking for. One adventure I must share. Yesterday I went to a tailor wanting to have some outfits made. I actually brought not enough nice cloth, only simply traveling gear. Once in Bhutan we will be meeting the royal family and I need a nice dress. So I was on a mission. The tailor was found, but I had no fabric yet. And so the tailor offered to lead me to the fabric store. I did not know he meant on his motorcycle. From here on only people who have been to India are going to appreciate the braveness included in the rest of the story. My friend and I were packed on the back of the motorcycle and off we went. Yes - there was 3 of us on one bike but that is totally normal here. We could have fit at least two more children and a dog. I knew I wasn't going to die in India, my heart was jumping for joy over the adventure ahead. We drove through town in the warm wind and dust, honking endlessly and trying not to run over or get run over by anyone else. The whole traffic chaos amazes me and somehow it works for everyone here. We did get to the fabric store and back safely. The tailor even bought us amazing sweets and coca cola on the way, apparently a part of his customer service or simply to be nice. I don't know. In the end he took my measurements and tomorrow I'll see what my hand tailored green long silk dress will look like. I am excited. Did I mention the total cost will be around 12USD and that includes the free motorcycle tax ride. Priceless.