Manny Muros:
On our last morning with the Tibetan family Mark and I tried to express our appreciation for all their warmth and hospitality given to us. Deep emotion and tears came to Sonam's eyes as she wanted to express thru us the gratitude she has to the "American people" who have helped them so much…. There was so much love and gratitude for the Nobel Prize received by their "God" the Dalai Lama. For the temples and settlements supported by the many donations coming from America…. The three of us were holding tears back….. I get upset at our country's foreign policy and by the rampant capitalization we create but it was so beautiful to also see how much good has been done in helping this nation of individuals create a new life on a foreign country.
There are also many parallels with the Cuban Communist Revolution that I was not aware of. In 1959 Castro took over Cuba and the Chinese Invaded Tibet (and I was born). There were two waves of immigrations in both Cuba and Tibet… Early and late 60's…. But they were granted large pieces of land to re-create their own culture and wait out till they can go back to Tibet… The Cubans have become one more flavor in the "Melting pot" of the US.
For the last 48 hours Mark and I have rested in Mangalore. A city that does not attract tourist nor foreigners. In our time here we have crossed only 2 couples that look western and we have been asked several times where do we come from?…. There is no one begging for money, the hotel is elegant and clean with actual hot water and we've been watching CNN and celebrating the US election results…. It feels like an Oasis in the middle of our travels :).
In a few hours we will be taking a train to the beach town of Palolem in Southern Goa and another stage of our journey will begin. We think/hope we have reservations for a tent on the beach, the only place we could find by phone. We hope to relax and just "be" for a few days. We plan to continue with our strong Yoga and Meditation practices and integrate the whirlwind journey we have done so far……
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