tashi delek!

hi girls, how are you? today school breaks for losar! woohoo! the final year students are still rushing for their piece though. i will be in school to accompany kim, and maybe paint a little tomorrow. today there is lama dancing and some kind of ceremony at the monastery, tomorrow too. i was there watching with my comical the joker of the class, aung ngawang (the one holding the cat is my last blog) is his name, also with sonam and pema. today i found out that he is handicapped, not able to speak but he is the sweetest in class. alway helping everyone and making all of us laugh. i got to know the 3 of them better today i am happy. but i have no idea what the story of the dance is about. this guy is cutting something up with his sword. they are always cutting evil stuff up. haha.. i like the animal faced mask dancers, there is one like a pig, and a bird. my 2 most fashionable monk classmates, aung babu and dorje. haha... you should see aung babu with his pink and yellow flower print scarf with that yellow knitted vest (he is wearing here). i nearly fainted! monks has pretty wierd taste when it comes to fashion. haha.. next time he wears it again, i will take a photo. sometimes when i look at the final year students work, it seems quite impossible, the fine details and perfect outlining of every curve. you know its so difficult to draw the curvy lines with such a thin brush. they call it the '2 hair' brush. so fine. but its also the fineness of thangka painting that first captivated me. the last trip i learnt the inside shading of the cloud. this trip i am taught the outside lining. i like painting clouds..
this is good motivation for all of us. it is placed outside the classroom. 'there is nothing that remains difficult once you get used to it.' YES! my outlining will be perfect sooner or later. its a matter of practise. drolma disappeared for a few days. today i saw her enjoying the sun near the monastery gate. she is a darling. so cute. perfect eyeline. this evening, we went to chase the tailor! 'sabanam tailor' remember him, he is the best in boudha! haha.. and yes!!! its ready! i got my first chuba! done! i love it! but i am not going to show you here. haha i will show you when i wear it on losar. kim is going to teach me how to wear it, i will go to her place and then do our make up and hair there and try to look as tibetan as we can. haha... my classmates say they look forward to see me in a chuba. today kim and i start to plan our losar programme. first we will go rinponche's house to get his blessing, or maybe attend a morning prayer puja at shechen first then go. after that, we will visit our classmates at their homes. haha that would be fun! chimme's house will be the first.
today tashi showed me where to get a thermo flask. its so cold and the guesthouse i am staying at ran out of flasks. oh i love my made in china thermos.
ok i will continue to blog. stay tuned! and i hope you girls have a great chinese new year and valentine's day! i sure will be enjoying mine here! love to all....