SURVIVOR LADAKH

1st Pic: The first morning of village life. Tree having tea in her sleeping bag and Deb trying to change discreetly in hers...since all of our wonderful helpers were already up and about.

2nd pic: Our incredible first night welcome by the Amales (mothers) of Domkar-Gongma village. Traditional dancing in their traditional dress...yes, we all joined in and learned the dance moves too!

3rd pic: The gang (Vancouver team plus our 8 cooks/translators/trainees) on our walk from Bharma village to Dho village. Eat your hearts out girls ;)

4th pic: Izzy with a little boy with CP (and his mom) in Hanu-Gongma village after just trying out his new corner seat for the first time (complete with pool noodle lateral inserts!)

5th pic: The Ladakhi cast of a play in Bharma village. Drama is a major form of teaching in Ladakh. This play was a result of a mental health workshop we ran for the village youth.


Some highlights from our 2 weeks on the set of Survivor Ladakh!!
# of villages visited = 12
# of kids with disabilities seen = 15
# of workshops given (back care and youth mental health) = 9
# of people who never want to give a back care workshop again = everyone!
# of hours on the bus = 17
# of hours spent waiting for the bus = 17
# of baths taken per person in 2 weeks = 1.2!!!
# of Ladakhi toilets that we had to adjust to = 11
# of people who fell into a Ladakhi toilet = none, but several close calls!
# of people who had minor emotional breakdowns = all except 3 (Lea, Eric and Izzy)
Illnesses and injuries = infected hand (David); dysentary (Eric); food poisioning (Lea & Lex); colds (Tree and Lea); serious and persistent bug bites (Kate & Lex); minor falls while trekking (Deb & Izzy); diarrhea (everyone).
# of dances with village ladies and with our team of guys = 23
# of times we heard the new release Ladakhi song "Skalwa" = 1,000,000
# of times we thought of returning to Leh early = 5
# of times we pinched ourselves b/c of this incredible experience = all day everyday


To sum up: this past 2 weeks was a tour of rural Ladkah that you could never put a price on. We feel so lucky to have experienced it and are so thankful to our hosts for arranging it all.
We will add some more choice photos later when we find another internet cafe that allows us to slow up their wires.

Talk very soon,
Us.