Dharamshala

I think Dharamshala could not be any more different from Delhi. In Delhi, the only white person I spoke to was the French patient who was admitted to VIMHANS at the beginning of my stay. Other than that, I was always the only white girl. Obviously, there are a lot of tourists in Delhi but since I was always at the hospital I did not see them a lot nor did I talk to them. Coming to Dharamshala, my perception of India has totally changed. It is totally different than what I have experienced in Delhi. There are tons of tourists here. Everywhere. I see more tourists here than local people. At the beginning of my stay, I thought it was pretty cool. I meet people constantly, have nice conversations and exchange experiences and stories. But at the end, I am glad that I was first totally emerged in the Indian culture in Delhi so I at least know what India is all about because I don’t think Dharamshala reflects that at all.

I also think I have found what I was looking for in terms of my academic goals. Every other store here in Dharamshala offers Yoga Therapy, Meditation Therapy, Training in Reiki, Hypnotherapy and so on. This is what I was looking for in Delhi but a lot of the doctors at the hospital were strongly opposed to it so there was never too much opportunity to ask about those kind of things. But here I can talk to a lot of people. I have met a few people who are teaching it or learning it. Most of the diseases treated by the above mentioned therapies are physical. I am sure though that when I look a little more I will actually find more information about how mental illness can be treated with it. I was also thinking of taking a yoga course myself to get a better understanding about how yoga can potentially work for mentally sick people. I am also thinking about doing a 10 day Vipassna retreat where I am supposed to meditate all day every day in silence.  

Let's see... For now, I think there are a lot of things to explore. I will stay updated.