27.11.2004

Family reunion... Indian style

While the McFamily were partying it up in NYC, I was indulging in my own McFamily reunion here in McLeod Ganj. It’s not often that you stumble across family in weird and wonderful parts of the world, so I was so very excited about meeting up with my long lost cousin Elizabeth here in Northern India.

When saying our goodbyes last family reunion in Jasper, Canada, who would have thought that our next sighting would be in Northern India, ten years on. Elizabeth has been living in India for the past five years as a Buddhist nun and is currently studying Tibetan in the holy town of Saranath, near Varanasi.

My job was made easy when meeting up - I just had to look for a western nun in robes, while Elizabeth had to search her memory for someone resembling a 15 year-old Danielle - not that I’ve actually changed that much over the years! As we satisfied hungry bellies over yummy Tibetan cooking, we swapped past family tales and current happenings. At dusk, Elizabeth took us on a tour around the local Buddhist temple, home of the Dalai Lama, where this pic was taken. We were able to stretch out the visit until the next afternoon, where some good old McDougal outdoor standards were maintained. A brisk walk to the local waterfall, where ten years worth of constant chatter carried on. And on. And on.

Was a short but sweet visit, but glad to do it Indian style this time.