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IN THIS ISSUE

• Louise Kruithof is enthusiastic about a Tibetan museum
• Pat Moore visits a silver factory in China
• Barbara Wear brings us up to date on Richard Ross´ next adventure
• This popular story compares whales with mermaids
• Don Henderson forwards some snarky observations about men
• Tom Kyle´s story suggests a novel way to get attention
• Catherine Green and Nevil Horsfall suggest websites

Louise Kruithof is very impressed by

THE MUSEUM OF TIBETAN MEDICINE

On a recent Monday, accompanied by a young high school graduate, I went to visit the Museum of Tibetan Medicine. What a pleasant surprise that was. The museum opened only over a year ago and has been well looked after since.

The entrance foyer is a very large and high room that opens to exhibition rooms on both the ground floor and the first floor. The entrance hall has the regular sculpture but behind that is the most amazing work of art I have seen in a long time. It is a combination of painting and use of cloth and the whole thing comes off beautifully. There is a web site which talks about it a bit and has photos, although they do not do it justice. The site is http:// arunaurl.com/35dg

The rest of the museum is just as impressive. The first room has a huge collection of Tibetan medicine herbs and minerals. I did recognize some of the plants; others were a mystery to me. They are labelled in Tibetan and Chinese, and most also in Latin.

The next room shows how the Tibetans used the sun and the moon to count the days, a calendar of sorts, and how they predicted weather patterns. Amazing how well they did that and how accurate they were. In my opinion, it compares quite well with the weather channel reports!

Next room is where I was totally enthralled by what I saw. They show ancient poster-size paintings done with so much precision that one cannot be left indifferent to them. They are called tangkhas or thangkas, according to where you look. Each one shows one aspect of medical care for the more common health problems. [Ed note: google has many examples of this art form.]

I stayed so long in front one of them that the lights which are triggered by movement went out. It shows where babies come from. First there is a man and it shows sperm, and then a woman and an egg, and then they are together under a blanket. The next drawing shows the foetus in the womb, and it goes on showing the growth of the foetus until birth. The details are almost incredible and from what I know, also very accurate. What makes it mind boggling is that those were drawn over 500 years ago, possibly earlier. It even shows the medicine practitioner how to tell if a baby is a boy or a girl while still in the womb.

One of the next ones showed in minute details the whole blood circulation system within the body, another one the whole skeletal structure, and so on. A bit further, a series of thangkas indicates which plants to use to help with which ailment, and the dosage, and if they could be poisonous in large quantities.

A bit further yet another series showed which foods should be eaten regularly and which ones should be consumed only occasionally.

Coming out of that exhibition hall, I wanted to rush to the museum store and buy copies of those amazing charts. In my mind, I was ready to pay a large sum of money to get them. Alas, this is not North America and they have just started doing the photography so they can publish some of this knowledge. A pity!

Still amazed, we went upstairs to see what else is on display. Well, more amazing stuff. One room which extends to half the whole upstairs displays an extraordinary thangka. This one is, so I was told, 680 meters long, about one metre high, and took approximately four years to complete with about 400 artists working on the painting, under the supervision of one man who dreamed the whole thing. This extraordinary piece of work shows the evolution of life on earth as the Tibetans see it. At the beginning, there is sky and water; then it starts to change, with some mountain peaks showing above the water line. Further along, the mountains are higher and the water lower. Then come the primates and their evolution from four-legged walkers to two-legged walkers, and it goes on until human forms appear, and eventually it introduces Buddhas and other iconic figures. It also pictures the history of wars and changes in dynasties. I am normally not exuberant talking about what I see but this one just bowled me over.

We went downstairs to the museum store where they do not yet have books showing the exhibits. Big disappointment there. On the other side they have lots of thangkas which may be purchased to take home. The price is a bit steep but the work is magnificent. I plan on returning soon to look at everything again. If you ever are so lucky as to come this way, do not miss visiting this museum.

Pat Moore recalls more of their experiences in

CHINA

After a thrilling stay in Xian we expected to take a train - this time an express - back to Chengdu, but after a phone call, the interpreter said we were flying - with no explanation.

The flight was uneventful, except that after we requested "no smoking", we were assured,"No problem." The plane held about 100 male passengers and we were surprised to find that no smoking meant no smoking on the left side of the aisle, but smoking on the right side. So we got second-hand smoke - and almost everyone smoked! It was Interesting to note that imported cigarettes sold in China carried no warning that smoking is bad for the health!

When we arrived back in Chengdu, we found the reason for getting back in a hurry. One of the projects we had left for the other teachers to organize while we were in Xian was to prepare a large export order of 10,000 pieces of carved bamboo plates, plus other assorted carved and engraved pieces. We thought this would give the different managers - whether from a small factory or a large factory - a chance to work together on the order.

However, the Chinese trait of not wanting to disappoint anyone or say anything negative really complicated the whole order.. One group of factory managers did not want to tell the other group that the team looking after the final drying of the lacquer on the carvings could not do so as it was not that factory´s turn to have electricity that week.

The export order was due to be shipped in 48 hours. In desperation, we got them thinking "outside the box" and they solved the problem - with human labor. In no time at all they assembled all the workers to build huge platforms in the open inner square of the buildings. The framework was made of bamboo and very high so that platforms could be placed horizontally every few inches. There was enough room to place all the pieces that needed drying on the platforms. Fortunately, the weather was sunny and warm for a couple of days and the order was completed and finished on time. Disaster averted!

During the next week I had another opportunity to have time to myself and also a driver and interpreter, and I asked to visit a silver factory nearby. After a pleasant short ceremony and visit with the manager of the factory, I was amazed to watch the wonderful pieces of art work silver pieces and jewelry being produced. It was also interesting to find out that because of the intense and detailed work, every two hours it was mandatory for everyone to stand up and do eight minutes of physical exercises beside their workbenches designed especially for their particular task. Each worker had a different set of physical exercises, depending on his or her work. They worked long hours and this was to prevent long-term physical disabilities to their fingers, back or eyes. During their lunch hour they also were required to do some exercises. They all ate together in the same cafeteria and many of the workers also lived in the dormitory provided for them as many worked far from their original home or parents.

This Chinese coin is an example of the intricate work they did in that factory: I was thrilled when I was granted permission to visit the exhibition room and the factory manager allowed me to purchase an exquisite silver bracelet. The bracelet was closed by joining two detailed dragon heads that could be intertwined.

Barbara Wear forwards a clipping on the career of Richard Ross, whom we last heard from in India:

OFF TO AFRICA

As reported in the Gloucester Daily Times, Richard Ross is leaving next week for the West African nation of Senegal, where he will serve in the Peace Corps.

"If I am as fortunate enough to complete my expected time of service, I will be there a total of 27 months," Richard told the Times. "I will be working in urban and peri-urban agriculture, assisting in projects that deal with food security, as well as creating more sustainable strategies in terms of recycling and re-use. Much of my focus will be in response to the ever-growing urban populations of Africa."

Like all West African Peace Corps volunteers, regardless of specialization, Richard will be expected to lead efforts to raise the awareness of HIV/AIDs. Before he receives his assignment, he will participate in an intensive three-month training course with 56 other trainees in the Senegalese city, Thies. If he meets all requirements, he will then begin his two years of service.

During the first three months, Richard will live with a host family to become fully immersed in the country´s language and culture.

He graduated in 2008 from the American University in Washington, D.C., where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the School of International Service. He spent the past year living in New Delhi, India, working on similar initiatives within the field of development.

"I was an international development major in university, and was also inspired by a long list of family members who have served overseas in the world of development, including both a sister and cousin in the Peace Corps," said Richard of his decision to become a volunteer.

He invites interested readers to follow his adventures on his blog, http://www.richardaross.blogspot.com.

ED. NOTE: If you wish to read about Richard´s African odyssey, I suggest you bookmark his site.

The following story obviously struck a nerve because it was sent to me by Barbara Wear, Pat Moore, and Rafiki and maybe some others whom I have forgotten:

Recently in a large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin, tanned woman appeared in the window of a gym. It read:

THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?

A middle-aged woman whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern:

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans). They have an active sex life, they get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins, stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Barren Sea, and the coral reefs of Polynesia. Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don´t exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human? They don´t have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them, not to mention how could they have sex? Therefore they don´t have kids either. Not to mention, who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me; I want to be a whale.

P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver, and a coffee with my friends. With time we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren´t heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, "Good gosh, look how smart I am!"

Don Henderson passes on these admittedly nasty

PIECES OF ADVICE TO BE PASSED ON TO EVERY WOMAN YOU KNOW

1. Don´t imagine you can change a man - unless he´s in nappies.

2. What do you do if your boyfriend walks out? You shut the door.

3. If they put a man on the moon - they should be able to put them all up there.

4. Never let your man´s mind wander - it´s too little to be out alone.

5. Go for the younger man. You might as well, they never mature anyway.

6. Men are all the same - they just have different faces, so that you can tell them apart.

7. Definition of a bachelor: a man who has missed the opportunity to make some woman miserable.

8. Women don´t make fools of men - most of them are the do-it- yourself types.

9. Best way to get a man to do something is to suggest he is too old for it.

10. Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener.

11. If you want a committed man, look in a mental hospital.

12. The children of Israel wandered around the desert for 40 years. Even in Biblical times, men wouldn´t ask for directions.

13. If he asks what sort of books you´re interested in, tell him cheque books.

14. Remember a sense of humour does not mean that you tell him jokes, it means that you laugh at his.

15. Sadly, all men are created equal.

Tom Kyle sends this useful information:

HOW TO CALL THE POLICE WHEN YOU ARE OLD

George Phillips of Meridian , Mississippi, was going up to bed when his wife told him that he´d left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened the back door to go turn off the light, but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things.

He phoned the police, who asked, "Is someone in your house?" He said, "No." Then they said, "All patrols are busy. You should lock your doors and an officer will be along when one is available."

George said, "Okay." He hung up the phone and counted to 30.

Then he phoned the police again.

"Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well, you don´t have to worry about them now because I just shot them." He hung up.

Within five minutes, six police cars, a SWAT team, a helicopter, two fire trucks, a paramedic, and an ambulance showed up at the Phillips´ residence, and checked on the reported shooting.

One of the policemen said to George, "I thought you said that you shot them!"

George said, "I thought you said there was nobody available!"

SUGGESTED WEBSITES

Catherine Green sends the URL for a history site:

http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/111603.html

Nevil Horsfall writes: This is an interesting site. Check the water filter video especially:

http://arunaurl.com/35b5

Having grown up in the Depression and lived through the war years, I am inclined to be frugal (Jay says I´m cheap!), so this site really appeals to me:

http://arunaurl.com/35d3

To hear Roger Whittaker sing "The Last Farewell":

http://arunaurl.com/35df