On Monday the group walked from Huntington Beach to Seal Beach. Joining us was a member of the Swedish Tibet Committee, Sara Bender, who will finish off the walk with us. (If you haven't checked out the "Meet the Walkers" page, take a look!) That evening, we were invited to dinner at Che's house. The dinner was delicious, as every Tibetan meal has been so far. The night progressed into games of pool and carrom, and it was difficult to draw everyone back to our house.
After breakfast at Lamu-la's house, the group packed and moved to Thupten Dhargye Ling monastery in Long Beach, where we were welcomed with more food. From the moment we arrived at TDL, as it is known, we were fed constantly and many walkers have actually complained of gaining weight. TDL monastery is headed by Geshe Tsultim Gyaltsen, who has a large local following and has recently published a book. It was especially kind of those who manage the monastery to allow the walkers to stay with them since they are currently preparing for the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in less than two weeks. It is at the request of TDL that the Dalai Lama is visiting Los Angeles for five days of teachings, and everyone here is working very hard at making the visit a success. They have even kindly donated tickets to the teachings to all of the walkers, and they have offered free tickets to the local Tibetan community. While we stayed with them, their generosity constantly apparent -- they wouldn't even let us wash our own dishes!
The activity in the center lent an air of anticipation to the walk -- only a few more days until we meet up with the north walkers, and not much longer than that until we meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama! The bustle of the center corresponded well to the increased excitement of the group and the anticipation of the end of the walk.
On Wednesday some members of the group had a three-hour press conference with seven different members of the Asian media. Organized by the Formosan Association for Human Rights, the conference included speeches by Tseten Phanucharas, Pema Lhundup, Ava Park, and Palden Gyatso, and members of FAHR. Then, a program called Periscope was recorded for Long Beach cable TV, with two segments: "Tragedy in Tibet" and "Tibet: Struggle in Exile." Palden-la, Namgyal, Pema, and Ava Park were interviewed by commentator Sam Coleman. That evening, a dinner was hosted by Lamu at her house, and the Blazers/Lakers playoff game kept everyone entertained. After dinner, Dhiraj Lama sang and played guitar, and the whole group joined in with American, Hindi, and Nepali tunes.
Thursday's walk saw the group finally cross into the city of Los Angeles. Appropriately, the walk was characterized by the scent of smog and industrial waste, and most of our motorist supporters were truck drivers. Walking along the Pacific Coast Highway in this area could be a challenge, but the loud truck horns kept us going. One female truck driver even turned around to pass us again. On Friday, we packed and moved to St. Peter's by the Sea, a gorgeous Presbyterian church on the cliffs in San Pedro.
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