Tibetan Family Life (Part 2)

We woke up the next morning around 9, and spent two hours arguing/discussing the situation in Tibet.Afterwards, we decided to visit one of the nearby monasteries with a monk from the inn.There were plenty of Chinese restaurants in Yushu, and we took the monk out to lunch to thank him for driving us around.Surprisingly, a picture of President Bush was hung on the wall of the inn.Despite his unpopularity in many parts of the world, Bush is extremely popular among Tibetans.This is because Bush recently met with the Dalai Lama and America is seen as a sort of counter to China.

After lunch, the Monk dropped us off at a small village surrounding the temple.A family was washing prayer flags when we arrived, so I decided to approach them and help out.Unfortunately, no one in the family spoke mandarin, and we didn’t have anyone who could translate at the time.Because of this language barrier, we didn’t have a chance to genuinely bond with the family.

We first entered the historic temple and then toured the surrounding area.Many Tibetans make pilgrimages to the temple and circle the mountain nearby.However, it is important to circle clockwise (we learned this the hard way).The mountain was full of yaks and sheep, and the entire circle took about an hour and a half.As we walked down from the mountain, we found ourselves in a small settlement of mud houses.Luckily, I realized that one of the mud houses also served as a sort of convenience store.In many small Yushu villages the convenience store is very small, and customers select and buy products from the window.However, I walked right through into the house because I didn’t see the window.The vendor spoke very little Chinese, but we started having a friendly conversation communicating nonverbally.As we became more and more friendly, the vendor sat us in his house and showed us his collection of rocks and deformed animal skulls.

Touched by the vendor’s hospitality, I wanted to leave something with him as a souvenir of his new foreign friend.However, the only thing I could find in my pocket was a very small passport-sized picture of me.Most Tibetans hang pictures of religious leaders in their homes, and this vendor was no exception; except that now he also has a picture of Moshe Itzhakov on his wall.

The reaction of the vendor is representative of the local mentality in Yushu.Even though the majority of residents are not considered poor, they are very closed off from the rest of the world.Almost no Yushu Tibetan families own their own camera, and most people there would be rather excited to see photographs.Especially photographs coming from/of a foreigner.For example, we went to another temple later that day.This temple is known to attract pilgrims at dusk.The pilgrims start arriving late afternoon, and circle the temple for a few hours.We thought the best way to bond with the locals would be to join them in circling the khora.Naturally, we circled for about an hour and became friendly with almost all of the pilgrims.While sitting down and resting, I showed some of the pilgrims pictures from my lonely planet travel book.We attracted a crowd within a minute or so, and I was surprised at how excited many of the locals were to see pictures.The pictures were of major tourist sites in China, but Tibetans have no sense of other cities in China.For example, most locals had no idea about Beijing or Shanghai.Their unfamiliarity with Beijing or Shanghai was similar to western unfamiliarity with Tajikistan.Overall, the locals we encountered were very closed off from the outside world, and maintained a sense of simple innocence in whatever they did.

 

Later that night, we discovered a shower spa right next door to our hotel.It costs 7 RMB per person, and people who come together are sometimes asked to share a room with two shower heads.Up until that point, I had gone over 80 hours without showering.It goes without saying that the shower was absolutely phenomenal.

Hoping to see more of the surrounding temples and villages, we took a north bound bus the next morning.We didn’t have any concrete plans because our main goal was to stay in a village and better understand Tibetan culture.Thankfully, we met Laozhu as soon as we got on the bus; a friendly Tibetan man who spoke fluent Mandarin.Laozhu lives in a village far north of Yushu and sells caterpillars for a living.He generally looks for caterpillars in the mountains during May and June, while he spends the rest of the year trying to sell them.Surprisingly, this means of making a living is rather common in Yushu.We told Laozhu about our plan of living in a village, and he immediately invited us to live in his.

Despite his fluency in mandarin, Laozhu is in no way assimilated or “Chinanized.”On the contrary, from his physical appearance to his lifestyle, Laozhu is very Tibetan.He has a Tibetan-style knife braided into his hair, and he is rather open about his respect and devotion to the Dalai Lama.(It is illegal to openly support the Dalai Lama in China).

 

Even though Laozhu’s village is only a 4 hour drive from Yushu, it took us over 7 hours to get there.Why did it take us so long?Lunch.

Because the area is so undeveloped, we had to drive an hour past the village to find restaurants.Interestingly, the rest area was filled with Tibetans playing pool.Moreover, we saw several pool tables at every rest area in Yushu.

 

There is only one highway in the Yushu area, and Laozhu told us his village was right off of the highway.In reality, we drove 2 hours on a gravel road that was off the highway until we finally arrived at the village.After seeing how remote the village actually was, I asked Laozhu about where we would get our drinking water.Laozhu pointed to the river surrounding us.At this point, I was both nervous and excited.Even though I was thrilled to be experiencing Tibetan life, I had very real concerns about how my stomach would handle the food and water there.Also, it’s important to be aware that foreigners are not generally allowed to socialize with Tibetans unless there is a tour guide present.However, since we were technically not in Tibet, that rule didn’t apply.To say the least, living with a Tibetan family is an incredible opportunity that few foreigners experience.

After we pulled into the village, people began getting off the bus and unloading their things.People in Yushu generally load their belongings on the top of the bus, and later climb up and throw them down whenever they want to get off.The entire process is rather chaotic.Imagine bags of flour and clothes all being thrown off a bus without any semblance order at all.Wanting to make a good impression, I offered to help unload the bus.Someone threw me 2 huge bags that left my entire upper body brown and full of dust.It was at this point that I decided to watch from the side instead of directly helping.Shortly after, I saw someone try to unload a wooden desk.Instead of slowly moving it down, the man just threw it to the ground.Naturally, the desk broke and the drawers came flying out.As one can tell, Tibetan culture is very laid back, as people focus on the spiritual more than the physical world.

We finally arrived at Laozhu’s home, and I was very surprised at how nice everything looked.Unlike some of the other villages that I visited, Laozhu’s home seemed rather clean and his family did a very nice job of decorating.Also, Laozhu has a rather nice TV set, as well as a subwoofer and CD player.Laozhu has two daughters, one is 18 while the other is 10.He also lives with his brother, who is a monk.Besides Laozhu, no one in the family speaks any Mandarin.This made communication rather challenging, as we learned to rely on our hand gestures and facial expressions for pretty much everything.

Hungry after the long bus ride, Laozhu immediately offered us Tibetan snacks before he ate himself.Before the meal, we were first served a glass of tea that was salted for taste.The meal was an interesting combination of vegetable oil, yak butter, and flour.Each of us was given a bowl that was filled with those three, and then each of us would mix it ourselves with our hands.Even though it caused a mess because flour was flying across the living room, I actually enjoyed helping make my food.After we mixed for about 20 minutes, the combination turned into a dough-like substance.I assumed we would now put the dough in the oven, but Tibetans eat the dough raw.This is called Zangba and is one of the most common foods in Tibet.

Wanting to be even more hospitable, our host placed several cubes of yak butter into our tea cups.At this point, I could almost feel my body slow down from all the butter and flour.After our snack, Laozhu and his brother took us around the village in Laozhu’s car.It turns out that the village is home to about 4,000 Tibetans, and that the Chinese government used to send workers there to dig up gold.

We then arrived at a hot spring, and Laozhu explained to us that he would come here to shower.Although most Yushu Tibetans don’t have an understanding of showers, Laozhu said that he showers in the cities once or twice a year before holidays.Because I was coming down with a cold, I didn’t hesitate to bathe myself in the hot spring.While we were bathing, I asked Laozhu if he had ever been to Lhasa (the capital of Tibet).Laozhu explained that he had been 11 times, and that he had walked each time.He went on to explain that it usually takes him a year to walk there, and that he brings no money but simply stays in villages that he passes by.While Laozhu’s awesome faith and devotion seem unique, he is a rather typical Tibetan.In fact, what separates Laozhu from most Tibetans is that he has mastered Mandarin as well as different Tibetan dialects.

After bathing in the hot spring, we hiked up a mountain and wound up at a sky burial spot.Sky burial is the method that Tibetans use to dispose of a human corpse after death.Generally, 4 monks take the body to a mountain top and allow vultures to eat the body.They believe that this is part of the circle of life, as it allows the body to serve a natural purpose.Because of this custom, we saw an assortment of body parts scattered across the mountain top.

Our last stop was the local temple, which was rather large and impressed me with the number of monks.However, the temple also had a large number of wild dogs that hung out all around the temple grounds.Laozhu was a little hesitant to enter, but did so after his brother grabbed some rocks to throw at any attacking dogs.The natural scenery was phenomenal and Laozhu was an amazing guide.For example, each time we passed an edible plant, Laozhu made each of us take a bite (this happened close to 10 times).

As dusk approached, we finally returned to Laozhu’s home.On the way back, I noticed that Laozhu had a dog chained directly below his house.This is a popular Tibetan custom, and the dogs are raised to attack anyone who is not part of the household.As we were walking back, I asked Laozhu about the closest bathroom.Surprisingly, Laozhu answered that there wasn’t an official bathroom, but that I could go behind the house.Naturally, it was raining and I had to bring an umbrella and flash light each time I wanted to squat behind his house.I couldn’t understand how a family could have a TV, car, and subwoofers before they had any kind of toilet.Globalization doesn’t spread evenly or predictably.For example, I’ve met people who have a flushing toilet and shower, but would never dream of buying a car.The key is looking at the environment of a particular area.Because of the history and geography of Yushu, the government has little control over its people.Likewise, the people have no expectations from the government, and are accustomed to looking towards the temples for leadership.While this is not necessarily bad, it often leads to a dichotomy in which people can become wealthier without raising their standard of living.Simply put, someone may buy a car with an internal dvd player, but still only shower once a year and poop in his own backyard.

While we waited for a sumptuous dinner with Laozhu’s family, I made a couple of observations that are rather representative of many Tibetan families.First, Laozhu called his oldest daughter ya tou, which means slave girl.While the meaning isn’t as bad as the English translation, it is undeniably a very sexist word which sees the woman as a type of servant.Ironically, many Tibetans expect most of the housework to be done by the oldest daughter.

Secondly, the oven used in Laozhu’s home requires cow dung to function.Someone from the family would use a shovel and place cow dung in the oven every so often.Despite this, there was no foul smell from the cow dung.I suspect the reason for this is that yaks outnumber humans in Yushu.

Thirdly, Besides Laozhu, no one in Laozhu’s family spoke Mandarin or the official Tibetan dialect.They all only spoke their local dialect.Unfortunately, the majority of the television channels were in mandarin, and there was only one Tibetan channel.This Tibetan channel was run by the Chinese government and all the programs were in the Lhasa dialect.Consequently, Laozhu’s family members were very isolated from the outside world, and had no idea what was going on anywhere outside of their village.

A nice vegetarian meal was prepared for me and we finally ate.However, our hosts ate raw yak meat.After dinner, we spent a few hours discussing life with Laozhu until we went to bed.Laozhu’s apartment was quite small, and it was decided that his brother would sleep on the floor.We argued and tried to convince the brother to switch with us, but he claimed that as a monk he preferred to sleep close to the ground.Before we fell asleep, I gave Laozhu a picture of me with my contact information in the states.I told him that he could contact me if he ever needed help or knew of any Tibetans visiting the states.

The next morning, Laozhu called the bus driver to make sure the bus didn’t leave without us.As we were leaving, Laozhu and his brother carried our luggage to the bus for us.The entire stay was very reflective of Eastern and especially Tibetan hospitality.

A 17 hour car ride with 13 Tibetans

Before I returned to the states, I traveled around rural Western China for over 2 weeks.  Hoping to understand the area from a Chinese perspective, I traveled with my close Chinese friend Weiwei.  Firstly, because of the distance and remote location, simply getting to the west was an experience in itself.  We took a 24-hour train ride to Lanzhou, and then literally jumped onto another train heading towards Xining.  The train ride to Xining was about 4 hours.  We stayed the night in Xining, and the next morning took a 17 hour car ride to Tibetan Yushu.

A Brief Introduction of Qinghai

Xining is the capital of rural province Qinghai.  The province lies between Muslim Xinjiang and Buddhist Tibet, and is known as the Siberia of China.  Why would someone voluntarily travel to a province known for its cold winters, prisons, and nuclear waste sites?  The answer is pretty simple: A chance to see how far China’s economic development has actually spread, while at the same time experiencing Tibetan culture first-hand.  Since Qinghai is over 2,000 kilometers west of Shanghai and China’s prosperous Eastern coast line, I was also able to experience how deep the forces of globalization have actually spread.

As mentioned above, I traveled with my close friend Weiwei.  For those active readers, Weiwei is the same friend who took me to the Chinese countryside in late January.  Weiwei’s Mother works in the local government, and naturally he is a Chinese nationalist with a deep knowledge of Chinese politics.Unlike me, Weiwei’s primary goal was to understand Tibetan culture and the source of Tibetan animosity towards Han Chinese.Consequently, the collision of cultures, religions, and lifestyles made for an awesome trip that opened my mind like nothing ever has before.

The Long 3,000 km Trek to Yushu/Jyekondo

As mentioned above, we began our trip with a 24 hour train ride from Shanghai to Lanzhou.Lanzhou is the capital of the Gansu province, and would be a very quick stopping point for us so we could switch trains.The train ride from Lanzhou to Xining takes around 3 hours, so several people on our train were also heading towards Xining.Since the Shanghai-Lanzhou train is high-speed, Lanzhou serves as a sort of western hub for people traveling through the west.

Before I left for my trip, I made an effort to ask my Chinese friends about Qinghai.The answers were all the same: Qinghai is very poor and underdeveloped.Naturally, I was surprised to hear that people from a well-developed trading town would move to Qinghai to do business.In reality, I quickly realized that few Chinese people come in touch with people from Qinghai.One reason for this is that the entire province has a population of under 6 million.Another reason is that those that do make it over are from the poorest areas and all work in Muslim noodle restaurants.

On the train, we met a loosely-related family that was also heading to Xining, and their situation was quite interesting.They traveled with 5 children and 3 adults, and I was completely confused about how they were all related.However, I did pick up that they were from the trading town Yiwu and had moved to Xining for business.This was the first of many times when I encountered something that went entirely against the stereotype that I had heard.Because some areas in the west are closed to foreigners, I pretended that I was a Muslim from Xinjiang.Surprisingly, the family from Yiwu assumed I was from Xinjiang before I even spoke with them, and this gave me confidence that I could pull it off.

As the train got closer to Lanzhou, the family told us that we would probably miss the train to Xining.Our only option was getting off our train and getting on to another one as soon as we arrived.Not wanting to miss the train to Xining, we moved our luggage and waited by the door about 30 minutes before we arrived.Then, after we arrived we were told by the family to literally run onto the train at the other end of the platform.I was surprised that we were allowed on a train when the train had no seats left and we had no tickets.But, this is China, where life is organized chaos.

Since relatively few foreigners travel to Xining, I was completely stared at the entire train ride.Not wanting to be seen as a Westerner, I sat on the steps with a Muslim guy and told everyone my dad was from Xinjiang.Nonetheless, not everyone bought my story.

We arrived in Xining around 7:00 p.m.Xining is in a valley and has an elevation of 2,600 meters.Moreover, the high elevation causes the air to be extremely dry.For example, my eyes were tearing for about 30 minutes after we arrived.

China has a law that foreigners cannot stay in any hotel that is 2 stars or lower (by Chinese standards).While this law is almost never enforced in the larger cities, the government is strict about it in the more remote areas.Weiwei said that the reason for this law is to protect foreigners, while I believe it’s to protect China’s image from foreigners.As a result, I disguised myself by wearing sunglasses and a face mask.I also made an effort to speak Chinese as loudly as possible around hotels or guesthouses.Unfortunately, I was rejected from the first hotel because I looked foreign.The hotel was government owned and charged 18 yuan a person (about $2.50).We continued on the street until we found a guest house willing to accept us.The guest house we stayed at was 50 Yuan per room, but the room had no bathroom.Also, we weren’t given a room key, and had to call an employee every time we wanted to get in.Tired from a 28-hour train ride, we both wanted to shower.However, we were told that hot water isn’t usually available and that we should check later.We spent the rest of the evening walking around and occasionally attracting stares.

Even though Xining is over 2,000 km west of Shanghai, all of China is considered to be in one time zone.While this may promote political unity, it creates a very tiring lifestyle for those living out west.For example, our plan was to stay the night in Xining, and take an 18 hour bus ride to Yushu the next morning.We woke up the next morning around 6:30 and headed towards the bus station.Because the sun sets around 11 p.m., we were expecting the city to start the day a little bit later than eastern China.After all, the sun doesn’t rise until 7 or 8.Unfortunately, to our surprise, the station opened at 6 and was completely packed with people when we got there.The woman at the counter told us all buses leaving to Yushu that day were entirely sold out.We asked her for tickets for the next day, but were told to come back tomorrow morning.

Since we didn’t think we’d be able to buy bus tickets, we planned to hitch hike.Fortunately, I was stopped in the street by a tall Tibetan man.He grabbed me by the arm and asked where I was heading in broken Chinese.I told him I was going to Yushu, and he told me he could drive us.He told us that he would be driving 9 people in his minivan, and that he was waiting to find other passengers.We told him we wanted to eat breakfast and go back to our inn to get our luggage.Since Yushu is an 18 hour car ride, we wanted to go to a supermarket and buy some snacks before we left.However, the driver called us as soon as we finished breakfast, so we only had time to go back and get our luggage.

Most of the route to Yushu is over 4,200 meters high, and it is important to stay hydrated to avoid getting ill.Consequently, I stopped on the way to the car and bought 9 average sized water bottles and a box of crackers.

We got to the car and saw that every seat was full but our two.Just as the driver had said, the car had 9 people.Until 7 more people came from the bathroom.My row had 3 seats but 4 people, and naturally I was stuck between two of the seats.To make the experience even more authentic, everyone but us was Tibetan and only one spoke Chinese.While we were waiting to head out, Weiwei was eating these small chocolate bars he brought.All of a sudden, the driver came over and grabbed a handful of the chocolates.Tibetan culture is even less individualistic than Chinese culture, and we felt it throughout the trip.Every time someone ate food or smoked a cigarette, he would offer the rest of the car.

We finally headed out around 9:30 a.m., and had to keep our windows down so the authorities couldn’t see how many people were stuffed in the car.Luckily, I was seated next to a religious Tibetan man traveling with two monks.He prayed the majority of the trip by mumbling prayers.Also, every time we passed a holy area, the entire car would start screaming and throw slips of paper out the window.While the screaming seemed rather chaotic, I later discovered that the entire process was very ordered.Each word that the men screamed was part of an important prayer, while the paper was a form of respect to Buddha.

Another Tibetan cultural trait is a deep love for music.While the car was too old to play CD’s, almost every passenger either sang or played Tibetan music on his cell phone.After numerous bathroom stops (I drank a lot of water), we stopped for lunch around 1.The monk and driver kissed me as soon as they discovered I was American.They offered to show us around Yushu and recommended that we stay in their monastery.As we finished our meal, I asked the monk what he thought about the different ethnic groups living in the area.Even though Yushu was 90% Tibetan, the area was home to many Muslim ethnic groups as well as Han Chinese.Surprisingly, the monk said he only had a major problem with people from Xinjiang.He said that they are all criminals and have no respect for his religion.After that, I stopped pretending to be a Xinjiang Muslim when I was around Tibetans.

As we passed through Qinghai, I was quite mesmerized by the scenery.We saw no cities and very few people.Most of the people we did see lived in tents, while the only towns we saw were bathroom stops with a few restaurants.Keep in mind that the places we passed were on the highway and were probably the most developed in that area.The area was so rural that we saw many more yaks than we saw people.There were several instances when we had to stop and let yaks cross the road.Apart from yaks, we also saw some wild antelope and eagles from the car.Overall, the first 10 hours of the car ride were absolutely incredible.It didn’t matter that the car was crowded and the roads were a little bumpy, I was just happy to experience such a different culture and lifestyle first hand.

However, it didn’t take long before my positive attitude was tested.All of a sudden I felt very nauseous and my entire body was sore from sitting like a sardine for 10 hours.Our driver decided to skip dinner in order to arrive a little earlier, and we all felt the same way.Nonetheless, my stomach felt full from all the water I drank, while my head felt like it was going to explode.Seeing that I felt ill, the driver reassured me and told me that we would arrive by 10:30.At this point it was already 8, and I felt confident that I could arrive without fainting or vomiting.

Every minute became a struggle as I felt weaker and weaker.Suddenly, Weiwei threw up all over the floor of the car, which included my shoes.I spent the next two hours miserable simply trying not to pass out.Because of how I felt, I knew that we were at a high altitude but wasn’t sure exactly how high.As it got closer to 10:30, the driver said we would actually arrive around 11:30.However, at 11:30 the driver changed his approach and told us it would be at least 3 more hours.

As my condition became more and more miserable, we passed a sign that stated the exact altitude: 4,856 meters.We had ascended over 2,000 meters in several hours.Many people can begin to feel altitude sickness at 3,000 meters.We were now at close to 5,000 meters.Since we were on a mountain, we had to drive very slowly and curve around to prevent sharp turns.Shortly after we saw the sign, we hit a pothole and I knew what was next.I yelled for the driver to stop the car and jumped out.Unfortunately, we were in the middle of nowhere and it was pitch black.All I heard was the sound of dogs barking.Weak from the lack of oxygen, I slipped onto the grass when I threw up.Weiwei ran out of the car to help me up, and we continued for a few more hours until we finally arrived to Tibetan Yushu after 3 a.m.

After the exhausting experience, we wanted to stay in a nicer hotel and be able to shower.Unfortunately, even the nicer hotels had no hot water, so we decided to stay in the monastery run inn.We paid for a room with a bathroom, but our sink had no water and toilet couldn’t flush.The room looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in months.Clothes were all over the floor, and our beds were covered with stains and peanuts.Also, like the hotel in Xining, keys were not given to guests.For anyone counting, this made it 60 plus hours without showering.

I’ll post the rest of the adventure and pictures in the upcoming days.

Tibet: Part 2

What made Tibet especially interesting for me was it’s parallels with Jerusalem. Lhasa means “holy land” in Tibetan, and it is also the capital of the region. Lhasa has an old city and a new city. Tibetans walk around Lhasa holding prayer wells and repeating prayers in Tibetan. Tibetan monks can be found throughout the city wearing their traditional red robes. Most importantly, Lhasa just has the feeling of a spiritual center.

People come from all over Tibet to visit Lhasa and its holy sites. Some of these travelers will spend up to 2 years walking/bowing to get there. When I say walking/bowing, I mean taking a step then bowing, taking a step then bowing, etc.  People bow this way all over Lhasa. The rural Tibetans often come with their entire families to Lhasa. These visits can be once every decade or once in a lifetime. For these reasons, it’s hard not to feel the energy when you are in Lhasa.

I thought it was interesting that I was so excited to see religious Buddhists. If anything, one of the things that I have missed most while in China is religious people. The majority of Chinese are staunch Maoists Atheists. I loved seeing the intense monks who are isolated from the modern world. Everything seemed so exotic.

Then it hit me. If I brought Chinese tourists to Jerusalem or B’nei Brak, they would think that the ultra-orthodox Jews are just as exotic. All the men have long beards and walk around in black suits and black hats. People can be found praying throughout the city. If you walked in a synagogue, you would see people loudly mumbling prayers in a foreign language. Many Charedis don’t own television sets and live a life isolated from many parts of the modern world. I thought it was interesting that many secular Europeans and Americans are so enamored by these religious Buddhists, yet so turned off by religious Jews or Christians.

I can sort of relate to the difference in feelings. I have no connection and almost no understanding of Buddhism. I am not worried about a Buddhist relative coming and asking me to go live in a monastery for the next few years.  It’s easy to be infatuated with something if it demands nothing from you.  However, I DO have Jewish relatives who want me to spend a few years in a yeshiva and live similar life styles to them.

In all, it made me appreciate my own peoples’ customs a little more.

On a lighter note, I became a B-list celebrity on the train ride back to Beijing. The train ride back to Beijing has almost no foreigners because, hey, who wants to ride on a train for 50 hours.

A brave group of middle-aged Americans were on the train, and they did not speak a single word of Chinese. We ended up translating for them because they were convinced the waitress on the train was trying to steal their money.  As I walked back to my cabin, I saw an American friend of mine talking to a group of older Chinese men.  She had asked them not to smoke and it looked a little bit tense.  Trying to break the ice, I joked with them in Chinese that we could all smoke together.  They wouldn’t stop shaking my hand and praising me after they realized I spoke Chinese.

After a few minutes of talking to the men in Chinese, they decided they wanted to get a picture of them and these 2 Chinese-speaking American students.  We posed this way.  And then we posed in a different place.   The lighting wasn’t good.  Another person wanted to use his own camera.  Before I knew it, about 35 Chinese people had all crowded in this hallway to get pictures of us posing.  I told them that my friend didn’t have a boyfriend, and the train roared with laughter.  These drunk Chinese businessmen and women decided they wanted to do single pictures.  A 45-year old woman posed with me, and an older man posed with my friend.  Each time I made a joke in Chinese, the crowd got louder and louder.

What an experience.  As soon as I got back to my cabin, one of the older men brought fruit over as a gift.  Every time I went to use the restroom, I was stopped by someone and had a half-hour conversation about how I have learned Chinese.

Maybe I can go on tour here.

Tibet: Part I

So we departed for Tibet last Friday and took a 50 hour train ride to get there. We were 9 students in all. The train route is the highest in the world, and there are oxygen tanks above each seat. The train goes as high as 17,000 feet.

We sat next to a young 18 year-old Chinese guy who seemed to be running away from home. He spent 70 hours on a train to get to Tibet. He had no plans or friends in Tibet, just the urge to get away from home.

I wasn’t very worried about the high altitude because I had been eating this Tibetan plant that’s supposed to prevent high-altitude sickness. As we got higher and higher, I kept on thinking that I was feeling better and better. While my friends were complaining about headaches and sinus problems, I was surprised at how I had no symptoms. I was feeling so good that I decided to help out and try to find a tube to get the oxygen out of the tanks. My friend and I walked across the train until we found one of the stewardesses and asked her about the tubes. She told us we don’t need tubes and the oxygen would come out the next morning. She then started to bombard us with questions. First, she asked if I was half-Chinese. Then while she continued her barrage of questions, I started to feel extremely tired. I decided to quickly walk back to my bed and stopped in the bathroom along the way. I lost vision while I was peeing and spent a few minutes trying to get out of the bathroom. Several minutes had passed and I still had no vision whatsoever. I fainted a minute later right after I had gotten out of the bathroom. Thankfully, my friend had been looking for me and found me passed out on the floor. After about half a minute I regained consciousness and felt great. What a wonderful way to adapt to higher elevation. Passing out.

However, that was the only health problem that I had on my entire trip. Everything went uphill from then on. Literally.

The next morning I was spotted by this 6’4 Tibetan man walking around the soft-sleepers. As soon as he saw me, he started smiling and took a picture. He smelled pretty, pretty bad and looked like he hadn’t showered in a while. I tried to speak to him in Chinese and English, but I still got no response. About an hour later, he came in to our room and took pictures of all the white people in our group. He then started waving his tongue at us and finally went to bother some other foreigners. This must be the closest thing China has to a boogeyman.

Taking a train through China makes you realize at how big the gap is between different parts of the country. This is especially true between big cities and everything else. While Beijing looks like a legitimate city, so much of Western China looks like nothing has been changed since the 1960′s. Some towns look like they have stopped progressing since the 1900′s. It is a little ironic that the train and tracks are the most modern things in these small towns. I saw a father putting his son on his shoulder just so he could catch a glimpse of our train passing through.

Which is real China? The shiny new skyscrapers or the broken down brick homes? As of now it looks like the skyscrapers are being built higher and higher; many of them to impress foreigners coming to Beijing for the Olympics. The question is whether the rest of the country can keep up.

Check back tomorrow for more on the rest of Tibet.

7 Days in Tibet

will be leaving for Tibet in a few hours, and will return to Beijing by next Sunday. I will be taking a 50 hour train ride to get there. Should be fun.

Check back next Sunday for a big update. Shabbat Shalom.