Life in Tibet

All I can say is wow! Tibet is unlike any place I have ever been (or probably will ever go) in my entire life! This past week I have experienced so much! We spent a few days in Lhasa, then spent a day each in Gyantse and Shigatse. The last day and a half we went back to Lhasa for one more round of shopping and then to fly back to Chengdu. Here are some of the things I discovered about Tibet while I was there:

Buddhism is overwhelmingly prevalent there and is much apart of the daily lives of the people who live in Tibet. While there, we visited about 5 monasteries. Unfortunately, I either wasn't allowed to take pictures in them or had to pay to take pictures so I don't have many photos of the inside, but I took some pretty amazing one's from the outside. Buddhism has many Gods and people offer a variety of things from money to corn to pens to combs to these idols' alters. In the monasteries were also many tombs and pictures of past monks and the scriptures they left behind. It was very fascinating. Every morning people got up early with their prayer wheels and walked clockwise around the monasteries and religious monuments (bad-luck if you walk counter-clockwise) and spun these prayer cylinders things and chanted mantras (prayers). They were very diligent about this and it makes me wonder what Christianity would be like if we had the same diligence...

Another thing I found interesting about Tibet were the people who begged. There were so many. I feel like I am in a moral dilemma. I know that these people are genuinely poor. In America it is easy enough to look past it because we have enough government programs to help people and plus the fact that you never really know where your money is going. It is easy to joke around when you are eating a huge dinner or going on a shopping spree to say things like "Eat up! There are hungry people in China" or "I am not going to buy such-and-such a brand because it is made in a sweat shop." But when there are people begging right in front of you when you are deciding whether or not to buy a jacket that you may or may not need, it really puts you in a bad spot. A woman came up to me with a baby on her back and said "money" and made a gesture towards the baby and then towards her mouth. I was just about to purchase a jacket and I was afraid to pull money out of my pocket. She followed me for about 10 minutes so I finally gave her 5 yuen. Now I don't think that that was a mistake in and of itself but I should've been more discrete. Immediately 5 or 6 other women with babies appeared out of nowhere asking for money! I was so overwhelmed! But just at that moment Crystal and my friend Justin came to my rescue and bailed me out. This incident made me feel bad for a long time and I asked my friends what they thought. They said that its not bad to feel bad, but that it really isn't you're fault. There are people at the bottom in every society and there is nothing you can do about it. I guess that made me feel a little better, but I just wish there was more I could do. I am praying for them now.

Another surprising thing about Lhasa was the enormous police and military presence there. There has been a lot of political unrest recently (the most recent being the March 10th riots. You can read more about it here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23780660/#storyContinued ), so I guess it wasn't unwarranted. I have just never experienced living in a place where the common people are so tightly monitored and armed forces are in such close proximity to people. I walked by dozens of troops with guns who were literally 2 feet from me passing by in the opposite direction. This was one unexpected thing I could not have expected. It was quite scary and quite surreal.

But onto better things...my last night in Lhasa I met two Tibetan girls who randomly came up to us because they wanted to practice their English. This was a bit unexpected, but I thought it was a good opportunity. We took them to dinner and learned a lot about their culture. One of the girl's uncles was a monk in a monastery who had been there for over 30 years! She also taught me how to write my name in Tibetan...it is such a hard language. They have an alphabet of about 30 letters, but they are WAY different than ours. My Tibetan name is now Dolma...or something like that :) I guess it means beautiful and is a popular name. They also helped me barter for things in the square. It is a lot of fun and I don't let myself get ripped off anymore! I think I have most of my Christmas shopping done now, so that was also a plus!

All in all Tibet was an awesome experience. I hope one day that I can go back. It had some awesome sights and it was cool being able to experience a culture so much different from my own!
Bible Verse of the Day:
Proverbs 11:9 "With his mouth the godless destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous escape."


Chinese Word of the Day:

Zoulu 走路 "to walk; go on foot"