Almost There

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I’ve safely arrived in Xining, the last stop in a major city before I begin the 9 hour drive to 15,000 feet altitude. I spent one night in Bejing on the way. It’s definitely a different universe over here. A major shock to my American eyes was seeing Chinese police and security guards on every block, often marching in formation. Other things are as I imagined - large, boxy, cement buildings adorned with neon Chinese letters, chaotic traffic flow, dusty, littered streets - all juxtaposed by a majestic mountain silhouette.

Here in Xining, I’m spending a few days with relatives of Sogan Rinpoche, a Lama that I know from the US. They have a charming apartment and are warm, extremely hospitable people. Chokyong Tsering is the father, and he is a renowned Ling Gesar scholar, the first to translate the enormous epic, the largest in the world, into Chinese. The daughter, Tashi Tsomo, is 26 and speaks enough English to take me around town and help my find the things I need. I will meet Luktso, Tashi Tsomo’s mother, once I reach Dawu. All of them are from the area I am headed for and speak the dialect I am hoping to learn. Wow - it is a completely different language from the one I’ve studied! When I’m brave enough to try speaking whole sentences, generally no one understands me. Here are some examples: in central Tibetan language, the word for name is “ming.” In Amdo language, the word is “nyang.” Another one: in central Tibetan, the word for boy is “bu;” in Amdo, it’s “shi li.” Should be a very, very interesting adventure, indeed!

Life here is quite inexpensive - people can survive on less than $50 a month. Tashi Tsomo, affectionately known as Momo, has taken me to two restaurants - a Tibetan one and a Chinese one - and she ordered about five different entrees at each place. More food than we could possibly eat - easily a $50 tab in the US. Here, it cost $2-3.

Momo’s friend Phuntsog owns a touring company and speaks impeccable English, so he has been a huge help. He has a friend who is doing research and compiling texts about the ngakpa tradition, and over time I plan to contact him. One long-term idea of mine is to translate hagiographies of famous ngakpas and do interviews with those who are still alive, so who knows where such a connection might lead? Phuntsog knows Westerners everywhere and I expect it will be really beneficial to have English speaking contacts throughout the region. Yesterday, he took us to Kumbum Gompa (aka Ta Er), the largest monastery in the province and the only one completely unharmed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

Remember the choatic traffic I mentioned? Yesterday our cab driver ran into a pedestrian, full speed. That’s a once in a lifetime experience. I get the feeling that’s not entirely unusual around here.

I’ve been to the Tibetan market and bought some traditional clothing. Originally I intended to wear my dharma robes all the time, but Lama Chonam, one of the teachers who has set up my studies here, thought it was probably better to wear local clothing most of the time. As a western woman, I am already a neon sign, so better to try and blend in and wear formal robes only when visiting Lamas or studying at the monastery.

Tomorrow, Lama Chonam’s good friend Tubdrel will pick me up and drive me to Dawu. I’m told that I’m about to enter the most exquisite part of Tibet. Its turning into spring here and on the drive, we’ll cross a canyon that’s larger than the Grand Canyon. The drive will be a full day of virtually no towns or villages, just an occasional monastery, nomads on foot, and plenty of yaks and goats to ornament the land.

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Comments

[michee]

hurt pedestrian
How awful! What a terrible obstacle to happen at the beginning of your trip! Do you know if the person was ok? I am assuming you are... With love, Meech