Butter Lamp Festival and Christmas

Butter Lamp Festival came and went. There were a lot of people and a lot of authorities. My fellow teachers said it was rather toned down from the years prior. Yet I was still quite amazed by all the commotion and amount of incense.



Christmas went quite well. We have a few parties with different groups of people. Some involved games, santa claus costume making, soccer, uno, ugly sweater contests and lots of food. It was a fun filled holiday season. The last party was tonight with the English Department Teachers. Tomorrow I start my long journey to Thailand going through Xining, Xian, Hong Kong, Kunming and finally to Chaing Mai Thailand. I am excited for the trip and maybe more excited for the sleep I am going to get on the long train rides. Hope all is well and Blessings to all this Holiday Season.

Butter Lamp Festival Is Coming...

In the US we have neighborhoods decorated in lights and we load up our cars get our coffee to go and set out. Usually singing or listening to some sort of Christmas Carol. Well here in Lhasa it isn't quite the same. Okay, well it isn't the same at all. But tonight there is going to be a special light holiday. It is roughly translated Butter Lamp Festival. Although I haven't experienced it before from those who have been here for many years told of the beauty of the lights throughout the city. So I won't load up my car, but rather my bike. Instead of Christmas carols there may be chanting. Yet I know who I will be thinking about this season; that small child who changed the world and showed us what it means to be a light in a dark place.


All of the stalls are empty in preparation.


Some last minute repairs in preparation for the Butter Lamp Festival

sk8 in Lhasa

exhausting.

a few days ago Heidi's student Tenzin Chile invited us to go skating. I was stoked! It has been forever since I have touch a skateboard. As i entered this artist's house (i am not even joking... he is a professional artist) he busts out a nice deck (skateboard) rollerblades, and one of those twisty boards. (no idea what they are called)

We head out to his work unit. His dreads held back with his headband. I feel cooler just walking next to him. Then we get there and there is a large lot of smooth concrete. (believe me this is rare round these parts.) And we start to skate.



I have never been so tired! I though basketball and running wore me out. I ollied just a couple times and I was winded. Man...

By the end of the day I actually managed a couple tricks and jumps but boy did I have to work for it. Then we were off to his house for some sweet tea and a little UNO. Good times. Skate or Die... in Lhasa.

Winter is here but so is the sun.

Lhasa winters aren't that bad at all. You know in the past I when I thought about Tibet I figured it would be one of the coldest places on earth. But this winter has been really nice. I can still go out and play basketball and be reasonably comfortable. The Northeast of China was much worse! And the reason you ask? Sure I am about 2 miles high, but I am at the approximate latitude of Tijuana Mexico. I figure the two miles up and the latitude kinda cancel each other out. The main factor is the sun! That thing is powerful here! The weather is dry and my lips have never been so chapped. But I do appreciate it, makes december very bearable.



Well I am pretty much finished with my semester. And its December 11th!?! So... I guess I have a little more free time then I thought. Classes ended fairly well. Only a couple melt downs during the oral exams but overall I think it was a pretty successful semester. A lot of differences with my school in the North East of China but it has been an amazing experience. I am excited for the coming traveling and another semester here on the rooftop.



I hope you all are having a blessed holiday season and find the time to enjoy all thats around you.

Bystander Effect

As I prepared for my student's final exam I found myself searching Wikipedia (again) for ideas and I ran across the an article on Tipping Point, a book by Malcolm Gladwell. As i read through the article I jumped to the "bystander effect" a theory that basically says the more people that are around, the less likely they are to help. I then went through my head of times when I have actually stopped to help and times when I haven't, mostly in driving situations. But then I thought about this Sunday. I was riding my bike to my house. My fellow teachers and I were about to celebrate a late Thanksgiving and my job was the mashed potatoes. So i had my front bike basket full (yes... i have a basket on my bike) and one hand on the handlebars and the other holding a sack of peeled potatoes. As I entered my school gate my little potato bag decided it had had enough. The Potatoes made a break for it...
Sure enough my potatoes were rolling all over the street. Now, I have dropped many things in the last four years. More often then not people around me are a little afraid to help the foreigner not knowing if they should pretend they didn't see anything so I won't lose face or are afraid of the possibility of trying to communicate with me. Today was different. There was a group of about 7-10 Tibetan ladies standing nearby who quickly came over to help and help pick up my potatoes. There was no hesitation, they saw a need and they quickly came over. It was a great start to my day, and something to be thankful for.

Getting Colder...

So we (Kelly, a new friend Max and myself) were cruising through Lhasa being tourists, taking pics of all the sites and doing a little exploring this last saturday, and we found this incredible site. We were right next the Norbalinka which is the summer palace of Lhasa, and it looked like Jack Frost had a field day.



It kinda reminded me of that old cartoon where Jack Frost is blowing on trees and they instantly become icicles, except he got tired after freezing only one corner of the block and decided to take a break... indefinitely. Mind you, when we found this it was around noon. The sun was shinning. Yet here was a fifty meter area that looked like it got on the White Witch from Narnia's bad side. Either way it was a nice and surprising photo break from the bike ride around the city.

Night at the Potala

Teaching is cruising right along. A lot of my time recently has been devoted to my research project concerning learning style differences between Han and Tibetan students in my context. It has been a lot of fun to meet up with a lot of the teachers and get their opinions of some of the better teaching methods to use in the classroom. But as one of my breaks from work I cruised down to the Potala Palace around 9 p.m. and decided to see what pics I could come up with. It was really a nice night, and surprisingly not as freezing as it has been the last couple nights. There were even kids playing in the water fountain! Not warm enough for me to get near the water, but warm enough to try and get a couple shots.

Snow

It's snowing. It's cold. Although the mountain that I wake up to every morning was covered. It looks beautiful. I don't I am going to take a trip across town this morning... that can wait. Instead, maybe a cup of coffee.

Running... finally

Well I did it. I ran in Lhasa. 5 miles. about 8 1/2 min miles. The first 15 mins felt like death, but after that things felt pretty normal. I guess I don't have any more excuses... hopefully the beginning will be better next time.

Earthquake Fever

It's in the air. 5 earthquakes in the last few days has left the city of Lhasa on edge. After our thursday night coffee and cake date four of us took a quick tour around the Jokhang Temple. When we got closer we thought it was unusual to see so many people. Then we got closer and realized what was going on. The Jokhang cora (the circle around the temple) had become a temporary camp site. Half of the town were all camped out all around the temple. People were afraid to sleep inside! (As I write this from my third floor apartment, the place I have no intention of leaving anytime soon.)

As the four of us talked I found out that our students were woken up last night around midnight and were told to sleep outside for their own safety. The girls on the track and the boys on the basketball courts. Then even had teachers stay up to monitor the students all night. Crazy times. At least now I know why my students were so tired today. I am hoping things calm down a little bit but it apparent Lhasa hasn't ever had to deal with earthquakes before. So everyone in the city is a little more cautious these days and getting a lot less sleep.

Well, thinking about sleeping outside is making me tired... so i am off to bed.

Earthquakes and End of October Holiday

So apparently there was an earthquake today. I was playing basketball so I didn't feel a thing. Checking around it was near Namsto Lake (about 50 miles away) and the epicenter was about 6.3-6.8. Depending which news source you are reading. None got hurt according to the recent news but a lot of people were a bit scared. There were several student who pretty shaken up, there are a lot of student from Sichuan so I am sure this didn't bring up happy memories.

But in the meantime, classes have begun and October Holiday is over. Today started out well and I always like spending time with my students. I have been introducing two or three new songs a class so my students can hear a variety of music and hear someone else speaking English. I am still afraid the songs are too fast. Any ideas for songs? With slow, easy to understand lyrics?

October Holiday ended well. Six of us went up to a valley and went camping friday through Saturday. The weather was beautiful and the scenery was amazing.... It starts to become the norm, beautiful scenery. But it is still breathtaking each chance I get to experience it.

Our new teacher Kelly joined us and loved the Yaks. We started to call her the Yak wisperer. If we didn't know where she was she was usually chasing the yaks around the valley. Someday they let you pet them, someday Kelly.


Well I need to do some grading I didn't quite get to before the break...

Team Building - Team Tibet Style

October Holiday!!! You know what that means:
1. No Classes!
2. Chinese National Day
3. And Team building exercises.... not my favorite.

But this year was different. Much different.

For team Tibet University we went rock climbing and we all belayed for each other (held the rope). This of course built a stronger bond of trust between the three of us. We even were able to try some new routes that we (mostly Sarah and Craig since this is my second time out) were never able to do before. Who knows we may be able to climb the Chimney Rock we have been eyeing for the last couple weeks. We did get a few bruises and Craig had a pretty good drop before the rope caught him. It was the first real "long" fall he has had so I believe it made him a better climber.



As for the whole Lhasa teaching team our team building exercise was white water rafting. Another considerable step up from other team building exercises I have had in the past. Don't get me wrong it always fun hanging out with past teams... but somehow floating down a river in a beautiful surroundings makes everything more enjoyable.



We did look like skiers from the 80's with our bright blue and neon green wet suits but when I got it the water I was more then glad to be wearing the piece of fashion fau paux. We were tired by the end but had a wonderful time. My suggestion for all future team building exercises... include the water somehow.

Basketball. 4 hours later...

Another post about basketball, I apologize. Yesterday my buddy Gazang (not sure on the spelling) called me up to play ball around 3:45. The weather was beautiful and the games had some good competition. Before I knew it the sun was going down and it was 8 o'clock. This was by far my longest time playing. Then I started to feel it...

I made it back to my apartment just fine, but by the time I got there I was beat, didn't want to move beat. And so i drug myself into my shower because my body was starting to get cold. The hot water felt good, but yet something was still wrong. I wasn't sure what it was, until later.

After putting on several layer I crawled into bed, a hour or so later I wasn't cold anymore. Instead hot, really hot. And a feeling that doesn't usually come over me unless I am visiting Thailand.

Off to the bathroom I ran, sure enough my lunch decided it was time to go. Thankfully after that episode was over I felt pretty good. After a few swishes of mouth wash and countless cups of water that I spit out, I felt good enough to watch a couple episodes of Prison Break. I never thought I could get that sick from playing ball.

I still don't really understand. I was drinking water, so I don't think I was dehydrated. I don't think it was food poisoning. Either way I think I will take it easy next time. 2 hours instead of 4 at 3,000 meters should be enough basketball for one day.

Teacher's Day to Rock Climbing

Last Wednesday was teacher's day, so all the teachers in our departments went to have a teacher's day picnic. It was a lot of fun. We all sat around drinking tea and hanging out. Everyone was very relaxed and everything was a lot of fun. We did a little hiking on the hill behind the picnic site which had a beautiful view of the city. All in all it was a great day.



Yesterday marked the first day for me to ever try rock climbing. It was tough!! I could barely play guitar when I got back my fingers we so sore. I have a new respect for all those hard core rock climbers. It was a great experience. There were four of us. Craig, Sarah a former colleague of their from the middle school and myself. It was great weather and the view was beautiful. I think I can safely say we all had a great time.

Basketball. feww...

Well I did it. I played basketball in Lhasa. It wasn't easy and I do not feel so great at the moment. But i played, I played slowly, but i played. Is this what it feels like to be old? It must be. Well little step by little step. Soon I will be able to play 100% but in the meantime I am just happy I can step on the court.

Lhasa: land of picnics

As I drink some of my imported Stumptown coffee (thank you Oregon coffee makers) and read a paper on the history of Tibet on my balcony, I am interrupted by the sound of laughing is shrieking through the air. Loud Chinese jokes and laughing can be heard crystal clear. "But where are they?" I ask myself. Then I spot them, a group of middle aged Chinese and Tibetan men and women sitting and lying in the grass drinking from small paper cups and have a fine ole time.

As I have been riding through the city the past week it would seem grass is not treated the same as in the city of Siping in Northeast China where I have been living the last four year. In Siping all grass, which is very little, is accompanied by either a keep off sign, or a fence giving the same message. Yet, here in Lhasa people not only walk on the grass (gasp) but at all times of the day can be spotted, laying, reading, eating or just hanging out laying on the grass! Coming strait from Oregon this would have not been as big of shock, but coming from the NE of China where grass is valued commodity that is to be seen but not actually touched, I still cautiously walk around the lawns and feel all these picnickers are all rebels...

but as I sit in my apartment I realize... I get to walk on the grass too! It's a long road but I'll figure out this Lhasa culture sooner or later. In the meantime I think I might go down and finish some of my reading on the lawn in front of my apartment.

Teaching Day One

My first day of teaching is over. It was really enjoyable. Not only do I get to interact with the students but I also get to interact with the Chinese/Tibetan teachers. I am really excited for this opportunity!
The day involved an interesting conversation with a Tibetan Businessman whose english was excellent. He took me out to lunch and told me of a club he had formed where he and a group of other Tibetans who were educated in mainland China were searching for their Tibetan identity. It is fascinating to see how the new generation of Tibetans are trying to rediscover what it means to be ethnically Tibetan. The conversation continued into many areas of each of our lives, then I headed off to check out his english club and help with adding some subtitles to a talk show for a class he will be teaching later.

Ended the day with dinner and a movie at Craig and Sarah's house and am about to head to bed before another big day of teaching... one class.

Welcome To Lhasa

After another fast, event filled summer I find myself at Tibet University about to start classes tomorrow.

The summer was filled with fun, school work, heart break and various stages of life I found my friends and family going through. It is always a blessing to feel welcomed back by all those I was able to see, for however short of time it was. This summer included my final summer semester at Wheaton College (I passed the final comprehensive exams, Woo Hoo!) which I will miss tremendously, the classes and research have proved invaluable. I will also miss the summers in Chicago which were always a blast.


The end of my summer was very relaxing. I was able to spend the last couple weeks back at the parent's house. Strangely enough it rained a ton. (not so good for the farm) However I never minded the rain. I was still able to get out to the beach, ride the tractor and play a couple matches of tennis. I was even able to drag my parents to a small Josh Garrels concert. All in all it was a great summer. Still had it's share of sadness and pain, but it was home and it felt so good to be there with friends and family.



Today I am one day short of a week of living on the "rooftop of the world" as it has been deemed by previous travelers. I am still catching my breath every time I go up more then one flight of stairs... the air is definitely thin up here. However, no headaches or any other symptoms so I am encouraged by that. Tomorrow I start my teaching schedule with a co-teaching class where I will be teaching side by side a local teacher to help explain cultural and difficult english issues. Tomorrow's lesson: The Beginning of the Political Parties in America; Jefferson vs. Hamilton. Looks like I will have to brush up on my knowledge of political parties.


Lhasa is beautiful. I was able to visit a lake outside the city about a 3 hour drive away. The roads were surrounded with everything from rivers, mountains, nomads, sheep, goats, yaks, open plains, 5,000 meter summits, Bulgarian tourists and finally Lake Namtso. The city is gorgeous and the people are beautiful. It is a strange time to live here, but I feel blessed to have the chance.

My First Post

Eventually I will settle with one blog... In the meantime here is my attempt on blogger. I am currently in Thailand for my Grad Classes. I have another week of classes followed by a week of conference. Prior to arriving in Thailand I had a wonderful stay in Xiamen visiting my former students (now friends) in their new new jobs. Xiamen is a city located extremely close to the island of Taiwan in the south eastern part of China. It was city full of different cultural influences and historical events. It personally felt like a mix between Thailand and China. But now the travels are over and the work has begun. Three papers to finish for the weekend...

Help me to serve Thee. 

Sonny, Brandon and I at the piano island next to Xiamen.