It's been a long time...

Nin Hao!

Hope everyone is doing well! From the myriad of postings you all have written, I feel like I never left home...Haha....ha.....ya

It's been quite an eventful few days. For one, my 5 day, 'mysterious nighttime fever' is gone! Being with a group of med students, many theories were put forward but I think in the end alas we will never really know why (for the nerds out there; no, I did not have any contact with aborted cow fetuses). It seems like week 2 is 'sick week' for the group as everyone seems to have come down with some sort of bug. I think the food here is just so utterly alien that our bodies are starting to get tired of grease, oil, spice and mystery meat (yes, I have accidentally eaten a bit of meat). But I think the worst part about having diarrhea here is the fear of having to use a Chinese toilet. 1-there is no toilet paper so you have to come prepared. 2-chinese toilets are what we call squatters (if they are upscale, instead of a hole in the floor, there is a hole in a porcelain 'basin' that is fitted into the floor). 3-you dont put toilet paper in the toilet here. No, you dont. You put it into a garbage can next to the toilet because the sewers cant handle it. Do I need to elaborate more? The good thing about our hostel is that half of the toilets are american style (guess which ones I use).

This Friday was July 4th, and since we Canadians put on such a show, it was only natural that our American compatriots woul try and outdo us. We started with dinner at Casa Mia, the best/worst Italian food in the world. Then we came back to the hostel and played celebrity (sort of like charades but way better) but restricted to Americans, past and present. It was so much fun, except my team lost. However, the losing gift was something truly amazing. When the girls saw it in the supermarket (just sitting in a regular shelf), they almost died. Check out my photos to see what it was...

On saturday we took a trip to Qinghai lake (Lake Kokonor), China's largest lake and a very sacred place for Tibetans. We piled into a cramped little van and headed West for the 2.5 hour journery. But the journey really was part of the destination. The scenery was magnificent. The city quickly gave way to rolling hills, then startling mountains, then snow-capped peaks as we wound through the little turns and valleys. The temperature dropped precipitously too as we steadily made the 1km ascent from Xining (lake sits at 3200m). We made a pit stop at this one junction where lots of locals were catering to the tourist influx. Despite the touristiness, the spot was gorgeous, overlooking a famous mountain and marking the spot where the Chinese Princess Wen Cheng crossed into Tibet hundreds of years ago to marry the Tibetan emperor. The wind was roaring, and the thousands of Tibetan prayer flags were flapping away. It was incredible. Jen, one of the students, payed 5 Yuan to sit atop a Yak. After she paid, all these people came running over; one threw a traditional Tibetan robe on her, the other a headdress with a fake hairdo attached, the other threw a baby goat into her arms! There she was atop the Yak in all this fine regalia...I got a great picture and she looks amazing!

When we first caught site of the lake, it took our breath away. For one, its huge, but the contrast of the light blue water, the blue sky, the rolling green hills and the snow-capped mountains was overwhelming. Pictures really do not do it justice and almost seem to cheapen the sight. We spent a few hours sitting by the lake, thinking, relaxing and then had a traditional Tibetan lunch. We couldnt stomach the boiled yak and the mutton blood sausages so they kindly went out and bought us vegetables. They were very kind to us but I think they were happy when we left. But before we got back in the van, I couldnt resist sitting atop this beautiful yak and taking a photo.

A side note on Yaks. I dont know much about them, but they are a pivotal part of Tibetan culture. They give milk, and are used for meat, and nothing goes to waste. They also serve as pack animals. Since nothing much grows at the high altitudes where most Tibetans used to/continue to live, their lives were deeply entwined with this amazing animal. They have an incredible respect for the Yak and it is amazing how many times Yaks come up in our daily life here (on urinalysis; "when you stir the urine, the bubbles are big like yak eye"). The yaks I met on the weekend were so beautiful and looked so gentle.

We didn't waste any time on Sunday, and headed out early for another field trip, this time to a great natural reserve called Kanbula. It was also about a 2 hour drive away, but because we organized this one ourselves, we were treated to a luxurious bus/van that made the journey a lot more fun. We arrived, and then took another bus to a lake. This lake was much much smaller than Lake Kokonor, but was the most amazing green and turquoise color I have ever seen. Plus the contrast of the red mountains on each side pretty much took your breath away. We piled into motor boats and crossed the lake, where we headed for a nunnery that is well known in the region and beyond. This nunnery is literally hanging off a small hill in the middle of an imposing valley. There are a few dozen houses made of earth surrounding the nunnery (they look very primitive until you see the satellite dishes and power lines). We climbed the little hill and visited the nunnery. It was such a cool place because it reminded me of those traditional Chinese paintings of mountains and cliffs where the villages are drawn all perched together on tiny ledges and cliffs. Off in the distance you could spot these little temples and pagodas that were built perched on even tinier and more precarious spots than the one we were on. It really sparked my imagination and my sense of adventure. Around us there were tons of wild goats, scaling the cliffs without any fear.

From this spot, we took a harrowing "bus" ride up to one of the peaks. The bus was flying, the roads were dirt and incredibly bumpy, and the cliffs were on either side of us, without any safety borders or anything. It looked like a cartoon. I was simultaneously crying and laughing and most of us (the foreigners) were screaming. It was so scary...I kept thinking of you Mom and how freaked out you would have been. This was my first taste of what I am told are driving standardss throughout most of the world.

The rest of the day was spent sight-seeing, as we made our way up and then down another route to where we started. Each vista was more breathtaking than the next. It really made me realize how isolating it is to grow up in a city. I mean, there are perks of course, but we miss so much of the world staying inside. This is coming from someone who has rarely ever camped or trekked, but I find that everytime I get out into the wildnerness, I long to return and see more.

I am in the process of uploading some photos and hope you all enjoy them (they should be on in the next few hours). I miss all of you and love hearing from you.

Love,
Tyler