Artistic Traditions of Amdo, Summer 2007

Last night I spent my first evening with my host family in the small village of Gomar, ten minutes from the city of Rebkong. I arrived at my home at about seven and met the elderly woman of the house (who my host sister explained is her great aunt), as she was the only one home at the time. It was a very strange few hours before the rest of the family arrived. This woman who I am told to refer to as "Aunti" does not speak any English or read any Tibetan. We communicated through my poor knowledge of Tibetan and hand gestures. She walked me through their large lovely garden where they grow cabbage, green onion, and have numerous pair trees. My host sister, who speaks English surprisingly well, explained that they grow more veggies behind the house. I watched as Aunti fed the cow and despite her advanced age knelt to sweep the house and re-stack the hay. Then she fed me cherries picked straight from their garden, butter tea, and bread.

The next to arrive home was the youngest daughter of the house. Her name is Lim So Chi and she is about nine years old. Although she does not speak any English we got along very well. We practiced both the English and Tibetan alphabet. She taught me to say household words in Tibetan and I taught her to play tic tac toe. The Ama (mother) of the house was the next to arrive and proceeded to feed me a delicious soup and bread until I could eat no more. The eldest sister of the house arrived while we were eating. She just graduated from high school and is awaiting to hear from Universities in China. Her English is very good and it was relaxing to feel like I could explain my thoughts for the last few hours. After dinner we watched a dvd of a popular Tibetan concert in Rebkong.

Sue explained that the home I am in is very traditional in that it consists of two main rooms; one of which is a bedroom the other is a kitchen/living room/bedroom. I am sharing this living space with my host sister. It is interesting to be in such close quarters without a private space. I feel as long as I am not impeding on their space it should be fine. I am glad I have such a friendly host family. I hope that through our daily Tibetan lessons I will eventually be able to communicate a little more and help with the chores. It is very different to be in a place that is so alien, but I am
sure by the 10th day it will feel like home.