In the last few weeks we have seen many different types of terrain. Each of these areas has unique climates and topographies. When one studies the similarities and differences between people, geography is fundamental. This is true in the United States as well as the rest of the world. For example, in a river valley, fish would be much more common in the area's diet than that of one who lived in a desert. This concept does not stop with diet. It includes ways of life, how houses are built, the style of dress and much, much more. All this to say I did not realize that China and Tibet were such diverse places, the landscapes as well as the people. There are many different ethnic groups that occupy niches in this vast land.

Within Tibet alone there are many different regions and ethnic groups each having their own space and way of life. Leaving Lhasa, which is situated in a valley between several major mountain ranges, we followed the Lhasa river. Along the valley banks we saw a lot of farming. Most plots were farmed by individuals or families. I don't know how many plots a family might have, but the majority, on average seemed to be about 10X30 meters in size, just a guesstimate. Although harvest was mostly over, there were a few plots that had, from what I could tell, cabbage, and perhaps some bok choy. I have never eaten so much bok choy in my life. It is tasty on rice, and I would suspect it is fairly nutritious.

As we drove up the road, which for most of the way paralleled the river, we saw people working in their fields, some with donkey-pulled plows, others with rototillers, but for the most part the fields were empty due to the harvest. I must say that I am impressed with the tree planting program in China and Tibet. It seems as though most villages, if they are below treeline, line the road with trees. They seem like a sort of Poplar. Anyway, it looks really nice and I am sure it reduces wind and noise problems generated from the highway.

As we slowly ascended we found ourselves in a giant river gorge. If I was to compare it to a place in the States, it reminded me of the large gorge you drive through just before St. George, Utah. The road conditions were fairly good, but I had a few nervous passengers due to the lack of guardrails. The steep walls gave way at the bottom to a rushing river that was probably 20 meters across. Each turn of the river was marked with white water, yet it looked refreshing as we looked down. There were various streams that feed into this river, but as far as I could tell it was mostly just snow run off. The days here are warm, with a strong sun, however, as soon as the sun falls things get quite chilly.

As we made our way out of the gorge we found ourselves either above treeline, or in a place where trees have never really taken root. We were flanked by rounded green mountains that had apparently been carved away by water. The bases of these hills had been seriously eroded, which left behind vertical walls exposing clearly marked layers of geological years. The taller of these mountains were lightly covered with snow. Since we were here after the majority of snow melt and before the new coat, the water flowing from the mountain tops had pretty much slowed to a trickle.

We ate a box lunch consisting of two hard-boiled eggs, an apple, a drumstick, a piece of sausage and a piece of bread. We ate this at a village in the middle of our journey, it was very small and I am not sure of the name. As usual we caught the town's eye as we rolled in with our Land Rovers. It is really pleasant how people come out to say hello and see what things are all about. As an American I have a tendency to keep to myself, glancing instead of engaging something new. That same tendency in America makes it more common to walk by someone rather say Hello. The Tibetans as well as the Chinese seem vary curious about us. It makes me wish I knew more of the local languages so I could both ask and answer questions. We have a lot to learn from these people, as well as they from us.

Following the river we saw a variety of clever irrigation systems as well as some fisherman at work. Later in the day our course diverged from the river and the landscape became much more flat. As the landscape became flatter, herds of goats, sheep, and yaks became much more common. However, we were all amazed that although the canyon walls were steep, terraces had been cut for agriculture and livestock purposes. There is not much land wasted here, since a great portion of the land is not arable, they have to use everything they have to the greatest extent. It is truly impressive.

The local dress seemed to be hats made of fur from fox-like animals, and coats made of yak or sheep wool. For the most part the women had colorful aprons that seemed to have been woven in four-inch strips and sewn together for an overall width of about twelve inches. However, there is a great mixture of traditional as well as more western attire.

The villages we saw seem to be a made up of a collection of compounds. A mud brick wall seems to enclose four or five structures. In the course of our travels we have seen bricks being made, which reminded me of how I built my house when I lived in The Gambia. In some of the more upscale village structures a house was plastered by cement. The use of mud bricks is probably reflective of how little rainfall occurs here. I would guess they get mostly snow, otherwise the houses would soon be eroded by rain. However, I will have to do more research, I as I am just figuring at this time.

We finished our 260km drive in Xigaze after about six hours of driving. The roads were good and the heat of the sun made it a pleasant journey for all of us. Xigaze seems like a frontier town. Most of the businesses are owned by the Chinese, so we used facial features as our guide for what language we chose to speak. Tibetans resemble, in my opinion, Native Americans. Before arriving in Xigaze we heard rumors that feral dogs take over the city at night. Both Doug and I were interested in this and did take a late night stroll, and although we saw much of the nightlife, we did not see to many active dogs. Although, there were many laying around the city. Perhaps we were a bit early in our 10:00pm stroll. In the mourning Doug commented that he almost came and got me at about 2:00am when he began to hear howling. So I didn't see the dogs, but perhaps I will return another day.

Before finishing this e-mail I must comment on the plight of the Tibetan people. I know I am only passing through, but it seems like their plight is very similar to that of the Native American. I have seen Many nomadic herders in Tibet. As I have said earlier, goats, sheep and yak seem to make up the majority of livestock. As most of the land is above 12,000 ft, it is not exactly lush with green, nutritious vegetation. Furthermore, a great deal of this area is above 15,000 square feet with large mountains providing natural boundaries between areas. I am not sure of the rainfall, but it seems like farming is only feasible in river areas.

All this to say that the geography here supports a nomadic herding lifestyle, as there is not sufficient food in a given areas to support a herd. Nor is it possible to grow enough to support a large herd, herders must roam from place to place in order to maintain their herds. In the last fifty years Tibet has undergone development, one might ask what this is, and I am not exactly sure. Since then roads have been laid, walls have been built, cities have grown, old structures torn down, and beer and cigarettes have been introduced. What are the benefits to Tibet? Walls and roads hinder the nomadic way of life. Now the few wide open spaces have been cut into smaller areas, making it harder for nomads to maintain their herds by moving from pasture to pasture. However there are plenty of opportunities for young Tibetans to come to the cities and find employment at Chinese-owned businesses.

The removing of the old to prepare for the new has also affected Tibetan culture in some areas. To ease the pain of this loss beer has been introduced, a scene that Americans are all too familiar with. It just seems as one asks more questions the plight of the Native American runs parallel to that of the Tibetan, the only difference is one hundred years later. Can we, and do we learn from history?

I hope so. Todd signing off.