Dharamsala is in the mountains of northern India and is the home for the exiled Dalai Lama and many of the Tibetan people. We have been learning a lot about their history and culture, and really feel that living with Choeyang and her parents and uncle has been a blessing to us in many ways. They are such thoughtful and generous people, and despite the hardships of living in exile and longing to go back to Tibet, they stay positive and hopeful without bitterness at the oppression of the Chinese government in their homeland. The Dalai Lama and many Tibetans fled their homeland after the Chinese invasion and occupation of 1959, and were offered a safe harbor in Dharamsala. Tibet is the highest plateau in the world where people live, and because Dharamsala is also in the mountains, the people here are reminded of their homeland every day.
The Tibetan people are living here alongside Nepali, Hindu and Kashmiri people and for the most part it seems to be a very peaceful coexistence. They are beautiful people; Pat and I have both noticed that they smile with their whole faces and seem to truly delight in meeting new people. The women wear long skirts with colorful striped aprons signifying marriage; children are very important and are well cared for. They are a healthy people who walk on mountain roads, eat mostly vegetables and rice and noodles and soups, and who practice their philosophy of treating others with respect and kindness because, as they say, "they next person you meet could be your mother", in reference to the Buddhist belief in reincarnation. Their greatest sadness comes from the knowledge that as they wait and pray for the chance for democracy in their homeland, the Chinese government is resettling their communities, intruding upon their religion and working to eliminate their language and culture. For a people who have lost so much, they remain strong in spirit, very devout to their beliefs, tolerant and accepting of other faiths such as Christianity, and generous to strangers in their new homeland.
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