Conquering Everest

…or just Everest Base Camp. :) We left Lhasa on Saturday and traversed several hundred kilometers to the small town of Shegar, stopping by the town Gyantse to see the Pelkhor Chode Monastery and Tibet’s second largest city, Shigatse, where we spent the night. We also visited the impressive and large Tashilhumpo Monastery and the open-air market in Shigatse.

The drive to Shegar was gorgeous and looked like scenes that might be depicted in National Geographic. The landscape is different from the Amdo area as there are different minerals in the rocks and soil, and the area is at a higher elevation. Most of the passes we crossed on our way to Shegar were around 4500m. We didn’t feel any signs of altitude sickness aside from a headache, which is normal in higher elevations. We were told that our stay in Xining, which is at about 2300m, helped in our acclimatization process.

On the day of our visit to Everest Base Camp, we woke up around 7AM, quickly ate breakfast, packed up, and left for our destination! We drove about 3 hours to Everest Base Camp, also known as Quomolangma Base Camp. This is the Chinese name for Everest, and the Tibetan name is Chomolama. When we arrived at Base Camp, a thick layer of clouds hung over Everest, blocking most of the mountain. We sat and waited for quite some time, keeping our fingers crossed that the clouds would break and that the peak would be visible. After about an hour, our prayers were answered, and Everest’s peak peeked through a small hole in the clouds! We quickly took some pictures, and before we knew it, Everest disappeared once again behind its curtain of clouds.

On our return drive the sky continued to clear and we were able to view Everest from a distance and with minimal cloud cover! Giddy with excitement, we took several pictures, some of which can be seen if you click ‘Additional Photos’ to the right. We hear that the weather in this area is highly unpredictable, and we’re so thankful to have been able to visit Everest and see her peak!

We also visited a small monastery called Rongbuk, located near Base Camp. At about 5,200m, Rongbuk is the highest monastery in the world. We headed back to Lhasa, staying the night in Shigatse at the hotel we had stayed at two nights prior.

Skytrain to Lhasa

After our adventure with Drolma to his hometown, we had a little less than 24 hours to pack up everything in Xining and prepare to go to Lhasa! It was hard to leave our hostel and Xining as they had quickly became our home away from home. We said our goodbyes to the workers we had come to know at the hostel and headed to the train station. Drolma greeted us there and gave each of us kadas!

It turns out our train was delayed four hours, which ended up being a blessing since we got to hang out with Drolma some more! We went to the Tibetan market near the train station and he helped us buy some popular Tibetan CDs. Then we went to the Construction Bank of China Hotel, which has a revolving restaurant on the top floor. We had a delicious dinner there, enjoying the changing views, and then headed back to the train station.

Our train ended up leaving around 8:30PM and the boarding process was quite frantic! Drolma and Cedric, the translator from our travel agency who facilitated our departure from Xining, weren't allowed on the platform at the outset. We weren't able to carry all our bags in one trip, however, and it was clear we were struggling. Plus our train was on the second platform over; we had to cross under the one closest to the station. Drolma and Cedric were finally allowed to enter the platform area, and Drolma helped tremendously by carrying one of our big bags!

We rushed to board the train and not long after we were aboard, the train departed from the station! We were able to say farewell (albeit a rushed one!) to Drolma and Cedric. We hope to see Drolma in Beijing since there's a good chance he'll be there when we're there in a few weeks.

We settled into our ‘soft sleeper’ on the Lhasa Skytrain, or Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which was completed about two years ago. The room was quite cozy and consisted of two sets of bunks. We shared the room with two Chinese soldiers who were to join us for part of the journey. The four of us watched part of the latest James Bond movie and then went to bed. The beds were surprisingly comfortable, and the train ride was so smooth, we felt like we were being gently rocked to sleep.

The next morning we woke up to stunning views: vast grasslands, turquoise lakes, majestic mountains, dramatic clouds, and several hundred sheep and yaks. We read for a little onboard but found the scenery too breathtaking. We spent a lot of our journey admiring and taking pictures of the landscape. As we headed to Lhasa, we saw quite a few villages of brick houses and prayer flags.

After about 24 hours of travel, we arrived in Lhasa at the relatively new station, whose architecture emulates the Potala Palace. We were greeted by our Tibetan guide, Tashi, who had patiently waited in the rain for us. He helped us to the car, where we met our driver, Jawang, who is also Tibetan. Tashi speaks excellent English and is incredibly knowledgeable about the history and culture of Lhasa and Tibet!

We drove into the city of Lhasa and our jaws dropped when we saw the Potala Palace. Its magnificence is legendary but nothing compares to seeing it in person! Seeing it lit up against the black sky was incredible.

We dropped off our luggage at the Tibet Gorkha Hotel, which has several gorgeous traditional Tibetan murals and is outfitted with traditional Tibetan décor. Then Tashi took us to a delicious Nepalese restaurant for dinner called Lhasa Namaste where we had Nepalese chicken curry and Tibetan yak stew. Yum!

We headed home and rested up for our first full day in Lhasa!

Last Days in Xining

We completed our four-week rotation in Tibetan medicine last Friday, and as our culmination project, we gave a presentation on one of the patients we met in the hospital. We discussed his history, examination, diagnosis, and treatment from the Tibetan medicine perspective.

In the afternoon we were joined by Drolma and Tarvinder and went to People’s Park located near the heart of the city. It’s a beautiful park with a lake, zoo, stage, amusement park, train and more! We rode a zip line across the lake, watched a few dance performers, wandered through the zoo and amusement park, rode a boat on the lake, and took many, many pictures. The park seemed like an oasis tucked away and hidden from the rest of the city by its trees and beautiful vegetation.

Later that evening, Renchen organized a graduation dinner for us at a delicious Chinese restaurant. He and Konchog presented us with certificates of completion and kadas, Tibetan prayer scarves. After dinner, the celebration continued at the Tribal Sun, a noma, which is a Tibetan nightclub where performers sing and dance. It seems that they usually sing and dance to pop songs but wear beautiful traditional garb.

What a wonderful last evening with our fellow medical students and teachers! It was a great four weeks and we learned so much! We’re so thankful to have had this opportunity and look forward to integrating what we’ve learned in the future. It’s been fascinating learning about a medical system so different from our own, and it has been truly eye-opening. We hope the dialogue among Tibetan, Western, and other medical systems continues. We all have so much to share and learn from each other!

After the rotation, the Californians returned home to Stanford and the Canadians continued their travels around China as well. It was wonderful sharing these four weeks together, and it was fun comparing notes on our experiences thus far in medical school!

And again, we'd like to thank everyone who made this program possible, especially Dr. Phuoc Le and Renchen Dhondrup!

Weekend Adventure with Drolma

Saturday: To Drolma's house we go!

The day after we finished our program, we embarked on an adventure with Drolma, our teacher, translator, and good friend. He kindly invited us to his hometown, Chi Ga, located about 3 hours south of Xining by bus.

After our scenic bus ride, we had lunch by the Yellow River (Huang He) and went on a boat ride to Drolma's county town. We took a 'Piglet' three-wheeled vehicle into the actual town. We did a little shopping (for mutton, beef, potatoes, watermelon, and authentic Tibetan cowboy hats) and then took a cab to Drolma's village. The drive was breathtaking, and some pictures will soon be included in our Picasa albums.

We arrived at his home and met his family: his mother, father, great-grandmother, older brother, uncle and cousin. They're all so sweet and hospitable! They made us feel so welcomed! Drolma's mom is an awesome cook and prepared some delicious food for us not long after our arrival. After our snack, Drolma gave us a tour of his home and land. They have a beautiful garden, where they grow a large variety of vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Some of the ones we saw: wheat, rapeseed, soybeans, green beans, garlic, carrots, spinach, squash, apricots, and onions. Drolma said that most of the food they eat comes from their garden and that they sell whatever they don't consume. They also have some sheep, which are currently grazing in the next valley over.

He took us up a hill behind his home and we were able to see two stupas, one of which is on his property. The other stupa was built when Drolma was in fifth grade, and he, his family, and his village helped build it. We visited this stupa the morning of our departure. We walked back to his home, had a delicious dinner, and went to bed!

Sunday: Exploring a newly discovered park

We woke up and had breakfast, consisting of tea, homemade bread and tsampa soup (buh-ra). Everything was delicious! We felt fortified after the buh-ra and were ready for our adventure! Drolma took us to a newly discovered park not far from his village. We spent the morning exploring the park, seeing the hot spring there, crossing a river (more than a few times!), drinking tea and playing cards in the guesthouse/restaurant tent area.

While playing cards, it started pouring down rain! The thunder, dark clouds, and heavy rain were rather exhilarating, but we were very thankful to be in a tent and out of the downpour. Drolma told us that that area is known for its rain and that rain is viewed as auspicious since it helps everything grow.

We then were taken by motorcycle to Drolma's friend's house, which is located in the park. His friend, Dorjee Tsedan, is a ranger and helps ensure that no one chops down any trees. The motorcycle ride was quite the experience as we sat three or two to a motorcycle and the rain continued pouring down!

Once at Dorjee's house, we warmed up by the fire and had some tsampa, bread, yak yoghurt, and tea. Dorjee lives with his sister in a house that we later learned Drolma's dad built. Drolma's dad is a carpenter, nomad, farmer, and architect. In fact, he designed and built a monastery.

We spent about three hours at Dorjee's house, enjoying their company (and the company of several neighbors and an elder that stopped by), drinking tea, looking at pictures, listening to music and taking pictures. Dorjee and his sister let us try on some traditional winter robes and we took lots of pictures in their home, outside, and with their yaks!

We headed home when the rain died down and had delicious mutton dumplings that Drolma's family prepared as well as some yak yoghurt. Exhausted from our adventure at the park, we fell asleep immediately after dinner.

Monday: Our last morning with Drolma's family and heading home

After breakfast, Drolma's family outfitted us in traditional Tibetan summer robes and accessories. We had fun taking pictures and they seemed to get a kick out of it too! :) Soon after, we said farewell and gave thanks for such a wonderful weekend. We will miss them so much! We headed back to Xining, stopping by a monastery in Drolma's county town on the way.

Epilogue: Our bus broke down when we were in the mountains and about 45 minutes from Xining. Another bus arrived fifteen minutes later, but all the seats were taken. Our only choice was to stand in the aisles. The bus was absolutely packed, and we barely fit! Needless to say, we were glad when we arrived to Xining safe and sound. :) What a wonderful weekend! Thanks so much, Drolma! Gua drin chi!!

Chab Cha Herbal Retreat

Hi all! Our latest group expedition took us to an area known as Chab Cha. The main purpose of our trip was to meet up with roughly 40 Tibetan medical students and join them on an herb picking expedition. The plan was to go camping in the region, but due to a mixed blessing of heavy rain, we stayed overnight in a monastery town instead.

The town we stayed in was amazing. The majority of people in residence were Tibetan monks, and over 300 of them lived there in total. The town was located in a valley situated between green hills filled with sheep and goat herds and larger mountains further behind. The night we arrived we were able to hike up to a monastery and were rewarded with spectacular views of the valley.









We then went to the only restaurant in the town for some authentic Tibetan cooking.










After dinner we explored the town and came upon a very friendly monk named Lo Sang Xiang Qi. He spoke Chinese in addition to his native Tibetan, so Stephanie was able to communicate a little with him. He invited us to join him in his house for some tea and we gratefully accepted. In the courtyard of his home, young monks were performing ritualistic chants and we learned that Lo Sang Xiang Qi was a teacher and disciplinarian for the town. We sat with him for awhile drinking tea, eating tsamba and looking through his Tibetan/English dictionary in our attempts to communicate. As we left, he gave us each white scarves that have special significance in Tibetan Buddhism.










The place where we stayed in the town belonged to a relative of our group leader, Renchen Dhondrup. We were cared for during our stay there by some young monks who helped make our stay very enjoyable.










The next morning we set our alarm so we could wake up early and explore the hills surrounding the town. Some of the sights during the hike included beautiful views of the valley below, a flock of sheep, and a herd of goats being led to pasture by a Tibetan herder.










At 8:30 that morning we headed out to join up with the Tibetan medical students to learn about herbs frequently used in Tibetan medicine. We walked through the fields and forests, and Renchen taught us about the medicinal properties of several herbs.










At the end of our journey we came to the area we where were meant to camp the night before. We decided it might be fun to take this opportunity to throw around the football. After just a few tosses all the Tibetan students became very excited and wanted to join us. My guess is that many of them had never seen or held an actual football, not to mention seen a football game. What happened next was great!The Tibetan students proceeded to create their own version of tackle football, which was hilarious to watch. It evolved into a hybrid of football, soccer and rugby. They were very athletic and very physical, unafraid of sacrificing their bodies to score a goal. They had a great time and we had a great time watching them.










As we left them at the end of the day, they sang to us and said several goodbyes. It was a wonderful experience.



On our drive home we stopped by the home of some Tibetan nomads who were currently dwelling high in the hills. As we approached, about seven of them emerged from the black tent they lived in. We offered them some fruit and were allowed to check out their tent and joined them in eating watermelon.















This was the last extended group field trip we had as part of our program, and a great one to end on. Many thanks to Renchen for making it all possible. He has been a tremendous leader and has given us the opportunity to see many aspects of Tibetan medicine and culture that would otherwise be impossible to see. We really appreciate everything he has done for us.

View more pictures of Chab Cha here

24 Hours in Repkong

Repkong (Tongren in Chinese) is considered the capital of Tibetan paintings (thangkas) and painted sculptures. After yesterday's morning clinic and language class, all nine of us boarded a bus for this famed city. We were joined by Dolma's classmate Paul, who kindly agreed to be our translator. The drive was about four hours, and like the drives of our other field trips, it was stunning! We were surrounded by towering mountains and meandering segments of the Yellow River. Several adobe-like houses lined the highway for portions of our journey.

We arrived in the evening, checked into our hotel, and went to dinner shortly thereafter. Paul suggested a Muslim restaurant, and the food was delicious! We ordered at least one dish per person (eating family style per usual) and ate almost everything. Needless to say, we had worked up quite an appetite on the drive there! Most members of our group are vegetarian, so it was nice having such a variety of Chinese vegetables. Broccoli is a standard dish for us, and last night we ordered three (large!) plates of it. We also ordered three plates of sliced, spiced potatoes. Yum! :)

After dinner we headed to the nearby square where several townspeople were doing Tibetan circle dancing to traditional songs. Several of us joined in and tried to follow along. Each song seemed to coincide with a different set of moves, which kept us on our toes (in more ways than one!). We had seen several circle dances at a traditional Tibetan dance performance and at Xining Square and had been wanting to try it for quite awhile. We'd always been too self-conscious but last night we just went for it and are glad we did!

After dancing, the two of us went on a quick tour with Paul around the city in a cab to see some sights and get oriented. We saw the city's main monastery, Rongwo Gonchen Gompa, bought some prayer beads at a nearby store, peeked into a nightclub, passed by a sculpture center, and drove around the perimeter of the city. Paul told us a little bit about the city as we drove around. Repkong, as it turns out, is the main city in its prefecture. Also, about 40-50% of its population is Tibetan.

Today we visited three monasteries, beginning with Rongwo Gonchen Gompa. This monastery, built in 1301, consists of several halls and amazing thangkas and statues. It was quite rainy in the morning, but we made it to the main hall, which contained a large, gold Buddha statue. Several monks were chanting, and their resonating voices lent an ethereal quality to our visit.

Ascending the stairs to the main hall at Rongwo Gonchen Gompa

We then visited Wutun Si, which also had impressive halls, stupas, and statues. A monk patiently showed us around several of the halls and then took us to what we considered "thangka paradise" where countless thangkas painted by monks were on display for sale. After much deliberation, we chose two: a large poster-sized thangka of Medicine Buddha and a smaller 8.5" x 11" thangka of Guan Yin, Goddess of Mercy and Compassion. Like most of the thangkas we've seen, these two have rich, bold colors and intricate detail. Pictures of these paintings will be posted in our online albums shortly.

We had lunch at the "Homeland of Repkong Arts Restaurant," which served Chinese, Tibetan, and Muslim food. We got to try tsamba, which we had heard so much about! It's a Tibetan staple consisting of yak butter, yak cheese, roasted barley, and sugar. It was really yummy (and was reminiscent of cookie dough in texture)!

Finally, we briefly visited the Gomar Gompa monastery across the valley. It had a beautiful and relatively new stupa at its entrance. We explored the grounds and then headed home. We made it back in less than 4 hours, thanks to efficient driving by our excellent driver, Liu Cheng Ching. Our drive included going through a 3340 meter-long tunnel and, like usual, breathtaking scenery along the way. :)

A Day in Xining

Hi! Here is how we spend most of our days in Xining:

We wake up around 7:30am and get ready for the day.

We arrive at the Tibetan Hospital at 8:30am. We then spend two hours in the hospital with a Tibetan Doctor named Kolchog Sadau (shown in the picture below). The doctor typically brings us in to see one or two patients during this time. We begin by hearing a little background information on the patient. Next we take the patient's pulse using the Tibetan three finger technique and then discuss our findings. We then look at the patient's tongue and examine his/her urine (if available). We then leave the patient's room and have a meeting with the doctor to discuss the case and possible treatment.


At 11:00am we have Tibetan Language class for one hour. This is usually taught by Dolma Dondrup (pictured below), an 18 year old Tibetan who is fluent in Chinese, Tibetan and English. He is a really nice guy and a good teacher and also assists in translating during our morning clinical sessions. Tibetan is a tough language to learn mainly because many of the words require us to make sounds that we have no experience with in English.


At 12:00pm we get two and a half hours for lunch. At first we thought this was a lot of time for lunch, but we have discovered that many times it takes over two hours if you go to a restaurant. This is partly due to our inexperience in ordering in Chinese, and partly due to the slower service which is customary.

At 2:30pm we head back to the hospital and have class for 2 hours. The class usually consists of a Tibetan Doctor from a particular specialty presenting a specific aspect of Tibetan medicine. The doctors do not speak English so we have a translator (whose American name is Stan) convey the doctor's presentation to us in English. The topics covered so far include pulse taking, blood letting (pictured below), moxibustion, urinalysis, Tibetan medical paintings, Tibetan medical history, behavioral analysis amongst others.



At 4:30 we are done for the day. Our evening activities generally vary. We have spent this time in the past for sightseeing around the city (South Mountain Park pictured below), shopping, emailing and other activities. We always go out for dinner with varying results.



We have now found a few favorite restaurants which include the following:

13 Flavors: A Muslim restaurant with a potato dish that everyone loves.

Casa Mia: Probably the only Italian restaurant in Xining. The owner is really nice and the food is great.

French Jazz Island Cafe: The name of this place is almost as confusing as their menu. They have a few decent dishes.

The biggest challenge thus far has been avoiding overly spicy foods, both at Tibetan and Chinese restaurants. Tibetans love to eat meat so a typical meal consists of Yak meat and Sheep mutton, along with other dishes. Tibetans use almost every part of the yak for either cooking or medicine or other uses. They also use yak butter for artistic carvings, which we saw at a recent trip to a monastery.

We usually head for bed at around 10 or so and rest up to do it again in the morning. It's been a lot of fun so far and it is hard to believe we are already over halfway done with our rotation. It will be sad to leave but we are looking forward to our future travels in Tibet and China which begin in 10 days.

Tibetan Medicine: Background and Diagnosis

From Fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine:
"Tibetan medicine views health and disease holistically and holds that a human being is a composite whole of mind and body. Disorders are considered to be reflections of three basic afflictions, the Nyes-pa-gSum. The Buddhist view holds that everything within the universe is in a constant state of flux, that all phenomena are characterized by impermanence, and that their only permanent feature is impermanence.

It is this very impermanence of creation that causes each and every being, at one stage or another, to suffer. The Buddha traced the root of all suffering to the concept of ignorance, which gives rise to attachment, hatred, and delusion. These three 'mental poisons' give ruse to rLung, mKhris-pa, and Bad-kan disorders respectively. When the manifestation of these afflictive emotions is strong, they can influence the normal functions of Nyes-pa-gSum and therefore the human mind and body.

Nyes-pa refers to the body's principle energies, which also have the potential to cause affliction. Although they support our life, when disturbed they cause abnormal functioning of the bodily constituents, resulting in physical and mental suffering. rLung, mKhris-pa, and Bad-kan, the three principle energies of the body, are called the three Nyes-pas. These principle energies are directly linked with the Cosmo-physical elements of Air, Fire and Earth & Water respectively.

Diagnosis
Diagnosis in Tibetan medicine involves visual analysis (tongue color, texture & film; skin complexion; color/texture of the blood in sputum, vomit, urine & stool; nails; sputum; feces; physical structure; abnormalities on body and other general conditions), urinalysis (sedimentation, odor, color, steam, bubbles, surface layer, time of changes, mode of changes, post-change qualities), sphygmology (pulse reading), and interrogation."

Practicing pulse reading

Kanbula Park

Yesterday we went to Kanbula (Khamra in Tibetan) National Park, about 2+ hours away from Xining. Like yesterday, the drive was gorgeous! We drove through Hua Long county, which is largely Muslim. Dolma came with us and was such a lifesaver! No one at the park spoke English, and our broken Chinese would not have sufficed. :)

Our day at Kanbula consisted of a boat ride to a Buddhist nunnery located atop a mountain, a bus ride to several vista points, encounters with goats, cows, mules, and sheep, amazing views, and drive around a majority of the park. We met about 6 of the 44 nuns that currently reside at the nunnery. One showed us around two of the main halls, and we admired the beautiful paintings, statues, alters, and ornate decorations.

After the visit to the nunnery, we sliced a watermelon that one of our group members had so kindly carried in his pack. It was such a hot day, and watermelon was the perfect snack! We then took a bumpy bus ride up one of the mountains to a vista point. The bus was packed and everyone was literally flying everywhere since the driver was going so fast and the road was not only not paved, but also had rocks all along its path!

Finally at the top of one of the mountains we looked around, took some pictures and got in another bus that drive around the perimeter of the park. It was on this drive that we stopped for some of the most amazing views of the day. Our favorite was when we stopped and could look out at the lake below where we had been boating a few hours earlier. The mountains surrounding the lake and throughout the park reminded us of the Grand Canyon. They're made mostly of sandstone and a type of clay that gives them a red, striated appearance.


We concluded our tour and headed back home, utterly exhausted. Everyone fell asleep on the way back, excluding the driver, thankfully. :) What a wonderful day! It was such a joy visiting this park and seeing one of China's lesser known treasures!

Qinghai Lake

Today we drove with our program director, Renchen Dhondrup, about 2.5 hours to Qinghai Lake, China's largest lake. The lake and the drive to and from were breathtaking! The grasslands and mountains that surrounded us were absolutely stunning. The lake was a gorgeous milky turquoise and the sky was filled with dramatic cumulus clouds. We saw yaks and Tibetan goats for the first time, and a few in the group had a chance to ride the yaks! We both rode ponies at the water's edge.

The area surrounding Qinghai Lake is largely Tibetan, and after spending some time at the lake we had an authentic lunch in the nearby town. All patrons of this restaurant dine in tents or small one-room buildings with large windows. We opted to eat in of the tents and sat with Renchen and three of his friends. One was a nomadic herdsman, one was a Tibetan Medicine doctor, and one was a herdsman and a doctor. As it turns out the two doctors were Renchen's classmates at medical school in Lhasa.


Lunch was quite an adventure! We tried mutton, yak, local greens, cucumber, bread, scrambled eggs, soup, and tea. As we ate, the Tibetans taught us how to say everything in their local Amdo dialect. Some examples:

mutton: li ha
yak: gam ha
bread: go ri
tea: cha
garlic: gam bo
delicious: shim go ri

After lunch we walked around the beach for a bit and then headed home. On the way back we saw several goats and yaks all over the hillsides. Renchen explained that every summer for about 5 weeks, all of the nomads head to that one area with their herds.

Intro to Tibetan Medicine

From our text Fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine:

"The Tibetan medical system is one of the world's oldest known medical traditions. It is an integral part of Tibetan culture and has been developed through many centuries."

It is believed that Tibetan medicine has had religious and cultural influences from the indigenous Bon tradition, Ayurvedic medicine, Traditional Chinese medicine, and Greek medicine. The precise influence of these practices on the evolution of the Tibetan medical tradition, however, is unclear.

For the last week and a half, we've been studying the theory and practice of Tibetan medicine in the clinic and classroom. Each morning from 8:30-10:30a we shadow Tibetan medicine doctors, visiting patients in outpatient and inpatient clinics at the Qinghai University Tibetan Medical College Hospital.

From 11-12a we get to study conversational Tibetan language! It's been so fun learning the local Amdo dialect and practicing with locals. They seemed amused by our efforts. :) Our teacher is a very bright 18-year-old Tibetan who also serves as our translator during the morning clinic sessions. He studied English for a year in New York and speaks excellent English. He's also helped us a lot around town, guiding us to his favorite restaurants and other spots.

We have a 2.5 hour lunch break and then return to the hospital for our afternoon seminar from 2:30-4:30p. During these sessions, we are introduced to various topics of traditional Tibetan Medicine, including history, theory, diagnosis, and treatment. Classes are taught by the medical college's most senior professors. We feel so lucky that they take time out of their day to be with us. :) These seminars as well as the clinical sessions have been so fascinating! We're learning a lot about a system that is so different from Western medicine. It's been such a treat to be surrounded by so many doctors who love teaching and sharing so much about their medical system!

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! We've now been in China for a little over a week, and we're having a great time! We're here to study Traditional Tibetan Medicine for 4 weeks in Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, a largely Tibetan area. Qinghai is highlighted in the image to the right.

Our rotation was organized through Stanford University, and there are 7 other medical students in our program. Four are from the States and three are from Canada.