I accompanied Charlotte J. one weekend in May 2005 on a trip to Jianzhatan, a remote grassland area in Jianzha County north of Tongren, where Charlotte had been invited to assess the possibility of organizing a project to assist the local primary school... here is our vehicle broken down along the road on the way there
my student Huatse Ja ("David"), who comes from Jianzhatan, accompanied us on the trip... here he is playing on a hill along the road while we were waiting for the car to be fixed
teachers and students lined up along the road to welcome us as we arrived at Jianzhatan Primary School
me covered with scarves after having just been welcomed by our hosts in Jianzhatan
we had a feast by candlelight at the school... here is roasted barley flour, dried cheese, and butter for making tsampa (the staple food of most Tibetans), as well as some stacked bread towards the back
we entertained each other by taking turns singing songs throughout the evening... here is one of the school's teachers singing
we were led around to observe the conditions of the dormitories at the school (and woke up most of the children in the process)... students slept in unheated rooms with little more than blankets and sheep hides to protect them from frigid temperatures
kindergarten students assembled in the school courtyard the following morning
students in one of the classrooms at Jianzhatan Primary School
we went to see some other places around Jianzhatan (it is not in fact a town but merely a collection of sprawled dwellings) and had lunch at our student Huatse Ja's home... here I am with Charlotte, Huatse Ja's father and our Jianzhatan hosts during lunch
Huatse Ja's young cousins at his home in Jianzhatan by the car which was taking us around
Huatse Ja's female relatives gathered in the kitchen at his home in Jianzhatan
me with Huatse Gyal and his family by their home... during our visit they bestowed upon Charlotte and I a great honor: dedicating two of their family's sheep to us
Charlotte with Huatse Gyal and his parents
Charlotte and I at the monastery in Jianzhatan with our main hosts during our visit there: the headmaster of the local primary school and the abbot of the local monastery
Charlotte and I spinning prayer wheels around the Jianzhatan monastery
quite oddly considering the remoteness, a wandering Chinese magician/performer from eastern China who spoke no Tibetan was at the monastery in Jianzhatan while we were there and put on a performance... he broke bottles over his head, ground pieces of pottery into powder between his fingers, among other remarkable feats... here he is mid-performance
Huatse Ja and I watching the performance
young monks chanting in the morning at the monastery in Jianzhatan (we had spent the night there and they had just woke me up)
stupas and snow-capped mountains as seen from the monastery in Jianzhatan
I go for a ride on a borrowed motorcycle in Jianzhatan while Huatse Ja looks on
back at Jianzhatan Primary School, Charlotte and the school's headmaster shake hands and agree to work together on a project for the school... Charlotte later had projects approved for both a greenhouse and lended-sheep raising at the school, making it a productive trip as well as an eye-opening one (for me anyway)
Tongren/Rebgong picture pages: 1--2--3--4--5--6--7--8--9--10--map
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