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XiningMar 18, 2007
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Just a quickie to tell you where i am and what i've been up to...
I'm in Xining (pronounced chi-ning), and have just landed in town after 4 days out at lake Kokonor, staying with a Norweigen named Carl, or Karlsan in Tibetan. I met Carl on my train trip into China last month, and he invited me to visit. I never thought i would make it all the way up here, but there you go...
He runs and teaches in 2 schools for nomadic tibetan children, which he has built in the village of Jiayi, close to the lake. Jiayi is about 130 km west of Xining, and is on the north eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, sitting at 3005 mts above sea level. It is a beautiful place in the middle of nowhere. Holly and I just rocked up and Carl Kindly put us up in his home for 3 nights. Such a great experience. Not only is it a beautiful place but the people we met there were all so kind and welcoming as well.
Holly and I were put to work , teaching the children in the middle school, collecting water, and yak dung for the stove, hearding stray goats, sweeping the floor (it's very dusty there) and practicing english with the students.
there was also plenty of time for us to have a look about. We visited the village monastry, the junior school, climbed the nearby hills, visited local friends of Karlsans, played cards, and drank a lot of tea.
I'll post some photos later, as right now i'm a bit short of time, we have a train to catch. 30 hours on a hard sleeper....destination...er...i'll tell you when I get there!
