Snow! One hour of white fun!       Oct.28th, 2013

Contrary to our imagination, there is little snow near Lhasa, and it only arrives in fall and spring when there is more humidity. There is more snow in other areas of Tibet (near a student's home in NaQu, for example), but the Lhasa river valley is very dry.
Here are photos of the one exciting day.

 View of the neighbourhood beside our campus; typical Tibetan cityhouses - all joined together, all with courtyards with kitchen in seperat building by the frontdoor; foot of the mountain behind them.

Transportation: Trains, planes and bicycles, plus a few more...

I will probably add more vehicles while in Thailand, but in Lhasa, these are the main modes of transportation - beside foot traffic. More and more people are learning to drive (scary thought) so more and more cars on the road, on the sidewalks, on the bike lane.

New road from airport into city traffic. The mountains change colour as the sun moves across the sky.

3 lanes of traffic turn left at the same time, into one lane - question: does it make the flow faster or slower???

These fellows work hard! But you have to watch out for them as you cross the road.












3-wheeled motorized carts/wagons carry people, freight, groceries.

There is a 3-wheeled truck under this load of styrofoam, and nothing fell off as we followed him for many blocks.
















"Bed toppers for sale...."

And this half-ton is carrying....
think heat, think cows, think patties (no, not hamburger patties) - dried cow patties (dung) for burning in stoves.

Covered trucks bring frozen yak meat from the countryside.

Another 3-wheeler for delivery.

A huge truck of raw coal which backed into the tiny business across the street.

Now, this is the way suburban bus rides look like, into the countryside.

And this is a not-yet full bus on our way downtown - it's hard to see but there are people waiting in both front and rear doorwells.
Best part - a ride (no transfers) only costs Y1 (20cents).

For this shot I raised the camera above my head and pressed. One day I counted 8 people touching me. Another day I had to move around because a fellow let his bag of yak leg keep swinging against my shin. Some days a polite person will give me their seat when they leave - so nice when you have 2 grocery bags full! Sometimes I get to smile and play with a baby, or talk to someone who wants to practice their English, or hold someone else's parcel on my lap, or just exchange smiles with another. One boy gave me a stick of his gum. His mother encouraged him to say "Hello, glad to meet you."

3-wheelers are used to carry maintenance crews around our campus and to collect the cut grass.

Bicycles - need a lock and chain - but sometimes the lock jams....

Sometimes I have to stop my bicycle so the cows can cross the sidewalk. I think these were the fore-mentioned group that saunter up my side street every day (yes, that is me in the pink.)

 And there are trains! This is the first class compartment that was home for 2 days. Air-conditioned (it was freezing outside), dining car 2 down, washroom at the other end of our car, food cart came by hourly, or you could get off at daily stops to buy hot food from venders. 
More in the next blog.....

Mountains, mountains, mountains!

Here is a collection of the many colours of the mountains surrounding Lhasa. Aren't you glad I narrowed it down from over a hundred (and still counting)? Don't forget that we are above the tree line, so there's little greenery. The shale soil is grey but takes on various shades as the sun moves.

View from the clouds.                     

   

The ice flows look like a gigantic grader has been working.One of hundreds of tiny farming villages show how very remote they are. The isolation was even more evident from the train. It makes you realize why there are hundreds of languages and dialects, and why the students have often had little exposure to English.

The next valley over from Lhasa, where the airport is located.

The new highway from airport to Lhasa - the tunnel took an hour off the commute.

                                                      My favourite mountain photo - a zoom shot of the Potala Palace from my window.

The view from my office window. Good thing I only have office hours 2xs per week, or I wouldn't get any work done!

View from south of Lhasa, overlooking the Lhasa river

The day it snowed....

View of my teaching building (the big one inbehind) which doesn't get the sunshine until 10:30. Good thing I don't start teaching until 9:30. The field in forground is their soccer field, the building at left holds music rooms filled with pianos, accordians, and drums. There is also a large gym where I've tried to play badminton.

View from my Window

Now, I'm not really a peeping Tom, but a curious Beth. My window catches a myriad of slices from everyday life in Lhasa. I'll include the mountain photos on another blog.

 My apartment is against the side wall of our College Campus. This is the view of our building from across the road and river/canal. My window is the sixth from the left, behind the bushes.This road is an unpaved access road to 3 neighbourhoods. It's quieter than the busy front street, but still has constant traffic.

From my window I can just see the Potala Palace, in the centre of Lhasa. You can see it in the 2nd photo, peaking out from beside the middle School gymnasium.

This is the way they cut the grass!
No Toro or Lawnboy here. (and he only cut it once this fall - now why couldn't I get away with that at my house?)

Students and teachers use this area to wash clothes at the irrigation spigot, then dry them on the line, even in cold weather. (The girl was washing her hair on December 5th.) It makes me even more thankful for my little washing machine, even if it is held together with duct tape!















Clothes dry quickly in the strong afternoon sun.

 Students study well into the night in quiet spots, since most live in the dorm room which house 8 beds.

 
 

 These girls were having lunch on Dec. 15th - you can imagine how cold it is! You can see that the grass has died.

 Evey day I hear mooing - and a herd of 6-7 cows leisurely find their way back from the main road. This day there was someone herding them - the easy way!

 Given the way the taxi drivers drive, I'm surprised I haven't seen more cars this banged up (and being towed by a dump truck.)












Every day at least 3 huge trucks  full of coal chunks back themselves into the business across the road, then dozens of cars, trucks and wagons come out with white bags of bricks for cooking and heating.

 Sunset from my window, approx 6:30. The white is frost forming - no snow!

And some days I don't see anything from my window! (until I scrape the ice away). But it does melt by 10:00 a.m. and then I enjoy the wonderful sun in my room!