Today marks Day 2 of prep classes for Tibetans in Exile. It's a study abroad program through the U of A which will teach us Tibetan/Indian/Chinese history, how to handle film-making equipment, and journalistic procedures for documenting the oral histories of Tibetans living as refugees in India today. As I start to feel the urgency of swallowing so much background information on the current political struggle in Asia, I realize how completely ignorant I (most of us?) are about this part of the world. Sure, I took "World History" in high school, but it was little more than European, really. It's so important that I have a commanding knowledge of the amalgam of relevant contracts, disputes, myths, philosophies, names, and dates. Whether I'm sitting across the table from the president of the Tibetan Youth Congress or a layperson who fled Tibet as a child, I need to be worthy of their cooperation.
I'm still undecided about blogging this experience. For one thing, as I reread the paragraph above, I realize my college experience has resulted in a style of writing that I'm not sure is an interesting read. Maybe along the way I'll drop the formality and just WRITE. Secondly, I don't know how much free time I'll have to post entries once I'm in India. We'll be traveling very often and I'd rather use my free time exploring and soaking it all in, not staring at a computer screen. My plan is to write in a journal (an actual romantic pen-to-paper affair) before bed, then transcribe pieces here as I can.
