So it begins...

Everyone is busy getting ready to depart. We all fly into San Fransisco from different airports around the country and then take off to Hong Kong as a group. There will be plenty of time en route for the students to brush up on their Hindi, decompress from the mad rush that is packing before a three month excursion, and to get to know each other. I am personally looking forward to the 15 hour flight for all of these reasons, most of all the third. Each and every one of the individuals attending the Tibetan studies program has something unique to offer to the group dynamics. I look forward to becoming well-acquainted with everyone and watching inevitable friendships form. Some of the greatest things we will all take from this experience when it is over are the relationships we form with each other along the way. We are coming together for the first time, some as friends, some as minor acquaintances, and some as complete strangers to conduct research, explore different cultures, learn about ourselves, expose ourselves to our fears, take chances, get into graduate school, make a difference, have fun, and the list goes on.

This program can be likened to a really good book in that once you pick it up you never want to put it down, and when you've turned the last page and finally finished it stays with you for a long time to come. If you're like me, you just might want to read it again.

There are so many fascinating connections that have been made over the course of a few years that the students draw upon for research and inspiration. Speakers from the Central Tibetan Administration (Parliment, Department of Information and International Relations, Supreme Justice Commission), Tibetan Children's Village, the Norbulingka Intitute for preservation of Tibetan culture, various NGO's (Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women's Association, Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Tesi Environmental Awareness Movement), as well as experts in the fields of Tibetan medicine, Buddhist philosophy, Tibetan art, and many others. Each student's level of engagement can be as broad or as well-defined as he or she needs it to be.

The experience gained reaches well beyond classroom-style learning about the politics of an exiled government and powerful meditation techniques. While students will learn about and benefit from these types of situations they will also get hands on practice at conducting field research. During this process they will discover the intricacies of the interview, how to adapt to sensitive interview situations, new note-taking strategies, and how to be an assertive member of the academic and social community amongst their peers; Experiences that are crucial to one's success at higher levels of academia.

That's all for now. There will be more to come. Thanks for reading.
all the best,
Zack