A Day at the Races

We were out of electricity for a few days...I've been pretty busy the past few days, plus with the electricity being out, I haven't had a chance to write, but I've been doing lots-- mostly lots of walking up mountains.

 Yesterday Tenzin and I went to the horse races. Two days ago I had seen a string of ponies and went to get a closer look. We were told they were for an race the following day, so yesterday Tenzin and I hitched a ride on the back of some nomad's motorbike and went down the road a windy 6 miles to the Yellow River and racing field. We didn't know what time the race started, and we got there a  few hours early. We walked around and looked at all the ponies grazing, and were invited into a few tents for tea. The weather was perfect, and the sun strong, so we thought inside the tent would be a good break, but since Tibetans drink hot tea year-round and have stoves inside the tents, it was hotter inside than out.

When the race finally started two hours after it was planned, there were lots of people crowded against the fence near the side of the road. Everyone shouted and threw little white papers (the same kind we tossed at the top of the mountain). Racers here ride bareback, and riders are weighed beforehand. If they're too light, they have to wear a scarf filled with rocks around their waist. The ponies are short-strided compared to any Thoroughbred race I've seen, but they are FAST. It's more of an endurance race for these ponies, and they make 5 laps around the track. I'm not sure how long it actually is, but it takes about a minute per lap. There were ten horses, and one white horse that had a strong lead the entire way. Two ponies dropped out, and it looked like one rider bailed off for some reason, but then remounted and continued around. The other thing is only one person wore a helmet. The riders are all teenage boys, and I suppose it's not too far of a fall on the small horses, but they're still moving fast!

 Cooling down the ponies after the race.

 After the race, we needed a ride back to the monastery. We found a car with two seats and started back, until the driver pulled off down the hill toward some white tents about 2 miles after leaving. Apparently he wasn't going all the way to the monastery, just to home. We walked back to the main road to find another car, and saw the police stopped with a car. Namnang told me to be careful because the police might stop to question me. I had seen them earlier, but they just smiled at me. This time they did pull us over, but only to offer us a ride back to the monastery, where they were also going. I'm pretty sure everyone around here knows me now, and I always pick up on the words teacher and school when people around me are talking.

Nun's Mountain

Nun's Mountain

 A view of town

We were hiking around the hills the other day and one of the stray dogs started following us. We were out for a few hours and little by little she came closer to us. She never got close enough for us to touch her, but she was so sweet and just stayed with us the entire time. I named her Metok which means flower in Tibetan. I name all the dogs here because I see them each day. They don't belong to anyone and only get scraps to eat. Most people shoo them away or are afraid of them, but it's easy to pick out the nice ones, talk to them, and they will follow you.

 My friend Tenzin

Another view of town

 I'll sadly be leaving here in a few days to go back to Xining, but hopefully I'll have more time and more convenient internet for writing.