“Ilove Tibet and I miss my parents.⋯I also love Beijing where I have so many friends and teachers around.  Now I think of here as another home, and we are a family.  Of course, the sky here is not as blue as in Tibet." Ci Pin laughed happily. "Here", to the 16-year-old Ci Ping, refers to his school-Beijing Tibetan School.
    Ci Pin, a rosy-cheeked teenager, was born in a herdsman's family in Tibet.  Like most Tibetan boys, he spent a carefree childhood pasturing yaks on green slopes and watching eagles hovering over plateau under the blue sky.  Back home, there are yak meat, milk tea and zanba (a Tibetan food, roasted qingke barley flour) waiting for him.  But now he is having rice and vegetables for dinner and living in the students' dormitory in Beijing, a thousand miles away from his hometown.  But he is not alone here.  The Chinese government has been selecting Tibetan teenagers to study in Beijing Tibetan School since 1987.  These youngsters will return to their homeland after finishing their education in Beijing.

From 1987 to 2005:  twenty years of changes

Beijing Tibetan School was founded almost twenty years ago.  During this period, there has been an ever-increasing friendship between the Han people and the Tibetans.  On September 19th, 1987, the first group of Tibetan students arrived. Facing a completely new environment and different people, the students became very emotional.  Many students had their doubts, some even burst into tears.  Meanwhile, Tibetan students and their parents back home were skeptical of the new school and of classes offered outside Tibet.  They held a "wait and see" attitude.
    Days, months, and years passed.  The Tibetan students clearly developed different feelings towards the school and those who work there.  Ci Ji could never forget the days when he was ill.  His teacher took care of him in the hospital for days, washing his clothes and feet.  Zhu Jie could not help crying when his teacher washed his trousers stained with excrement.  De Ji Cuo Mu burst out "Mama" when she was graduating, because for two years her teachers have taken her to Beijing Cancer Hospital for medical treatments.  When Tibetan New Year comes every year, the very first thing the students do is to contribute white hada, zanba and buttered tea to their teachers to show their love and gratitude.
      The students' inner feelings are best illustrated through a speech by Khra-krten tshe-rin.  It reads like this: "Four years ago, when I was admitted to Beijing Tibetan School, my neighbors warned me about Han people looking down upon us and may want to harm the Tibetans.  Initially, their words made me suspicious of Han people around me and kept them at arms length after arriving in Beijing.  But years of contact gradually melted the ice in my heart, because our teachers here have treated us as their own children...  I realize now those words were biased opinions of some people back home rather than sound advice.  There is no reason for us to be wary of Han people, because we are members of one family..."
    A thousand miles away back in Tibet, the parents have also gone through a mental transformation.  They no longer have doubts about the school after seeing evidence of their children's achievements.  Now they encourage their children to excel so they can be accepted by Beijing Tibetan School.  Many Tibetans visit and pray at Sha-lu-dgon Temple in Gshis-kh-rtse, the second largest city in Tibet.  Now most prayers claim they pray for their children's admission to Beijing Tibetan School.
     The importance of receiving quality education is a very significant motive for the parents to send their children to Beijing.  But a more important reason behind their decision lies in the care they receive aside from quality education.  The parents are very sure about making this decision.  Their confidence comes from what the teachers and staff members have done for the children.

    "Our teachers? Our parents? Any difference?"
    From lack of trust to total dependence, one can only imagine the complicated transformation during the changing process.  Unlike those in other ordinary schools who can enjoy every vacation, teachers at the Tibetan school are on duty all year long.  The distance makes it impossible for the students to return home for holidays, which means their teachers also have to be their guardians and provide them with extra care.
    Yang Baolin, an English teacher at Beijing Tibetan School for 11 years, knows best what it means to work in this special environment.  While one has limited time and energy, the devotion on one thing often means sacrifice of another.  Being the father of a seven year old boy, he talked about his son with a strong sense of remorse rather than fatherly pride, "I have only taken him to the zoo once and museums three times...He is a good boy, cute as well, but growing up without a father's company made him timid and not as outgoing as children of his age."  Yang sighed and went into silence.
    In choosing to be a responsible "father" to his students, Yang also had to make another big sacrifice.  His old mother has been in hospital since last November, but Yang has only visited her three times due to his full schedule at the school.  When he called his brother recently to inquire about her status, all he got was a cold reply, " just forget that you still have a mother, and do not bother to call again".  Anyone with knowledge of Chinese culture understands what these words mean to a son.  Being filial, including taking care of elderly or sick parents, is a treasured duty in traditional Chinese culture.  It is not because his brothers are not understanding and unsupportive of his work; rather, it is because no excuse can spare a son from caring for his sick mother.  Yang knows all too well the consequences of the choices he has made.  He says, "I am not doing it for government recognition or monetary reward.  Frankly speaking, my salary is no more than that of teachers in other schools.  Believe it or not, I thought of giving up the job.  But these children are in my heart and I just cannot abandon them.  Their parents are not here, so they count on me. You can call it a sense of duty, a magic power, whatever.  The fact is we are closely bound together".  Yang showed his only smile throughout the interview when he talked about his students.
    Yang is not the only teacher who had to make such difficult choices in Beijing Tibetan School.  On all the Chinese holidays, teachers here have to stay and organize various student activities.  Even during the Chinese New Year, the most important Chinese holiday, the teachers have to rush to school for a bigger "family union".  Last year, the holiday and Tibetan New Year fell on the same day.  The teachers had to drop their Han culture temporarily and threw themselves into the great celebration of the Tibetan festival with their students.  This meant the teachers had to give up being with their own loved ones on this traditional family holiday.
    The teachers' responsibilities go far beyond being with their students at school.  They also take on parental duties of caring for their students.  Sometimes, their job even involves potential danger.  Due to special natural environment in which the Tibetan students grow up, they are more prone to pulmonary tuberculosis, a highly contagious disease. In a case like that, the teachers have to sign the legal medical documents, and then go into the isolation ward to care for the sick student like their parents.  Of course the teachers are normal human beings with natural fear for contagious illness and death.  But at times like that, citing a teacher's words, "you can not leave a sick child alone in that ward, because no parents will do that".  So it is not surprising a recovered student once said, "my teacher is also my mother, I see no difference between them".

     Preserving Tibetan Culture Amidst Han People's World
    A special school for Tibetan students involves the delicate issue of how to make them feel at home while it is located in the modern capital city?  It requires more than regular care and love, because Tibetan students face a sudden loss of their natural environment.  From steppes wide as ocean to populous and prosperous urban surroundings, these students are transplanted like plants into new soil in different weather and geographic condition.  They experience culture shock in all areas such as language, dress, and religion.  They do not understand why people bathe daily because water is a precious commodity; they are reluctant to eat vegetables because in Tibet, only flocks and herd eat "grass".  It is undeniable that receiving education in Han people's world can influence their ideology, because six years of teachings in biology, geography and science are in conflict with Tibetan religion and lifestyle.  Another influential force around them comes from Han teenagers.  All these pose a serious cultural question: Can these students preserve their Tibetan identity in the omnipresent Han culture?
    The Chinese government has never overlooked the diversity of ethnic cultures and the importance of preserving them.  The spread of knowledge and the elevation of literacy cannot be achieved at the expense of extinguishing ethnic characteristics. The builders of Tibet should be Tibetans doing things in their own way, in accordance with their culture, and equipped with knowledge and insight.  The power of indigenous culture is no less than the power of modern science and technology. Guided by this perception, the school is determined to educate these students, with respect for their customs, life style, and unique traditions.
   A sure way to help the students make an easier transition into life in Beijing is through the creation of a most Tibetan-like environment.  The first obstacle is food. The unique geological location greatly influences their diet.  Zanba and buttered tea are the main ingredients of their diet, and they eat plenty of meat.  After studying the characteristics of Tibetan diet, the school made it a rule that the students must be served buttered tea three times a week and no less than 200 grams of meat daily per person.  During holidays when the students feel homesick the most, the school will try its best to prepare special Tibetan meals.
    The students feel the most excitement celebrating Tibetan New Year.  On New Year's Eve, the students will decorate their classrooms and dormitories in their traditional style.  Afterwards, they go to the dining hall where they can make kasai (a mixture of flour and butter) and gutu (like panada soup), both typical food items served on holidays.  On New Year's Day, students can drink as much buttered milk as they like, since the school purchased a special machine to blend butter and tea together.  In the evening, teachers and students celebrate the festival together as their families do in Tibet.  Eating sheep heads is also a traditional way of celebrating New Year, because it brings good luck for the coming year.  Knowing that, the staff members search through nearly all the markets in the city for enough sheep heads to make these students feel at home.
    Besides their customs and life styles, language is the other most significant part of Tibetan culture.  Although their language is not a subject in the entrance examination, the school still makes it a compulsory course for all students so they realize its importance in the development and prosperity of Tibet.  People can observe students communicate in Tibetan language throughout the school.  While the students maintain their loyal love for Tibet, they can also develop a better understanding of their homeland.  A student's diary clearly indicates, "Before coming here, I thought Tibet was the most beautiful, the largest, and the richest place on earth.  While I still think Tibet is beautiful, I also know it is poor and underdeveloped.  My love for her has not diminished, instead, it has increased because I'm so motivated to make contribution with my own knowledge."  There is no identity crisis in these teenagers, because they know where they come from, and Tibet is where they wish to contribute what they have learned.

"I will always return!"

   To date, 8,897 Tibetan graduates have returned to Tibet to join in the development of their hometown.  Most of them have already become members of the main work force in the development of Tibet. Sla-ba dbyans-can, is now the secretary of Tibet Television and Broadcasting Bureau, which is a very influential media post.  Gr-sha-bstan-pa became a computer instructor in Tibet Medical School after graduation.  In 2000, he became the general manager of Jinneng Electrical Technology Co. Ltd, a company that has provided information systems to many Tibetan institutions. Bsod-nams dpal-hgrub, later also a graduate of Tsinghua University, now serves as the deputy director of Tibet Branch company of PICC (People's Insurance Company of China). Their achievements and contributions in various fields of Tibet have set good examples for those still in school.  When asked whether he would return to Tibet after graduation, Ci Pin smiled, and gave a determined answer, "Of course, I will return, not to become a monk, but to help my hometown with my knowledge".

   Twenty years behind, and still a long road ahead

Since 1984, the number of Tibetan classes and schools has been growing steadily in the inland.  In almost 20 years, 22,669 students have been admitted to 25 middle schools, while 14,471 students have studied in 84 high schools.  Among these students, 2602 students have been pursuing advanced studies in 84 colleges and universities.  Presently, there are 12,246 Tibetan students attending special classes and schools in 26 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions nationwide.  To quote a Tibetan herdsman, "In the old days, the first class of people is Lama, but now the honor goes to those studying in the inland".  It does not take long for the graduates to talk about their "six years in Beijing", but we suspect the finishing line here is only the prelude to another new story -"a lifetime in Tibet".  We look forward to their new stories.