But we have made plans with Tashi to take us to the Tibetan market. Most of the time is spent in back alleys trying to get hold of India and UPS China. Our beads seam to be traveling all over China. Probably should have stayed in bed. I bump my head and my glasses are stolen after I put them down on the counter for one second. I pray I brought all my contact lens parts and send out an e-mail to my daughter, Kristine. Oh, the thought of being in China and not seeing as well as not being able to communicate is just too much!
More talking with India, then Jeffrey, Tashi and I head to the market. Jeffrey, bless his heart, is going to make mashed potatoes and meatloaf for Tashi, his wife, his 6 yr old daughter and his mother. We go to the large supermarket where ketchup is unheard of, butter is off the charts expensive and there is no ground beef or pork anywhere. It’s OK. Tashi says there is some in his fridge at home.
His daughter reminds me of my sweet Sami at home in Portland and his mother is a bundle of love and welcoming. I sit with her in the living room, looking at pics – some of my grandchildren, some of Sami knitting. His mother also knits, but with yak yarn that she spins and dyes herself. I looked all over Tibet for yak yarn but there isn’t any at all. Food is being chopped and sautéed in the kitchen. Meanwhile we are served traditional Tibetan food, which is delicious! Oh, which I could remember the name of it!
Finally, the plates come out. Turns out that the ground beef was really chunks of yak. Jeffrey did a great job with the whole thing – there are even sautéed mushrooms. Everyone immediately gobbles down the mashed potatoes and yak and he is a huge success!
Tuesday we are without Tashi. We do laundry all day, reorganize our ever-growing suitcases and move very slowly. At least I do. Jeffrey has the “up at 6:30 and ready for a brisk walk” m.o. Me, I want to cuddle up in my bed with a bunch of pillows and write about our days here. I do things like find an extra toothbrush and clean the bottom of my hiking boots, which are packed with monastery mud and must go in the backpack I’m sending home with Jeffrey. Somehow, cleaning the bottoms of my hiking boots with this little brush feels so good and so simple after all of our escapades.
Jeffrey discovers a Western restaurant about a half a mile away and I have my first of three delicious shrimp salads and cappuccino. We finalize travel plans with our wonderful, English speaking Fiona who advises us not to confirm our flights with Air China, since they will probably completely mess up the flights if we do. We believe her! We get a bite to eat and have a lovely evening sitting out on the sun porch and chatting with some other guests. Everyone shares snacks. Watermelon is a big thing here. Jeffrey and I finally started eating things from the street and bought some delicious roasted pumpkin seeds, some other strange sort of nut and a bunch of cookies from the bakery down the street. Someone else has peanuts and almonds and, even though everyone must be so full, we keep munching out here in the dark with the lights that hide all of the secret broken windows, half-finished buildings and disarray of this city.
Wednesday brings just more bead drama as dear Summer faxes a copy of my passport and visa for customs. We all just laugh about the make -believe beads now! The people from India call every few hours – they are as concerned as I am. Surely, they will get here before I leave on Friday.
Tashi takes Jeffrey and I to a camera store and I dole out my 2,300 Yeun for a new Cannon camera. The instruction book is completely in Chinese, but alas, I have my old Cannon camera book in my suitcase! We right the date, set it up and take Tashi to lunch in our new restaurant. The plan is for the boys to have pizza.

I pick up my visa for Lhasa from Jamin and we ramble through the open markets.
Tonight, I have the best shrimp ever! I am stuffed. And happy.
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