Recently over the October break, I visited a region that I thought I would not visit for a very long time. During my school trip, I visited my grandpa’s homeland of the Kham region, though I was not able to visit his hometown of Chamdo, I was still able to enter the Kham region which was very surreal. We had a lot of preparation as were going to be traveling in harsh conditions which made some of my peers nervous, but me very excited.My school trip in Sichuan was one of the most memorable trips that I have had as it not only enabled me to go to one of the places I am from but also was a very adventurous trip full of fun and challenge.
Through this trip, I was able to reflect more on what I want to do this year and when I am older. I found the service work we did with the schoolchildren very meaningful and service/helping those less economically fortunate than us would be something that I would like to spend time on. Additionally, this trip fueled my passion for alpine climbing, especially high mountains as those usually involve lots of encounters with snow. I was able to meet with people that I would rarely see in my lives such as nomads. I found nomads’ lives very interesting as they never have a home base rather they live throughout the land, sharing it with their livestock. Talking with the nomads, it made me interested in their lives. When I reached Singapore, I looked into the lives of nomads and found that their population was quickly dwindling due to the fact that the Chinese government was moving them into settlements near cities so their lands could be used for resource extraction. I found this very underwhelming as I found the Tibetan nomad culture unique and essential to Tibetan culture and irremovable part of the Tibetan way of life. While in Tibet I became more aware of the fragile ecosystem that is present in Tibet, often dubbed the ‘Roof of the World’, Tibet is the highest region in the world and the source of 13 major Asian rivers, that support billions of people. The vast snow lands made me aware of how Climate Change’s most affected areas will include Tibet.
This trip not only opened up my eyes, but it also gave me several new skills. I became more of a critical thinker as I understood how one action could have a very large impact, there were many times when I had trash in my pocket and I was tempted to litter, but I stopped myself because I knew it would be bad for the ecosystem, and I would never commit any wrongdoing in my homeland. Being more of a critical thinker has made me more aware of my environmental choices, I have decreased my plastic consumption and also ensure my family is doing so also. The trip is supposed to be the hardest 9th grade trip and it was very grueling, high altitude climbing (4000m+) in subzero autumn temperatures in the highest mountain range in the world. There were many times in the trip where my 25kg backpack was too much to handle, but I did not want to slow our group down or show weakness, so I pushed throughout it, and by the end of the trip, my shoulders and legs were very sore. Additionally, due to the high altitude, everyone got Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) at least once which involved headaches, vomiting and fevers which was something that 4 of our peers could not handle so they stayed down. During this trip I decided to take a backseat on the leadership aspect, usually on most school trips I like to present myself as a leader, but during this trip I thought it would be better if I shared that role amongst everyone which I thought was really well suited as everyone got their own chance to prove themselves.
In conclusion, this trip was very heartwarming and emotional as we capped it all by going to a monastery which is my house of worship, there I spoke with monks who I knew had gone through much hardship and torment from the Chinese government. Nevertheless, I was extremely happy that I went on this great trip because it made so much more grateful with what I have and reminded me that sometimes when something is really hard you just have to push through and stay quiet.