Roof of the World ~Blog post #1~ April 12, 2015

For my culture, I chose Tibet. The idea that drew me towards picking Tibet goes back to when I was about 9. I was running a Girl Scouts event with some other troops for a food ceremony called Taste of Menominee. For my troop’s country, we chose Tibet and made Tibetan Pot stickers, which I must say, were delicious. Ever since then, I’ve had a weird yearning to learn about it. Besides that, I don't know much more about the country or its’ culture. I hope to better understand what daily life is like there and how food plays a role in the culture. I also want to learn what the citizens there value, like how we value work, school, etc. As for work, Tibetan people are primarily herders and livestock raisers. Since Tibet is a plateau region in Central Asia, subsistence agriculture is what holds the economy together.  This is why Tibetan people cherish growing an abundance of barely. A few interesting facts about the food are that Tsampa, roasted barley flour, is the staple food there and the national drink is salted butter tea. Due to the elevation ranging between 14,000-16,000 ft, making sure that there is a plethora of crop each season is a necessity. This great height also marks Tibet as the highest region on the Earth and people refer to it as the “roof of the world”. Despite that, archaeological evidence proposes that the Tibetan Plateau was taken over by humans 21,000 years ago, but in 3,000 BC was captured by Neolithic immigrants from the northern China region. Through many battles and obstacles, it wasn't until 822 AD that Tibet was free from China’s control and official became its own region.

Citations:

"Facts About Tibet." Interesting Facts about Tibet. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

"Tibet - Roof of the World." Tibet, Tibet Tours, Travel to Tibet, Trekking to Tibet, Holiday in Tibet, Tibet Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.