Dream Trip 2008: July

Great Travel Moment

Barely as old as my little brother, these boys are both training to be monks at Ganden Sumtseling Monastery in Shangri-La. Twelve and Fourteen, they are among the youngest monks there. But I couldn't get any more information out of them: they were so amused by either my mediocre Mandarin or my extreme height and paleness that they couldn't stop giggling. Nevertheless, I managed to get their permission to document our little cross-cultural encounter. The picture will always remind me that, no matter how different our cultures are, we're all human beings - and were once kids.