Dear Michelle, as someone who has visited Tibet Three times (most recently in 2014), I loved your story - and would urge you to correct one vital part. Tibet is not “disappearing”. The people of Tibet are resilient and adaptive and they are surviving after generations of oppression. Think of the Poles under Communism. Or the Indians under British Rule. Of course, that’s not obvious to someone just biking through. And, much of it can’t be obvious when the Chinese are around.

Tibetans lives are hard but they have not given up and they are still there. Their struggle is in fact heroic, and the leaders are often “disappeared” or brazenly murdered.

You do these amazing people a grave disservice when you write of them as “disappearing.”

For more, please check out this organization. Www.Machik.com. I am on their executive board. If you love Tibet, visit their site and learn how you can help the people of Tibet endure.