Yak Butter Tea

"Do you know what's going on?" I whispered to Mike as we piled out of our little van in the middle of no and where. Speaking rapidly in Chinese, Spring and one of our distinguished drivers took off down a barely discernible foot path. "I think we're following" Mike said with a little laugh. Up and down we hiked over billy goat trails while Spring and our driver showed pictures to passersby. Eventually we came upon a farm house with a child laying in the middle of the lane. "Well this is it!" Spring exclaimed. I smiled and nodded, hoping to hide my confusion. "This is the family that took me in when I started my pilgrimage last year!"

The family waved us in and graciously starting preparing food while we toured the house. By rural standards it was quite large, with a separate room for sleeping and a large living area with a central hearth and a wooden floor. On the roof was an area for threshing soy beans, a task that requires a great deal of skill. A few of us took a shot, but I think we only managed to squish, not separate, the soy beans. When we returned to the living room, the lady of house set out a pile of apples, steamed buns, and poured our first round of yak butter tea. Like hoppy beer, yak butter tea is definitely an acquired taste. Basically, it is a big churn of green tea mixed with butter made from tangy yak's milk and a whole lot of salt.

While we were sharing our meal, Spring asked the family where their oldest son, who had taken Spring through the necessary rites to begin her pilgrimage, happened to be. They told her he was studying at the Puli School! All of our jaws dropped and we pulled out our cameras to share pictures of the students with them.