These Amazing Faces (Tibetan Women)

Tibetan Women

I have been taken with these women ever since I first met them in Tibet.  Our encounter was brief, but memorable.  I was coming down the path from the Drepung monastery.  These women were waiting along the side, offering slices of fruit to passersby in hopes of a trade or a monetary gift I presume.  I stopped, a little shy to approach them.  Encouraged by our tour leader, I offered them some hard tea candies and they gave me an apple slice.  I watched as the woman on the left tried the candy and removed it from her mouth.  It was not to her taste, too sweet I imagine.  :-)

I know so little about these women.  Their faces fascinate me.  How old are they?  What is their daily life?  What do they eat?  What do they enjoy?  Do they think we look interesting in our unusual clothing and jewelry?  Do they want to study our faces? 

During her recent visit, my mom and I reviewed my photos from Tibet.  This one captured her, too.  She thought these women looked similar to Native Americans and that the jewelry looked like coral and turquoise.  I had similar observations while in Tibet.  It's fascinating how cultures so far apart share such similarities.

I will never see these women again, but I send them my gratitude for our shared moment.