Week Three: Diving Deeper Into All Things Tibet

Hello everyone! My third week with Machik was one centered around learning all about Tibet. First, I began a research project studying domestic violence, legal aid, and human rights abuses in both Tibet and China. Through my research I've learned a lot about the structure and function of China's legal system and courts, as well as how that applies to Tibetans in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) and Tibetan communities outside of it. My hope is that by doing this research I will contribute to knowledge-building and demystification of the Chinese legal system, as well as identifying important issues and possible solutions in Tibet.

Beyond my research, I also had the chance to engage deeply with Tibetan culture this week. In particular, I had the wonderful opportunity to do something I've been hoping to do ever since starting this internship - learn Tibetan!

I've always been a fan of learning languages, and throughout undergrad I had the opportunity to study three of them (French, Japanese, and Chinese - and I studied the latter for eight years to an intermediate level of proficiency). I am excited to add Tibetan to my repertoire, though of course I am only at an extremely basic level! I also think that learning the language is an important part of studying Tibet and will help me understand the people and their culture better. Furthermore, the preservation of the Tibetan language is vital to Machik's mission, which I want to contribute to as well.

Outside of work, I also had the chance to explore D.C. more this week! On Friday, my friend managed to get us tickets to the Jazz in the Garden concert, which is held every Friday at the D.C. Botanical Gardens. While tickets are free, they are based on a lottery system, so I was very grateful to have the chance to go! We had a picnic in the sculpture garden and listened to some amazing performers (and thankfully only got rained on a little bit in the end).

Also close to the D.C. botanical gardens is the D.C. Court of Appeals. While the courts were closed for the day so we weren't able to go inside, I did make my friend stop so we could take a picture. Similarly, the Supreme Court is in recess for the duration my internship, so I unfortunately I won't be able to hear oral arguments while I'm in D.C. Still, I hope I'll have the chance to stop by, because one of the best things of being in D.C. is being close to so many incredible legal institutions, and I want to take advantage of that while I'm here!

Thanks for reading along and I'll be back with another post next week!