We just got back from 5 days in the Tibetan country. There we experienced how others live. Here in Chengdu it seems that the most important thing is to get where you need to be and get there fast. Everywhere you look you see people working whether is be business men on their phones, taxi drivers weaving in and out of traffic, or people selling food on the streets. Everyone is trying to make money and make it count. After spending time in Kangding and Tagong we got a different look at what life is like for these Chinese and Tibetans. In Kangding, there is still the hustle and bustle of the days, but it doesn't seem nearly as rushed. And every evening the people of Kangding gather in the square to dance to music... one of the coolest things I have seen. There you drive through the country side and stop in little towns where everyone is out and about playing pool and talking. There is still work going on but it seems to me that relationships amongst the town folk is what is valued the most by these small villages. In these small villages I was able to see what life was like outside of the modernized fast moving world. These were villages centered around Buddhist temples and everywhere you looked you either saw a monk or a person coming to worship. The people of these villages are hard workers and don't lead the glamourous life that those in Chengdu do, but I certainly got the feeling that what they value most is family, hard, and the relationships with others. The difference between Chengdu and Kangding as well as Tagong, is only an 8 hour bus ride, but the values that are held seem to be drastically different. Once again reminding you just how different and diverse a country can be and how diverse China really is.