Hi, dear readers, it's my pleasure to have your attention for my introduction. My name is Gonpo Kyab. I have four members in my family including one younger sister. I was born in a beautiful village called Hortsang in east Tibet. The river Sangqu runs beside it. The village is located by the main road to the city Lanzhong. There stands a stupa and an old wooden gate. Father said that was the symbol of the border to China. My family are farmers. I had a happy childhood. In my early memory, I was living with my grandparents, and they often took me to look after the sheep which I enjoyed the most. Grandpa often took a gun with him to protect the sheep and grandma would tell me some interesting stories. We had lunch on the hill and returned at sundown.

My school life started when I was 8. It took about fifty minutes to walk from home to school but I never found it so hard. Tibetan began to be taught when I was in class three. Mr. Samden was the only Tibetan teacher in our school. I dreamed of being a skilful driver at that time. When I was 14, I joined the Tibetan middle school at Hezuo.

I started living in the school and it was far from home. I spent some hard days at first, but gradually it got better and it was the first time I had experienced missing my home and family deeply. At school, I enjoyed the

different subjects. Geography, history and biology were my favourite subjects and I often got good marks for them. I got a prize because of the hard work. I failed the exam once. In 2001, I graduated from my middle school, and my parents wanted me to continue my studies, so I went to the high school. My parents always encouraged me and expected I would be able to go to a college, but one thing changed my direction. In 2003, my uncle came back from India. From him, I heard many things about India, H.H the Dalai Lama and Tibetan people. Those were what attracted me. A sudden and strong idea came up in my mind and I decided to visit India after my graduation. The course gradually became more difficult and I did my best to study hard in the last year. The college examination was held in June. To my surprise I succeeded. One day I received the report from the college.

My family were shocked and objected when I mentioned the idea of visiting India. They thought it was a risk, but eventually they agreed. They loved me and let me do what I wanted to do. The journey was very exciting. The different view filled the hunger of my eyes and I liked the feeling of keeping going. I stayed ten days in Lhasa. That holy place completely attracted me. I crossed the border and arrived in India in 2008. Now I'm studying English at E.S.T. I believe that small things can change one's life.

I like to travel and dream one day that I can ride a motorbike around the world.

Thanking you

E.S.Tibet Student
Gonpo Kyab