Lhasa,Tibet

i can't believe its been so long since i've posted on here, but things were really crazy after bali until the end of school. my sister and her husband came and we had a really great time, then i was getting everything ready to leave.... yes its time to go. i think i'll wait till i get home to do my cheesy reflection piece....
anyway, my friend eric is here and we are now in lhasa, tibet. it is absolutely beautiful here! i'm really, really struggling with the altitude, but i think one more night and i should be good to go. we are traveling with a group of 11, most of which were teachers with me this year in shenzhen. we arrived yesterday and a guide picked us up from the airport. it was about an hour from the airport to our hotel and for the most part i felt ok..... i was incredibly exhausted though and fell asleep for most of the ride home. when we finally arrived at the hotel, i woke up lightheaded with a splitting headache. i thought i'd be ok, we were going to spend the rest of the afternoon resting. however i picked up my pack and was walking off the bus and started to blackout and thought i was going to pass out... for those of you who don't know, passing out is my bodies way of dealing with trauma/stress and i just figured i stood up too quickly, i'll sit down and readjust for a minute. however after sitting for about 5-10 minutes i still had no peripheral vision and was still light headed. during this time, the guide is getting us checked into the hotel and the guard is taking our luggage up to our rooms for us. well, everyone is trying to get me to stand up so i can go to the room and lie down, but i still can't get up. i knew if i did i'd pass out immediately.... at this point guide asks if i want to go the hospital and i say no, cuz i know it'll pass i just need a few more minutes to regroup. someone, i'm not sure who, says why don't we use the luggage cart to get her upstairs. ..... well, of course everyone agrees this is the best way and while i feel a little silly, i know its the only my ass is getting up the stairs. so, the guard comes back and everyone helps me onto the cart and off i go on the flippin' luggage cart up to my room. of course this is a great photo-op, so most were sure to get a pic of me on the cart on my way up....... in the end, i felt much better by dinner and was fine for the rest of the evening. i woke up today incredibly nauseous and light headed, but by lunch i was feeling much better... and now its just after lunch and still i feel good. i will cherish this moment............
today we went to the potola palace. the palace that the dalai lama's used for centuries as their home, worship, and burial place. after the chinese invaded and the 14th dalai lama was forced into exile, the palace was overtaken by the new communist government. now, it is of course a major tourist attraction.. i guess as major as tibet gets, its still a pretty secluded country. the palace was amazing! almost every lama from the 5th until till the 13th is buried inside a stupa within the palace walls. the palace is still a sacred holy place, despite the creepy presence of red guards everywhere. each day thousands of pilgrims walk around the palace in the clockwise direction and prostrate towards the front of their palace..... a pilgrimage to the patola palace is one of the most important in a tibetan buddhists' life. it is truly amazing how much faith these people have despite all they have endured from the chinese occupation. i would rate it as number one in all the sites i've seen thus far on my journey. great wall/angkor wat come in at number two and i'll have to think about the rest........................ anyway, i'm getting a little tired. my body is using all energy to digest right now.
i will write more later when i have the chance.........
peace
nicole