Comparing Traditions
China Dreams by Concetta Tsosie
M
y name is Concetta Tsosie. I recently graduated from the University of New Mexico with a BA in History and in Psychology. I am currently a student with the Pre-Law Summer Institute at the American Indian Law Center in Albuquerque and plan to attend law school this year. I am also a Kung Fu student with the Chinese Cultural Center of Albuquerque. My experiences with the Chinese Cultural Center, as well as personal interests, inspired me to visit China. I have always been curious about the culture, lifestyles, and politics, and when Sifu Lin organized a trip to China, I knew I had to go. We arrived in Beijing, and I could not believe the traffic and pollution. The highway that was four lanes somehow became five lanes! People walked among the cars. Motorcycles drove against traffic flow. It was awesome! We explored many sites in Beijing, including the Great Wall and Olympic Village. We flew to Xi’an and toured the Terracotta Warriors pit, then took an overnight train to the most well-preserved ancient city, Pingyao. Afterwards, we drove to Taiyuan to visit a martial arts academy that specialized
Concetta with mom, Nancy Tsosie
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The American Indian Graduate
Concetta Tsosie at the Great Wall of China.
As a global community member, we truly can work together to achieve great things.
in the Xing Yi form. The children at the school were so welcoming and friendly. We continued our journey to Datong. On my birthday, I got to tour the Yungang Grottoes and the Hanging Temple. Those sites were the best birthday gifts! On to Inner Mongolia. There, we spent a night in a yurt on the Mongolian grasslands and ate a scrumptious mutton feast. We frolicked in the Gobi Desert and shopped in the modern city of Baotou. Along with touring these wonderful sites, we visited many Buddhist temples. We spent our last night in Beijing and feasted on Peking duck. It was a fun journey throughout China and Inner Mongolia, where many people assumed that my mother and I were Chinese or Mongolian. When we told them that we are Navajo we received many questions about our culture. Some questions were difficult to answer because our traditional Navajo beliefs