An inner journey

A traveler is always looking for the next place to stay. While in pursuit of inexpensive friendly lodging in Asia, senior Natalie Baker met a monk, Venerable Bagdro.\nHe offered her a place to stay. She didn't stay there but thanked him for his help anyway. \nShe smiled as she recalled how innocent and pure he looked. "He just had this peace about him," she said. \nLater, Baker went to a store and saw the same monk again. This time he was on the cover of a book. She bought and read the book. This quiet, peaceful monk was a former prisoner of war. He was held hostage by the Chinese army when it invaded Tibet in the early 1950s. Baker remembered thinking that if this monk could have such a peaceful attitude after being tortured and beaten then she needed to put her life into perspective. All the small things that people worry about are nothing compared to the plights of others. \nFrom that point on, Baker wanted to find out as much as she could about Tibet and the Tibetan people. But like most college-age people, Baker knew very little about the outside world. \n"I was leading your typical insulated selfish existence," she said. \nEverything changed when she went to India. \nSetting the Groundwork\nNatalie Baker sat forward in her chair and rested her hands on the table. She began her story by explaining she wasn't even planning on going to college. Now, four years later, she is about to graduate. Baker's dad, Gerald, never went to college. He traveled the world instead. And that is what she was planning on doing, but at the last minute she decided to try out IU. \nAs a freshman, Baker was very frustrated and didn't want to be in Bloomington anymore. She knew that she had to get away. Influenced by the stories she heard as a child of her grandfather's WWII post in India and of her dad's travels there in the '60s and '70s, Baker decided to make her own voyage to India. So she traveled by herself through Europe and Asia for three months.\nIn India, Baker realized that life was about more than her wants and needs. There was a much larger picture, and suddenly she was meeting the people who fit into it. Baker learned that Tibet is a land nestled between China and India that has been struggling for independence. According to Tibet Online, Tibet was once its own country but now faces constant persecution and oppression from the Chinese government. The Tibetan struggle began in 1950 with the People's Liberation Army of Communist China's invasion of Tibet. The fight for Tibet's freedom came to America shortly thereafter. \nEventually the Chinese forced the 14th Dalai Lama -- the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists -- into exile. In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled to India, where he set up the Government-in-Exile and has been living ever since. The Dalai Lama's brother, Thubten Jigme Norbu, came to Seattle and set up the first Tibetan monastery in America. Eventually, Norbu found his way to Bloomington. \nThe Turning Point\nIn the last decade, the Tibetan struggle has become more public in America. Movie stars such as Harrison Ford and Richard Gere and musicians such as Adam Yauch from the Beastie Boys have been actively supporting the Tibetan cause. It is not uncommon to see a Tibetan flag with the words "Free Tibet" on a bumper sticker. But this new surge of activism is not what inspired Baker to change her "insulated life." It was not the glamour of the supporters that made Baker appreciate the strive towards independence. Instead, it was the people the invasion affected the most that stimulated Baker. \nNorbu, the Dalai Lama and the monk that Baker met in India are just a few of more than 80,000 men, women and children refugees from Tibet. Thousands have set up communities in India, which is where Baker had her first Tibetan experiences. But Baker did not go to India to fight for Tibetans. She didn't really even know about the fight. Instead, as her parents said, she was, "looking for a direction." She found that direction in India.\nUpon Her Return\nBaker was most influenced by her experience with the Tibetan refugees in India. Deciding to help in any way she could, Baker joined the IU chapter of the Students for a Free Tibet. \nHer whole attitude on life changed, her older brother, Nathan, said. \n"I think it [her trip to Asia] has helped her focus her energies and talents in positive ways," he said. "She has always been mature, but trips like these have made her even more steadfast and sure of herself. She puts a lot of pride into her work and activism." \nUpon returning to the United States, Baker decided not to drop out of school, but instead change her major from outdoor recreation and underwater science to International peace studies with a focus on Tibet. She started taking Tibetan language courses and learned more about Tibetan culture. But she was still restless. Baker wanted to experience Tibet outside of the classrooms. She needed to go to Tibet, she said. She learned of the School for International Training in Vermont, and the school provided her the opportunity to go there. \nThe first three months of the program were spent studying in India, Nepal and Tibet, respectively. The fourth month, each student worked independently on a project. Baker chose to go back to Dharamasala, India, to work with the Tibetan Center for Conflict Resolution. This group tries to resolve conflict on three levels: individual, community and global. These are lofty goals, and the center works with other similar centers around the world to try and achieve them. The key is starting on the individual level. \nWorking with individuals, Baker saw Western culture seeping into the East. Although Tibetan people are maintaining their culture, the West is gaining ground, she said. "The idea of monoculture, the idea that American culture is taking over, is happening," she said. \nBaker hopes that this monocultural influence is unsuccessful, and instead that America uses its influence to help the Tibetan cause. \nShe also said she hopes that China is reprimanded and sanctioned for its human rights violations in the treatment of the Tibetans. \nAs a member of Students for a Free Tibet, Baker discourages people from buying products that are made in China. She also encourages citizens to contact their representatives and push for sanctions against China and against their entrance into the World Trade Organization.\nIn regard to Western icons such as Harrison Ford, Richard Gere and the Beastie Boys supporting the Tibetan cause, Baker said she thinks it is great. She said these people seem genuinely interested in helping the Tibetans, but even if they are not, they are bringing publicity to the cause. \n"The more people that are aware about Tibet the better," she said. \nBaker knows that people are not going to hear her story and suddenly become Tibetan activists. She realizes that everyday people with extraordinary stories don't generally impact people. Instead famous people are the ones who get the message across. \n"If they listen to Christy Turlington and not me, I don't care," Baker said. "As long as they listen to someone"