Yes! I am originally from Tibet. In 1959, when China invaded the country, I was only three years old. I left with my family and we had to walk through the Himalayas and Nepal with very little food. Many people died on the road due to the conditions and starvation. We stayed in Nepal for a few days, then moved on to India. My parents separated the family, and I accompanied my mother and two elder sisters to India, where we all attended different schools. My father was in Tibet with my two brothers. During this period, I went to a boarding school in Rajasthan where they taught us to speak Hindi, Tibetan, and English.
Then, when I was 13, my mother passed away and relatives were asked to take care of us. We went to stay with uncles in a Tibetan colony—where we lived in huts—and were removed from school after only six months. We were not expected to continue our education, but instead, were expected to have an arranged marriage as early as possible. I didn’t even get to meet my husband before our ceremony. We both just showed up on the wedding day and got married. I was only 19 when I had my first son, then went on to have three more children—one more boy and two girls. There was just no sense of choice when it came to marriage or having kids at that time. We all lived with my husband’s parents and because I had not completed my education, I focused on weaving and selling rugs.
Ultimately, one sister ended up coming to the United States, and one sister went to Saudi Arabia. She married an American man and then they came here as well. Both of my sisters were in nursing school programs and were encouraging me to come over. Then in 1992, when the United States permitted 1,000 Tibetan immigrants to enter the country, I was able to move here and live with one of my sisters. My children were able to come over in 1993.
My sisters were concerned that because I had not finished school, I would not be able to find a good job. I came up with the idea to open a store, since I was already skilled at weaving rugs and making jewelry and other handcrafted items. In the beginning, I rented the kiosk across from Cornucopia and set up shop there selling jewelry, rugs, clothing, and other items. My husband was a dishwasher at Paul & Elizabeth’s at the time, so we both spent many hours in the building. We also opened a store on Martha’s Vineyard, and I went back and forth between both locations.
In 2001, my current space opened up and I initially shared it with Booklink. Then they were able to move across the hall, giving me much more space, which I quickly filled! At that time, we had help, including my children, and I was working many hours to keep the store going. As a pillar of the business, I knew I could not give up.
Eventually, my husband and I separated due to various issues, and he kept the Martha’s Vineyard store. Even with challenging times such as my marriage ending and facing a surgery for melanoma, I knew I would be strong and could rely on the support of my children and community. My kids and I currently all live together in a house we bought in Florence not long ago, which has been wonderful. From sharing bills to helping out with my grandkids, it’s working out really well for now.
