There are definitely reasons to criticize the brutal Tibetan caste system that existed before China invaded (which I am absolutely not justifying), but I still have a great appreciation for the Tibetan people and their culture. I grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where the Dalai Lama’s brother (Jingme Norbu) ended up settling with his family. Slowly, a sizable Tibetan community has built itself up over the years, to the point that now there’s a huge cultural center and Tibetan Buddhist monastery there.
It wasn’t especially unusual to see a couple of these guys walking around the mall or whatever, although I’m sure it blew the minds of visitors.
There have also been multiple Tibetan restaurants over the years. Tibetan food is pretty damn tasty and very spicy.
They drink a salty, buttery tea which is traditionally made with yak butter, but obviously they usually use cow butter in America. I did have some with imported yak butter once and couldn’t tell much difference. Anyway, it’s much better than it sounds.