![\"Image\"](\"https:\/\/evacohnchina.summitbiztech.com\/2013\/10\/dscf0622.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nI wasn’t feeling that great to begin with.\u00a0 I was still in the middle of my cold which left me with a large headache, a cough, and a runny rose.\u00a0 As we walked in and out of the buildings in the monastery, I noticed I was having more and more trouble breathing.\u00a0 This monastery used yak butter (butter made from yak milk) as candle wax.\u00a0 I quickly learned that I hated this smell.\u00a0 Just walking into a building with the candles burning made me uncontrollably nauseous.\u00a0 I covered my mouth and nose with my scarf the entire time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then the interesting effects kicked in.\u00a0 At this point, I still thought I was just sick.\u00a0 I started to get light headed and knew I would vomit soon if I didn’t get out of the yak butter scented buildings.\u00a0 I asked the program director, Han Bing, if I could sit outside for a bit to get fresh air.\u00a0 He took me by the elbow and had me sit on some steps.\u00a0 I started to breathe heavier.\u00a0 It was just like hyperventilating. I took very short but quick breathes.\u00a0 I physically could not take a deep breath.\u00a0 At this point I got very worried and Han Bing stood me up and we started walking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don’t remember where we were walking to because I was focusing solely on trying to breathe normally.\u00a0 As we were walking I started to slow down.\u00a0 My legs got heavy. Really heavy. I was wearing my big boots but I was having difficulty lifting my feet to walk.\u00a0 Things started to get bad pretty quick.\u00a0 Han Bing and one other program directors took me by my elbow and essentially carried me up a hill.\u00a0 I guess my body was trying to preserve energy because I didn’t lift up my head.\u00a0 I simply stared down at my now very heavy shoes.<\/p>\n
While everyone else ate lunch with a Tibetan monk, I was directed into a small bedroom where I laid down.\u00a0 A local family at the monastery brought me a cup of yak butter tea.\u00a0 I know I was a bit out of it but within two minutes of drinking that tea I started to feel warm and tingly inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yak butter tea is a local drink for those living in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau.\u00a0 Nobody knows how or why but it does wonders for elevation sickness.\u00a0 However, most people think it is not the most appetizing drink.\u00a0 It is thick because it is made of yak milk, tea leaves and salt.\u00a0 You cannot buy this drink anywhere.\u00a0 They don’t sell it.\u00a0 Families make this drink and because of this, every cup of yak butter tea you drink is slightly different.\u00a0 One this day, I had tea that had chunks of something in it.\u00a0 No matter how unappetizing this tea may seem to people, because of the state I was in, I loved it!\u00a0 Between 2 and 10 minutes later, I was breathing normally, the color returned to my face, and I was sitting up.\u00a0 Han Bing joked that I should be the spokeswoman for yak butter tea.\u00a0 After having 3 cups of the tea, I was back to normal and felt fine the rest of the day (still at the same altitude).\u00a0<\/p>\n
After this experience, I have a whole new appreciation for those with asthma.\u00a0 Not breathing normally and having no control of it is very, very scary. I also understand how mountain climbers can take hours to climb 200 feet.\u00a0 For reference, the hill that the two grown men had to help me up looked like this…<\/p>\n