Pema Chodron lives in Chakye Township, Gyantse County of Shigatse Prefecture, southwest of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. Being similar with all Tibetan hostesses, her life is filled with household duties. However, no matter how trivial the duties are, she always keeps smiles on her face. A normal busy day for her is recorded as follows. 

Pema gets up early in the morning. She is separating milk from oil.

Like most hostesses, doing cleanings is necessary for her. Her house is one of the cleanest and tidiest in the village.

Pema has to bring water from a river nearby with other villagers. Thin ice still films the river in late spring.

Pema is stumbling back home with a whole bucket of water on her back. Her body looks like a letter “Y”.

Returning home, Pema warms herself by the fire. Due to the dry climate here, her hands are too rough for a woman at her thirty.

Today’s lunch is noodles as normal.

Pema is busy in afternoon, and now she is weaving Bangdian, Tibetan style aprons. Weaving woolen strips and sewing them up, Pema’s Bangdian is bright and colorful.

It snows lightly. Pema spins prayer wheels every time when she goes up and down stairs, to express her devotion towards Buddha.

Pema is making a pair of Tibetan shoes for her husband. The handmade shoes with good materials surely will keep her husband’s feet warm.

Twisting threads is the main work for local women, and Pema is using hand-cranking twisting machine to process wool into fine threads.

Pema raises many lambs in her yard. She has to hold the nanny goat to feed them.

The weather becomes worse, but she still needs to milk the cow.

Pema prepares ewe’s milk for lambs.

Seeing Pema coming, lambs rush to her for the milk.

In the evening, yaks return to cattle pen after grazing. Pema tethers them one by one.

After feeding all the animals, Pema finally goes back to the kitchen and cooks dinner for her husband, who has been herding sheep for a whole day.