Will she be able to find the "modern reflections" she seeks amidst such profound disconnect?…. Olivia, an ambitious Australian university student, was on a tight deadline. With graduation looming at the end of the year, her thesis on “Modern Reflections on Tibetan Buddhism” was her final hurdle. A quick search on her smartphone revealed Tibet’s proximity to China, sparking an idea: enlist Zhiyao, a Chinese exchange student, as a local interpreter for a week-long research trip. What Olivia envisioned as a straightforward academic endeavor quickly veered into unforeseen territory. Upon their arrival in Tibet, the first major crack appeared in their plan: Zhiyao’s Mandarin was utterly useless. The local Tibetan dialect rendered her attempts at communication incomprehensible, leaving Olivia bewildered and without a linguistic bridge to her research subjects. Seeking refuge and a moment to regroup, the duo stumbled into a small, una...