Dalai Lama won't be among strangers in St. Paul.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

ST. PAUL, Minn. _ When the Dalai Lama of Tibet arrives in the Twin Cities Monday, he won't be among strangers in a place known for its Nordic immigrants.

He will find the second-largest of 21 clusters of Tibetan exiles in the United States _ about 900 _ all eager to be in his presence. The only larger community is in the New York area, with about 2,000 immigrants.

His Holiness, the religious and political leader of the Tibetan government in exile based in India, also will find that like him, these expatriates have gripping stories of escape from the Chinese in Tibet and unfinished tales of the difficulties of living and working in a foreign environment.

And all Tibetans share hope that they may someday go back to a free homeland north of the Himalayas, a place where Buddhism supports every facet of life. Until _ if ever _ that day arrives, Tibetans here have made their home in this state, gaining footholds in all walks of life.

Tibetan immigrants have found work, established a cultural school and a monastery, as well as welcomed a steady stream of visits from Tibetan doctors and religious leaders. Despite its gains, the community's losses _ like those of other immigrants who fled war or famine or injustice _ are never far away.

Thinly Woser, for one, would want to visit a spot in Tibet, about a day's journey from the Indian border, that still haunts his memory: the place he last saw his father alive.

"He got shot by the Chinese when we were escaping from Tibet in 1959," said Woser, now 45 and a Minneapolis resident. "He was dying. He couldn't talk. But by waving his hands, he said, `Run away.' We had to leave him."