Paths

As I walk these woods

I learn: even the cow-paths

have destinations

This is not the haiku I expected would head this post- but it is the one that came as I walked yesterday, so this will be an experiment in tying my recent experiences to it.

First, walking. I have been doing a lot of this. Mostly for fun and fresh air, but also because if I need anything from a store, it is either a 15 min walk straight uphill to Tsengaypokto (a shortcut, vs the road), or a 35 min walk to Chazam where there is a hotel/store/restaurant. I often opt for Chazam because the walk is longer and many of my students live there, so I get to talk with them as we walk. I think they like this too, since the other day as I was just reaching the river on my way out of Rukubji, a group of girls saw me and ran as fast as they could toward me as I waited for them, laughing. They have many questions about life in the United States, but students in the US would have similar questions about life in Bhutan, I am sure. They teach me a lot as well: whose house is whose, whose field is whose, where they hike to offer butter lamps, customs, simple words in Dzongkha, what they want to be when they are older (doctors! engineers! I asked them about being a teacher, no takers…)

Sometimes I walk with Dema, another teacher. She has it in her mind to become healthier and more active, so when she can, we spend our after school hours walking. I am teaching her some simple yoga, which she loves. We are becoming good friends and I am so happy that we are able to talk frankly and openly about everything. I am learning so much from her, and I think it is good for her as well since I know she is learning from me too (we made pancakes last Sunday, and I am going to show her how to knit a hat.)

Besides walking on the road to Chazam, I have been exploring the woods by myself. Most people in the village think this is odd, and Angey has told me that in the summer I’ll get attacked by a bear, but I do it anyway. Often there’s no real path, so I follow the cow-paths, which are everywhere. These cows are mountain climbers, no joke. I have had to get myself out of some precarious spots! Yesterday, however, I discovered a good way to get to a “real” trail that leads all the way to the B-mobile tower. Someone had told me it would take 3 hours, but I decided to try after-school and see how far I got. It only took about an hour to get there, and far less to come back (uphill vs downhill). On the top of the hill, I could see what I think is the Black Mountain range. Breathtaking. I plan to do this walk often.

On to the part about “cow-paths”. I guess this is kind of an allegory for the fact that things are done differently here, often in a way that is difficult for me to grasp or follow (like the cow-paths), but it works out nonetheless. Since we are waiting for our first paycheck, I have been buying things on credit and borrowing, which makes me nervous, but everyone here is more than happy to do this and not at all concerned. I also have no idea how to pay for my lovely internet service that is allowing me to post this, but I have been told that the bill will come in my email (did they get my address correct?), don’t worry.

School is different in so many ways. First, I have the task of learning names that I can hardly keep straight: girls and boys can have the same names and many of the names are the same. For example, I have two Tshering Lhams in one class (approximately pronounced “seering ham”). And just give this one a try: Phub Dorji (I bet you wouldn’t have guessed it sounds like “poop dorjee”), or Damchoe Gyeltshen (“damsho yeltsen”).

Second, the day is broken up differently. Students are finishing up cleaning the grounds and classrooms (I know, shocking for an American teacher) when I arrive. Then we begin with a short (very short- student timed) meditation, then prayers, announcements, and the national anthem- all done in formation by house (like Harry Potter) outside. After, I have class IV, then III, a 10 min break, then class V for two periods. I go home to eat lunch (we get one glorious hour!), then back again for class III or IV. Since I am Library in Charge, I open the library and invite students who don’t have a teacher that hour to come and read or check out books. The first day I opened the library, I had nearly 50 students check out books! They are hungry to read. We need more books… My homework every night for IV and V is to read for 30 minutes every night and record it in their reading log. A rocky start, but I think they’re getting the idea now.

After the gong is sounded at the end of the day, students go to evening prayer for 30 minutes, I get things ready to leave, and then I go home and go for a walk.

Third, there is a curriculum, which I am not used to having provided for me. I am so glad there is one, because creating a curriculum with very limited resources and little cultural knowledge would be very difficult and time consuming. I cannot really download things from the internet, which I did a lot of when creating my curriculum at home. And there is no technology in the classrooms. I often hand draw pictures on the chalkboard to explain vocabulary or act things out (which the kids get a kick out of). The curriculum is quite well done. It is thematic and integrates the 4 modalities of language, plus grammar in context, and I find it is pretty level appropriate. When there are students who are ahead or behind, I find ways to modify. The hardest part, as always in language classes, is getting them to talk, but we’re working on it.

Finally, there is a real teacher shortage. I don’t have to guess if I am needed here. The past week we made do with only 4 teachers to cover our 7 classes and 6 period day. This is not a critique, simply a fact. Bhutan needs more teachers to take posts in the villages. It was very hard for me to experience this, especially because I knew as I taught one class, there were 3 classes not being taught. Today, since we had only 3 teachers, my solution was to send some responsible class 5 and 6 students to PP, class 1, and 2 to do some literacy in English with them. They loved the task and I think both the younger and older students benefited. I am so proud of my older students for stepping up and helping out. I’ve got to think of a way to reward them.

So the path may differ in look and feel, but I am accomplishing my goals of loving this world and giving it what I can as I walk it. Perhaps I did not expect to take this path or find these destinations, but they offer a perspective that is new and allowing me to dive deeper into inner and outer understanding.