Journey to the East

I have finally started a blog.  What spurred me on to do this?  Well, the amazing experience I spent teaching in Bhutan the past year.  I had initially thought about writing a blog before embarking on my journey there but one thing led to another.  By the time I seriously considered doing it, the year had gone by.  So now with time on my hands, I thought that it would be nice to do a flashback of the memorable moments of the past year beginning with my road trip to the school that I have been placed to teach. 


Over the past month in Singapore, I had been sharing that I teach in Pemagatshel on the eastern part of Bhutan.  A place so remote that many Bhutanese themselves have never visited. From the moment I received my school placement, I wondered what it looked like but the photos I found online (which were not many) could not do it justice.  The only things that I could gather about Pemagatshel which I thought were important was its altitude and distance from the capital.  It is located at about 1500 m above sea level and required a 4 day journey from the capital.  Therefore, it being the furthest from the capital, I was the last teacher to be dropped off.  
 
Together with other teachers, I traveled on the country's only highway on a bus filled with luggage to gas cylinders and refrigerators on stretches of unpaved road alongside the mountain edge.  Sometimes, the single road becomes so narrow that it seems impossible to accommodate two-way traffic. Somehow, the skillful drivers always seem to be able to maneuver their vehicles past each other with inches to spare. Having traveled this road several times, it still amazes me!  

The bus with all our things!

On the country's only highway

An unpaved section of the highway

While traveling on the highway may be a nail biting experience, the scenery is breathtaking. As tired as I was, I refused to close my eyes during the journey.  I was afraid that I would miss the beautiful sunset, the mountains dotted with villages, pristine rivers, roaming cattle or the curious stares of the locals.  I was soaking up the sights like a kid having its first taste of chocolate ice-cream.  I recalled feeling blissful. 

A waterfall 

Prayer flags are a common sight in Bhutan

The scenery

Stupas with the Himalayan mountains in the background

Now that I will be returning for a second year (and despite having to brave the bumpy 3-day ride to the East), I am looking forward to soaking up the sights again! 

Fundraising for the school I teach in eastern Bhutan

Since I’m returning to Bhutan for a second year, I decided that I would help my school, Pemagatshel Middle Secondary School, raise funds to buy teaching and learning materials.  Thus, this post will be about my wish list for the school.  

• Dictionaries for each student in my English class. There are just not sufficient dictionaries to go around for the students! A dictionary is usually shared among 5-6 students in each class. While each class was supposed to get dictionaries, only one of my class V English students received them. So 5 dictionaries given to one class were essentially shared between the two classes throughout the year.

Class V students posing in front of their classroom 



• Stationary and art supplies. Group work entailing any form of creative displays of presentation is always a highlight for the students and is frequently incorporated into my lessons. However, access to them is limited. Imagine the excitement among the students when I brought markers to class one day!

Showing off their work!

Poem recitation during morning assembly

• Cameras. I volunteered to be the Photography Club teacher-in-charge without realizing that the school does not provide cameras for the students to take pictures with. My solutions were to use my ONE compact digital camera and to borrow from my colleagues who have cameras. This was a challenge because I was not always able to borrow cameras and well, there were only so many cameras for so many students to practise taking photos with. 

• High quality reading and picture books as well as educational magazines (e.g. TIME & National Geographic for kids).  While young adult fiction books are readily available in the school, many students are not exposed to educational magazines or other genres of books.  I hope to develop the students' interest in reading as well as to increase the quality of reading materials in the school. 

• Visual Aids – 1 projector, 5 electric light microscopes, models of the human biological systems, Science posters.  Unlike the schools in Singapore in which each classroom has a projector, there is only one projector for the entire school to be shared among the teachers.  Students sit in the classrooms all day long staring at their textbooks and the blackboard (yes, they still use blackboards).  Furthermore, conducting biology experiments which are part of the syllabus are not always possible because the school lacks basic laboratory equipment such as functioning electric light microscopes.  Likewise, it would be wonderful to enhance the students’ interest in learning about the human body systems through the use of 3-D models and posters. 

Class IX students presenting their project

How can you help?  

If you would like to contribute, you may do so through paypal or other means.  You can also let me know how you would like to contribute.  Any amount of donation will really help and again, thanks for reading this post!