Document: Weston High School Invitation Letter to Bhutanese Student Delegation

Update: Update: The Gross National Happiness Program Is Bringing Bhutanese Students and Teachers to the United States

Since we left Bhutan and returned home, we have been working to raise funds for the Gross National Happiness Exchange Program, which we will need in order to bring Bhutanese students to the US this February. In the last month, we have gained the support of Weston High School and the Weston Public Schools Board of Education. With the signatures and backing of both the Royal Education Council of Bhutan and Weston High School, we have begun to reach out to various organizations including the Rotary Club and the Kiwanis Organization. We have also been working to gain funds locally and contact various Bhutanese communities across the US. In addition, we have created a club in our school called the "Bhutan Club", which has over fifty members and is working for the sole purpose of planning, organizing, and raising funds for this exchange program.

Also: If any readers are interested in supporting the goals of this program, please contact me at julianjacobs6@gmail.com.

Document: Signed Weston High School Letter of Endorsement for the Gross National Happiness Exchange Program

Document: Signed Gross National Happiness Exchange Program (Student Exchange Program) Project Descripition

Report: Gross National Happiness Exchange Program 2013

Copied below is the official, written, report for the Gross National Happiness Exchange Program in 2013.

Gross National Happiness Exchange Program

2013 Report to the REC:

Julian Darius Jacobs

As we descended below the mountains of Paro Valley, we watched in awe at the Bhutanese style houses that rested on the vibrant green mountains that now surrounded us. When we finally stepped outside, we were met with a purple billboard advertising the marriage of the king and queen and as we looked around, we felt dwarfed by the surreal and mysterious landscape we now walked in. After making our way through Bhutan’s immigration office and retrieving our bags, we met with members of the Royal Education Council, shaking hands with them and expressing our amazement at the sights we saw around us. From here, we traveled one hour to Thimphu and watched as prayer flags draped in the distance while farmers walked on the side of the road beside their disobedient cows. Still, It did not feel as though we were on the other side of the world, for we had no real conception of our physical distance from home. Instead, it seemed as though we had been inserted into an alternate reality with a culture and landscape that seemed to be too exceedingly different from our own to even be of the same world. Although this initial observation was fundamentally misguided, it does well to capture our immediate reactions to the country. When we arrived in Thimphu, we traveled directly to Peaceful Resort, where we would be spending the first few nights of our trip. We found this hotel to be thoroughly relaxing and pleasurable, a nice treat after nearly 30hours of traveling. Over the course of the next few days, we were able to get an initial taste of Bhutanese culture before we began our work in the schools, which would take up the vast majority of our trip. This consisted of traveling to an archery match, getting acquainted with Bhutanese food, and purchasing our Ghos (something we took much delight in). We also worked with the REC during this time and began to prepare our materials for the schools that we would be working in. Beyond this, we finally met with the host families we would be staying with while in Thimphu. They were all extremely kind and generous and all of us enjoyed our time with them over the course of the two weeks that we were together. The small period of time that we spent traveling around Thimphu, which lasted four days, was crucial to our trip because it provided us with time to get acquainted with Bhutanese culture before we actually went out and experienced it. After this time had ended, we traveled to Punakha where we would be working in Tashidingkha Middle Secondary School as teachers of specific subjects. Still, before we arrived there, we had the opportunity to visit the famous Tzong that Punakha is home to. This allowed us to peer into the religious life of the Bhutanese and begin to formulate our understanding of how Buddhism impacts Bhutan itself. Immediately after our trip to the Punakha Tzong, we climbed up windy and bumpy roads to reach Tashidingkha, where our work in Bhutanese schools would finally begin. Upon our arrival, we met with our three hosts, the principle and two teachers, over a cup of tea. We discussed what subjects each of us would be teaching and organized an elaborate schedule to plan it out. I (Julian) led a philosophy course, Kei taught politics, Jun led technology classes, Kuba held lectures/ interactive discussions on sports (and the culture that it is surrounded by), Nathan introduced music in the form of an after school club and a real in class course, and James taught art. Each of us had prepared our teaching material prior to our arrival in Bhutan and we were happy to see that our work there provided an excellent medium for exchanging our ideas with the students and making friends. In order to communicate the concepts of each topic we discussed, we had to readjust our discourse to one that the Tashidingkha students would be able to connect with. As a result, our work in the schools actually helped to accelerate our integration into the Tashidingkha community. It was from the basis of teaching that we were able to begin actively conversing with students. This new level of interaction consisted of playing basketball/soccer games with the Tashidingkha students to simply conversing and laughing with them after class. Ultimately, our stay in Tashidingkha, which lasted over ten days, proved to be one of the most substantial and life changing parts of our trip, if not for the simple reason that this experience lasted over ten days. Immediately after our time Tashidingkha drew to a conclusion, we found ourselves back in Thimphu and in the wealthy Druk School. Upon our entrance into this middle secondary school, we immediately noticed the contrasting physical differences between it and Tashidingkha, which, unfortunately, did not have nearly the facilities or quality of education that we found in Druk. Although we did not teach there, or play as active a role as we did in Tashidingkha, we were able establish a connection with the students in Druk school within the one day that we were there. This was an obvious result of an increased overall proficiency in English, which translated into a more bold and outgoing student response to our presence. Even as we stepped through the school gate and looked at the well-kept turf field that sat behind the principles office, it felt as though we had been blasted centuries into the future and all we saw before us was the modern interpretation of the Bhutanese culture we had witnessed in Tashidingkha. When the weekend finally came, we now had found groups of Bhutanese students to have lunch with and meet for events (such as the soccer finals between Nepal and Bhutan). Although our stay in Druk School was short lived, it proved to be a powerful one nonetheless. The following Monday, we attended International Youth Day and found ourselves interested in the discussion of youth migration in Bhutan. We were just as eager to hear what each official had to say about this issue as we were to participate in the proceeding discussion of it. After this interesting start of our day, we began attending classes at Pelkhill Higher Secondary School, where we were, once again, exposed to an entirely new perspective and conception of Bhutanese culture. Here we found a school that, while modernized, lacked most of the resources that had made Druk School such a stark contrast to Tashidingkha. In connection with this, the students here did not seem to be as academically motivated as we had seen in the other schools and we were shocked to here about the gangs and drugs that the school’s students seemed to have an unfortunate reputation for facilitating. This raised many interesting questions in our mind about why Pelkhill, which still has more resources and higher teacher quality than Tashidingkha, would be prone to these issues. What made this even more interesting was the fact that the students who actually professed to be in a gang were just as nice as anyone we had met in other schools. As a result of this interest, we began to investigate as to what the source of these issues is derived from. Although there were numerous unknowns (like what type of family each student was coming from), we noticed that the students of Pelkhill were not very patriotic and were far more westernized than those at other schools. Here many students could tell us more about specific American musicians and cultural figures than we could. If westernization is, as we expect, some source of the issues that plague Pelkhill, an interesting question in our minds is; how does a country balance westernization with modernization?  This is a question that we kept in mind throughout the remainder of our stay in Thimphu, which would conclude following our two-day stay in Pelkhill ended. At this point, we said our goodbyes to our host families and friends before departing to Paro for the remainder of our trip. It was here that we had the opportunity to visit Tenzin Higher Secondary School (our second non-urban school) and hike up to the well-advertised Tiger’s Nest on the weekend (our most visually stunning experience in Bhutan). After already spending significant time in Bhutan, we felt well acquainted with Bhutanese culture and the Bhutanese style of living. As a result, our transition into Tenzin was rather smooth as we were able to make friends quickly and almost seamlessly interact with the students. This was partly due to the unprecedented warm reception that we received in Tenzin. Not only were the staff and students extremely open with us, but they also were the only school to draft a day to day itinerary for our stay there, which actually helped to make it much more productive. This schedule included the Tenzin Idol (talent show), a speech competition, and a basketball match, each of which we were able to participate in as oppose to simply observing. We truly felt like we were part a community and in the two and a half days we spent at Tenzin, we made some of our closest friends on the trip. Needless to say that as we departed for the US on the following Tuesday, we had made many friends and had experienced a culture and way of thinking that had previously been totally foreign to us. Our time in Bhutan was absolutely life changing and we think, as a result, it is essential that we succeed in raising money to fund the stay of Bhutanese students to the US this coming winter. Beyond this, we hope that other students, from all over the country, will be able to experience the richness of Bhutanese culture in the same way that we have.

Article: What Is Gross National Happiness?

As we descended down from the clouds, passing by small villages and farms, into the Valley of Paro, Bhutan, our group of six Weston High School students watched as the mountains rose above us, blocking our vision of the world beyond. So as the wheels of the “Drukair” plane finally touched the ground, it seemed to me as though we had just entered a land completely isolated from the outside world. Although I knew that the society altering power of the Internet had become present in Bhutan just a few years ago, the two months I had spent last summer as an intern for the Royal Education Council of Bhutan failed to help me comprehend the ever changing scale of this relatively new influence in context of the country’s traditions and, more specifically, Gross National Happiness.

The vast majority of the people who have heard of Bhutan have only done so in the context of its idealistic notion of Gross National Happiness (GNH) and, as a result, it becomes very difficult to comprehensively assess this form of measurement in perspective of Bhutan itself. Even throughout the early stages of my initial trip to Bhutan, I identified myself as, predominately, an explorer of GNH as oppose to one of Bhutanese culture. A year later, I now understand that such a belief could not be more misguided as GNH is entirely dependent on Bhutanese culture and therefore acts as little more than an attractive label for a set of ideas that have previously been set. That’s not to say that GNH has no practical application, it is just confined to Bhutan and therefore has very little influence beyond capturing and maintaining traditional conceptions of the world that may, or may not, actually be helpful for the country. What I mean is that the 9 domains that collectively define GNH (standard of living, psychological well being, good governance, health, education, community vitality, cultural diversity, time use, and ecological diversity) are, for the most part, little more than a series of abstract and immeasurable qualities that intrinsically range from country to country (or village to village).  This, therefore, makes it impossible for GNH to serve as a practical international form of measuring wealth. Beyond this, many of its ideas, such as community vitality, have actually been used as a means of creating political and social stagnation in Bhutan, as GNH can be considered a euphemism for conservatism and traditionalism under the guise of a moral constitution. This accusation was clearly validated a few years ago, when youth gangs roamed Bhutan (particularly the urban capital city of Thimphu). This time highlights a period of cultural change for the country and, as I have mentioned, because GNH is fundamentally tied to Bhutanese cultural (like the Rupee is to the Bhutanese Ngultrum), any massive societal change effectively renders the ideas behind GNH void and obsolete. This is exactly what has happened in Bhutan. The disgruntled youth and the unemployed roam around and wreak havoc while GNH drapes lazily over them as a curtain that few foreigners see through.

Bhutanese culture is extremely rich and absolutely worth exploring and experiencing, however, people must realize that GNH merely highlights some of the more attractive aspects of this culture and is, in many ways, a distraction of from the modern attitudes present in Bhutan. Effectively, GNH can be described as the extremely attractive ticketholder (somewhat literally) to a ship that has already set sail.
Still, the people of Bhutan are exceptionally kind (not a result of GNH) and willing to help and such an attitude should absolutely be spread around the world. If GNH succeeds on any level, it is because it manages to create an attractive cultural package for export to other countries. Again, it has little to no impact within Bhutan but still manages to lure in interested foreigners for the true Bhutanese experience, which is far more substantial and worth exploring. As one student I interviewed put it, “GNH is more important for the country than it is for the people living in it.”

Update: Day 29

We watched one last time as Bhutan's massive Himalayan Mountains sunk beneath us as we rose above the kingdom that we had just spent one month experiencing, working in, and learning from. Although we could not entirely suppress the sadness we felt in leaving all the friends that we had made behind, we left with a sense of fulfillment under the basis that we had taken part in, and helped lay the foundation for, the first exchange program between Bhutan and the US. Through the many classes across Bhutan that we were fortunate enough to interact with and teach, we feel that we have left a lasting impact and have succeeded in our goal of exchanging our ideas and beliefs with the Bhutanese students through our work in their schools. Beyond this, Bhutan presented us with entirely foreign and unique belief system and has impacted the way we view the world as well as our communities local, national, and international. In the coming months, we will be working to bring the first group of students from Bhutan to the US through the exchange program, which we hope will prove to be a systematic means of exposing students from completely different cultural backgrounds to the ideas of another country.

Update: Day 28

We spent our final day resting for our flight back to the US. Most of us slept in and ate a late breakfast at our hotel. For lunch, we went to an Internet cafe and did a little work on the blog. Some of us bought gifts for our friends and family, in Paro. We returned to the hotel to pack our bags for an early flight out of Bhutan. After packing, we played volleyball with the hotel employees. Tonight, we begin preparing ourselves for adjustment to US timezones. We've come full circle, returning to the place we began our journey. It's hard for us to believe that we landed here a month ago. We're all eager to go home and see our family and friends but we will miss the sprawling mountains of the land of the thunder dragon. We hope to revisit our Bhutanese friends one day.

Update: Day 27

Today, we climbed the Tiger's Nest. The Tiger's Nest is a temple that is treacherously built into the side of a mountain. We had to wake up at five to beat the sun. The whole hike was about two hours. On our way up the mountain we got great views of Paro below us. The trail was very steep and fresh mud covered the trail because of heavy rain the previous night. When you finally reach the top, you get an amazing view of the temple and the trail below. To reach the temple, you must climb down a staircase that is no more than two feet wide. On your sides are 300 foot drops down to the forest below. Our guide told us that we had to move quickly because rocks would fall from the cliffs above us. Next to the Tiger's Nest was an impressive waterfall that sprayed you with mist as you passed underneath it. Upon reaching the temple we were denied entry into the temple. Since we knew it would be hot during the hike, we all wore shorts. Unfortunately, to enter the temple, you need pants. We ended having to put on two pairs of pants and entering the temple in pairs. Photography was prohibited in the temple so we were required to leave all electronics behind. Inside the temple, there were 9 shrines to pray in. The craftsmanship of the shrines was absolutely amazing. Many monks and Bhutanese nationals prayed at the shrines. Most of us were quite unfamiliar with the prayers and had no idea what to do. Students from Tenzin HSS had joined us on the hike that day and explained the prayers to us. Some had brought food as a gift to their god. We visited the shrines and then began our descent. The descent was obviously much quicker than the ascent. We ended getting down in about an hour. By the end of the hike we were all very tired and spent the rest of the day resting at our hotel.

Update: Day 26

We drove up Tenzin Higher Secondary School’s bumpy dirt road for our final day (a half day) at the school. With only three periods, we immediately jumped into classroom with the students in an attempt to get as much interaction with them as possible in the remaining time we had. Throughout the course of the day, we received requests from students to come talk in their classroom and, as a result, attempted to go into as many additional classes as possible in the limited time we had. Although we did not plan specific material to discuss, today proved to be one our most effective day in Tenzin as the students asked hours and hours worth of questions about issues or ideas that they were especially interested in. Such questions ranged from politics to music to girls and through this, we were able to gain insight into the students’ character and culture and understand a bit more about where their often-romanticized conceptions of the US are derived from. The first part of our day was a blur as we moved from class to class, constantly looking at new set of faces and listening to new voices until the lunch bell, which marked the end of the school day, ended academic work for the day. After a quick meal with some friends from grades 11 and 12, we walked to the school auditorium building where a speech competition was being held. Throughout our stay, the Tenzin principle had been very keen on placing us into various school programs (like the Tenzin Idol and Basketball game) so it came as no surprise to us when he asked for two volunteers from our group to join the competition. Ultimately, Kei and Julian chose to participate, soon finding themselves on stage looking in front of the entire school’s student and staff body. In this speech competition, students would randomly pick a number out of thirteen (number of participants) corresponding to their turn. Immediately after their number is called upon, they will be given a topic to speak on followed by one minute of preparation and three minutes of talking. After being randomly assigned their numbers, Kei was chosen to go first and Julian eighth. As their turns approached, their stomachs churned as they sat in anticipation, hoping that the topic they were given was significant enough to be discussed for three minutes. Ultimately, Kei was given the question of ‘How does education shape our character’ while Julian was asked ‘What do you think is the best school in your country’.  By the end of the completion, and numerous rounds of applause (and occasionally laughs) later, Julian won the speech competition (coming in first place), while Kei came in second. It was an invigorating experience for both the crowd and the participants as well as an incredibly opportunity to insert ourselves into the school in a way that we had not anywhere else. After the speech competition ended, we were given six copies of the school’s list of rules as a gift and were met by flattering roars of applause as we stepped foot outside the school, bidding farewell to our friends, wishing them the best, and thanking them for the unmatched hospitality that we received on our visit.

Update: Day 25

In our second day at Tenzin Higher Secondary School, we arrived at approximately 8:30am in our van to the parking lot that sat on a dirt plateau below the school and, to our surprise, there were no students lined up for the morning assembly. Instead they paced around the campus, leaning on rocks and the brick walls of each classroom conversing with one another. Our assumption was that we had missed prayer all together, however as the principle and his assistant approached us with hands extended, they explained to us that we were in fact on time and that there was no morning prayer today. This came as a somewhat pleasant shock to us as (although morning prayer is interesting) it can become a bit redundant (for the students as well). At this point, we had a quick cup of tea in the staff room before finally moving off to the classrooms to begin our school day. As a group, we had far greater success in the classroom today than on our first day as students began to ask more questions and more actively try to interact with us. Soon, each of us had found a group of friends and would walk around with them and talk to them throughout the day. The direct result of this new level of interaction was a new, more interactive, approach to our work in Tenzin. Julian held multiple lectures and Q&A sessions throughout the course of the day while Kei and Kuba organized a mock debate over the issue of arranged marriage. We felt more comfortable in Tenzin than any of the other places we visited, which sparked the question of whether that new sense of comfort was a result of experience that we gained in the schools we visited or that the students were just more friendly and outgoing. In any case, as the end of the day came, we slipped into our sneakers and running shorts for yet another basketball game, this time with Tenzin’s school team. Considering that none of us are basketball players and that we have yet to win one game in Bhutan, our hope was simply to compete. Unfortunately, as we saw the students warm up, we realized that such aspirations we farfetched and almost indefinitely unlikely. As the ball was thrown into the air to commence the game, we watched one Tenzin student swipe the ball out of the air and dribble it effortlessly down the court for a layup. We turned and looked at each other, shaking our heads, and by the end of the first quarter, we were down 14-0. Eventually we were left to the mercy of the Tenzin basketball team as we unanimously decided to reorganize teams.  After an hour more of casual play, it was time to leave the school and as we apologized to our friends for a poor basketball performance, we hugged them goodbye and slipped into the van, watching as our new community and family of friends waved to us in the distance.

Update: Day 24

At the uncomfortably early hour of 5:00am, we rolled out of bed and scrambled to finish packing our belongings for the road home. With barely any breakfast, we left for Tenzin Higher Secondary School in Paro at around 6:00am. We will be spending the remainder of our trip in Paro, going to classes in Tenzin on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and hiking up to Bhutan's famous Tiger's Nest on Sunday. So as we drove by the gate to Thimphu one more time, we looked back into the city, thinking of all the incredible experiences and people that we were leaving behind. Needless to say, it was a quiet car ride to Paro. Some of us slept while others simply stared out the window as we swerved around mountain after mountain during this early morning drive. We arrived at Tenzin in time for morning prayer and were greeted by the principle, vice Principle, and many former students of Tashidingkha (many students from Tashidingkha come to Tenzin after they graduate) that Julian had met in the previous year. The facilities were well kept and nicely designed, with traditional Bhutanese orange and red colors. As the students lined up single file for prayer, we were greeted by possibly the warmest reception we have received from any school on this trip. We shook hands with smiling teachers and students alike and discussed the future plans for the Gross National Happiness Exchange Program. Even the morning assembly was given a twist upon our arrival. Instead of a simple prayer to the god of wisdom, the students sang a special school song to greet us, which went on for over ten minutes. The remainder of the morning assembly went as it had in all other schools. The students prayed for a few minutes, the principle gave a quick speech announcing our arrival, and Julian gave a brief talk to the students, introducing our team and discussing the exchange program. Immediately the assembly, we were taken on a tour of the school campus. We were impressed to see that the school was home to numerous cafes (where we sat down to have tea) and a swimming pool and weight room (something no other school had). Although the school certainly felt rural, it seemed like a much more updated and expensive version of Tashidingkha with many more resources (including internet) at its disposal. We sat down for a lunch with the the Tenzin staff and celebrated Indian Independence Day with the large number of Indian teachers at the school. After a few cheers and a couple cups of mango juice, we left the staff lounge to finally go sit in on classes. Each of us were asked to go to a separate class and give a half hour lecture about American culture and how are experience in Bhutan has been thus far. We asked questions to each class about Bhutanese culture, Gross National Happiness, and their time in Tenzin. We found students in Tenzin to be much more responsive than the ones in Tashidingkha as they were far more responsive and eager to interact and participate in classroom discussions. When our lecture time had ended, we were given the opportunity to freely sit in on various classes of our choice, which ranged from English to physics to Buddhist culture. Typically, we would sit in on classes that we were more familiar with and act as a teacher's assistant to help students understand some of the material that they found challenging. For example, in an 11th grade English class (taught by a woman from Mumbai) Julian would often be asked to stand up and explain/re-read a part of a short story to help the students understand it in greater detail. After the school day had ended, we were invited to a school music competition titled the "Tenzin Idol". In the school's gym size auditorium, students would stand on stage and dance/sing to a certain song. The music choices ranged from traditional Bhutanese songs to modern Western hits... or even a combination of the two. We thoroughly enjoyed watching the performances and after all the participants had completed their act, Nathan and Kuba were called upon from the audience to sing a somewhat comical interpretation of "Piano Man" by Billy Joel. Without music (or much vocal training), Kuba and Nathan still managed to gain the roaring applause from their audience and when the winners of the competition were finally announced, we too enjoyed joining the students in their applause. At none of the other schools that we visited did we feel as immersed and part of a community as we did in Tenzin.

Update: Day 23

Today was our last full day in Thimphu and we spent it preparing for a formal speech, which we will be giving the REC in a dinner later this week. Beyond this, we were able to walk around Thimphu and go shopping in stores to buy gifts for our return home. Tomorrow we will be visiting our last school: Tenzin Higher Secondary School in the rural Paro. Wake up will be early, at 5:00am, so that we can make it to the morning prayer assembly at 8:15am. Once again, with a new school comes a completely new perspective and we will update you on exactly what new insight the students of Paro have in addition to descriptions and pictures of our stay.

Update: Day 22

We spent our first full day at Pelkhil Higher Secondary School today, and it was one of the most exciting schools we have been able to visit. We joined the morning assembly where the principal let us introduce ourselves to the student body and staff of the school. Following the assembly we joined two grade twelve classes in one group of two and another group of three. Here we were able to interact with the students who, like all Bhutanese we have met, were incredibly friendly and curious about us and the U.S. The students were closer to our age and had much more exposure to American culture than students in rural schools like Tashidingkha therefore making it easier to break the ice and find similarities between ourselves. They were fans of many mainstream music artists such as Lil' Wayne, Avicii, and One Direction. During the students classes we realized they were not as attentive as students in other schools have been. The obvious reason for this was that the teachers simply did not motivate the students enough, did not try to get the students engaged in the lesson. Instead they would simply recite a few factoids about their topic and then proceed to give students a series of questions. There were some teachers that would actually attempt to educate the students but for the most part it was the way I just described: mediocre. What we did like, however, were the after school sports. It just so happened that they were preparing for some form of sports meet this Saturday and were having trials for different events. Today's consisted of the long jump, shot-put throw, and tug of war. After learning that I do jumping events for Weston High Schools Track and Field team the students were able to get me to try the long jump with them. As soon as we got to the fields it was easy to see how athletically talented these kids really were, which would also explain the multiple trophies they have in the principles office. Talking to them, we learned that two kids in the school actually played professional soccer in Bhutan: one was a starter for a National Team as well as Yeedzin F.C. and the other was a back-up goalie for Yeedzin. It was odd to think about considering we paid to see them play just two days earlier. After participating in a few athletics we sat down to enjoy our last hour with the students of Pelkhil, talking about ourselves and the hope to see each other one day again. Pelkhil will surely be a school we remember long after the end of the trip despite the fact it was only one day.

Update: Day 21

As the school week began again, so too did our rigorous schedule as we visited Pelkhill Higher Secondary School, which marked our first opportunity to interact with students of the same grade level as us (grade 11/12). Still, our day did not begin with prayer the way it had with every other school we visited. Instead, we had the opportunity to attend International Youth Day alongside many government officials (including the education minister himself) and students of various ages. This program, which is funded by Unicef, calls for the youth around the world to voice their opinion about a variety of issues that directly concern them. Today, this revolved around a discussion of the very relevant issue of youth migration. The various students and officials who discussed this issue did so in context with the rising tendency of the Bhutanese youth to migrate form rural Bhutan to the more modernized urban capital city of Thimphu. This trend has amplified the still unresolved issues of unemployment and crime in Bhutan as this increase in population has resulted in a large body of disgruntled, unemployed, and uneducated teens and early adults. Beyond this, issues of drugs, alcoholism, and gang violence have surfaced as a direct result of this movement. Solutions to these problems were discussed in an open discussion with Bhutanese officials (including the mayor of Thimphu) and the many Bhutanese students who sat alertly in the audience. The most common argument was that resources needed to be more equally distributed throughout Bhutan so that the rural Bhutanese youth could actually receive a quality education and have adequate resources and therefore not feel the need to migrate to Thimphu to have these standards. Beyond this, Thimphu, in ironic contrast to the rest of Bhutan, does not have any boarding schools. As a result, students who wish to study in Thimphu are actually forced to live there. We were all extremely interested in this discussion and were left with many questions about what the proper solution to this issue was. While we had no doubt that a better distribution of resources would be helpful in limiting youth migration, some of us felt that there would always be an incurable inclination among teens and young adults to travel to the more lively urban centers of a country. This debate could not have come at a better time as, shortly after the end of this event, we traveled to Pelkhill School, a place with a history of relatively poor education standards and teen violence and substance abuse. Even as we entered the school, we were greeted by a student with eyes that glowed red under obvious intoxication and as we walked through the halls of the school, it became quite clear that we were witnessing yet another Bhutanese perspective. In the classroom itself, it seemed that the general academic disinterest the students exhibited was met with a proportional level of frustration, laziness, and mediocrity by the teachers. We soon learned about the gangs that could be found throughout Thimphu, which came as a surprise to us considering the almost unbalancing level of kindness and generosity that we were met with. Even the students who openly admitted to involving themselves in such activities were very a pleasure to talk with and were, somewhat paradoxically, some of the nicest students we had met up to this point. The question for us then became: how do these students become involved in crime and where is Bhutanese culture in all of it? This is a question that we will be exploring tomorrow, during our first full day at Pelkhill.

Update: Day 20

After a late morning wake-up we were invited, by students we had befriended, to the finals of the Kings Cup, a soccer tournament that had went on for three weeks with various teams from Nepal, Bangladesh, India, and Bhutan competing for the prestigious cup. The finals were played today at 4:00 p.m. with the Bhutanese team Yeedzin F.C. playing against the Nepalese MMC. We arrived to the national stadium almost two hours early as to reserve front row seating for a better view. The seats were less than comfortable as they were simply long concrete slabs but that wasn't an issue until it started raining. Disregarding the weather however, people, mostly supporters of the Bhutanese team, began to show up in hordes decorated in red to show support for their team. Some of the more dedicated fans were covered in red face paint bringing with them drums and other percussion instruments as well as, to our amusement, conch shells in place of South Africa's vuvuzela. Right from kick-off both teams displayed an admirable amount of desire for the trophy. It was exciting to see that kind of effort within the young athletes and the excitement only rose when Yeedzin was able to put the ball in the net with a stellar header in the fourth minute. The energy from the crowd was fantastic. It did, however, dumb down a little when Nepal managed to score late in the first half. During halftime people stood up just to stretch there legs but no one wanted to leave the stadium in fear of the second half beginning without them. Returning to the game the intensity from the players was incredible, even after 45 minutes of continuous running. The game was still level but Yeedzin made the first move yet again, scoring after a little over 20 minutes into the second half. Unfortunately the joy was not long lived as the Nepalese managed a breakaway shortly after that led to a Yeedzin player scoring in his own net. With less then 20 minutes left in the game, Nepal was able to score two more goals on Bhutanese Yeedzin ending the game 4-2 in favor of Nepal. There was some obvious disappointment among the Bhutanese fans but they were proud of their men for making it to the finals in the first place. In the end, everyone had something to celebrate about regardless of which team you backed up. It was an incredible experience with many memorable moments, such as a dog running into the Nepalese goal causing Bhutanese to jump to their feet with cries of "Goal!!!", an experience we will never forget, for it is not often that the opportunity to view a Kings Cup final is presented to kids living in the U.S.

Update: Day 19

Today, we spent a lot of time in ambient cafe, an Internet cafe, working on catching up on blog work. We ate lunch at The Zone and went back to the cafe after lunch to finish our work. We had a basketball rematch against a local team at the youth center. After honing our basketball skills in Tashidingkha, we hoped we would be able to win the game this time. Unfortunately, we lost again and ended up paying the court fee.

Update: Day 18

Today we visited the private Druk School after having arrived from Tashidingkha Middle Secondary School only one day earlier. We were told that it may not be as exciting or as great of an experience as the one we had in Phunaka due to the fact that the kids were younger than us. The visit, however, was quite incredible.

Beginning from the moment we were let in through the school gate by security, we noticed that this day would be nothing like any of the days we had spent in Tashidingka. Students were running around outside, able to do as they pleased with the time they had before any of their actual classes. The school building itself was inviting as well, painted in bright colors with large and open doors. Behind the main building was an artificial-grass soccer field where students were students were playing various sports. The campus was charming and, to an extent, reminded us of what school was like when we were children, opposed to the strictness of Tashidingkha. 

We met with the principal who led us into the school for a quick tour. Some students were already in their respective classes, joking around with one another before the teacher came to class. What struck me was that some students were not wearing their traditional garb, which was required at Tashidingkha, but were instead wearing school sweatsuits which were allowed only on days when students had physical education. Passing through the hallways, we stopped by at the various science labs the school had to offer. Not to our surprise, as the rest of the school was advanced, the lab rooms were very nice. We felt as if we were shot two-hundred years into the future from Tashidingkha. Everything with Druk School was on par with our school had to offer apart from the blackboards. 

The tour concluded with visits to classrooms. We split into two groups of three: one group went to grade 9, the other to grade 10. Here we sat in on the classes, observing and then afterwards talking to the students. The most obvious difference between the two schools we visited, is that students in Druk were far more confident and had much more developed English speaking skills. The entirety of the class would pay attention to the teacher speaking and ask or answer questions. It was easy to tell that these kids were slightly more knowledgable than Tashidingkha students. What was most important was that the students were happy in their classes. They were engaged and not afraid to speak up due to the fact that teacher in Druk were much less strict and often said a joke to keep kids focused rather than drone on and lose the attention of the students. It is obvious that because of the environment they are provided with, all the resources that they have, teachers and students at Druk School are able to work much more efficiently and in the end acquire more knowledge. All of this makes school enjoyable for the kids and in the end they learn more than students in schools like Tashidingka where methods of educating are very old fashioned. Students in those rural schools are more or less aware of the world modernizing, moving forward with education, yet they are stuck in what is considered the old, longing for the new. Our day at Druk school was successful as we were able to compare and contrast two different systems of education available in Bhutan and the way that kids think. We will be presenting what we learned to members of the REC later in the week.

Article: Druk School vs. Tashidinghka

Believing that all schools in Bhutan were like Tashidingkha, visiting Druk School was a pleasant surprise for me. I didn't expect such a stark contrast between the rural Tashidingkha and the urban Druk School. Everything from the students, to policies differed between the two schools. The students at Tashidingkha showed us immense hospitality and gave us their absolute attention. The students insisted on tending to our every need. I often caught students watching me from classrooms, paying more attention to me than the teacher. In rural Bhutan, the students have no concept of what America is like. The students don't have access to the Internet or TV. Many students had no idea what New York City was like. It doesn't surprise me that these students were fascinated by the Americans visiting their school. The students at Tashidingkha were very shy, especially the girls. Many girls would simply laugh at me when I greeted them. I don't remember a single girl's name from that school because they mumbled when they spoke. Even when sitting in on classes most of the students would mumble their answers. When I taught my politics class, not a single girl spoke and only half of the boys spoke. In other classes, even less of the students would speak. Druk School was the complete opposite of Tashidingkha. Druk School students are younger than Tashidingkha. Despite the age of the Druk School students, many of the students introduced themselves to me in audible and confident voices. A kid that could have been no older than 7 years old high-fived me in the hallway saying, "Hey bro, what's up?" In class, the Druk School students would shout out answers and actively take notes in class. The students were far more engaged at Druk School than they were at Tashidingkha. Although I appreciate how adamant the Tashidingkha students were about keeping us comfortable, all of the attention they gave me made me feel really uncomfortable at times. The students at Druk School had access to the Internet. Most of the students knew quite a lot about American culture. I had students ask me about whether or not I liked the band One Direction. Clearly these students had already been exposed to Western culture. They weren't mesmerized by the sight of Americans nor did they have a thousand questions about what America is like. We didn't get any special attention at Druk School but the students were absolutely friendly nonetheless. Even the teachers at Druk School were amicable like the students. The 10th grade chemistry teacher I observed would tell jokes in class and laugh along with students. The teachers at Tashidingkha were very strict. Even the some of the teachers at Tashidingkha seemed uninterested in their work. I walked in on a class at Tashidingkha and the teacher left the room so I could teach. I had nothing to teach and had no idea what to do in that situation. As I mentioned previously, the students at Druk School are far more outgoing and engaged than the students at Tashidingkha. I believe this is a direct result of strict policy. The policies at Tashidingkha are very strict. Students wake up at 5 am to do maintenance of the campus. This includes digging, sweeping, cleaning, scrubbing, planting, etc. The students are only given 15 minutes to put on their matching ghos and kiras, their school uniform. Every day the students must attend a morning assembly and an afternoon prayer. Students are not allowed to go near the dorms of the opposite sex. Relationships are forbidden. The staff openly criticized students for misbehaving. Students can be beaten for misbehaving. The students told me that the principal once slapped a student during assembly. My host family told me that only a decade back, corporal punishment was worse. Teachers abused this power and that resulted in students not showing up for class fearing punishment. I believe the strict policies at Tashidingkha causes the students to be so quiet. The students don't speak after years of being conditioned into believing that their actions will be met with punishment. I asked the students at Tashidingkha if they like the strict policies of Tashidingkha. I was surprised to hear that most of the students thought they deserved to be beaten and punished for their misbehavior. The students seemed to blindly accept the judgment of their teachers. The students liked their uniforms saying that they made everyone equal; the rich and poor had to dress equally. The students liked doing labor around the campus because they thought it taught them physical discipline. Druk School did not have such harsh punishments. The students ran around the hallways freely. Despite what some might call a lack of discipline or order, the students at Druk School struck me as well behaved. The students had as much respect for their teachers and peers as the students from Tashidingkha. I think a change in policy might be beneficial for the teachers and the students of Tashidingkha.

Article: Tashidinghka VS. Druk School

There were several differences I noticed between the two schools we’ve visited so far. There were the obvious differences like the difference in social classes and the quality of life, however when we interviewed both schools, the students of Tashidinghka decided that they liked having a school uniform where the students of Druk decided that they wanted to be able to wear whatever they wanted. The aspect of preserving culture can be observed by this result. In Tashidinghka, during morning ceremonies, there would be a morning prayer. Three times throughout the day, there would be a whistle blown that signified everyone to silently reflect or pray for about a minute. There was an hour prayer session that took place every day after school. Prayer was said before every meal. Druk, on the other hand, was a less strict place. The only prayer session that I viewed was when we were leaving. There was a 10 minute prayer session that took place, and that was all. Even when we were having lunch, the hallways were busy and no one seemed to be bowing their heads in prayer. Tashidinghka was also more removed from any major cities, as the drive from Thimpu was about an hour on an unpaved road. In Tashidinghka, a student would have to report about news once or twice every day. That made me realize any westernized ideas being spread to a rural place such as Tashidinghka would have to arrive via word of mouth from a kid that was already born into believing in the preservation of culture. There’s no doubt saying that Tashidinghka was a harsh school. Not only would a teacher berate a student if they did something wrong, but they could also hit them with a metal rod if they were acting out of line. Because the kids are brought up in such a strict environment, they aren’t given the freedom to make their own opinion on whether or not westernization is a good idea or not. Since they start school they’re taught to conduct themselves in an orderly fashion in accordance with their spiritual beliefs. Kids that go to Druk are brought up in a more loose-fitting environment where spiritual beliefs aren’t as heavily enforced. Students are presented with the pros and cons of westernization with an unbiased view and can choose for themselves if they agree with the idea or not. In my opinion, the pros of westernization heavily outweigh the cons due to the technological advancements and the ability to openly express yourself.

Photos: Days 6- 18

Julian about to deliver a speech

Chefs cooking the food in Tashidingkha

Julian teaching philosophy in Tashidingkha 

James's Art class  

Jun's Technology Class 

Creative projects at Druk School

Model rocket in Druk School 

The remains of a creative project at Druk School 

Creative projects at Druk School 

Our team outside Phunaka Tzong 

Phunaka Tzong entrance 

One of the longest bridges in Bhutan 

Hiking in Phunaka

At Kei and Kuba's Phunaka host family house.

Farewell dinner in Phunaka

Tashidingkha Soccer field

Tashidingkha campus 

Mountains Beyond Mountains 

View on the road to Phunaka 

Dart match at Tashidingkha 

Tea time with Tashidingkha staff 

Druk School classroom 

Druk School Logo 

Tashidingkha from the distance 

Phunaka Tzong 

View of small village in Phunaka 

The road to Tashidingkha 

Supporters of capitalism in the politics class 

Supporters of socialism in the politics class

Getting ready to donate books 

10th grade students at Tashidingkha 

Tashidingkha central building and location of morning prayer

Tashidingkha cafeteria/ stage

Tashidingkha basketball court 

Tashidingkha basketball court

Tashidingkha male dorm room 

Tashidingkha viewpoint (where we did most of our writing) 

Principles house