Cultural Exchanges in Nepal
By Sadie Ugoretz and Haylie Gray
Sadie poses with one of the nursery students at the Shree Mangal Dvip School.
Photo by Sadie Ugoretz
I, Sadie, chose to enroll in this Jan Term course because I thought Nepal sounded cool, interesting, and somewhere I might never been able to travel to on my own. But this trip became so much more than that. I feel like I was able to gain lifelong friendships and bonds as well as learn so much about Tibetan Buddhism, life in Nepal, compassion, dignity, karma, and so much more from everyone on this trip.
One of the things that most intrigued and excited me about this course originally was the opportunity to volunteer at local refugee schools and teach English, because working with kids and teaching is something that I really enjoy. That being said, I think, looking back, one of the things I value most about my experience in Nepal is how much I learned from the kids, not the other way around. In "To Hell With Good Intentions," Ivan Illich points to this same idea by explaining, “Come to look, come to climb our mountains, to enjoy our flowers. Come to study. But do not come to help” (Illich 4).
All of the students were so willing to teach me about their language, culture, and lives, even though they had no idea who I was or maybe even why I was at their school.
I especially noticed and was able to learn about the mind-training principles of Lojong from the nursery students at Shree Mangal Dvip School, in Kathmandu.
One day, we were playing a game in which we walked around in a circle until the teacher said to stop, and then we would get in groups of a certain number, also according to the teacher. Whoever was not in a group of the correct number was “out.” (This game was intended to help the students improve their counting and numbers skills.) There were not enough people in the group I ended up in, but instead of my being eliminated, other students broke up their groups to join me, so that some of them were “out” instead of me! They cared about me.
As Sara Lewis describes in her article “Resilience, Agency, and Everyday Lojong in the Tibetan Diaspora,” in Contemporary Buddhism: An Interdisciplinary Journal, “the core features of Lojong: putting others before self, quelling negative emotions, which are harmful to self and others, and seeing worldly concerns as a hindrance to realizing the illusory nature of samsara” (Lewis 8). This act of kindness in playing a game, even at the young age of four and five, really highlighted their embracing of the Lojong principles.
I loved getting to learn from the younger kids, but I also really appreciated getting to meet and converse with Kunga Sam Doo, a first-year college student at the Pema Ts’al Sakya Monastery Shedra, in Pokhara. It was really interesting to get to talk to someone close to my own age about his education and life experiences and see how these compared and contrasted with my own.
I also think that the conversations we had as a class before, and during, our local “engagements” and “volunteering” were very impactful, and important, and allowed me to look at situations from different perspectives.
In addition to learning from my classmates and the local Tibetan kids, I feel extremely appreciative to have had the opportunity to learn from Khenpo, Lopen, and both Rinpoches, in addition to Professors Kramer and Mermelstein.
I feel like I was able to learn so much from “direct sources” that truly helped to expand my knowledge and understanding of Buddhism. I feel so fortunate to have gotten to go on this exploration with all of these incredible people, and I know I will cherish these memories, knowledge, and experience for the rest of my impermanent life.
Sadie and David take a picture with Kunga Sam Doo, a college student who attends the Pema Ts’al Sakya Monastery Shedra, in Pokhara.
Photo by David Pitterle
Haylie poses with the sixth grade class at Pema Ts'al Sakya Monastery School.
Photo by Haylie Gray
To me, Haylie, spending time with the students at Pema Ts’al Sakya Monastery School was one of the most impactful parts of our trip.
I got to teach and learn from the seven students in the sixth grade class. Their age range was between 14 and 16 years old. I only spent 6 days with them, but we were able to learn a lot from each other during that time.
On our first day together, I was scheduled to teach “Health and Physical Education” to the sixth graders. I decided to use my passion for dance to lead them in a PE class.
I knew from the moment I walked into their classroom that I wanted to be a student just as much as I was going to be a teacher, so I started by asking if they had anything they wanted to teach me about dance. They were excited about this idea, but they were also a bit nervous and wanted me to teach something first.
I started by showing them an old-school hip-hop move called the Reebok. They laughed at the name and the move itself, but they still put effort into learning it. After we were done with that, I again asked if they had something they wanted to teach me. They continued to say yes, but they weren’t ready to teach it yet.
They wanted to learn something else from me, so I showed them some moves that I learned in a West African dance class at SMC last semester. This involved “running” in a circle around the room, which they found hilarious. One of the moves requires you to make a specific shape in your footwork, and I was having a hard time explaining it with the language barrier, but I was able to draw it on the board to help them understand.
As we kept practicing, I saw some of the students teaching their peers using the drawing I had put on the board. Once everybody understood, we all danced together in a circle.
While my time in the classroom with the sixth grade was impactful, I think it was the time I spent with them outside of school that strengthened our connection.
A couple days after our first class, they started asking when the next dance lesson would be. They said they had something to teach me. The time that we were visiting the school changed, so I would not be there for another PE class.
They were so keen on dancing, however, that we made plans to meet after their class day was over.
They taught me part of a monks' dance called Chyaam (below is a video they showed me of some of them performing parts of this dance!). It was somewhat challenging for me because it was a different style than I had ever tried before, but this experience taught me that dance is a universal language.
Even when we couldn't fully understand each other with our words, we could still teach and learn dances from each other.
On our last day at the school, they asked me to come back to finish learning the dance. I only had the hardest part left. They were very patient when teaching me and stuck with it until I understood.
Haylie and Sadie take a selfie with some of the nursery students at the Shree Mangal DVIP School, in Kathmandu.
Photo by Haylie Gray
We all became a bit emotional when it was time for me to leave. They had me use the maps on the wall to show them where I was going. Some of them said they would come to California someday, and they all asked me to come back to Nepal!
A few moments later, one of the students who had snuck away came back with a gift. I had hidden thank-you notes in their desks when I left that afternoon, so they said, “You surprise us, we surprise you”! Each of them had written a letter for me. I was so overwhelmed by their kindness.
Their final gift to me was a pen. Over the past week, our class learned how valuable a pen is at Pema Ts’al. Although we may have an abundance of these writing utensils, they’re somewhat of a commodity for these students. A few days earlier we saw someone walk around and distribute one new pencil to each student that needed one; their pencils had been sharpened to small nubs.
The sixth graders gave me this pen stating, “you’re a student too.” I was overjoyed that, even though they sometimes referred to me as ‘teacher', they saw that I was learning from them.
The gift of a pen also reminded me of lojong, a Buddhist concept that refers to training the mind to put others before yourself. The way they welcomed me into their class, happily learned from me and happily taught me– these beautiful gifts were all true examples of lojong.
Spending time with this class showed me their extreme levels of compassion. Whether we were dancing or just chatting, their kind hearts showed through. I see bodhichitta, genuine compassion without ego (Phakchok Rinpoche), in them.
I was devastated to be leaving. Saying goodbye to them felt like a slap across the face by impermanence. I knew we only had a short time with these students, but I was still shocked when that time came to an end.
Phakchok Rinpoche reminded us that the impermanent nature of all things is what makes them valuable; we should cherish things while we can. People have a habit of forgetting their impermanence, but this experience has caused me to realize the fleeting nature of all things.
Video of Chyaam
Here is a video of some of the sixth graders performing the dance "Chyaam".