ei’La’ Bryant
SAI Summer Feedback
19 September 2009

Nothing in my life has been as meaningful or mind-blowing as my time in Nepal.  For the first time, I found myself alone in a country far different from my own, without any real knowledge of the language or of the culture.  Though at times in the beginning of my adventure I found myself afraid and very alone, by the end of the trip I had grown so significantly that wading through seas of people in Kathmandu at 10 pm, alone, was as simple as walking through Harvard Square has always been.  I went from an awe-stricken girl who felt at once very alone, saddened by the dirt and poverty and at the same time very exhilarated and moved by the beauty and the wonder of the place, the people, and the religions to a comfortable (and still awe-stricken) woman who could see through the poverty to its root causes, who could walk through the monsoon on the muddy streets without a care, who could still see the life and strength and happiness beating in the hearts and souls of so many in the population, and who could still be exhilarated by the beauty and the wonder of the place, the people, and the religions.

My stay in Pokhara, a beautiful part of the country 7 hours northwest of Kathmandu, contributed most to my change of heart and mind.  I spent a month there high in the Himalayan mountains, safe in a colorful sea of red and orange.  The Pema Ts’al Sakya Monastic Institute was a beautiful Tibetan Buddhist monastery which housed 88 monks-in-training who were 6-18 years of age, as well as several senior monks and lamas, a handful of teachers, and a few Tibetan refugees who cleaned, cooked, or worked on the building of the new temple behind the monastery.  Though my primary interaction was to be with the children who captured my heart and mind, the time I spent with all of the monastery’s inhabitants and visitors worked together to change my life.  Furthermore, I spent a large portion of my time in the nearby Tibetan refugee camp.  Though I was there to teach, I too was taught so much.  The senior lamas and other teachers gave me lessons on Dharma and Buddhist philosophical principles.  The refugees and monks taught me about the Free Tibet campaign, and showed me what other countries were doing to help Tibet be free from the Chinese.  The people of Pokhara and a Hemja showed me how people can thrive with very few resources.  The child monks who had walked across the Himalayans to escape Tibet taught me perseverance and that anything is possible.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned was that I truly love to teach.  I spent up to 10 hours a day teaching and storytelling and making or grading homework, and it was wonderful!  The more I taught, the more excited about my work I became.  I didn’t get burnt out or tired or bored; rather, I found myself looking forward to teaching as much as possible, and my last day of teaching, I was truly upset that it was over.  I loved helping the children learn and grow, and seeing them smile and laugh and be proud when they learned something knew or realized they already knew more than they first believed.  I loved having my classroom overflow with children listening to my fairytales, when I realize that we’ve been sharing stories almost 30 minutes into the lunch shift, and when I ask the students if they want me to postpone the story, they say “Oh no, Miss Lei’La’, we don’t need that long to eat lunch!  Finish the storyyyyy!”  Nothing made my heart glow more than seeing the look of excitement on the children when they won chocolate for acing their tests and knowing the answers and volunteering to read.

I loved my time in Nepal more than anything else I’ve done yet, and I can’t wait to go back and see my little monks and friends again.  Thank you so much for allowing me to participate in this program!