Visiting Jhamtse Gatsal

August 2, 2010 | Category: Daily Life | News by: Hannah (visitor)

Sarah and I arrived on the evening of July 28th after a long car journey from Guwahati. Lama Sherap and Dorjee were kind enough to pick us up and take us on the two day trip to Jhamtse Gatsal school. When we arrived we were greeted by a line of smiling kids, fellow visitors, the amalas, staff, and Lobsang. I was told that this place was beautiful, but nothing could have prepared me for how spectacular it actually is. I have never in my travels encountered a place so breathtaking. The pristine views of the tranquil Bhutanese mountains out the window of every classroom seem to be the perfect backdrop for a school whose teachers and staff base their lessons on compassion and love. Sarah and I have only been here for five days, and we still feel overwhelmed by the beauty and peacefulness of this place.
The children of Jhamste have helped us to feel at home from the time we first arrived. They greet us every morning and say goodnight to us every evening. I am so impressed by how kind and open they are. I have already acquired a small stack of drawings from the class 1 and 2 students, which I will hang on my wall at home in a place of high honor. It’s nice to see kids getting a great education and learning good life lessons by such dedicated, warm teachers, staff and volunteers. I can only hope that Jhamste continues to grow in scope and take on more students as the years progress.
It’s also great to meet some of the foreign volunteers. Unfortunately Ross left right after we arrived, but I could tell he left a big impression and had a lot of fun with the kids. Sandy is fantastic with the kids, and her dancing abilities are very impressive. Suzanne is working on two plays with the kids: the Ugly Duckling and Cinderella. She has incredible energy. I had the pleasure of watching them practicing their lines tonight, and she had them all on the floor laughing with her dance moves.
We are still adjusting to life here at Jhamtse, and so I will write more later, but for now I will say that I’m happy to be here in the presence of such great people.

2 Comments

  1. gatsal
    on August 4th, 2010
    1

    nice job!!!
    keep it up..
    :)

  2. Mark
    on August 9th, 2010
    2

    Hannah – thanks for the update and look forward to many more. You certainly captured the essence of JG. Have a wonderful stay and please keep the news coming our way.

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