Back to Land in Japan

Heading back to the lands...a move to address unemployment by the japanese is a refreshing news. Back home our own lands are increasingly deserted while the land owners cramp in the urban cities settling with odd jobs. It's a hope someday we would see our own folks heading back to our villages and live in harmony as they did in our grandparent's time.

We can't blame the leavers either..for they are facing all the hardships in the urban cities only for the sake of "better life", particularly better education and health care for their kids.

Falling Prey to e-mail spams

Nigerian stung...........one thing I cannot fathom is how people tend to get fooled by such emails. We get hundreds of such mails which looks genuine from Bill Gates wanting to share his fortune with "us", to UK lotteries, to Relative with same surname's sudden death. This just indicates how much we can be tempted with "money" and get fooled and bruised.

In Korea, there were few cases of fraud involving email blackmails or even phone threats, and as a measure to protect the people, everytime you go to transfer money to other accounts, a warning is displayed on the ATM asking whether you are doing the transfer after receiving a threatening call or an email. I guess this is a very small step but helpful one.

Maybe our TV operators/BBSC can do some small braodcasts on things like this, just to drill some kind of suspicion in our otherwise naive populace.

An Apology

She was confined to her room, stuck with a contagious virus. She lay in bed, listening to her favourite tracks, and her wondering thoughts about everything that happened to her for the past four years. She stopped at the thought of one “phase”, and began to explore further. Ever since she could remember, her priority in life was to be educated well and nothing came in-between her goal, and her life. She completed her studies well and got a decent job. As her new phase of life started, she began to meet various people, online and offline, her view of the world expanded, and then came the fashion of chats. It was easier to express behind a screen than face to face.

One of her occasional chats, there was a nick that sounded so bogged down and beaten with life. Fooled by her own principle of ignorant compassion, she felt the guy was totally wronged, little did she know then that everybody loves to share the sad stories of their life more than they would like to appreciate their good times.

It all started with “aii”, and the stubbornness in her inflated with the belief that she is being a friend to someone who needed a friend,( how naïve!). There were stories all over, her low profile presence became highly publicized, which only made her more stubborn to fight for her beliefs. So began, a battle of her so called “values” against the world’s fashioned view, and it only turned ugly.

She wanted to run away from the maddening crowd, to some place where she could rebuild herself back to what she was just two years ago. As luck would have it, she was to leave soon.

That day, lying down in her bed, she scanned her reactions back then, and it embarrassed her. She made a fool out of herself in the madness of “being divine”. She wondered if she could ever cross paths with the people she wronged out of ignorance.

With utmost remorse and regret she closed her eyes, and whispered, “I AM SORRY.”

Samsaric Drama

She was just over an year old when I first saw her. Her mother was just anyother iliterate woman from the village whose husband has joined the army and has been away. The father never saw the two children being born, didn't even care. With her mother so attached to her little son, I could see the pain and jealousy in her heart over the brother who snatched her place before the time. She would steal moments to sit on her mother's lap, and sometimes try to suck some milk, only to be pushed away.

I gradually won her confidence and she began to get attached to me, every time I reach home she would wait expecting "frooti" and something-didn't matter what.

As days passed, she would call me "Ama", and her own mother aunty. She began to feel wanted, and she began to get settled to things around her. she would associate herself more with me than her own parents. She couldn't live without me. Unfortunately, her father took another wife and left them (X wife with two beautiful children). Months later her mother had a new husband, and the whole history repeated. Gradually both she and her brother were left out in the cold, just lucky enough to be cared by their old grand parents. I couldn't believe someone could have such a heart to not love such two innocent, wonderful souls.

If parenting is all about just giving birth, I don't want t be a parent; but if it means loving and feeling the joy seeing these children grow feeling secured, I am all ready to be one.

Now she is going to school, and when people ask about her parents , all she says is her "Ama" went to Paro Pokto.........

She and her brother will be loved, and they will have the best of everything in life to grow up to be a better person, sans a father for now. There can be no better purpose for my life than bringing these two kids up and watch them grow into fine man and woman.

Maps of Bhutan

From Wiki

From WHO site.

Seeing the map on the right side on WHO site made me feel very sad. It looked like a hammered rat, and it's sad..very sad indeed. I don't even remember drawing this bad map in my class 5 geography class. Once I was handed over the name plate, and on it my flag's dragon looked like short fat snake...i argued the dragon is majestic and fiery, and must be protrayed so.

Oneday when I control the internet I will replce all hammered rat-looking map and ballooned dragon flag with real ones!

Time for Chicken Pox

What a timing to be stuck with Chicken Pox. The irony is I don't even eat chicken! ........my friends are making fun that I am hiding "swine flu"
I have no idea how the virus caught me. the only thing I can trace back to is the hospital visit to see a colleague's daughter hospitalized from pneumonia (wonder if i spelled it right).


with just few days away from completing my thesis report, I am stuck confined....missed one exam this semester too..the TA kept calling me , i guess he doesn't know what chicken pox is. One of my friend suggested I should pass it over to him (brush on him as she said).

but there is this strange feeling of being with myself. Realized haven't done much of soul searching and this is the time I can best use it.
It's not pretty though to see my otherwise spotless body with patches and those itchy poxes are just too irritating.

I have almost finished all the movies acted by Jack Nicholson, he is such a character but i prefer Al Pacino!

News...bad news and more bad news

Severe floods all over the country, loss of lives and damages to infrastructure, increasing swine flu cases everyday, north korea threatening nuclear war, earthquake strikes in latin america.....many more...

We have no control over natural disasters other than the courage to rebuild the broken parts, but we can definitely control ideologically driven disasters.

My Perfect Teachers: Happy Teacher's Day

"Teacher hold children's hands through the hard transition from the warmth of the home to the unfamiliar environment of the school; they help to decipher those funny-looking shapes called letters; they bring life to formulas and equations; they prepare the stage for learners to shout "eureka"; they bring the world into the classroom and the classroom into the world; they try to make sense of the directives of central education authorities and implement reforms formulated by "experts" and parachuted to them. Teachers are underpaid and ill-prepared, yet accountable for successful teaching of malnutritioned and poorly prepared students, in schools that are unhealthy, unsafe, and inadequately equipped; they are expected to understand and address the needs of students, parents, administrators, society, the economy, the past, the present, and the future" Those are my thoughts beautifully put in words by someone who could write well.

My vivid memory of my first day in school, and then all the memories of my school days only reminds me of how much I owe my teachers.
My class two teacher used to walk with me everyday to and from school....I used to feel so secure with him walking beside me.
My class five Math teacher hit me on the head so badly for copying the homework from a friend which was wrong....i cried for one week...eversince maths became my favourite subject and I was his favourite student till I finished that school.
My class 7 physics teacher kept me on my knees, holding my ears whole class period because I looked out the window while he was teaching....he was the proudest person when he saw my class X results....my dzongkha lopen taught me the value of wisdom and bodhicitta but today I wish I can meet him...I have so many questions on those topics he taught because I believe in them more.
My Economics teacher forced me to write an essay and I won a global award....she also made me be a MC for one occassion which I blundered but the experience was worth it.

On one party occassion my office hosted, my principal was there and she was so proud telling her friends around that.....this is my student now she is an engineer, I saw genuine sense of happiness and achievement in her eyes.

I don't know what to conclude from all these episodes of my life, but one thing is for sure, they were my teachers and they were all perfect. They were my moral support, they were my perfect embodiment of sacrifice, selflessness, dedication, and service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum (King, Country and People). All I can do for them is say that I am what I am because of my teachers and I am very grateful to all my teachers.

No words of "Thank Yous" are enough to show my gratitude, but that's all I have to offer.

Dedicated to all my teachers and to all the teachers in the world.

From Ever Grateful Student

I am Because We are

A heartbreaking documentary bringing to light the world of differences................10 & 40 dollars is all they need to pursue their dreams while for many of us it can only cover the cost of few packs of cigarattes or something absolutely worthless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3awaN0nOwQ&feature=channel

Adieu

Esteemed professors, distinguished guest, your Excellency ambassador of Ecuador, graduates of 2007 spring, guests and colleagues. Thank you, Your Excellency for joining us here.

First of all, I would like to congratulate our graduates for their achievement, and endearing hardwork they have put for the last two years. Some of us have spent the best times of our lives, some better and others good. Whatever it maybe, we have invested considerable phase of our life here. 

Standing here today reminds me that you are the third batch of global leaders branching out to the different parts of the world. I know we have heard enough of being global leaders. Nevertheless, in my opinion, we are all leaders in our own small ways because we can inspire, we can listen and we have the capability to open our minds to ideas, and look for possibilities. Most of all we have the much needed global network of friendship.

I will not repeat what was said in our last commencement about what you can contribute to Community, but I would like to say that, an individual cannot do as much as a group and a group cannot do as much as an organization. Hope we can make our organization live up to its visions and goals.

Without dragging any further I would like to end here with words of Benjamin Zanders, he was addressing the global leaders at the World Economic Forum at Davos, and he said “in any situation we are in, we have three choices to make, one of resignation and staying indifferent, second of blaming and complaining, and the third of possibility” preferably the choice of possibility seems a leaders pie.

I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome our new members, with a note, there is a world of possibilities everywhere, all you need to do is find it and hopefully you make a good choice to make your stay here interesting and worthwhile. 

My Best Friend

We went to school together, we were just schoolmates then. She was two years junior to me, and she used to hold me in high esteem just because I had better academic performance than her. But for me she is the perfect embodiment of a Leader! She celebrated my academic achievement more than her own good performance. I miss the days, when I was teaching her Math, she would be concentrating until her patience ran out and will just say ”oh leave this” and we go for break. The break is a hot water bath in a steel tub, we would hop in together, with a beer by the side, and we would take longer than normal bath. Her employees liked her for she treated them as family and not merely employees, they would just pour hot water as and when she needed. One character she was though!

I didn’t have much joy in getting good results, I didn’t have any motivation then..it was her joy that pushed me to do well, she was more than a best friend!

She is now an educator, and a much better servant for the country than I am. She inspires young souls in a faraway village, she teaches her students not just as “mere students” but as her own children. When we go to Phuntsholing sometimes, all she buys are children’s books, white boards, and all things educational. She brings exam papers for correction home sometimes, and she enjoys correction as she reads out to us what her students wrote. Such innocent souls writing their so called “EXAM” the definition to judge a person to be on top or below in a service rank.

I am a much educated person than her, but when I assess what we have achieved, I hide my face in guilt. There she is who enjoys what she does and goes beyond to do the best, serving her country, the right way. And here I am, sitting and brooding and complaining that my government doesn’t pay me enough for my education! If only there was a means to justify the categorization of achievement in life!

There was this incident, a customer came and he asked “do you have SAKE”, her little sister asked me what it is, as I was telling her sis, she said yes, yes! we have, and she pointed to the bar saying “these are all SAKES”. Customer was offended and raged in fury, we had a big scene. Ofcourse, a very bad way to deal with customers thesedays, but to her, we had our own brands and values to be showing off arrogantly about what we assume we are! I didn’t approve her defense, but there was a wisdom in her argument too that I respected. 

Leaders are at all levels, all we need to do is be One!

Stress, Panic and Depression

These words have never been in my dictionary all these years. I was the coolest girl in shcool and college. But for the past few days I am stricken with these phobias, and unable to organize my thoughts for anything.

Am just sitting infront of my computer, opening the things I need to read, but nothing seems to make sense. I see my friends' hair grey and at this rate I can count a few or more on my own. The approaching deadline is only driving me crazy.

Can it be because of my fatal fall? or is it simply my lazyness making excuses. I always feel the urge to write something but everytime I finish a paragraph, I strike it off and close everything down. Don't know what's happening...guess am going through some crises!

Small United Nations of ITTP

ITTP stands for IT Technology Programme (extra T was a mistake though), and it's supposed to be an accelerated higher studies programme to know everything and anything about IT. So we are a bunch of jack of all trades and master of none. (Doing both IT Engineering and Management stuffs). 

But the most exciting thing about this programme is the diversity of culture, religious and academic backgrounds from all over the world. Currently about 35 countries (Costa Rica, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Tunisia, Algeria,  Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria,  Bulgaria, Moldovo, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Yemen, Syria, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afganistan, Bangladesh, Laos, Indonesia, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, Kazakhstan,)

It's truly and accelerated learning in terms of everthing. We often gather around and talk about our political, governence, cultural and religious traditions. sometimes the debate gets pretty much agitated especially when it comes to sensitive topics. Nevetheless, having to be united as a family in a foreign land our discussions are much less political and effective than the giant UN..so we think.

Most often we form our own opinions about many other countries, people and their faith on the basis of what we read and what we hear. 

For instance, my first question when I met my Afghan freind was why they blew up the Buddha Statues...his reply was ...why would the true citizens of our country destroy our own National Asset. Then ofcourse most of the time we discuss about Taliban, it's origin and it's purpose and how it has transformed now!

The pool of knowledge we can acquire here is tremendous and ofcourse not to forget having to maintian certain level of GPAs among the hardest working individuals of Korea!

  

Re-inventing myself

It often bothered me asking myself what I really wanted? Feels so dilusional trying to crtitically disect what is in me that I can sharpen it to the best of greater cause.

It's a shame it took me these many years trying to figure out ..not knowing what it is that I need to figure out. Next  8 months are gonna be a marathon race for me with regular schedules but I also have this incredible task of re-inventing my goals, priorities and figuring out how to go about it.

goal 1. Have to figure out how I can possibly tap into the critical, farsighted, argumentative and intelligent friend circles. Organize a think-tank for a greater cause.

 2.  Broaden my own sphere of knowledge and possibly try to specialize

3. forget the past and live meaningfully eachday. 

4. Get involved and start making small impacts beginning with immediate family, neighbour and friends! 

5. Spread the value of being responsible and create harmony. 

6. Thinking to counsel and advise young minds about the values of creativity, leadership, opportunities and being courageous enough to dream big. 

These are resolutions of my new life

The Tipping Point: Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point: How little things make a big difference

According to the authour there are three powerful forces in creating change: the power of the few, the stickiness factor, and the power of context. He believes that social epidemics are caused by the "influence of the few" powerful personalities called Connectors, Mavens and Salespeople. Instead of asking volunteers and our organizations for more of the same, we can make our call for change and action both memorable and irresistible for stakeholders.
A very simple easy to read book illustrtaed with things happening around you which we generally never care to see it with critical eye.

Yes there are few of us who have a miraculous social power...the connectors as the author put it. Tipping Points are reaffirmation of the potential for change and the power of intelligent action.Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With a slightest push-in just the right place-it can be tipped.

Should have read when my mind was just opening up to ideas!