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!