When I taught at the monastery last year, I experienced emotions that I did not have words for. Possibly the jet lag contributed, but when I first arrived I was giddy with awe and could barely process what I was seeing. Even after a few days, hearing the monks (hundreds!) chanting or seeing the detailed embellishments of the monastery left me in shock that such a place could exist. And I was there.
I've done some amazing things in my life, but last year I quickly decided that this was the most amazing experience I had ever had. I swore to come back and hoped to return many, many times.
I was very blessed to have the opportunity to return this year and eagerly signed up. I possibly volunteered before anyone ever asked me. However, I had a small fear that the experience couldn't be as amazing a second time. Possibly the chanting would be less loud or the the paint less bright. Maybe the thrill of teaching the monks depended upon the novelty.
Amazingly, I think I am having a better experience this year than I did last year. There are many obvious ways in which I am having a different experience - living in a different guest house, traveling during Monsoon. However, the lack of novelty of a second visit means that I have more context. I'm still experiencing emotions that I cannot name and they feel less fleeting than those of last year.
After teaching here last year, I tried to learn more about Tibet and Buddhism. Unsurprisingly, I read a number of books. These ranged from the popular books written by the Dalai Lama and others to reach a popular audience to academic books. I frequented the Drepung Loseling center in Atlanta, where I attended meditations and took a few classes on Buddhism. Now I have a much better understanding (though it is probably still at a Wikipedia level) of the Tibetan history and the cultural experiences of my monk students. Instead of only appreciating the beauty of the monastery building, I am also struck by the miracle that the Tibetans have been successful in preserving their culture and escaping genocide. I wonder how many of my students have fled over mountains and overcome obstacles before reaching the monastery.
I am enjoying the teaching more for a number of reasons. In addition to learning about the Tibetan history and culture, I worked on the learning the language. Over the past year I made some progress being able to pronounce (badly!) written words and learn some vocabulary. The vocab was mostly random words and phrases, rather than anything particularly useful. While I cannot talk to the monks (other than the many who speak English), I was able to label my slide in Tibetan based on a list of words provided by one of the translators. I think it makes the lectures more effective, and I enjoy listening for the words that I do know.
I am teaching the same class as last year, so I am able to improve and refine my slides, rather than start from scratch. While this is taking as much time as last year, it is satisfying to fix the issues from last year. My co-teacher and I have been working closely on how to best present the math and have the monks do hands-on activities. It is nice to discuss the pedagogy and scaffolding, especially since my co-teacher has experience working with the monks at Emory.
Finally, there are a number of things that I am experiencing and participating in that did not occur last year. Most of them deserve their own blog post, but I have deep gratitude for the hard work that so many people are doing to run this program. It has been great getting to know the other instructors, most of whom are new to the program or to this location.
I've done some amazing things in my life, but last year I quickly decided that this was the most amazing experience I had ever had. I swore to come back and hoped to return many, many times.
I was very blessed to have the opportunity to return this year and eagerly signed up. I possibly volunteered before anyone ever asked me. However, I had a small fear that the experience couldn't be as amazing a second time. Possibly the chanting would be less loud or the the paint less bright. Maybe the thrill of teaching the monks depended upon the novelty.
Amazingly, I think I am having a better experience this year than I did last year. There are many obvious ways in which I am having a different experience - living in a different guest house, traveling during Monsoon. However, the lack of novelty of a second visit means that I have more context. I'm still experiencing emotions that I cannot name and they feel less fleeting than those of last year.
After teaching here last year, I tried to learn more about Tibet and Buddhism. Unsurprisingly, I read a number of books. These ranged from the popular books written by the Dalai Lama and others to reach a popular audience to academic books. I frequented the Drepung Loseling center in Atlanta, where I attended meditations and took a few classes on Buddhism. Now I have a much better understanding (though it is probably still at a Wikipedia level) of the Tibetan history and the cultural experiences of my monk students. Instead of only appreciating the beauty of the monastery building, I am also struck by the miracle that the Tibetans have been successful in preserving their culture and escaping genocide. I wonder how many of my students have fled over mountains and overcome obstacles before reaching the monastery.
I am enjoying the teaching more for a number of reasons. In addition to learning about the Tibetan history and culture, I worked on the learning the language. Over the past year I made some progress being able to pronounce (badly!) written words and learn some vocabulary. The vocab was mostly random words and phrases, rather than anything particularly useful. While I cannot talk to the monks (other than the many who speak English), I was able to label my slide in Tibetan based on a list of words provided by one of the translators. I think it makes the lectures more effective, and I enjoy listening for the words that I do know.
I am teaching the same class as last year, so I am able to improve and refine my slides, rather than start from scratch. While this is taking as much time as last year, it is satisfying to fix the issues from last year. My co-teacher and I have been working closely on how to best present the math and have the monks do hands-on activities. It is nice to discuss the pedagogy and scaffolding, especially since my co-teacher has experience working with the monks at Emory.
Finally, there are a number of things that I am experiencing and participating in that did not occur last year. Most of them deserve their own blog post, but I have deep gratitude for the hard work that so many people are doing to run this program. It has been great getting to know the other instructors, most of whom are new to the program or to this location.
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