Lotus's Perspective- Journey through my teaching career.

I've just taken the path which not many people like to take it. Even if they do take, it is definitely their last and final option! The unwanted one, in short. Yes, I am talking about the teaching job. What else can it be, right? Most boring job, perhaps? Well, it differs and it depends on how you the takers take it as. But sadly, so far I haven't seen much takers of it (teaching job) as a 'noble job', as it is being routinely referred to. Throughout the course of my journey to this stage, I have hardly met anyone who actually 'encourages' to join this profession or at least have something good to say about it other than the ones already in it either by virtue or by fate. Worse enough, some even go to the extent of saying too many bad things, and put off the flames of patience that some possess. ...to be cont'd...

Excited yet nervous, pumped up yet tiring and heated up yet so cold. So was the state in which I gradually made my way through to the 'Peak of Learning' just three days ago. It was my first time to be in Sherubtse (now my work place), in fact, first timer to this entire Dzongkhag-Tashigang. Having started my journey from Deothang quite late, I was welcomed by the chilly and darkened valley of Kanglung around 7:30 PM. As we made our way through the College main gate, all that I had back in my mind was 'how to find the accommodation' since the earlier accepted owner had reverted his decision and now wanted just the female tenants! I respect his/her preferences, no objection whatsoever, I just wish he had pronounced that early for that would enable me to find another room! After dropping all the stuff at Mr. Sonam Tobgay's (new assistant lecturer as well) house, went to Ms. Karma Yangzom's (new as well) house for dinner, and finally went to a Mathang's hous

Yesterday corresponding to the 10 th August 2011, some 1700 national graduates flocked into the Nazhoen Pelri auditorium, Thimphu. The briefing session that was scheduled to start at 9 AM couldn’t do so until much later as some of the graduates didn’t report on time and those who were on time didn’t take the seat properly. The committee members’ nightmare in maintaining the crowd was just too obvious. With much hurdle, the graduates were accommodated into the packed hall and the session finally kicked off. The newly appointed secretary to the Ministry of Labor and Human Resources Dasho Pema Wangda gave an opening statement in Dzongkha, followed in English. “That’s the formality,” said he switching his speech to English. While we talk about diminishing usage of the national Dzongkha, and see the helpless state of Dzongkha Development Commission, I couldn’t help wondering how we couldn’t even conduct the ‘National’ session in our ‘national language’! He clearly detailed down t

Finally, I am back into Blogging after more than a month. I have been busy: firstly graduating, secondly journeying back to my country Bhutan, and thirdly trying to settle down. The month of June was the craziest of all, having to undergo a major transition! I landed on June 18th, in the Saturday afternoon on our second landing attempts due to 'unfavorable weather' at Paro. Coming home after nearly four years was a strange yet happy feeling. Now that I am back, I am presented with so many things to address and attend to. Doing so keeps me away from this blogging world, and whenever I find time, the lack of the Internet connectivity makes it impossible to come. Oh, how I miss the broadband connection that I had there, lol. Unless I find an employment as soon as possible (where I can use the services accorded by the employer), I won’t be able to update or post any new articles here that regularly, so bear with me if you care (by the way, I hope you do care, lol).

(links to: Part III ) Cell phone glued onto my right ear, I aimlessly walked on the grassy land. “Please God, let us talk for the last time again,” I said prayer silently. Luckily, she picked up the phone. “Oye (Hello)!” “Hello! Where are you, still here?” “Yeah, at Paro waiting for the flight! What are you doing today?” I asked her in a subdued tone. “Nothing; I don’t feel like doing anything. I am at home, can’t study,” she replied. “Oh is it? Don’t worry my dear, we will see happily after four years. Do study well all right?” “Hope you will keep all those promises you have made to me, but anyway I will wait and see. I started to miss you already!” “Of course, don’t you trust me?” I answered with a question. “So far I have never trusted anybody like I trust you. Don’t forget me!” The conservation just got deeper and more emotional. I promised her I won’t forget ever and together we prayed for our healthy relationship. In the meantime, the whole Paro valley shook by the thund

Bumthang is known for its natural beauty blessed by numerous saints and lamas including the second Buddha Guru Rinpoche. From Kurje Lhakhang to Mebartsho, Bumthang indeed is a land of Charm. But unfortunately the charm is under attack by fire as of late. The Chamkhar town, which is now third in a row gutted down by the disastrous fire accident, has raised so many eye brows across the nation. The very first accident garnered a nation-wide sympathy, while second one raised a few questions/suspicions, and I am sure now this third one would raise ever more questions and eye brows! Why just in the Chamkhar town? Is Chamkhar town electrified differently? Are people being stubbornly careless with electricity? Is our disaster management proactive or reactive or more importantly prepared enough to fight with such a catastrophe? If it was an electric short-circuit, are our electric appliances or wiring safe? So on and on…These are the very pertinent questions that everybody should be pondering o

(Links to: Part I , Part II ) As our car accumulated more and more mileage towards the destination (the airport), the breathtaking beauty of Paro valley unfurled itself naturally. “No wonder foreigners pay USD 250 per head per day to visit our country,” I convinced myself. I was still challenged with my speech, though; neither did I scream for joy nor cry out loud for departing with my loved ones. I did that all by myself in complete silence! Shortly into the Paro valley the Paro International Airport came to my sight-the green roofed terminal buildings, and the only runway running parallel to the road leading to the main Paro downtown. The gate welcomes us into the airport compound; this time even more welcoming as our car rolled in full speed straight towards the entrance. I remember and agree with how a tourist described his first experience on the road right after landing on the soil of Bhutan. Loosely paraphrasing, the tourist wrote, “The first half a kilometer or so of road fr

HM & would-be-queen Jetsun Pema Picture courtesy: Bhutan Observer It was 2 AM, and I was on the bed when I suddenly felt like checking the twitter updates. The first thing I saw was just unbelievable. I couldn't believe for a while, but as I scrolled further, I saw few more similar updates-The HISTORIC update indeed about the "Royal Wedding"! Immediately the next prominent question popped up in my mind "who could be that future Queen?" A few more scrolls down, I found someone already twitted "HM to be married with a commoner Jetsun Pema..." Normally I don't miss to listen to HM's speech and other important events on live BBS radio from the internet. Being away from country, I rely heavily on the online news for the updates about the country and the world. But last night when I saw the updates, I had already missed the live speech! Because I didn't know that the National Assembly Session was beginning from yesterday. None of the new pape

(Picture courtesy: Google Images) (Link to: Part I ) They were all seated at the back seat and kept the front seat for me. I gestured to my Ata to sit on the front seat to which he stubbornly declined without even a word. As I stepped onto the sit, the driver (Anna’s co-worker) turned the engine ignition bringing ‘our car’ into life in a roaring fashion. After tapping a few times on the gas pedal (accelerator) oozing out a thick smoke from the rear exhaust, it rolled to a full momentum meandering along the road above Zilukha Lower Secondary School. Just as it was about to make a U-turn at Chophel-Jungshina-Zilukha tri-junction, my phone beeped. It was from my long time friend Kinzang Chophel whom at that time was training for traditional physician (Menpa) at Institute of Traditional Medicines, the only institute in the country catering to people of traditional Tibetan diagnosis and medication. We have been friends since 4 th standard at Tsebar Lower Secondary School, under Pema Gatshe

My eyes have been bothering me even more lately, however I couldn’t go for checkup until today. I was recommended to wear glasses during my first eye exam in 2009, subsequently which I wore glasses. But as of late it seems to give me more problems than solutions to my already poor vision. I get terrible eye pain often leading to dizziness and headache. Despite sensing the deteriorating health of my eyes, I had been forced to put up with the same old glasses and continue to push my academic requirements first. Now that I am officially done with the studies, first thing that I wanted to address is my eye problem. So today my Peruvian friend Bryan took me to the ‘Eyeglass World’ store for check up. I had an appointment at 3 pm with the doctor. At the counter, I was greeted by a lady receptionist and escorted to the doctor’s room after doing preliminary exams. “Doctor will be here in a minute,” says she as she returns to the counter with a file. I nodded and took the seat right next to str

It was 5 AM when I woke to a chilly weather of Zilukha hill, Thimphu, Bhutan on October 7, 2007. I was bound for New Delhi and beyond to the US for studies. My flight from Paro International Airport, the only airport in the kingdom of Bhutan yet, was at 10:00 AM. I could hear Anna (sister) Karma already in the kitchen preparing breakfast and doing the dishes as I tried to ‘wipe’ off my sleep. I stepped off the bed slowly without disrupting Ata Sangay who was slept just next to me. He had come the other day all the way from the border town of Phuntsholing taking a day off to reach me till Paro. After I took a brief shower, I woke him and let him in to the shower. Anna Karma had already prepared the breakfast of rice, pork curry with several other side dishes. “Khochung (“Uncle”; she calls me like her daughter would call me as), eat well now. You may not feel well in the plane otherwise,” says my sister handing me a plateful of rice. I could already feel my poor early morning appetite, s

Shaking hands with the President Dr. Anthony J. Catanese I t’s been a long journey, both bumpy and smooth, but eventually I made it through My alarm began to beep rather obnoxiously; it was 7 AM, Saturday morning of May 7, 2011-the commence day! I had to be 'checked in by 8:30 AM' according to the email received earlier the other day. In about 40 minutes later, I and my roommate (a grad student from Thailand) got checked in, and headed to the waiting room before we proceeded to the actual commencement hall.  "What is your department and your last name?" stared a lady seated next to a bunch of files and ropes.  "Mathematical Sciences, Wangdi" I replied trying to spot my name on the check sheet. "Cum Laude!" says the lady handing me a little more than a meter long white-rope, "678 is your seat number". I didn't know what that rope was until a Chinese friend said "oh thats an award, congrats!"  Moments later, I was in the

"For the valuable contribution you have made! " It is not the size of the trophy but the moment of it being awarded that matters I t took me these many years-16 years- to get a trophy! May be I have been around too many years that now they felt the need to give me one, probably? (lol) No, seriously I have not been recognized with any sort of trophies for contributing my hours to social activities until today. This marks the beginning, and hope it doesn't stop here!  I did, however, have received a dozen or so of certificates for academic excellence since the second grade till I graduated from high school (12th standard). Sorry it sounds kind of showy; I can't help it (lol). But before you jump into a false conclusion that I am a "study freak", let me tell you I have engaged in co-curicular activities during my schooling days as much as I have engaged in studies. The only problem(?) though was I haven't won any awards or recognitions. May be they

This week has been the toughest week in many years. Of course, final semester weeks aren't going to be that easy which I know quite well, but never expected to be that bad! The undergraduate research (aka senior year research or senior design) was the culprit who took away every bits of my life. Just last Thursday, my research advisor Dr. Tenali, sent me an email about the research presentation which is to be held on the coming April fools day, and the poster was due today at 4pm. It was just a week's time frame to develop the poster, and necessary details. It was just not enough a time given the fact that I have other academic requirements to meet with six courses under my belt for this semester! I ran to his office countless times by now, and I am already feeling pretty tired of seeing him (lol). All he does is give me the paper, and leave everything for me to figure out, which I did to the best of my ability. However when I get stuck, he is of very help to me. He was tot

Funny enough, we had a plan like any other students for the spring break. I did bounce back and forth from the plans though; initially I was set to go for camping to Daytona with Indian and Caribbean friends, but had to withdraw due to the time conflicts and finally planned to go to Atlanta with Japanese and Korean friends. We were highly looking forward to it. With those plans in my mind, a kind of incentive, I kept working my butt off to complete the assigned projects and homework before leaving for Atlanta. We were supposed to take off on Wednesday, the 9th of March, 2011. After submitting my assignment (with incorrect results!), I enquired the team coordinator (the Japanese guy) about our trip. What I received for a reply though left me in a complete surprise. "It is canceled! Didn't Sena  (the korean guy) tell you about this?" And he continues, "Sorry for that!" Sensing something strange about the whole thing, I replied "No its fine! What happ

A Belly Dance! Today happens to be the annual international festival day, held on the campus of Florida Institute of Technology. Although the festival didn't kick start until noon, by default of being a member of International Student and Scholars Organization (ISSO) I had to be there since 8:45 AM to help put up the flags of the various countries. The festival featured numerous songs and dances performed to  hundreds of people gathered at the college Pantherium surrounded by about a dozen booths representing various countries, organizations, and fraternities. The weather was so pleasant and the sight of fifty or so different flags flattering to the gentle force of the afternoon Melbourne breeze was nothing short of a spectacular. The audience which comprised of students, faculty and their family members, and people of the locality were treated to various songs, and dances notable of which was Indian dance performed by two young girls. As always the dance drew a huge crowd an

Ever since I moved out of the college dormitory after my freshman year, I have been living with Thai roommates. Every semester, a new student or two comes from Thailand and end up staying with their seniors who happen to be my roommates. So this semester as well, two students named Sanya and Sonthi came to pursue masters degree here at Florida Institute of Technology. Like all my previous roommates are (except one), they are both in Thai Army, Lieutenant and Captain respectively. They work as lecturer in the Military Academy in Thailand. Generally Thai people are known for their friendliness, so I am not surprised to see them being nice to me all the time. In fact, I should say I am so glad to have them as my roommates. While they are all equally entertaining and inquisitive, Sanya, in particular, is very outgoing and talkative. Although they face hard time communicating in English, he talks nonstop to their friend's hysterical laughs. One thing I noticed about all my Thai roomma

It says it all. Photo Source: Google Images For those of you who visited my blog, and particularly read the article titled “Dinner with Linda Mom” would have no problem understanding what I will be talking in the paragraphs that follow. But for those who are new, I will try to refresh and walkthrough a bit. Last month, I with three of my friends (all international) went to have dinner with Ms. Linda. She is one of the hosts who help acquaint international students with American life-styles, and cultures. No doubt, they are doing a commendable job helping we the international students who are away from home, and feel home sick time to time. So today’s article has connection to that dinner conversation. As we are all international students, Ms. Linda seemed very curious to learn about our cultures and tradition, to which we in rotation shared about our unique cultures and traditions alike. But she had one very particular incidence, which interested her the most, and needed our cl

The whole World has seen and welcomed the NEW YEAR 2011, already. Champagne toasts have been made, wishes have been exchanged, resolutions have been set, kisses have been planted, so on and on. Those are typical visible scenes everywhere as people eagerly wait for the final ‘count down’. 'Sikkam'-Dried Pork! But not quite yet done for Bhutanese people! This is because only today marks the official new year, according to the Bhutanese Buddhist Calendar. It is known as LOSAR , or to be specific ‘ Chu Nyi Pai Losar’ . The day is declared a national holiday, and it is a festive day. Family members gather, wish for the successful years, and throw a grand party. While elderly people settle over some dosage of locally brewed alcohol called ' Ara ' and ' Banchan g', after the lunch, men normally engage in playing some games like Archery, Khuru (darts), Dego, etc, as their female counterparts engage in dances and merry-making. The day is particularly significant in