STUDENTS from PUNAKHA HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL #2: Dawa Tshering

I am Dawa Tshering and I am 16 Years old. At present I am in 11th grade and my class teacher is Miss Sarah. According to my perspective, I am a humble and hardworking boy. I graduated my 10th grade from a school in southern-Bhutan with exceptional marks.

I would like to share with you my interest. I am interested in listening to music, playing musical instrument, playing games like basketball and table tennis and also making friends with girls. I am a naughty boy but I stay in good manner according to the discipline of our school.

I have experienced many things which I have wished for and I am glad that I have both parents and elders who love me very much.i have many friends from outside the country on FACEBOOK and hope you would also be a good friend to me.

The place where my family lives is Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. My home town is at Dagapela but my origin is from Punakha and Tashigang. In Punakha the weather is hot and sunny. I am having a little bit of trouble in getting adapted because of the weather condition and school's strict rules and regulations.

Our school is faced upward and the Punakha dzong which is one of the most popular dzong in Bhutan is faced towards our school. We have a park below our school where we go every free period to study and sight see. I think we could be a good friends, if you could share about yourself. What do you like and what don't you like?  .

Your friend in Bhutan,

Dawa Tshering           

STUDENTS from PUNAKHA HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL #1 : Chhimi Selden

Chhimi Selden

Life is not a bed of roses. For me life is really challenging since I am from a poor background. My dad left me when I was only a month old. I have never seen him and I miss him sometimes when I see my friends with their dads. Since ninth grade I have been staying with my grandparents because my mom can't afford to send me to school but now I'm living with my mom. Now I'm in eleventh grade. Actually my mom used to stay in Thimphu [our capital] with my step father who is of no use. Since she was having some problems with him she shifted to Punakha [my village] with my two younger brothers. So me and my elder brother decided to stay with her and help her.

As there is no one to help my mom she sometimes goes to work under some people which I hate the most. I wanted to keep her from doing any work because most of the time she feels sick. But we don't have another option as there is no one to help us and  my brother has completed class twelve last year and his marks were not good enough to get him a job. I really love  to help her. Since she goes outside to  earn money, I handle  the chores at home. I do all the  chores at home like washing clothes, preparing meals, cleaning the house, fetching water, giving baths to younger ones as I don't want to give her more burdens anymore. These are the things I do other than studying. I love to study and I have been doing pretty well in my academics. Helping my mom became my passion. Though I don't get good clothes to wear or good meals to eat, still I'm happy because I'm with my lovely mom.

Because of all this I study very hard. Usually many people say that they can't study because there situation is not good and they can't concentrate. But I strongly disagree because for me this situation makes me work really hard, as this situation keeps on reminding me that I have big responsibility to do. To get a job whereby I can help my mom as well as keep her happy. Not only this, my aim in my life is to give the best education to my younger ones. So, I aim to be a Journalist if not at least a teacher.

My questions to all you readers are: What are the things that you do with your parents at home? What do you do besides go to school?

From Bhutan,

Chhimi Selden                 

                                                                                                              

The Photo You've All Been Waiting For: Me Wearing a Kira

At Uma in Kabesa

One of the perks of being a Bhutan Canada Foundation teacher is that every once in a while, Sam Blyth, one of the founders of BCF and its biggest promotoer and fund-raiser, travels to Bhutan and takes some of the BCF teachers out for dinner.  Last night, Andrea Giesbrecht, Thubten Senge and I were treated to a five star meal at Uma, a very swank hotel north of Punakha.  I felt it would be appropriate to wear my new, hand-woven kira.  Here I am in it, standing on the balcony at Uma.

Thanks to Sam for a really lovely evening and a break from saag and ema datse!