smart, SMART kids… classes aren’t arranged by age, really… but, for the most part, by ability level….
and, man, class I (ages ranging from 5 to 9), while short-attention-span-theater central, are about the most endearing group of kids you could hope to meet… from strong, silent and sometimes frustrated sonam sangpo (wish I’d kept up better on my signing)… to helpful tenzin norbu… mischief-filled karma (yeah, funny, eh?) and my new appendage, beautiful tenzin dolkar… they’re all amazing… a little tiring, too… but in a good way! and, so cute… after class, about five or six brought me notes… pictures or simple phrases in tibetan… but … blllluuuuhhhh… heart totally mushed…
class III (somewhere in the 9-13 age range)… wow! you SO wouldn’t know they hadn’t had any english lessons in the six months… these kids are sharp, sharp sharp… some of them incredibly witty, too… if they can find a way to give you a bit of a hard time, they will… all in good fun, of course… but they’re old enough to push a few boundaries… and they want to make sure you can laugh at yourself…
BTW... the soccer ball is a HUGE hit (thanks, David!)... the basketballs need to wait until some sort of fence can be built to protect the greenhouses... but the anticipation is definitely there... :)
after school, i met some friends of brian’s who are studying english… lovely young ladies with some real ambitions… some want to become teachers… some tour guides… some of them simply want to return to their home villages and bring the english language back to help their families… all of them come from other parts of tibet lhasa to study… all of them were incredibly impressive… and, in one of life’s most touching and significant moments, brian and I were given the amazing and humbling honor of bestowing one beautiful young woman’s (an amazing gal... a nomad.. who trekked to lhasa to learn english... )... english name… "catherine"... :)
cool... cool day...
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