I came to E.S. Tibet school in March 2009. I had been in India for 6 months already, traveling first to Darjeeling, and then through Sikkim and Nepal, after which I made my way down through Lumbini, Kushinagar, Bodhgaya, and Sarnath, mostly by train and shared jeep. After such extensive traveling, it was refreshing to find a semi-permanent location to settle down in for some time; all the staff and students welcomed me warmly, and made me feel right at home almost immediately.

The school itself couldn't ask for a much better setting, as it's located down the hill, away from the touristy buzz of McLeod Ganj, in a quiet village along the riverbank, surrounded by groves of pines, with the beginnings of the Himilayan Mountains forming the backdrop. Several freshwater springs provide the village with a continual source of fresh drinking water, and a beautiful place to bathe and do laundry near the river.

I consider myself extremely lucky to have found such a supportive environment in which to teach English to a set of highly motivated students, who have continually surprised me with their humor and kindness, and blessed with the inevitable reflections that arise from cultural and linguistic interaction. In the end, I can only hope that the students have gained as much from this experience as I have.

By Dirk