Bhutan - A Journey to Happiness

A JOURNEY TO HAPPINESS

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A JOURNEY TO HAPPINESS

“Bhutan is a small dot between two economic giants - India and China, and even though we are not rich, we are culturally rich” - Jigme Drukpa

Deep in the Himalayas, far away from modern civilization, there lies The Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon, or simply Bhutan - the first country ever to focus on people’s happiness rather than economic wealth.

The students and teachers of THINK Global School got a chance to immerse themselves into the Bhutanese culture and be a part of it.

This ebook tells the story of our journey through photos and blogs produced by TGS students and teachers.

Bhutan is where I grew up. It’s where I learned that happiness is more than just smiles. It’s where one can soar so high above like a dragon and where dragons are no sagas. It’s where I learned that life is more than living. It’s where silence is never quiet. It’s where I learned that there’s more than what my orbs can behold.

It’s where bliss is more momentous than coins.

It’s where momos and thukpas are always good, and a cup of suja will always warm your heart. It’s where Chokgus will strengthen your teeth and make your lips turn chalky. It’s where your fingers are the greatest silverware. It’s where hamburgers and fries are grandeurs. It’s where an ingredient can have a finer anecdote than my life. It’s where you make histories in your solitary moments.

It’s where I learned that the people in South and North pole walk like us and that they don’t fall that the world isn’t just Bhutan.

It’s where my shelf was filled with G.I.joes and dragon ball z cards whilst girls my age had Barbie everywhere. It’s where I thought brooms could fly me to every nook and cranny. It’s where I never stopped feeling super because a fall and a scar meant a hero and hardiness. It’s where having a brother meant being on a wrestling ring. Yet, my heart would always sway to the beat of Hannah Montana. It’s where I knew what, “your voice is best suited in the bathroom,” meant. It’s where I uncovered football as my zeal.

It’s where I learned that being alone is okay because it is simply like a day without the sun. It is dark. It’s where gossips with friends will never be a secret because a secret is never shared between two. It’s where I learned to learn. It’s where I learned that obedience at times kept you confined. It’s where I learned that a lash on your palm makes the icy limb of a table more than just a limb. It’s where I learned that a blaze adjacent to an electric picket could set your house on fire.

It’s where I learned that life is better off without T.V., It’s where looking like a “Korean” is the way into a crowd. It’s where a text from Gunda Chunku meant a hand in the underworld. It’s where weed fed your problems well, but it got you nowhere. It’s where a true king can be unearthed. Where bloods shed and lives lost, can only be looked upon with due respect. It’s where war is never the answer to peace and freedom. It’s a place where I learned that whether an infantry or Superman, shots of gin can surely knock you off.

It’s where I learned the beauty of time. Time isn’t what makes you old; it’s what prepares you for the world. It’s where twilight means wisdom and absence of personages’ means no creation.

It’s where I learned that the absence of a mother in her underpinning year creates no line between a girl and a boy.

- Pema, Bhutan

country believes in it in their own ways, Bhutan, The Land of The Thunder Dragon, a small country bellow China and next to they have their own perspective.

India that believes in happiness being one the most important things in the world Money is definitely not the only thing that even the fourth Dragon King of Bhutan Jigme Singye Wangchuck made the statement that Gross National Happiness is more important than that can make people happy, not only in Bhutan but all around the Gross National Product. Yet, it is the Bhutanese biggest world. If a teacher spends an hour motivation. After spending two long weeks traveling or more explaining a lesson to around Bhutan, talking to different people, visiting a good morning his students and at the end he Dzongs and Monasteries, and of courseasking to another person on our guides the ultimate question: realizes that they did the street, it could be understand it he will leave is everybody in Bhutan happy? a stranger it will make you his classroom with a smile “Happiness is something happy. So basically, small very special, on his face. If things like that can make you someone everybody here happy.” -Jigme Drukpa. Essentially, the wishes in this pink bus guide, Jigme, pointed on money saying it is not what can make anybody happy.

It doesn’t matter how much Ngultrums you have in your pocket or in your bank account, it doesn’t matter

how rich you are -- very simple things can make your happiness. Money is definitely what will make you happy. So Jigme and a bunch of other people think that the majority of people in Bhutan are happy, and to be honest now that I’m thinking about it I am part of these people too. However, I know that in other countries the definition of happiness is way different. I feel like happiness is all that everybody wants but unfortunately not everybody has it.

- Fatima, Morocco

“Gross National Happiness (GNH) acts as our national

conscience guiding us towards making wise decisions for a better future. It ensures that no matter what our nation may seek to achieve, the human dimension, the individual’s place in the nation, is never forgotten. It is a constant reminder that we must strive for a caring leadership so that as the world and country changes, as our nation’s goals change, our foremost priority will always remain the happiness and wellbeing of our people – including the generations to come after us.”

-His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.“ - Dalai Lama

Nestled in the southern slopes of the Himalayan mountains, the tiny Kingdom of Bhutan offers those that visit a glimpse into a highly preserved way of life. Hailed as the last Shangri-La, visitors to Bhutan are at once transfixed by the country’s unspoiled fairytale landscapes and exotic wildlife species such as the Takin and Black Necked Crane. Red robed monks and brightly colored prayer flags can be found at Bhutan’s many sacred Lakhangs (temples) and imposing fortress monasteries known as dzongs. While here, students will be introduced to Bhutan’s unique and innovative approach to planning the next stages of global development, using the four pillars of Gross National Happiness as organizing principles.

With its picturesque views, tranquil Buddhist lifestyle and focus on tradition, it’s no wonder that the Kingdom of Bhutan is recognized as one of the happiest places on earth, and we are no doubt happy to visit!

Exactly a week has gone by since the end to our incredible journey through Bhutan. I hope those of you who were there have continued to reflect and have begun to share your experiences with family and friends. The trip sits at the top of my list of amazing experiences abroad.

I returned inspired and intrigued and even more passionate about traveling and experiencing other cultures.

Since our trip, I’ve had the opportunity to read a wonderful piece of writing by the British essayist Pico Iyer called “Why We Travel”.

In the essay, Pico describes the exuberance one feels as he or she makes their way around the world, be it exploring wonderfully unusual places or celebrating random friendships struck up while on the road.

Wanderlust is highly comparable to falling in love, and the further you travel, the deeper that love grows.

“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel,

next, to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate.

”

- Pico Iyer

I think we’ve been reset. Winter. New starts.

Distillation of enthusiasm. I wonder if we have become a group energized to learn on the road, a band of international brethren, one capable of taking an engaging experiment and making it result in great things. Maybe it’s just the rarity of Bhutan bringing the special and the beautiful out of complex beings.

In the mountain air, we’ve become primal and receptive to the cleansing powers of the new.

Written in between temple visits on a hike in Bumthang, Bhutan while traveling and working.

- Lindsay, Indiana

Bhutan in the winter energizes the hunger for discovery that’s resident in children lucky enough to be young. It would take a dark closet for decades to produce this contrast anywhere else, the specialness clear with every sip of cold I almost feel inclined to state I’m not an affiliate, but I did mountain air or gentle exchange. I can’t say this is what not buy this experience. One should take my travel should always be, because it’s only musings with this factor in mind. If I didn’t earn my through their unique set of occurrences that place in this country, does that make my yielded such an outcome. But what they words as weightless and discardable as have set up, from my effortless post, crow feathers? Certainly not as has a wonderful effect. Wool is constant as a prayer flag, nowhere near our eyes, and we are whose words are learning individual lessons from the established and backgrounds we brought. worthy of fame.

Our two week intersession came and went, but one thing is for certain: the students and staff members that had the privilege to visit this tiny picturesque kingdom rank the experience as one of the most unique and absorbing of their lives. Bhutan, which is the birthplace and home to four of our students,

allowed us a rare glimpse into a country that vigorously fights to remain unspoiled. This preservation of the environment and attention to its citizens’ well-being were at the core of our trip as we set out to learn more about the Bhutanese concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH).