By Jenni Knigh

I feel so lucky to have had the privilege of teaching at Lha. My time was too short and I have vowed to return for longer next time. What a unique, life-affirming, eye-opening experience.
How did I get here? Well, at the end of 2018 my teaching contract finished. Our children were fairly grown up and independent. It was time to do something different. I love to travel but what I really wanted was to contribute (albeit in a small way) and be part of a community, at least for some of my journey.

I’d done some volunteering before but it always felt cursory – like I was a paying guest. But here at Lha, they threw me into Beginner class and Conversation class and before I knew it I had a few individual students and off I went. It felt great to be doing something useful after a month of travel.

To be honest the experience far exceeded my expectations. What I found was a great bunch of staff and students who were keen to make my experience easy and enjoyable. Before long I felt part of a community. I witnessed my students taking part in the march to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising, stayed in a wonderful welcoming homestay where I sampled the best Tibetan home cooked food in the town and slept in the beautiful prayer room. 

My students in Beginners English were ready for anything and so keen to learn. I learned so much from them. About the similarities and differences in our lives, about the connectedness of us all. We laughed a lot and I made some new friends for life. I had questions answered, and seeds of new questions planted. The experience dispelled some myths in my thinking and opened my eyes in a small way to the experience of others. Reading about the situation for Tibetan people and their collective struggles is informative but speaking with an individual who’s living it definitely has more immediacy and fosters a better understanding. My students and friends taught me so much about life, happiness, beliefs, hope, laughter and our shared humanity. I truly miss them and feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to teach and learn from the people at Lha. I hope to return soon. Thank you. Tashi Delek!