Learning

I can't believe we've only been here for one day! We are going to the monastry to eat each of our meals which the monks cook for us (it should be the other way round) We eat in a little courtyard and see all the young monks going to and fro, usually reciting their homework through a play string telephone or singing their prayers. The youngest little fellow is five and you see the eight year olds picking him up to set him on a ledge or give a piggyback. This afternoon they were playing duck duck goose, the same game i played with children as a teacher! We also saw the top five scholars of the monastry taking their final exams: the temple had about 200 monks all watching, whilst each of the scholars participated in a debate with the examiner who would fire off a question and then snap his hands at the respondent. Under such conditions most people i know would be tense and nervous but here there a lot of laughter and joking as they were vying to out-debate the examiner. The monks are happy and unafraid and i could see how tense we are by comparison. Bernard pls email me or text to my usual number whether these posts are going through.
sharon

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