Not My Usual

A Day in the Life of 
a Pema Ts'al Student

Wake-Up and Wash          6:00 - 6:30

Morning Prayer                 6:30 - 7:10

Breakfast                        7:10 - 7:30

Break                             7:30 - 7:45

Memorization & Studying Prayer

                                     7:45 - 9:45

Tea Break                        9:45 - 10:15

Morning Classes              10:15 - 12:00

Lunch Break                   12:00 - 1:30

Afternoon Classes             1:30 - 3:00

Tea Break                        3:00 - 4:00

Self-Study                        4:00 - 5:00

Daily Oral Test & Teaching Prayers

                                      5:00 - 7:00

Evening Prayers                7:30 - 8:00

Self-Study                        8:00 - 9:00

Wash                              9:00 - 9:20

Bed Time                         9:20 - 9:30

My New Home

Pema Ts'al Monastic Institute

The Institute is a very young monastery established in March 1999 by the Venerable Acharya Lama Pema Wangdak. The school is a nonprofit education project for the children of the Mustang district of Nepal. The Mustang people are ethnic Tibetans with children who have little chance of advanced education.

Lama Pema lives in NYC and was the recipient of this year's Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his outstanding work with immigrants. I have met with him several times and discussed this endeavor I am about to undertake.

After closer inspection, I think that is laundry hanging on the fences.

The Unique Flag of Nepal

The flag of Nepal is unique as it is the only national flag created by the combination of two pennants thus being the only non quadrilateral national flag in the world. Various sources give different interpretations of the symbols of the Nepalese flag.

According to the author, Professor Daya Ram Shrestha, "the crimson is supposed to signify the blood shed by brave Nepalis of yore who safeguarded our independence. The sun is a symbol of the Nepali soul, the moon signifies the Nepali mind. The blue border is the Himalayan sky and portrays the immensity of the universe of which we are a part." (http://www.nepalitimes.com/issue/2002/09/06/Heritage/5921)

According to the Times article tourists purchase miniature flags to adorn their backpacks and caps. Schools only fly the flag during the celebration of a national event. 

Professor Daya Ram Shrestha, won the Madan Puraskar, Nepali literary world’s most prestigious prize, in 1997 for his research on the Nepali national flag.

Dedicated Bag of Educational Materials

47.5 lbs and Rising

So where was that?

Near the center of the map in blue, you will find Nepal nestled between China and India. It is a landlocked country with a population of 28,563,377. (July 2009 est.)

"Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with almost one-third of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy." (CIA World Factbook)

Note to self:

November 29 12:50 AM Kennedy Airport

Flight Korean Airlines KE 086
2 check in bags not to exceed 50 pounds each
Carry on not to exceed 25 lbs.
Passport with E ticket inside
be there