During my last semester of high school, I completed my course requirements for graduation a semester early so that I could study abroad in Ladakh, India, a region to the far North near the border of Tibet in the Himalayas. I lived there with a dozen other Vermont students at a school called SECMOL (the Student’s Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh), along with thirty or forty Ladakhi students. SECMOL is a very unique educational institution that partners with VIS (Vermont Intercultural Semesters) to bring about a dozen Vermont high school juniors and seniors to live at SECMOL. This primarily benefits the Ladakhi students in that the Vermont students are a resource for them to practice and improve their English, an essential skill in a region where the academic test that will determine their career path is entirely in English. This was enacted officially through having an hour of English conversation worked into the school day, but it was most effective outside the classroom when all students mingled, worked, and played together with English as our common language.
While I was at SECMOL I took classes in Ladakhi history and language, Buddhism, environmental science, and literature, as well as conducting an independent study in traditional medicine. The latter involved many interviews with different amchis (medicine men and women) as well as a home-stay with an Tibetan amchi woman, all of whom spoke very limited English. While the Vermont students and Ladakhi students took separate academic classes, our daily schedule also included English Conversation, work hour, teatime, meals, and evening activities, all of which were done with the Ladakhi students and Vermonters together.
SECMOL is student run and sustainably powered. This meant that we the students were in charge of maintaining our solar panels, generator, irrigation systems, buildings, livestock, and gardens. While everyone pitched in to help with all the work to be done, each of us also had one specific task that was assigned to us, which we kept throughout the semester. My job was to wake up early several mornings a week to help our cook, Benoi bake the bread for breakfast. This not only gave me an opportunity to learn how to make Ladakhi cuisine (I'm something of a culinary enthusiast in general), but was a wonderful opportunity for quiet meditation or conversation.
Though I was living at SECMOL with a dozen other Vermont students, my emersion in the Ladakhi culture was extensive. I lived there for four months during which time we had no access to Western food, medicine, or culture and communication with our families back in the U.S. was very limited. While many native people had enough English for basic communication, I was able to gain a real understanding of the difficulties of living in a region where English is not a predominant language. Living in Ladakh also allowed me to experience home stays on several occasions, both alone during my independent research and with one or two other students during the treks my group went on throughout the semester.
While I was at SECMOL I took classes in Ladakhi history and language, Buddhism, environmental science, and literature, as well as conducting an independent study in traditional medicine. The latter involved many interviews with different amchis (medicine men and women) as well as a home-stay with an Tibetan amchi woman, all of whom spoke very limited English. While the Vermont students and Ladakhi students took separate academic classes, our daily schedule also included English Conversation, work hour, teatime, meals, and evening activities, all of which were done with the Ladakhi students and Vermonters together.
SECMOL is student run and sustainably powered. This meant that we the students were in charge of maintaining our solar panels, generator, irrigation systems, buildings, livestock, and gardens. While everyone pitched in to help with all the work to be done, each of us also had one specific task that was assigned to us, which we kept throughout the semester. My job was to wake up early several mornings a week to help our cook, Benoi bake the bread for breakfast. This not only gave me an opportunity to learn how to make Ladakhi cuisine (I'm something of a culinary enthusiast in general), but was a wonderful opportunity for quiet meditation or conversation.
Though I was living at SECMOL with a dozen other Vermont students, my emersion in the Ladakhi culture was extensive. I lived there for four months during which time we had no access to Western food, medicine, or culture and communication with our families back in the U.S. was very limited. While many native people had enough English for basic communication, I was able to gain a real understanding of the difficulties of living in a region where English is not a predominant language. Living in Ladakh also allowed me to experience home stays on several occasions, both alone during my independent research and with one or two other students during the treks my group went on throughout the semester.