David goes to sMenri Monastery (Part 10)
Nyima, Jason and I we went to the BCH about 12:30. The caretaker, Mr. Lodu, had purchased the special meal ingredients, and the students were excited to have it. We visited the small children’s dining room first, watched them be served, then hold up their bowls and sing the prayer for the food. They were very excited.
Next we went to the older children’s dining room. They too were excited but more restrained. They too waited until all were served and then held up their bowls and sang prayers. They all ate with gusto.
We went to the staff dining hall and had lunch. It was delicious.
We did some planning for the shoot of the video for the kick-starter. The plan had been to go to Shimla in the morning for some sight-seeing, but we decided to skip that and do the shooting in the morning. We discussed the shoot and script with Nyima over lunch.
Then we went to the Indian School, just adjacent to the BCH. There was a program going on for National Education Day, and all the children were gathered in the courtyard. I was introduced to Mr. Singh, the school principal. He invited us to his office for tea and conversation. He said he had been there for three years. I asked how he thought the BCH children compared with other students at other schools where he had been principal. He said the BCH students were well disciplined and studied hard. Mr. Singh seems to care genuinely for the well-being of the students.
After meeting with Mr. Singh, we toured the computer lab at the Indian School. It had a dozen or so computers, and the teacher explained that they teach computer basics and teach the children to use Microsoft Office programs. The children have told us that they are not able to get enough access to the lab to get much practice, which is why they want to have a computer lab at the BCH itself.
