Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
From the time I started this whole business of learning Tibetan, I had my doubts that I would be able to pull it off.
I mean, it’s an extremely difficult language for westerners to learn. That’s not negative, self-defeating thinking. It’s just the truth.
Since I got here there have been two kinds of stories that I’ve heard about westerners who tackle this nearly insurmountable task.
1. The “Magical Being” Story.
This is the story of the student who comes to India or Nepal to learn Tibetan because of a divine calling. These students get off the bus knowing nothing about the language, not even the alphabet.
Despite this, they sign up for advanced Tibetan language courses or maybe they move into a monastery or a nunnery. No one expects them to succeed and they are blatantly discouraged to pursue their dream by everyone: Tibetans, teachers, other students.
But somehow, in two weeks they not only learn the alphabet and how to read the various scripts but are having little bursts of spontaneous conversation with the locals.
Within six months they are speaking fluently, teaching the finest points of grammar back to it’s native speakers who then hold them up as the shining example of how we all should go about this task.
As I soon discovered, I was not this kind of “magical being” and so this story became anything but helpful for me.
2. The “I Don’t Need Tibetan, English Is Good Enough” Story
This story is about the student who comes here with the best intentions. He or she really wants to study the Dharma. They decided that it would be wonderful to do so in Tibetan, the language that has been honed for this purpose for 1,500 years.
They start out strong. They take some of the classes that are offered here but are soon dismayed when months go by and they can’t even tell you how to say “hello”.
They go for a year without being able to hold a simple conversation about the weather and so decide to take a break. A year goes by and they start over from scratch and repeat the cycle.
But after a couple of goes at this they throw up their hands, discouraged by the lack of teaching method and seeming incomprehensiblity of a language that is as about as easy to learn as, well, as Tibetan.
But there’s another story that no one seems to tell here even though I’ve seen that it’s the most common experience of all. It’s the story of people who grind through it day after day. This is how I did it. It’s how all of my fellow classmates did it as well. Day after day, speaking, listening, practicing. Putting up with the exhaustion, the headaches, the lack of sleep and the fear that we would never get it.
But we did get it.
On Friday, I got my certificate for the completion of what I call Phase 1. It’s by no means the end. In fact, it’s just the beginning. I will be coming back to continue to study and make my way towards fluency. But for now, I’m calling this a success.
I’m not only one who’s made it this far. Big congratulations to Nikki, Mads, Liv, Lily, Martina, Lionel, Jigme, Freya, Adam, Jasmine and all of the other amazing students at Esukhia. If it weren’t for your inspiring dedication and effort, I don’t think I would have made it myself. Many thanks and good luck to you all!
The post Graduation! appeared first on The Narrow Way.