JULY 23, 2006.
I had an amazing day yesterday. I went to the Monastery to play with the monks and brought a football and two Frisbees for them to play with.
I did not pull out the Frisbees until all the youngest and littlest monks became disinterested in the football. It was so cute. It is beautiful to watch little men in red robes tossing a disc. I think after seven times going, I will be able to introduce the rules of Ultimate to the little monks. It is so great to see them smile and having such a great time.
It is quite sad, as the principal of the Monastic school does not agree that the monks should play. The only time they are available to play football is when a Chilip (name for a foreigner) comes to play with them. The crown prince also bought 12 footballs but once again they are only allowed out of storage until someone from outside the monastery comes to play. By my understanding, that is not too often. I have a feeling that if I was to make Sundays a regular occurrence that eventually I would have more and more monks staying around the monastery to play. There is a potential to end up trying to entertain 400 monks.
As I was leaving, 45 monks came by to say thank you and then one little monk by the name of Kinley said to the Lama, “can she come back another day?”
They really are stealing my heart. They are so cute but devilish. I will eventually have to invite a friend to take photos, as I would love to have some photos as souvenirs as it really is an opportunity of a lifetime.
This afternoon myself and another volunteer (Bhutanese) at the Monastic school are going to buy 88 toothbrushes. 44 for him, and 44 for me as I want to teach my class how to properly brush their teeth. I will also buy a few bars of soap because I also want to teach how to properly wash their hands. I need to find a camera, as it will be quite the task to convey to the monks in English how to brush their teeth. If anything, teaching is improving my acting skills, as I end up using a lot of sign language and body language to convey what I am trying to say. My class is definitely getting more comfortable with me.
