Category: Photo of the Week

Photo of the Week – End of the year Class Pictures

Posted on by Bhutan Canada

This week our photos come from BCF teachers Kezia and Ashley! Final exams are coming up for students in Bhutan, and our teachers have been reflecting back on the past year spent educating their students. A few teachers will be returning for a second or third year, but some will be savouring their last few weeks with the people they have made lasting connections with, in the country that each has come to know and love.

Photo Credit: Ashley Lenzen - Nangkhor HSS - "Me and 35 of the reasons I'm staying in Bhutan next year..."
Photo Credit: Ashley Lenzen – Nangkhor HSS – “Me and 35 of the reasons I’m staying in Bhutan next year…”
Photo Credit: Zezia Zuber - Class VII Graduates of Zhemgang Lower Secondary School
Photo Credit: Zezia Zuber – Class VII Graduates of Zhemgang Lower Secondary School

Visit Kezia’s blog at Zuber Goes to Zhemgang and Ashley and her husband’s at Traveled Earth!

Photo(s) of the Week – Annual School Picnics

Posted on by Bhutan Canada

Nobody does picnics like the Bhutanese! As the school year is coming to an end, schools across Bhutan organize picnics with staff and students. BCF teacher Sarah shares some photos from Tshangkha Lower Secondary School’s fun filled day!

Choose a location + chop down trees for firewood + prepare advanced picnic team + chop veggies + make 5 different curries together as a school + hook up a water system to your semi-remote picnic spot + sing + play games = annual school picnic. One big team effort! – Sarah Diamond

Photo Credit: Sarah Diamond
Photo Credit: Sarah Diamond – Tshangkha LSS End of Year Picnic
Photo Credit: Sarah Diamond - Tshangkha LSS End of Year Picnic
Photo Credit: Sarah Diamond
Photo Credit: Sarah Diamond
Photo Credit: Sarah Diamond

Photo of the Week – Morning Assembly

Posted on by Bhutan Canada

This weeks photo comes from BCF teacher Ashley Lenzen who is teaching Math at Nangkhor HSS in Pemagatshel.  For students in Bhutan, their school day starts with morning assembly. Students line up in neatly straight rows and are guided through their morning prayers and the national anthem.

Photo Credit: Ashley Lenzen - Morning Assembly
Photo Credit: Ashley Lenzen – “This is how 6 out of every 7 of my mornings start here in Nangkor… morning assembly.”

“I have never been more awed than when I first took in the daily assembly at my school. Students were reporting for the first time that morning, and they lined up in perfectly straight rows by class and section with seemingly no instruction. As the assembly began, they fell silent. Student captains led the student body in their morning chanting. Perfectly in unison, the deep baritone of the older boys and the soft, melodic tones of the girls blended together in perfect harmony and filled the space between us and the mountains…It was a deeply spiritual, perfectly beautiful moment that has become one of my favourite parts of each day.” – Ashley Lenzen: Traveled Earth

Buddha Dordenma Statue

Posted on by Bhutan Canada1 Comment on Buddha Dordenma Statue

This massive statue  measures in at a height of 51.5 meters, making it one of the largest statues of Buddha in the world! The Buddha Dordenma is located atop a hill in Kuenselphodrang Nature Park and overlooks the Thimphu Valley. The statue houses over one hundred thousand smaller Buddha statues, each of which, like the Buddha Dordenma itself, are made of bronze and gilded in gold.

When visiting the capital city of Thimphu, many of our BCF teachers hike up to view this giant statue!

Photo Credit: Zezia Zuber - Buddha Dordenma, Thimphu
Photo Credit: Kezia Zuber – Buddha Dordenma, Thimphu
Photo Credit: Tourism Council of Bhutan - Buddha Dordenma Statue
Photo Credit: Tourism Council of Bhutan – Buddha Dordenma Statue

To read more about the city of Thimphu check out our previous District Series on the Thimphu Dzongkhag!

Photo(s) of the Week – Gardening in Bhutan

Posted on by Bhutan Canada

Two teachers currently in Bhutan – Ashley Lenzen who is teaching Math at Nangkhor HSS in Pemagatshel, and Angela Sutton who is teaching Special Education at Khaling LSS in Trashigang – share photos from their individual gardens!

“Here’s what I see when I open my front door – fresh vegetables in the garden with a beautiful mountain backdrop. Everything is so green these days!” – Ashley Lenzen

Photo Credit: Ashley Lenzen
Photo Credit: Ashley Lenzen

“The first zucchini from the garden! It was delicious! Can’t wait till more can be harvested and we get to introduce zucchinis to our friends in Khaling!” – Angela Sutton

Photo Credit: Angela Sutton
Photo Credit: Angela Sutton

Follow along with Angela and her husband on their blog I Prefer to Enjoy It and Ashley and her husband on their blog Traveled Earth.

Apply to Teach In Bhutan today!

Photo of the Week – Teachers Day

Posted on by Bhutan Canada

In our opinion teachers should be celebrated every day! BCF teacher Sarah, who is currently teaching English at Tshangkha LSS in Trongsa, and Ashley who is teaching Math at Nangkhor HSS in Pemagatshel, both shared photos from Teachers Day at their schools.

“I have never felt more loved, honoured, or appreciated as a teacher. Thank you Nangkor students… you are truly amazing!” – Ashley Lenzen

Photo Credit: Ashley Lenzen
Photo Credit: Ashley Lenzen
Photo Credit: Sarah Diamond
Photo Credit: Sarah Diamond

Apply to Teach In Bhutan today!

Photo of the Week – Famous Class 5

Posted on by Bhutan Canada

BCF teacher, Sarah Diamond, in her second year at Tshangkha LSS, shares some love and the occasional frustration on the life of a teacher.

Diamond, Sarah - Class 5
Photo Credit: Sarah – The famous class 5s.

I love to laugh. I’m good at laughing. So, more often than not I have to maintain my role as a teacher, to struggle to keep these students on the mountain, focusing on the task at hand, as I use every ounce of my energy not to roll on the floor in complete giggles at their jokes. ~ Sarah Diamond, “Don’t mind the driver, he keeps sleeping, but I’ll keep him awake“