I write to thank you and your staff for the extraordinary
program arranged, organized and carried out by the staff
at Yangphel for our students from Hiram College in April
and May. Every aspect of our program exceeded our already
high expectations.
In planning our study abroad program I wish to especially
thank you, Karma Choden and Garab Dorji for crafting an itinerary
that maximized the potential for student learning. Our course, "Finding
Order In Nature - An Examination of the Natural History of
the Himalaya" depended on student interaction with both
natural environments and local people who could help us to
learn about traditional lifestyles that have been sustainable
for centuries. The program was a perfect mixture of natural,
pastoral and urban settings allowing students to record firsthand
their own impressions. Your suggestions to visit the farming
communities in Bumtang and the monastic community in Gangtey
worked especially well in carrying out the objectives of
the course.
The success of the program, however, hinged on the ability
to balance a rigorous academic program incorporating lectures,
discussions, readings and tours with direct contact with
the people, institutions and natural environments of Bhutan.
I wish to thank your staff, especially Sha Phurba Dorji,
who so capably adapted the normal tourist agenda to an academic
one. Having directed over 15 programs in seven countries,
I appreciated the flexibility shown by everyone on your staff,
flexibility that allowed us to get the most out of the unplanned
and unexpected. Excerpts from student journals show that
they were deeply moved by their Bhutan experience as they
were forced to change their views and attitudes through finding
order in their own lives as they were confronted with a landscape
and way of life radically different from their own. My role
as an educator is to get students thinking critically on
all subjects so that they will make informed decisions in
the uncertain world that faces them. Their journals demonstrate
that our program forced them to do exactly that, and I thank
you and your staff for not only taking our educational program
seriously, but for helping me to carry it out fully.
All of us on the program wish to thank each and every member
of your staff who labored so hard to bring us the comforts
of home while far away from home. The food was varied and
excellent: our students learned to love the Bhutanese dishes
the most. The accommodations were excellent not only in the
fine hotels, but especially in the camps. The lavishness
of the experience provided by your staff in Ura was totally
unexpected. We felt deeply honored that you went to such
extremes to make our experience so memorable. The camp provided
a perfect "natural lab" where students had time
and space for completing academic work while experiencing
centuries old traditions at the festival. My own experience
is that good food and good housing a good program make. Excellent
food and excellent housing allowed the educational aspect
of the program to flow unimpeded by details normally associated
with travel. I thank all of you for making the living aspects
of our programs singularly irreproachable in all respects.
Last but not least I give an especial personal thanks to
the way that staff members helped all of us with health issues
throughout the trip; dividing our trek into two groups as
we experienced illness on our way to Jhomolhari helped everyone
to come back from Bhutan with only good impressions. My own
unexpected encounter with cardiac surgery just six days before
we departed from the States, left me much more tired and
exhausted than I was willing to admit until I returned home.
I thank all of you for treating our students so well, and
leave my deeply felt sense of gratitude with you all for
being so willing to work with me in spite of my slowed down
state, as a result bringing about an extraordinary learning
experience for our students. I am very grateful to Phurba
for keeping the academic program in motion on the trek, in
spite of my leaving with students. Journals from that time
demonstrate that students continued to participate fully
in the academic program thanks to his guidance.
It is the wish of each and every one of our students, and
my wish especially that this be just the first Hiram educational
program in Bhutan. If you would like me to speak personally
to other groups planning a tour, I would be more than happy
to do so. I have many good pictures that I can send by e-mail
if you would like to use any of them for your advertising.
I would also be happy to write up something about educational
tours should you wish such a piece. I have already written
the cover article for Hiram's next alumni magazine, highlighting
the educational aspects of the program and would be happy
to share this with you.
With many thanks and best wishes for your success in the
present and a bright future we hope in working with you again,
I remain
Sincerely yours,
Dennis J. Taylor
Professor
