By Kunsang D., Class 10

As I woke up to start a new day and looked through the windows, the world seemed bright as the sun’s rays made their way into my Khemsang (family house) through the glass. I quickly got out of bed, folded my blankets and washed my face.

First thing in the morning, we either go for physical activities or have prayers. We alternate between the two – If Monday is a physical activity day, then Tuesday is prayers and so on. Even within physical activities, we can choose between playing football, volleyball and going for walks. This year, I have chosen to go for walks instead of football.

I was surprised to realize that it was almost time for our walk! I quickly got ready and was waiting with patience for our supervising teacher to arrive, when I heard the sound of him hurrying down the stairs. Seems like he was running late too, like me! Normally, we would walk up the hill and come back to the campus through the road, but now we walk twice around our campus as we cannot go out of our community because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As we were making the last lap, we saw some boys and girls playing football. They were playing practice matches for a tournament on Children’s Day. It was nice to see the children playing happily while their coach, Tenzin, who is also our Geography teacher, refereed the game.

After the walk, we freshened up and headed to finish our community chores in the kitchen, campus surroundings or classrooms. We have learned that by doing our chores and contributing to the Community, we can become more responsible about caring for our Community and confident in doing our daily tasks. We rotate duties among the children so that all of us get a chance to learn how to care for every area, regardless of who uses it.

Then, came the time, which I never miss out–breakfast! We all gather in the Thapsang (family kitchen) and have a healthy meal together. Usually our breakfast is roti (flatbread), dal (lentil soup) and tea. After we finish eating, we go back to our family houses to get dressed for school. The little children usually need help getting dressed, so we assist them and then head to school assembly together. With our minds active and excited, we feel ready to start a new day at school!

Stay tuned to find out more about the rest of the day in upcoming posts from my brothers and sisters!

Mornings at Jhamtse Gatsal