|
I googled the author to find out more about her but, sadly, there was not too much information and she apparently has not written another book. I hated it to end. I loaned it to all my friends who love to read and those with whom I'm going to Bhutan (next month). I was given this book by a friend who knew I was planning a trip to Bhutan. What a shame. What a marvelous surprise. I picked it up one day because I needed a paperback to take with me while traveling. The story is fascinating and wonderfully written.
Her fiance was not amused.I found Zeppa's initial observations of Bhutan pedestrian and whiny. I started out hating this book and its author. This book is a love story between the author, the country and a rather remarkable young man. It took her about six months to fall in love with the country and its people, and as she did, she became more interesting and grounded, letting go of and struggling with her sense of cultural supremacy. Jamie Zeppa was an English student, preparing to get her doctorate. On a whim, she decided to teach for two years in Bhutan, a remote, tiny country precariously situated between India and China.
I read a lot of travel memoirs and I can tell you this is one of my favorites now. This is one of the best travel books I've read in a while. The author tells a compelling story of her time in Bhutan along with her personal journey, yet not in a cliched way.
They don't need to hurry and scurry in their lifestyles. The people, the land and the religion are so worth your study. But many settlers of these countries remain there, as their languages, foods, and cultures seem to be all incorporated, in their regions.What was so overwhelmingly interesting about this story is that I could identify with the author. But I can not physically do so; therefore, I am hoping that maybe others of you who read this book will want to travel there and update Bhutan to us by publishing your own journey, as well.This book is a story of survival and inconveience in the beginning, but that is well overcome before long, because the importance of life there can change a person, as author Jamie Zeppa illustrates it does on her journey. I chose this book, as I had no knowledge of this country.My interest of international studies evolves around Tibet, India and Nepal.
So, thank you, Jamie Zeppa. As the author's first journey into Bhutan came to be an unsure one(due to getting to her destination), it wasvisibly clear that passage of transportation would be impossible at times, by barriers created from the monsoons and the winter months. You brought me into a beautiful region that is rarely written about, particularly on a personal level. Please know this is one of the most interesting books that I have ever read. They are quite satisfied and proud with what they have.Buddhists are carefree and mindful people. More of this religion is explained in the book.It was great reading about a person in our Western Hemisphere, going into this remote country, and finding so much beauty.
Until Jamie Zeppa wrote about her journey into Bhutan, I felt a piece of that region was excluded from my area of interest.I was expecting this book to be a sociological one, but the author's journey and the writing of it far exceeded that conclusion.to my personal benefit. Yet for the people of Bhutan, there is an acceptance in living with inconveience. In fact, she returns to Bhutan more times than I could physically imagine.The simplicity and the repertoire of this remote country entices me to visit this land of splendor some day in my life. The author crossed this remote, mountainous region and gave us a glimps of it's beautiful land and it's beautiful people.Clearly, Tibet, India and Nepal have had their influence on this country, even though Bhutan is tucked away within it's mountainous terrain. They are taught to never intentionally harm other sentiment beings.an important key to their religion. Thus, a journey in and out of the country takes time and effort; but, time is not of the essence to these people.
She basically picked a remote region of the world to move to, and offered her skills as an English teacher. I think that their acceptability has everything has to do with their religion.Tibetan Buddhism.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable book, worth a place in any library. The author is a very good writer and has a fabulous story to tell, full of interesting characters, amazing places, politically based tension and conflicting emotions as she balances her two worlds and tries to find her place between them. This book should be a must-read for anyone planning to work outside their own culture. Its treatment of culture shock and adjustment is so very well done.
|
