Tashi in Sikkim

Tashi on the Waring Southern Trip,
1983

     Why is it we are nervous about the unknown? When I made the plans to visit my old friend Tashi, who attended Waring for 2 years at the same time I was there, I was excited by the prospect of seeing him again – I had so many questions for him about what it was like to go to America at such an age, traveling from such a place as Sikkim. We spoke on the phone for a few minutes to make plans and our conversation was easy, some old familiarity/fondness communicated from both sides. Still, as we got closer to Pelling and his home, I started to get nervous about our visit; two days and nights to spend with someone you haven't spoken to in thirty years seemed long if it was going to be awkward and stilted between us. I wish I could say that my nervousness was unfounded and that all went smoothly as if we had seen each other yesterday. The fact is, although it was a lovely visit there was something missing in the connection, something that I couldn't lay my finger on, perhaps something colored by all that happened to him between the time he came back to Sikkim and now, perhaps some difficulty on my part in finding points of connection other than our past at Waring. I was able to better understand what it was like for Tashi to live in America for those two years, to see that he valued that experience greatly. I also got to see that his appreciation led to giving back to his old school in West Sikkim and now to young village children who are often the first members of their families to attend school. He hasn't lost his distinctive laugh, nor his wry sense of humor, nor his matter-of-fact way of describing the nature of himself, of people and of the world. Tashi has grown into exactly the kind of person Waring, and his sponsor family in America, would have wanted him to be: kind-hearted, thoughtful, and an educator who has dedicated himself to giving back what he received in his own education.
     I have a feeling we will see each other again, in the same way I know that our family will be back in Sikkim soon enough.  I find it remarkable that because of the action of a Sikkimese man and a hometown Gloucester woman, I could be sitting in a guest house in West Sikkim sharing photos of an old bus, tri-cornered hats and the historical landmarks of downtown Beverly.

Shannon and Tashi at
Colonial Williamsburg, circa 1983,

I think that's what the Buddhists here would call some damn good karma.

   Here are some photos taken at Tashi's guest house.  He has a beautiful home, near a bird sanctuary with a great view of the mountains.

Our room at Tashi's
Guest House

Enjoying a delicious breakfast
while the birds chirp outside

Tashi's guest house

Tashi, Chris, Pomme Pomme, Kitsho, Grace,
Corrina, Tsherangla, Dorma (Tashi's wife)