Watching the World Cup at a 6000+ year old sacred site

Tonight was truly a once in a lifetime experience. There had been murmurings of the angst many students were feeling about being away from the internet and a tv during one of the largest sporting events of the last four years: the World Cup. Kiki and I were aware of the date and time, but considering our itinerary with for our National Geographic Student Expeditions trip, we knew it wasn’t likely we would get to see the game. Keeping expectations low, we did some digging on our own. As our group was touring the incredible Thrangu Tashi Yangste Monastery, I overheard some of the student monks discussing the game. We learned that indeed the school was as excited about the game as our students were and were planning to congregate in the square with a projector and a screen to watch it. Knowing this, we devised a plan: we would tell our students that we had an incredible opportunity to get to do an all-night meditation with one of the school’s great teachers after dinner and that they should prepare accordingly. The complaints and moans underpinned the sleep deprivation that was apparent in our group and it was all we could do to hold back any sign that we were setting them up. As we began the long and silent walk to our meeting place with the “great meditation instructor", we veered off to the side where hundreds of rowdy student monks were sitting in their saffron robes piled around a screen and projector as the game introductions were being made. Smiles erupted and we revealed the sodas and snacks we had purchased for the students to enjoy the game. I will let one of our students, Isabelle, take it from here….

We began the night with Kiki and Alex telling us we were doing an all night meditation. I’m sure you can imagine the excitement on our faces when we arrived at a projector screen with about 100 ecstatic monks sitting in front of it watching the World Cup! Every time the French team had the ball in front of the goal, you could hear their yells and excitement as they shot the ball, and their disappointed sighs if the ball went out of bounds. They would jump up and down and grab their friends by the hand as they screamed for their team. The atmosphere definitely felt unusual as we were in a monastery, but this feeling allowed us to connect more with the monks through our shared excitement for the game. What made it even more fun was the experience we had playing soccer with some of the boys before the the World Cup. We really got to see how much they love to play and the skill that they have developed for the sport. It was an amazing day that turned watching a sport that we already love so much into a truly unforgettable experience.

-Isabelle J.