by Denisa Sadovska
Volunteer position: Conversation Class Assistant

The whole experience at Lha was so special for me. For a long time, I was thinking how to start writing this and how to describe it all, because I’m full of impressions; nice, warm memories but lacking words to express it. So, a fairy tale could fit.
Once upon a time, there was Lha, that brought together volunteers from all over the world in order to support Tibetans. I had the pleasure to be one of the volunteers and was teaching German and English conversation classes.
During the everyday classes, we were talking about various themes which helped the students to practice the language and for me, it helped to understand a little more about their life, culture, lifestyle, life stories… With some of them, we became friends and spent some free time together, went for a walk, did Kora (way around the temple of His Holiness), drank a lot of chai, went hiking and got to know (for me) new places with amazing views of mountains. Starting and finishing the day with this view during sunrise and sunset was unforgettable.
Of course, sometimes it happens that things don’t go as you wish. My accommodation was cancelled, the bus was delayed, l lost my orientation many times (which is not hard to me), had food poisoning, a big spider in a room (and I am scared of them!) … But there were ALWAYS good people who helped me to solve all the problems, I’ve never felt alone. Thanks to them, all the “problems” have changed to incredible memories.
I came to teach German. But I think I’ve learnt much more than the students – and not just about Buddhism, Tibetan culture and a little bit of Tibetan language (at least I tried) … Mainly, I got to know more for myself and new warm-hearted people. Their stories were impressive and I appreciate their friendship a lot. They showed me that each problem has a solution…

“If there is a solution to a problem, there is no need to worry. And if there is no solution, there is no use worrying about it.”
— Dalai Lama XIV, whom I was honoured to meet.

Let’s finish the fairy tale…
…and they lived happily ever after