Life in the Field

Blog

Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Student Post

An Elephant Ate My Directed Research Paper: A Final Reflection

by Cooper Dart

In the back corner of the Center, a small, plastic-walled greenhouse sits with its door hanging open on a broken hinge. Soon after arriving, it became my quiet place. I could sit on its worn wooden bench and watch the...
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December 18, 2019
Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Student Post

Slowing Down in the Himalayas

by Alex Nazzaro

With only a month left in Bhutan, I hope to take back the sense of slowness and calm I’ve felt here. I’ve gotten used to going with the flow and have given up some of the control I usually like...
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December 3, 2019
Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Staff Post

Directed Research in Bhutan

by Annika Min

Directed Research in Bhutan: Farms, Roads, Trees, and Trash - with a Side of Milk Tea As our semester draws to a close, the students of SFS Bhutan have been busier than ever conducting directed research (DR) under the guidance...
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November 26, 2019 
		
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Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Student Post

The Himalayas at Sunrise

by Olivia Etherton

At my back, a weathered stone meditation hut canted, the flutter of its prayer flags coloring the breeze. At my feet were a spattering of ground-hugging flowers and fragrant, miniaturized rhododendron. A simple head swivel or pivot around revealed an...
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November 5, 2019
Australia
Rainforest Studies
Staff Post

2019 SFS Photo Contest Winners!

by Lora Doughty

SFS recently announced the winners of our 2019 photo contest, which ran from Fall 2018 to Summer 2019. This year's contest saw more than 600 entries - spanning 9 SFS centers across the globe. One grand prize winner and four...
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October 18, 2019
Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Student Post

An Unexpected Lunch

by Oaklea Elfström

We were hot, sweaty, sore, tired, and hungry when we peeked through the monastery gate. Unsure whether we’d be welcome to look around the grounds, we hesitantly tiptoed in. All we wanted was a piece of grass to sit on...
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October 8, 2019 
		
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Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Student Post

In Search of Understanding

by Helen Dugmore

At 7,000 feet above sea level, the sun is intense. So intense that I can feel it slice through me with the perfect aim of a Bhutanese master archer, neatly cutting my body into nothing more than a cloud of...
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July 30, 2019 
		
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Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Yuko Nakano
Student Post

Final Impressions of Bhutan: Hatch, Crack, Fly

by Yuko Nakano

  At the beginning of the spring semester, we asked student Yuko Nakano about her first impressions of Bhutan. Now, after a semester in country, we reconnected with Yuko.   What did you like most about the SFS experience? I...
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May 8, 2019 
		
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Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Staff Post

Bhutan: A Look Back

by Marta Brill, M.A.

This summer will mark a momentous occasion -- ten years of consecutive programming for The School for Field Studies in the Kingdom of Bhutan. From its inception through the spring semester of 2019, SFS has welcomed nearly 300 students to...
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April 15, 2019
Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Vishva Nalamalapu
Student Post

From Silence to Noise

by Vishva Nalamalapu

Our plane shudders to a halt on the runway of Paro Airport. I step out, and I am immediately enveloped by an expansive silence that engulfs the valley and everything beyond it. I continue on — off the runway, through...
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April 8, 2019
Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Faculty Post

The Hidden Himalayas

by Jesse Lewis, M.S.

Camera Traps Reveal the Hidden Himalayas The forests of the Eastern Himalayas are some of the most biodiverse in the world, and are the last stronghold for many threatened wildlife species. However, without understanding the biology of these rare species,...
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April 8, 2019
Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Faculty Post

Harmonious Phobjikha

by Purna Chhetri, Ph.D.

I will now continue my story of fascinating Phobjikha valley, about which I said “Every season the valley is in different a mode and mood”. This time I will tell the tale of the transition period - the end of...
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March 12, 2019
Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Student Post

Love Resides in the Bhutanese Flowers

by Kaya Pulz

Ten years ago, I am swimming through a sea of entrepreneurs and aspiring reality TV guest stars. I’m looking up, seeing not one familiar face, and realising that they can’t see me. Their eyes are glued to the screens that...
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March 12, 2019 
		
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Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Yuko Nakano
Student Post

First Impressions of Bhutan

by Yuko Nakano

As the Spring 2019 SFS students begin to settle into their new homes around the world, we asked them to share their impressions of the experience so far. Yuko Nakano had this to say about SFS Bhutan:   Why did...
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February 11, 2019
Australia
Rainforest Studies
Staff Post

2018 Photo Contest Winners!

by Kris Pieper

SFS recently announced the winners of the 2018 photo contest, which ran from Fall 2017 to Summer 2018. This year's contest saw more than 650 entries from 78 students - spanning 8 SFS centers across the globe. One grand prize...
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January 16, 2019
Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Student Post

Final Impressions of Bhutan

by Erin Baggs

At the beginning of the fall semester, we asked student Erin Baggs about her first impressions of Bhutan. Now, as the semester comes to a close, she shared her thoughts with us again.   What did you like most about...
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December 6, 2018 
		
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Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Student Post

Green Chilies and Red Rice

by Amanda Eason

I eat the same breakfast everyday: a large heaping of rice with a small dollop of chilies. The proportion is intentional and essential. Without the chilies the rice would be bland, boring, and too repetitive for me to enjoy each...
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November 6, 2018
Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Student Post

My Identity Abroad

by Waverly Lau

I am Chinese American and am proud of it. I was born and raised in NYC, but both my parents were born in Hong Kong, China. Since I grew up in such a diverse community in New York, I hadn’t...
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October 26, 2018
Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Faculty Post

Among the Wildflowers

by Jesse Lewis, M.S.

Innumerable switchbacks guide our way steadily up towards the 14,000 foot Chele-la, one of the highest road passes in Bhutan linking the Paro and Haa Valleys. Having reached mid way the temperature has dropped and the vegetation changed. Where before...
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October 9, 2018 
		
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Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Faculty Post

In the Footsteps of the Divine Madman

by Jesse Lewis, M.S.

Descending the 10,170 foot (3,100 m) pass of Dochu-la the towering trunks of Himalayan Hemlocks and spruce rise out of the cool misty air. Ferns, orchids and wispy strands of moss hang from the trees as we tunnel through dense...
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July 18, 2018
Bhutan
Himalayan Environment and Development Studies
Staff Post

Remembering Anthony Bourdain

by Dr. James Cramer

Anthony Bourdain was a much-needed ambassador for fostering understanding of and appreciation for people and cultures around the world. Thus we at SFS join the worldwide chorus of those saddened by his death. On the final episode of his show...
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June 26, 2018
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