This content analyzes Jamie Zephyr's memoir "Beyond the Sky and the Earth," exploring her initial feelings of intimidation and isolation in Bhutan, which gradually transform into admiration, particularly for its people and history.
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okay I'm going to talk through beyond
the sky and the earth
a journey into Bataan by Jamie Zephyr
this is in preparation for your edexcel
GCSE English Language exam paper one let
me just bring my mic closest I've had a
few people email me saying they can't
hear me that clearly so hopefully this
will be better
many of you have emailed me so thank you
for that asking where the videos arcs I
did say they were going to start again
last week after I finished my masters I
did get quite ill oh that sounds an
exaggeration I had a bad cold so that's
put me behind a little bit I'm going to
try and post extra ones this week to
catch up so hopefully they'll be in time
for everyone's exams I know they're
coming up soon my students are starting
their exams at the same time and my I
have every intention of having all the
videos on before that time so please
just bear with me okay let's have a look
at the title beyond the sky and the
earth you could say is hyperbolic so
there is a sense of adventure with the
title but it also emphasizes the great
distance this really does feel like a
completely different world away for
Jamie Zephyr it's also a memoir and
memoir sorry and so the purpose really
is to share her personal experience it's
a little bit different I would argue to
just travel writing where it might not
be as personal so you are going to kind
of learn about her own take on Bhutan
rather than a more general idea of the
place okay I will read paragraph by
paragraph and then go through my my
notes it's worth mentioning now that I
have read lots and lots of different
interpretations of this and people seem
to have very different ideas and that's
obviously absolutely fine so just keep
an open mind this is just my
interpretation and you can obviously
form your own opinion on this I've taken
the opinion that initially she doesn't
seem to like Bhutan she's not
particularly excited by it and then we
see a turning point where that seems to
change I've read plenty of her
rotations that do not see in that way so
just please keep an open mind okay
mountains all around climbing up to
Peaks rolling into valleys again and
again Bataan is all and only mountains I
know the technical explanation for the
landscape landmass meeting landmass the
Indian subcontinent colliding into Asia
30 or 40 million years ago but I cannot
imagine it it is easier to picture a
giant child gathering earth in great
armfuls piling up rock pinching mud in
two ridges and sharp Peaks knuckling out
little valleys and gorges poking holes
for water to fall through so immediately
we get this sense of what the landscape
is like so we know that a lot of Bhutan
is mountains and we know this through
the repetition of again and again and
that follows basically we're saying
Bhutan is all and only mountains so all
and only really reiterates the kind of
scope of this terrain and it just seems
to go on and on it's never-ending
I would argue especially the word only
creates a sense of negativity almost
like there's not much to Bataan to get
excited about that's the way I read this
it's interesting that she cannot imagine
it she understands technically what
happened and how this landscape is the
way it is but the fact that she can't
imagine it suggests that there's this
landscape is nothing like what what
she's seen before and could that and
we'll come back to this could that
create a sense of in is she intimidated
by the landscape because she's never
seen anything like it before
she's a long way from home and is that
why we have this sense that she's not
that excited about it also noticed
places I should have circled these I
haven't made this I haven't really made
this that clear
but you've got picture gathering great
pile pinch sharp Peaks knuckling said
the / and the Curt and the guts ound
poking so all of those are plosive
sounds there's the harsh sounds which
reflect the harsh terrain that she's
witnessing for the first time so again I
think this creates this sense that
almost the train seems threatening to
her and again is that just because it's
it's really the unknown for her at this
point because as we know in the next
paragraph it's her first night there so
is this just all a little bit
overwhelming for her so it's a first
night in thin poo the capital and 90
minute drive from the airport in Peru it
took five different flights over four
days to get here from Toronto to
Montreal to Amsterdam to New Delhi to Calcutta
Calcutta
Calcutta to put her oh I'm exhausted but
I cannot sleep from my simple pine
paneled room at the druk sherek hotel i
watch mountains rise to meet the moon I
used to wonder what was on the other
side of mountains how the landscape
resolved itself beyond the immediate
wall in front of you flying in from the
baked Brown plains of India this morning
I found out on the other side of
mountains are mountains more mountains
and more mountains again the entire
earth below us was a convulsion of
crests and gorges and wind sharpened pinnacles
pinnacles
just past Everest I caught a glimpse of
the tip sorry I read that incorrectly
just past Everest I caught a glimpse of
the Tibetan Plateau the edge of a frozen
desert 4,500 metres above sea level
thin Pooh's altitude is about half of
that but even here the winter air is
thin and dry and very cold so before I
talk through those notes I should I
should have really googled how to
pronounce the capital so apologies if
I'm mispronouncing it so it's a fresh
experience that could explain why she is
feeling a little intimidated by the
terrain and we know it's a 90 minute
drive from the airport
so she's already met mentioning this
central creating this sense of isolation
it's it's an hour and a half from the
airport she had to take five different
flights over four days now she could
have just finished the sentence there
but the fact that she then lists all the
places she had to fly to before finally
getting here helps emphasize how far
away she is from home so again that adds
to this sense of isolation I'm going to
jump a little bit to keep adding to that
point she then says on the other side of
mountains are mountains more mountains
and more mountains again so that listing
and the word again and the repetition of
mountains all helps emphasize this
endlessness of this terrain and one it
could be really romantic or to which she
could fill in all of it or two she feels
really isolated like she can't escape it
it's just never-ending
and I would I think it's the the latter
I think she's overwhelmed by this
terrain at this point and but you can
but please obviously offer multiple
interpretations in your answers there is
a sense there is some almost romantic
imagery i watch mountains rise to meet
the moon so the personification so there
is that small sense of wonder but I feel
like because it follows with I used to
wonder what was on the other side of
mountains she used to have that sense of
wonder she used to have that sense of
all but now she realizes it's just more
Mountains mountains mountains and
mountains again so I think she's kind of
lost that sense of wonder at least at
this point again we have plosive sand
which I haven't labeled here so please
do with your own work convulsion crests
gorges wind sharpened pinnacles so we've
got that sense of harshness again almost
a violent terrain with the word
convulsion as well so I think that just
helps support this idea that she feels a
little threatened
um she feels isolated
she's just unsure I think of where she
is she's feeling a little out of place
and then she describes the air as thin
and dry and very cold uses synthetic
listing where you instead of using
commas continually use and and that just
exaggerated it can make a list seem even
longer and that's what she's doing here
I think she's exaggerating the
conditions but notice the the type of
language she's using as well it's was
very factual it's very informative
there's not much description really so
there just seems to be this lack of
excitement for Zepa at this point the
next morning I share breakfast of
instant coffee powdered milk
plasticky white bread and flavorless red
jam in the hotel with two of the
Canadians who have signed on to teach in
patan for two years Lorna has golden
brown hair freckles and a no-nonsense
home on the farm demeanor that is
frequently shattered by her ringing
laughter and stories of the wild
characters that populate her life in
Saskatchewan Sasha from British Columbia
is slight and dark with an impish smile
after breakfast we have a brief meeting
with Gordon the field director of the W
USC program in Bhutan and then walk
along the main road of Finn poo both lon
and Sacha have travelled extensively
Lorna trekked all over Europe and
northern Africa and Sacha worked for a
year in an orphanage in Bombay
they are both ecstatic about Bataan so
far and I stay close to them hoping to
pick up some of their enthusiasm so we
look at the adjectives she uses to
describe her breakfast she is clearly
unimpressed by the food and does that
reflect her feelings about Bataan at
this point as well but notice the
descriptive detail she gives to the two
girls in comparison Lorna and Sacha that
it suggests and also if you compare that
to the way she describes Gordon which is
in very little detail it suggests that
she probably has more investment in
these girls she probably did get to know
them a lot more and I can imagine that
she probably feels a lot closer to them
having lived there for some time as well
and I have a put this down but it's
worth mentioning as well that they've
traveled extensively so Lorna strapped
all over Europe and northern Africa
Sascha worked for an orphan orphanage
sorry in Bombay and I think it's their
experience that gives her comfort and
that's why she wants to stay close to
them so she feels vulnerable and anxious
and these girls are a source of comfort
for her they're also really enthusiastic
about the experience and this is why I
think she's not that enthusiastic
because she hopes to pick up some of
their enthusiasm so I think she's
indirectly telling us there that she's
not that excited at this point about her
experience ahead although if improves
official population is 20,000 it seems
even smaller it doesn't even have
traffic lights blue suited policemen
stationed at two intersections along the
Main Street direct the occasional truck
or Land Cruiser using incomprehensible
but graceful hand gestures the buildings
all have the same pitched roof trefoil I
think you pronounce windows and heavy
beams painted with lotus flowers jewels
and clouds one storage shops with wooden
shuttered windows I open on to the
street they seem to be selling the same
things onions rice milk powder dried
fish plastic buckets and metal plates
quilts and packages of stale soft
cookies from India bourbon biscuits
coconut crunchies and the hideously
coloured orange cream biscuits there are
more signs of the outside world than I
had expected teenagers in acid-washed
jeans Willie Nelson's Greatest Hits
after the news in English on the Bataan
Broadcasting Service a Rambo poster in a
bar over all these signs of cultural
infiltration are few but they are
startling against the Bhutanese nests of
everything else so it's interesting that
she finds it even smaller considering
the way she feels at this point I wonder
if she it almost feels a bit
claustrophobic for her or does it seem
even smaller because it seems so simple
and there are so many limits
and that sheet goes to talk about for
instance she follows with it doesn't
even have traffic lights so this short
sentence I would argue offers a tone of
disappointment especially the word even
and the adjective occasional helps paint
this image of this sleepy town and
everything's really traditional and
everything's the same now that can be
really beautiful to have everything the
same but I don't know if I get that from
her especially when you look at the list
of products there's an odd assortment
but it does suggest a really simple
lifestyle of the of the things that you
might need day to day and there is a
sign of her own judgment and dislike for
the things that are on offer with her
description of the cookies being stale
and the the biscuits being hideous the
modernism's quite funny I find because
it's actually decades behind and I think
that helps highlight the difference
between Bhutan and where she would be
from in Canada that what they consider
modern is still actually really really
old-fashioned we're talking decades
behind so does that help exaggerate the
distance between where she's from and
Bhutan not only geographically but
almost in time as well they just seem to
be so far behind the times in comparison
the town itself looks very old with
cracked sidewalks and faded paint work
but Gordon told us that it didn't exist
30 odd years ago before the 60s when the
third King decided to make at the
capital it was nothing but rice paddies
a few farmhouses and a I'm not sure how
to pronounce this a dong dong one of the
fortresses that are scattered throughout
the country Dimpy was actually new thin
pea will look like New York to you when
you come back after a year in the East
he said so there seems to be this
surprising juxtaposition where things
already seem to be worn out cracked
sidewalks faded paint work but it's
that's only 30 years old well 30 years
new you might
and so it just seems that to hurt a
little worn out already
but there is a huge contrast between
where it's come from 30 years ago
it was rice paddies and a few farmhouses
so it's come a long long way in those 30
years and the word the adverb actually
indicates her surprise that actually
this is a new place even though it seems
so worn out already so Gordon tells her
that it will look like New York once she
comes back after a year in the in the
East and I think what follows is this
descriptive detail to justify why she
thinks it will never look like that for
her at the end of the main road is
Toshiko dong the seat of the royal
government of Bhutan a grand whitewashed
red roofed golden tip fortress built in
the traditional way without blueprints
or nails beyond Hamlet's are connected
by footpaths and terraced fields barren
now climbed steadily from the river and
merge into forest thin poo will never
look like New York to me I think so
those details I think just help justify
that it is so different real traditional
details as well the Red Roof golden tip
fortress the Hamlet's as well it's quite
an archaic word we don't have Hamlet's
really anymore well in the modern world
and I've indicated here with this blue
line this is where I think there's a
turning point have a look now at her
descriptive detail I think there's much
more enthusiasm there's a admiration
that's present beyond this point the
Bhutanese are a very handsome people the
best-built race of men I ever saw wrote
a misery George Bogle on his way to DES
bet in 1774 and I find I agree of medium
height and sturdily built they have
beautiful aristocratic faces with dark
almond shaped eyes high cheekbones and
gentle smiles both men and women wear
their black hair short the women wear a
kira a brightly striped ankle-length
dress and the men ago a knee-length robe
that resembles a kimono
except that the top part is
exceptionally voluminous the bhutanese
of Nepal a Nepal a sari Nepali original
origin tend to be taller with sharper
features and darker complexions they too
where the NGO and Kira people look at us
curiously but they do not seem surprised
at our presence although we see fewer
the foreigners in Teheran we know they
are here Gordon said something this
morning about them whose small but
friendly expat community and so I just
draw your attention to the descriptive
detail she presents them as
aesthetically striking but also with the
adjective gentle also friendly as well
so I think that potentially helps her
anxiety and also mentioning the fact
that there's this small but friendly
expat community is this going to be a
source of companionship an intimate
group for her that will be comforting
for her while she's here away from home
when we stop and ask for directions
austere hotel the young man behind the
counter walks with us to the street
pointing out the way explaining politely
in impeccable English I search for the
right word to describe the people for
the quality that impresses me most most
dignity unselfconsciousness good humour
grace but can find no single word to
hold all of my impressions so she
clearly has a positive perception of the
people she mentions the man speaks to
her politely he has impeccable English
and she's so in all of them that she
can't even find a word she tries to
offer some and they are all very very
positive dignity unselfconsciousness
good humour grace but none of them will
do none of them sum up just how
impressed she is by them so I think that
speaks volumes for the way she feels
about the people and again I think this
helps explain why there's that turning
point she's starting to appreciate the
people in Thimphu we attended a
week-long orientation session with 12
other Irish British Australian and New
Zealand teachers new to baton our first lessons
lessons
bhutanese history of the most
interesting historical records show that
ways of Tibetan immigrants settled in
returns sometime before the 10th century
but the area is thought to have been
inhabited long before that in the eighth
century the Indian Saint I'm not sure
how you pronounce that Padma Sam bhava
brought Buddhism to the area where it
absorbed many elements of baan the
indigenous Harmonist
religion the new religion took hold but
was not a unifying force the Aerie
remained a collection of isolated values
each ruled by its own king when the
now wang nam yo arrived in 1616 he set
about unifying the valleys under one
central authority and gave the country
the name drop your meaning land of the
thunder dragon early an ace for Bhutan
are just as beautiful the Tibetans knew
the country is the southern land of
medicinal herbs in the South sandalwood
country districts within baton were even
more felicitous li solicitously named
rainbow district of desires lotus Grove
of the gods blooming valley of luxuriant
fruits the land of longing and silver
pines baton the name by which the
country came to be known to the outside
world is thought to be derived from
butantã meaning the end of Tibet or from
the Sanskrit Bhutan meaning Highlands so
here I don't want to go into huge detail
about this but I just think the the
length of the amount of detail that she
gives to their history indicates a great
interest for this place now and I think
maybe that the week-long orientation
actually worked for her she's grown this
great appreciation for the history and I
think with that maybe has come with come
a huge respectful for the country that
they are oh it is now I think the the
old news but Bhutan really helped emphasize
emphasize
Beauty as well and also not to mention
that you know the fact that she had this
week-long orientation with other Western
foreigners could have been also a source
of comfort for her and have changed her
her perception of this feeling well the
rest of Asia was being overrun by
Europeans are varying hue but similar
cry only a handful of Westerners found
their way into Bataan to Portuguese Jesuits
Jesuits
came to call in 1627 and six British
missions paid brief but cordial visits
from the late 1700s until the middle of
the next century relations with the
British took a nasty turn during the
disastrous visit of Ashley Eden in 1864
Eden who had gone to sort out a small
problem of the Bhutanese raids on the
British territory had his back slapped
his hair pulled and his face rubbed with
wet dough and was then forced to sign an
outrageous treaty that led to a brief
war between the British and the
Bhutanese considering the consolidated
British Empire in the south and the
great game being played out in the north
between the colonial powers Bhutan's
preservation of its independence was
remarkable and full of admiration for
this small country that has managed to
look after itself so well so there's a
juxtaposition here that highlights
Bhutanese is different history to the
rest of Asia so while the rest of Asia
was really being overrun by Europeans
during colonial time that didn't happen
to Bataan and actually there's just very
few Westerners who managed to find their
way there and so that is the source
there's something that's really
impressive to zepa as well I haven't
really highlighted anything here but you
could meant you could mention that maybe
there's an element here that she's
looking at this from a Western
where is it Eden who had gone to sort
out a small problem of the Bhutanese
raids and the British territory there's
an element of ganja sort of--it's that
the old colonial way of thinking
where they you know the white man has to
go over and sort things there and tell
tell the Asian person how to do it
themselves that sense of patronizing
element that's so linked with them
colonial powers so you could argue
that's the case and the fact that I
don't know anything about this treaty
that was that he was forced to sign but
she is showing her personal opinion by
saying it was an outrageous treaty that
he had to sign so there's a sense there
where she's she is seeing this from a
Western point of view and that might be
unfair she does however show that she is
really impressed with them the fact that
they maintained their independence in
comparison to many Asian countries that
didn't however a game is there a
patronizing tone I'm full of admiration
for this small country that has managed
to look after itself so well something
quite patronizing about that almost like
you know you find a a child that's too
hot to look after themselves for an hour
and you go I can't believe you looked
after yourself you're doing so well I'm
so impressed something a little bit
patronizing but it that doesn't sit well
for me but at least does show us a
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