Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan

by Jamie Zeppa

Release Date: June, 1999

Edition: Hardcover

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A wonderful book!

I just finished reading this book, and thought it was wonderful! It was especially good to read because I just recently moved to Romania and am going through some of the same experiences that the author discribed. Culture shock, language, trying to teach students without the words to communicate with them (I haven't had anyone tell me that their birthday is "It is rice and pork," yet [p. 43], but I could definitely relate to that story!), all of these are common struggles in a new land.

One of the best parts of the book for me was the way the author managed to combine a description of the history of Bhutan and her own personal experiences. I love reading history and culture books, but reading about history by experiencing it through someone else's eyes made it all come alive again. I loved how Zeppa brings the reader slowly through ever-spiraling circles deeper and deeper into the culture. The way she carefully described her arrival in the country, her original culture shock and despair, and the gradual love she gained for her new people are very well-crafted. It gives the reader the chance to experience the same gradual love of Bhutan, its culture, people, and landscape. She also managed to do so with a good sense of humor, laughing about things such as rats having a Rat Olympics while she was trying to sleep, or the reverse culture shock of having sliced bread after so many months in what originally seemed to her to be extremely spartan living conditions. I've read many travel books and memoirs, but I have to say that this is one of my all-time favorites.

I also appreciated the author's honesty, both about the good and the bad decisions she made and things she experienced. Here I have to take issue with some of the other reviewers. In fact, I have to wonder if they've ever lived in a country besides their native land (as well as wondering how they would fare with the Rat Olympics, lack of electricity, unfamiliar food, and lack of connection to their first native land). I found Zeppa's description of culture shock to be extremely accurate. As humans we have the built-in characteristic of believing on a certain fundamental level that the way we know things is "right". Living in other cultures can change that to a certain degree, but it never goes away. Some days (especially in the beginning) you wonder why you ever decided to come to this stupid country and when the next plane home is. Other days you love this wonderful new country, can't believe you ever lived anywhere else, and can't imagine why anyone would ever live life differently than people do in your new home. Most days are somewhere in-between. Through a great deal of work you can try to view both your old and new cultures objectively, but this is very hard. I felt that Zeppa did an amazing job with this; she was definitely not perfect, but she wrestled with her decisions before making them and remained constantly open to new ideas and interpretations of what she saw, which is more than most people can do. To me, this was one of this book's main strengths. I loved this book and would recommend it to people interested in learning about another culture. I would also recommend it to people who are going to be living in a new country to give them an idea of what culture shock can be like. Although most culture shock won't be as severe (Canada to Bhutan is one of the biggest cultural changes available on our planet at the moment), this is still an excellent view of what adjustment can be like. If nothing else, I know that I will remember this book so that when my culture shock gets worse ("I don't understand what she just said... This new climate is hard to get used to!... Why do they do things THAT way here?" etc.) I can know I'm in good company.

This is one of my favorite books!

This is one of my favorite books! From start to finish, I couldn't put it down. Having dreamt of joining the Peace Corps but never having enough courage to do it, I loved reading about Zeppa's experience. Coming from a life similar to Zeppa's I was drawn into the details of her experience. I sympathized completely with her initial fears and her need to experience something more from life than higher education and married life with a white picket fence.

Zeppa beautifully describes her experience; her fears, her culture shock, and her transition into loving a country and culture so different than her own. She really brings Bhutan to LIFE and does an excellent job of recounting what it is like to be a foreigner in this pristine country. Her insight on Bhutan's political conflicts and how she learns to look at things in a different light, trying to let go of her Western ideas, is wonderful. And a touching love story to boot! The book literally brought me to tears.

I'm a firm believer that pushing yourself beyond your limits makes you a better person. I wish I had Zeppa's courage...