Student Profile: Bibek Lama

Bibek Lama is one of the quietest kids in the hostel, and in the whole school. The picture above is a rare shot of Bibek Lama in the wild and when he's actually looking right at the camera. I usually don't have trouble talking to him, but today for some reason the idea of an interview made him even more reserved than usual. Bibek loves to draw, and I see him doing it most often in class. I don't say anything because I think it helps him to concentrate. He seems to love doing graffiti-type drawings in his notebooks the most.

Bibek is a tenacious football player, and one of my favorites to play with because he and I both love to play defense. He is often drifting off into the clouds or into his drawings, or coming up with creative ideas like using a vine as a dog leash for a stray. Here is the, not-normally-this-timid dreamer, Bibek Lama.

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Me: Can you introduce yourself?

Bibek: My name is Bibek Lama, I study in Stephens International School in grade 5. I have six family members in a place called Sanepa. I have studied here for two years at Stephens International School.

Me: Who are the 6 people you live with?

Bibek: My sister Bibika, my mom, my dad, my grandma, and grandpa

He is quite athletic. Note the "physical concentration" face

Me: What do you like about Stephens?

Bibek: The environment.

Me: The environment?

Bibek: There are trees… umm…

Me: Ok, relax Bibek, take a breath. This isn’t for school. If you could change two things about Stephens, what would you change?

Bibek: I would like to change the grounds by replacing the walls… It’s too small. I want to keep more buildings for some libraries and a science lab. And I want to put in more classes.

Me: What’s your favorite subject?

Bibek: Only one? Ok…science.

Me: That was my guess, since you want to build science labs. Why do you like science?

Bibek: Because it is…it is…truth?

Me: What is the last thing you sleep about, sorry, the last thing you think about before you go to sleep?

Bibek: My mom and dad.

 

Me: Do you miss them? What village are you from?

Bibek: Yes. Tamang, near Kathmandu.

Me: What is your religion?

Bibek: Um, Sir? Tamang.

Me: No, no, what religion are you? Like Asoke Sir is Christian, Karan is Chettri…

Bibek: Buddhist.

Me: What’s your favorite holiday?

Bibek: Lhosar. It’s our main festival. We play, and we pray to our gods, and we eat. A lot.

Me: What do you play? What do you eat?

Bibek: Sir, simple like football… anything. We eat fishes, green vegetables, rice, pulses.

Me: What’s your favorite song?

Bibek: Gangam Style

Me: [Laughing] Ok, if you could say something and the whole world could hear you, what would you say?

Bibek: I would say we should help the poor people. We should not throw the garbages anywhere we want. We should not cut the trees more.

Me: I know you like to draw, you draw all the time in class. What do you like to draw the most?

Bibek: Sir, just…imagining. Things I think about.

Me: What’s your favorite sport?

The opposite of Aaditi Thakuri, Bibek rarely looks at or
notices cameras

Bibek: Soccer.

Me: Ok my friends know facts about Nepal but they don’t know what it’s like to walk down the street in Kathmandu. Can you teach my friends something about Nepal that they couldn’t read about?

Bibek: …Um… About the rivers?

Me: Anything you want to share!

Bibek: Temples and forests? They are different from other countries… Temples some of them are small, some of them are huge…

Me: And who goes there?

Bibek: Sir, mostly tourists... And some people for enjoying there, for their temple.

Me: What do you want to do when you grow up?

Bibek: I want to develop my country by keeping some rules and regulations.

Me: Ok is there anything you want to share to my American friends and family before you go back outside?

Bibek: I want to ask… how are the habits of your people?

Me: Like what? What do you want to know about?

Bibek: I want to know about rules… what rules they have. Um… how they can develop their countries?

Me: Good, so you can travel around and get an idea about rules and development and come back to Nepal. Cool. Alright Bibek, this was tough, you need to loosen up a bit, since when do you call me “Sir” that much? Thanks, though. Go have fun.

Bibek: Thank you Sir.