I am Benedikt, 15 years old and I was born in Dharamsala but my father comes from Austria and my mother from Germany. I have been living here in this community of Indians, Tibetan refugees as well as westerners since the first days of my life.

I have been a TCV student since kindergarten. The main reason why I am in TCV is because my parents live here since 20 years and my father runs a travel business. All my siblings were born here as well. My eldest brother finished his schooling in Austria, but my second eldest one has just graduated from class in TCV.

I myself am presently in class nine and I am having a good time with my fellow classmates that I have known for many years. I never had any problem with making friends in school. Actually I don't feel left out as a non-Tibetan in TCV as I have been here since the very beginning. I can't really remember my first years in school as I was a small kid at that time, but my memories of the beginning seem like pleasant ones. I never felt discriminated, something which happens in other schools, so I hear from friends. Looking back, I remember happy times as well as difficult times.

I see myself playing hide and seek in the classroom, table tennis during break time, trekking to Triund (only once in all these years, such a pity!) etc. On the other hand, there were tough issues in this school such as learning Tibetan, which was not only difficult for me but for my Tibetan friends as well. One thing I never understood was why we had such few fun activities such as P.T, once a week only. This was even cut down when the exams were approaching, a time when we needed it most.

Having grown up in the community, spending most of the day in school, I speak Tibetan almost better than my mother tongue. But it's not only that I speak Tibetan, I feel and think Tibetan.

I would like to thank the village update for giving me a chance to share my experiences in TCV.