166:, Canada under the care of her paternal grandparents, as her parents had separated when she was two years old; her decision not to pursue a doctoral degree in English but take up a job as an English lecturer on a two-year assignment in a school in Bhutan. in response to an ad posted by the World University Service of Canada; her grandfather's skepticism about her taking up this assignment in an alien land, her departure from Canada and arriving at the
197:" (furtive entry into a girl's house in the night), "vomit-comet" (journey in a bus which stinks), "from scabies to rabies" (health conditions) and "Dysentery Danishes" (about the type of food they get). She gives vivid account of facts and events that happened during her teaching assignment at the Sherubtse College, located in
110:. Zeppa took up an assignment for two years. Initially she started writing a fiction based on her experience there, but she was suggested to write it in memoir form and she took the advice. The book was first published in 1999. The title of the book is derived from an expression of thankfulness in the
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Laurie Park, in the review published in the "Story Circle Book
Reviews", has observed that Zeppa's narration, well presented, is not only absorbing but also amusing. Park, tracing Zeppa's background of living in Canada, states that the description of her early stages of stay in Bhutan with misgivings
27:
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Laurie also observes that Zeppa's writings juxtaposing her previous life to her acquired experience in mystic Bhutan resonates with readers perceptions after reading the book. According to Laurie, she brings out her views on the political uncertainty in the country, which was a contrast to her own
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is much more than a travel book. It is an effort to bring out her experience in Bhutan working as a teacher in the land of blind beliefs in ghosts and bad omens and supernatural forces". Waters notes that "Zeppa, with her literary talent, presents her personal experience in Bhutan in a prose that
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Zeppa dedicates the book to her grandfather
Patrick Raymond Zeppa and her grandmother Florence Alize Zeppa, who were immigrants from Poland settled in Canada. It is her first book on her experiences of working as a lecturer in English in a school in Bhutan, the tantric Buddhist kingdom in eastern
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brings out the spiritual atmosphere of devotees turning the
Buddhist prayer wheels in a pervading religious setting of burning of incense and lighted yak-butter lamps". Waters also comments that Zeppa's language "has a rhythm with hymns chanted by the monks and brings out the ethos of the
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Zeppa's telling of her clumsy attempts to adapt rings with sincerity and inspires sincerity.... {Her} lucid descriptions of the craggy terrain and hones respect for the daily struggles of the natives bring the tiny land to life in a way that is reverent but real. A lively
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Himalayas. She provides extensive knowledge about the country which till the early 1960s was not even connected by road links and was dependent only on barter trade, and its people were ruled by a king. The book is divided into six chapters (
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Zeppa's book has been translated into seven languages. It has been published in ten countries. In 1999, she was the recipient of the Banff
Mountain Book Festival Award for her book.
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found the book alluring and Zeppa's ardor for Bhutan and its people very miasmic and provides insight of her involvement with the exciting
Bhutanese culture.
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In the subsequent chapters she narrates about the
Himalayan topography of the isolated valleys, the Bhutanese people, history of
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345:"Romancing the world ; Some fine Canadian outings add an extra lustre to a bounty of splendid travel books (book review".
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and his teachings. She also explains the experiences of fellow teachers from foreign countries with humorous epithets like "
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of shamanistic beliefs, their social customs, etiquette, food habits, poor hygienic conditions, her posting in the
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village near
Trashigang; this college, the first in Bhutan, had been established by the Jesuit priest Father
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is a contrast to her later narration of her personal involvement with the culture of the country.
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cultural upbringing, and then her own personal association followed by conversion to
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Ramstad, Evan (10 September 1999). "Beyond the Sky and Earth (book review)".
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Mayhew, Bradley; Brown, Lindsay; Mahapatra, Anirban (1 June 2012).
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in eastern Bhutan, her love life and so forth. She explains about
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in the country, the religious affiliation of the people to the
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which means "I am thankful to you beyond the earth and sky".
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of her experience working as a lecturer in
English at the
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The book received mainly positive reviews. According to
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545:"Beyond the Sky and the Earth::A Journey into Bhutan"
512:"Travel literature review: Beyond the Sky and Earth"
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380:"Travel literature review: Beyond the Sky and Earth"
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Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan
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Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan
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170:in Bhutan after a bumpy air journey.
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499:Mayhew, Brown & Mahapatra 2012
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322:. 25 October 2012. Archived from
286:Goodheart, Adam (6 June 1999).
609:Sharma, Seema (18 June 2014).
1:
636:. Penguin Publishing Group.
219:Beyond the Sky and the Earth
155:) followed by a postscript.
56:The Berkley Publishing Group
630:Zeppa, Jamie (1 May 2000).
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549:storycirclebookreviews.org
434:"National Best-sellers".
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20:Beyond the Sky and Earth
255:review, it was written—
226:theory of the country".
81:Beyond the Sky and Earth
16:1999 book by Jamie Zeppa
365:The Wall Street Journal
145:Peak of Higher Learning
661:2009 non-fiction books
288:"Travel (book review)"
262:
158:In the first chapter,
257:
591:Lonely Planet Bhutan
60:Penguin Putnam, Inc.
238:and its practices.
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681:Books about Bhutan
420:The Ottawa Citizen
292:The New York Times
112:Bhutanese language
676:Sherubtse College
671:Culture of Bhutan
643:978-1-101-17420-3
622:978-81-291-3432-5
601:978-1-74220-456-7
594:. Lonely Planet.
477:, pp. 12–20.
252:Publishers Weekly
183:Sherubtse College
122:bestseller list.
100:Sherubtse College
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72:978-1-101-17420-3
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440:. 26 June 1999.
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612:India Junction
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437:Calgary Herald
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423:. 4 July 1999.
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351:. 30 May 1999.
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243:Kirkus Reviews
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205:in the 1970s.
203:William Mackey
141:Movement Order
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516:Lonely Planet
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582:Bibliography
574:, p. 3.
552:. Retrieved
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524:. Retrieved
520:the original
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388:. Retrieved
384:the original
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348:Toronto Star
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324:the original
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295:. Retrieved
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217:, "the book
215:Steve Waters
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179:Bon religion
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168:Paro Airport
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405:Sharma 2014
149:Involvement
118:was on the
106:in eastern
96:Jamie Zeppa
94:written by
38:Jamie Zeppa
655:Categories
572:Zeppa 2000
487:Zeppa 2000
475:Zeppa 2000
463:Zeppa 2000
451:Zeppa 2000
273:References
187:Trashigang
104:Trashigang
320:Saultstar
209:Reception
120:Maclean's
52:Publisher
44:Published
615:. Rupa.
390:17 March
330:17 March
236:Buddhism
199:Kanglung
175:Buddhism
137:Entrance
297:17 July
249:In the
164:Toronto
160:Arrival
133:Arrival
126:Content
640:
619:
598:
265:Awards
191:Buddha
108:Bhutan
92:memoir
34:Author
554:7 May
526:7 May
260:tale.
224:karma
185:near
102:near
90:is a
638:ISBN
617:ISBN
596:ISBN
556:2015
528:2015
392:2015
332:2015
299:2019
153:Love
151:and
67:ISBN
47:1999
84:or
657::
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307:^
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604:.
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334:.
301:.
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