Jamie Zeppa

written in the 1990's, no internet, cell phones or global economy yet. Jamie is at a cross-roads in Canada. She sees an ad for English teachers in Bhutan and thinks why not? Massive culture shock in a land that's very mountainous and the people very poor - but she discovers that they are content. She is then posted to a larger school, where there are more amenities, but still very primitive. And she falls in love with the country and one of the students. In the end, she returns pregnant to deliver her child in Canada, but moves back in the end and marries her lover.… (altro)

At age 24 Jamie Zeppa, a Canadian who had never been outside of North America, said goodbye to her fiancé and her plans for graduate school and moved to Bhutan, a remote Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas.

Beyond the Sky and the Earth is an autobiographical work that details her experiences and transformations after spending three years in Bhutan. It is as much a book about Zeppa's day-to-day life in Bhutan as it is about the personal awakenings and realizations that she had while living there.

Visitors to Bhutan, an increasingly hot tourist destination, are still few and far between, largely because of tight government restrictions on entry, visa requirements, and a law requiring tourists to spend at least $200 a day there. There aren't many books on Bhutan, and even fewer first-hand accounts of life there. Beyond the Sky and the Earth stands out as both an informative introduction to the people and culture of Bhutan and as a beautiful piece of travel literature set against the backdrop of one of the most remote and unspoiled places on earth.… (altro)