by Vicki Skinner

Brydon Brancart with Shinga, the mask he created in Nepal. Photos: Vicki Skinner.

When Brydon Brancart, 17 years old and now a second-semester senior at Pescadero High School, was first looking for a semester abroad — maybe something in South America to improve his Spanish — it never occurred to him that he would end up carving a mask in Katmandu.

But then he investigated a program entitled “Where There Be Dragons,” which conducts experiential learning trips. According to the program’s website, dragons were used on ancient maps to indicate the unknown. And that was exactly why Brydon became interested in the Himalayan trip to Nepal. He said, “It appealed to me because it was something about which I had no knowledge. I had no idea what I was getting into and had no expectations.”

Brydon took four courses: Nepali language, comparative religions, cultural anthropology, and an independent study program (ISP). “Some people picked cultural aspects or politics, but a lot of people picked crafts. I picked masks,” Brydon said, showing me an immense, carved, terrifying-looking lion head. “Its name is Shinga, which is the Nepali word for lion, only it has horns. My parents were surprised when I got off the plane with it. They asked me where I bought it, and I said I made it.”

Brydon said that the program “believed in experience-based learning, so we went to a Tibetan Buddhist monastery for 10 days. It was a meditation retreat. The first six hours were spent in total silence. You woke up, had an hour of meditation, then breakfast.“ While Nepal is predominately a Hindu nation, apparently Buddhist nuns ran this program, conducted at a Buddhist monastery. Brydon laughed and said, “Yup, the nuns look the same as the monks, with the shaved heads, dressed all in red — except they were women.”

Everyone stayed with different host families, Brydon said. His family consisted of Amma (“mother” in Nepali), Hajur (grandmother), and two brothers whom he called Dhai and Bhai (little brother and big brother). “We got thrown in with them right away and the mother and grandmother didn’t speak a word of English. There was a lot of gesturing,” he said. The sons apparently went to British secondary school, so Brydon could converse with them when they were around.

What was the food like? “Well, for breakfast we had rice and lentils and for lunch we had lentils and rice, then we had lentils and rice for dinner,” Brydon said. “I lost 15 pounds.”

“Do you like lentils and rice?” I asked. “Sure I did — before,” he said.

I asked him to reflect on his experience. He said, “I was glad I didn’t have any preconceived notions of Nepal, so if cars broke down or I was chased by a rabid dog …”

I broke in: “Really rabid?”

“Well,“ he laughed, ”It could have been; all I know is there were dogs on every corner and they weren’t scared of people.”

He added, “I was sad to leave. You spend three months in constant contact with people, and then you go your separate ways.”

Now Brydon is back in Pescadero, finishing his second semester at Pescadero High School. His senior project is entitled “Free Trees for Pescadero.” He and the whole Brancart family have been involved for years in the planting of hundreds, if not thousands, of trees. He says, “Now I am going to document them and try experimenting with germination.“ He has applied to eight different schools from all over the country plus a number of UCs. His first choice is Reed, a small private school in Portland, Ore. By the time this article is published, he should know what his future holds. One thing is for sure: This young man will conquer dragons wherever he goes.