Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon

With a high degree of excitement, I set off with a group of friends in January 2011 for Myanmar, or, as we knew it in geography class, Burma. Buddhist shrines and temples seemed to be everywhere, and monks with saffron robes carried food containers as they passed us on the roads. Boys there enter the monastery when they turn 12 or 13. After three months, they can decide if the religious life is for them. The commitment to become a monk is arduous, and many leave after the requisite three months following their enrollment. While at the monastery, the children are taught to read and write and are given room and board in exchange for their service to the monastery. Pictured above: Two young monks walk the grounds of Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, the most sacred Buddhist shrine in Myanmar.

 — NELSON BURACK, Melville, NY