Bhutan: The last semester in review

I have returned to the blog (after having electricity be returned to me) and so would like to summarize how the rest of my year in Gasa at Bjishong Middle Secondary School was spent. There will be more detailed posts written later, about different things that occurred, good, bad, constructive, educational, and growing. There will be plenty of time (I will have nothing but time after returning home to the USA in a month) for all of that.
But right now, I am in shock that this is all over...that the year has come to a close, and most of the BCF friends are either home, in India, or Thailand, and that I am on my much anticipated, awaited, vacation with my mother to Phobjika, Trongsa, and Bumthang. Eventually, I will be able to reflect, and write more, but at the moment, I am just trying to deal with the reality of the end.
Much of life in Bhutan is spent, at least for me, "in the moment"...there are so many cultural things to learn, neighbors to befriend and get to know, students to teach, papers to grade, and of course the never-ending chores to do that I spent most of my time focused on the "here and now". However, now the "here and now" has become the "there and then" and I find myself a bit blindsided by the whole thing.
So for now I will give a summary, and let the details follow later...

August: August was perhaps one of the most difficult "learning curve" months for me, as I was adjusting to life with no electricity, and knowing that the lights were not coming back anytime soon. I thought I had adjusted to the rustic Bhutan living in the spring- and I had- but that was the living with lights situation. Now I had to learn everything over again....and get readjusted. For example, as in the beginning when I got adjusted to heating water with an immersion heater for a bucket bath, I got used to heating the water by the sun (filling the bucket the night before, taking it outside once it had become room temperature, leaving it outside all day, hoping one of the kids didn't knock it over as a joke, and showering as soon as I returned from school so it was still warm enough in the day to warm up....yes, it all was as tedious as it sounds) And yet, there were positives. The "peaceful" lifestyle that people tout exists in Bhutan really did come alive. I would teach all day, then go home, send a girl to the kitchen for boiled water, and sit on my porch, drinking hot water or tea, reading books, and writing in my journal. It was truly unique, and in some ways, lovely.

One of the best things about August were the incredible rainbows which would show up just as I walked home from school every day.

September: September was a lot of things for me. I actually filled an entirely of my 5 journals written here in September alone. It was when I really began to pursue the idea of staying here for the next year...as time went on, I was unable to envision myself leaving, which caused me to believe that I was meant to stay. It was when I came to the very hard choice that although I wanted to stay in Bhutan, I did not want to stay at Bjishong. I loved, really still do love, my school very much. But the situation of landslides and not having a safe way out had really impacted me, and having spent a significant amount of time in fear (along with friends and family fearing for me), decided that psychologically, I could not handle another monsoon at that location. Even if the devastation of this year did not repeat itself, I would spend monsoon an absolute nervous wreck, spending the months leading up to it in dread, and that I was unable to do. I also planned to still be in Bhutan, able to visit my friends at Bjishong whenever I pleased. At the end of September, I was able to spend a week at a volunteer workshop at Ability Bhutan Society, a wonderful NGO working with children with special needs in Thimphu. As I saw my educational ambitions begin to turn to special education, I began to envision myself continuing my time in Bhutan with this organization, helping them with the important groundbreaking work they are doing.
During my week there, I was shocked to learn of a tragedy unfolding out east, as one of the BCF teachers in Trashigang, Martha, had fallen suddenly, severely ill, and subsequently died on September 20th. This rocked the BCF community to its very core, and she is often thought of, and will always be remembered by all of us. It is an event that is painful to think of, and one that I do not, nor do I think I will ever, fully understand. One of my few regrets here is that I was unable to attend her cremation in Trashigang. Fortunately, many BCF teachers were able to attend, as well as (and most importantly, in my opinion) her students.

Our batch of BCF teachers at Dochula. This was the last time we were all together, and I am thankful it was such a beautiful, special, unforgettable day. Martha, we will never forget you, and may you rest in peace.

October: October has always been one of my favorite months at home, due to my favorite holiday of halloween. Although here did not have the halloween anticipation fever like the states, I did try to start some in my own ways, by having a trivia contest for all my classes and Literary Club to find out Miss Sarah's favorite holiday in the month of October (prizes awarded, of course). This was no easy feat, as we had no electricity so no one could access the internet during their non-existent IT classes. Within a few weeks, however, students from every class came forward with the correct information- "Halloween madam!! Its a puja in your country, last day of the month la. There is junkfruit! But why is it madam?". I later learned that these intrepid students had pestered other teachers who had internet phones to look up the information, in return for cleaning quarters or doing laundry. Now thats dedication.
And on the actual day, I gave out candy and prizes to all my classes. Along with the halloween, spooky theme, my friend Zam and I spent the month watching "Vampire Diaries" on her laptop, which she would covertly charge whenever they turned on the generator to teach class 10 IT or use the printer. Watching TV, since I hadn't gotten to do anything like that since June, was more fun then it had ever been. We also had our school picnic, which was the first time I really sensed the year might be coming to a close, but I blocked this sensation with all my might, as I wasn't willing to face it yet.

Me and my friends (L to R- Tsethen, Ugyen, Norbu, Zam, Tshering and me) at the school picnic.
LADIES I MISS YOU!!!!! 

November: The start of November came as a shock to me, as it was unbelievable it was finally here. I managed to obtain my own internet phone, and so slowly started to reconnect to the world outside of BMSS and Damji village. It went quickly, as the whole school threw itself into exam mode, prepping and studying, giving tests, and of course, the seemingly never-ending grading. At the end of the month, I went to Thimphu to collect my mother, excited and hardly believing that she was about to arrive in Bhutan.

My mother's arrival at Paro. She's watching me post this, and says she has no recollection of this being taken. It was a long trip, I suppose.

December: My mother arrived, and after a few days in Thimphu I took her up to Damji village where we spent a wonderful two weeks of finishing up the year, and she got to meet and spend time with my friends. I had envisioned and imagined this time all year, and it really did live up to all of my daydreamings. One of the highlights was going to National Day and getting to see the Dzong. On the 19th, I made my tearful goodbyes, and left school. My mother and I spent two days in Phobjika, watching black-necked cranes, 2 days in Trongsa getting to experience the Trongsa tsechu, and are now in Bumthang. We are staying at the River Lodge, and in accordance with my inability to comprehend the end of the year, it feels to me just like its July again, except much colder. Eventually reality will set in, but for the moment I'm letting it take its own time. Why? For the same reason that I wanted to take the rest of the time my visa allotted to stay in the country to travel and show my mom this beautiful country; I am not willing to say goodbye. But unfortunately I will have to. Due to a variety of circumstances, including issues with visas, I will not be able to stay in Bhutan for the beginning of next year. Instead, I will be taking a vacation around SE Asia, and then returning to the USA late January. And after that, I haven't the slightest. Its a foreign concept to me not to have a plan of what to do next, but I have learned a lot about letting things unfold how they may in my year spent here, and so am willing to apply that philosophy to my return home. I am sure I will find something, and will enjoy the rest and relaxation in the meantime.

National Day in Gasa. Note the absolutely gorgeous mountains.

Murphy's Law

Now is the time for me to eat my words of "writing every week" and " consistently keeping this blog updated about my life in Bhutan for my friends and family"

I will tell you the end result at the start, and then go through the chronology of events.
There is no longer a road to my placement and there is no longer electricity. It has been about 2 months since the loss of both, and things don't look like they are going to be fixed very soon.

Late June: We were entering the nitty-gritty of monsoon season, where you can't see more than 2 feet in front of your face (which the kids love because then you cannot monitor their SUPW properly), the clouds come into the classrooms unless you close the windows, and there is perpetual rain. Sometimes a light misting, sometimes torrential downpours, but rain. Every day. All day. In some places in country monsoon is not that dramatic, but this june, in southern Gasa, it was.
The torrential downpours led to landslides, which destroyed many things...but the most important were the paddy fields of Damji village (the village by my school) and the road to Gasa. The slides made the road impassible, and with the added twist of the fact that 2 bridges were completely swept away as rivers that used to be describable as "cute babbling brooks" were transformed into "raging whitewater". Fortunately the only casualties of life were a few cows. But it was horrible. One of our students got attacked by a very upset bull as she was trying to untie it to let it run away to avoid the slide, and several angis (grandmothers) in the village, after watching their family's ancestral land that was their key to feeding their families and making a living literally fall off the side of the village edge, have fallen very sick.
Along with the village, and the bridges, all of the electric poles were washed away as well, leaving us with no electricity. Fortunately, someone was able to repair the "shortcut" and we were able to escape for vacation. Considering that I spent the 2 weeks before vacation listening to landslides continue to fall, and to people telling us how the school was going to be buried in one and/or we were going to starve to death as no food could now be brought up to the school. Being told how your life is in danger and the very realistic reasons why is incredibly stressful.

Beginning of July: I had an absolutely wonderful and restful vacation, full of siteseeing, exploring new parts of Bhutan, and catching up with the wonderful BCF teachers who I have not seen since February. I will write more about it sometime. It was a blast.

End of July: I returned to my site, fording rivers, and climbing up landslides. Fortunately we had electricity. For 2 wonderful days. And then, on a perfectly dry sunny day, another slide destroyed enough of the electricity poles and routes to put us back where we were the day of the first landslide...and with even a less realistic chance of getting it fixed. The power company has wisely decided to create a new power line, but, as the Bhutanese say, "it will take some time"

Beginning of August: Same as July, no electricity. But the weirdest thing happened- I stopped caring about it. I stopped being upset, and miserable, and panicky. I developed a really nice routine, and began drawing again. I read voraciously, and go on long walks and just listen to the scenery. Now that people aren't saying our deaths are coming for us, and we don't hear landslides every day, this is honestly the most peaceful I have ever lived.

And, thats where and what I am these days. This is the situation, and the fact that I have learned how to survive, and possibly even thrive in this, is a great personal feat. I am in the city for the weekend, and will have my fill of western foods, TV, internet, and then I will return to my peace- my soundtrack of birds and wind and rain, and students singing their prayers for the meals. I will return to the ultimate comfort of being curled up reading a good book by candle light. This is a very special situation and time in my life, and I will never forget it. And now, I embrace it.

"You Are Halfway!"

This was the title of an email my friend Noorin and I received from fellow BCF teacher Andrea at the beginning of this week. And, it shocked me, although it really shouldn’t have. It was strange to see it in writing, but its true. Exams started 2 days ago, and after 2 weeks of them, we are on the much anticipated and awaited summer vacation…with a BCF retreat in Bumthang (a central district of the country, and somewhere I have never been) and whatever else we end up thinking of. If you haven’t noticed from my other blog posts, making detailed plans ahead of time isn’t really the Bhutanese way. It doesn’t really fit the culture- things are well prepared for, but many things happen at the last minute, or are long thought out decisions that lead to spur of the moment action. And not only is it cultural…sometimes its physically hard to plan stuff out beforehand in Bhutan. Roads wash out, an official is out-of-station, “what to do la?” as they say.

Along with setting exams and then the eventual grading that will come, we have to compile all of the continuous assessment (results from the assignments they have done all term) so there is still quite a bit of work in the next two and a half weeks. But, like all of the other BCF teachers I am sure, I am starting to think more and more about summer vacation, and the weird fact that I have been here for almost half my contract.

Its strange to think about…we’ve been here almost 5 months. In some ways, it feels like I have been here forever. I have become skilled at tying my kira, I can make palatable naja, and I eat rice and chilis for every meal. I even nod my head like the Bhutanese do (nodding the head from side to side instead of up and down). The villagers have stopped staring (even covertly) at me as I walk by or do my shopping- I am now part of the regular scenery, as uninteresting to them as the 10,000 foot peaks that surround us. Sometimes, I forget I’m not Bhutanese, and that I haven’t been here forever, nor will I stay forever.

And in other ways, I am shocked it’s been this long. I feel like the time has gone by so quickly, and I am curious if the second half of the year will be as fast. Looking back though, I feel like I have done a lot this term, at least academically. I hope the kids have learned. I can tell they have made progress, their speaking has improved considerably. I just hope it will appear that way on the exams. In a way though I am excited to see their mistakes, their weak points- I am searching for a main point to focus on next term (this term I primarily focused on the elements of a story, having them identify them for everything we read). I am leaning toward the writing process, and delving into how to write different kinds of texts. But, I am open to a new idea if it appears to me through my student’s exams.

Something my class 7 and 8 are looking forward to next term is our American Pen Friends. BCF has connected us with a teacher in Oregon, and we are now pen pals with her high school English classes. I had my kids write to them, and sent the letters at the start of the month, and with any luck they will be received by the time the American students return from the summer vacation in mid-August.

I admit, one of the main reasons my kids are pumped about this is because they will get to use the computer lab to type letters to their pen friends (as with the average of 2 months for snail mail, email is a godsend in this situation). They are understandably computer crazy, as no one has a computer at home (even electricity isn’t a guarantee for most of these kids) and the Internet fascinates them. However, they are genuinely curious about their new American friends and excited to hear from them. I think it will be fun for both sides. Although I think the American students will be a bit shocked by the Bhutanese style of writing. They are naturally very dramatic in their prose, and one boy wrote “Henceforth, my dear pen friend, I will go on trusting you as my friend until my death comes to me in my narrow bed” and many others also talked about their devotion to their new friend until they leave this life.

My class VIIIA showing their serious side

My class VIIIA showing their funny, more realistic side

The girls of VIIB

The boys of VIIB

All in all, I think the letters will be an interesting read, and it will certainly be an interesting project for the term.

Teacher's Day

On May 2^nd, we had a great Bhutanese holiday called Teacher’s Day. Personally, I think all countries should celebrate this day. Its like mother’s day or father’s day, but its for teachers!

Instead of classes, the students put on a nice presentation for us. We were all given some flowers (I hung mine to dry and now they are on my wall) and it was a day full of cultural dances and speeches by the students.

There were even some games that were thought up by the students for the teachers to play. Unsurprisingly, I was a high-in-demand participant. These were little competitions to see how quickly you and a partner could work together to do something, so also unsurprisingly I always caused my team to lose (under pressure, people speak their native language…its takes too long to translate. So, it took my team the time for the task plus the translation time).

At the end, the students invited (really, I mean cajoled) the teachers up to the stage for a traditional dance. My protests of “I’m not Bhutanese! I don’t know the steps! Stop nodding and pointing up there, I know you understand I just said no!” fell on deaf ears. However, I was worrying for nothing, for unlike the games, its really hard to spoil the traditional dance we did, as it consists of linking pinkie fingers, and stepping back and forth until the song is over. So, it was actually really enjoyable, and I had learned the whole thing by the end of it (so, at the next big event, hopefully we dance the same dance and I will know what to do).

After the presentations and speeches, we were all served lunch. It was, as usual delicious. Students came around giving us cards and little gifts. I had been warned by the other BCF teachers that sometimes kids give presents that you really don’t feel comfortable accepting because of the price (i.e. kiras and ghos), but I was lucky as all I got was a cup, and about 15 pens; perfect because they were inexpensive so I felt okay accepting them, and because I really needed pens.

Then came my favorite part of the day. At the lunch, the students from Class VIIB (the class I am the homeroom teacher for) invited me to our classroom for tea, along with Zam, my friend and the IT teacher. Well, I was very honored and excited for this, and was practically skipping over there. Zam had some “stomach paining” so didn’t join us (much to my class’s chagrin, I think they were hoping she would translate stuff for them so they could talk in Dzongkha; they often ask her to teach me “much Dzongkha quickly and nicely for miss sarah please madam!” and I think they are disappointed in my progress). However, we had a lovely time- the classroom was beautifully decorated, and I hope the girls were pleased that I came. I sat and tried to drink my way through 2 carafes of naja and one of suja (sweet tea and butter tea respectively) and ate about 50 biscuits. (I could go into a long post about Bhutanese manners and etiquette but let me leave it at they wouldn’t have wanted to drink tea with me as I was their guest and teacher- I promise I wasn’t being rude and greedy eating it all for myself!)

They sat and we got to have a nice chat; they asked me questions about the USA, whether I miss home, what is different about home, whether I like Bhutanese food, whether I like their class (something I am not surprised came up as we were having behavior issues that week….but I explained the concept of always loving someone or something even if its irritating, and hopefully it was understood).

In turn I asked them about their homes, what they thought of Bhutan, if they had ever been outside (the call going abroad here “going outside”…one had been to India across the border in phuntshoeling, but that was all), if they ever want to go outside, how long it takes them to get to school, what do hey want to do when they grow up, and what language do they speak at their homes (one girl is from the east so speaks sharchop….a language which I only know the word for foreigner, which they thought was hilarious). It really made me happy to be able to spend this little bit of time with them where I didn’t have to be teaching them a lesson.

My class VII students are a great bunch, and we spend a lot of time together since I am their homeroom teacher. And, they put up with a lot from me because I don’t know how the system works a lot of the time and being a homeroom teacher includes a lot of extra responsibilities. For example, assigning captains…instead of being able to assign them the first week like I was supposed to, they had to make a list of all the captains that the class needed (its like, 6 by the way…not as simple as it seems!) and what the job responsibilities for each captain were (there is class captain, logbook captain, furniture captain, decoration captain, etc…see I told you, not simple!) and explain it all to me in english (which is their second or third language) so that I could assign them. Needless to say, they have never-ending patience with their “western miss” and I really do appreciate it and them.

 The entry gate for the teachers, and the school captains prepared to hand us flowers

 The really big picture is of the 4th King

I am in shock that it is June, and we have another big celebration (for Sherig Century) on the way…so I am looking forward to that, and hopefully will be better about writing and write about it soon!

A Day in My Life

I address this topic in another blog post, but life here has become very regular and routine through my eyes, and I am afraid to say, when people ask how Bhutan is, I don’t have much of a response anymore besides “Oh, good. Busy. It’s fun”.

However, I am somewhat aware that although life here has become regular and routine to me, it is not to my friends and family at home. So, I thought I would give a detailed recounting of a regular day (15 May 2012).

The students are awoken at 5am, but I normally get up around 7. I start my water boiler, brush my teeth, and then put on my kira. I wear 1 kira a week, normally over a tee-shirt and shorts (was long pants or leggings until about a week ago)- and although we use the term kira for the whole outfit, its actually 3 pieces, a blouse called a wonju, a long skirt that’s the kira, and a jacket to cover the wonju and the top of the kira that is called a tego. When I am not wearing it, I keep it folded on a chair (you can see this week I have a black wonju, green tego, and black and blue kira. This one is wool, and is very, very warm, which is perfect for Gasa). By the time I’m dressed, my water is boiled, and I make a cup of coffee. Depending on whether I have leftover curry, I will either have rice or oatmeal for breakfast. I eat my breakfast and read a book, or look through the Bhutanese papers for articles for my students to study.

My room 

I walk to the academic block around 8am, and sign in, and then assembly is at 8:15. It begins with mindfulness, prayer, and then the national anthem. Next there will be some student speeches, today there were 2 on the topic of happiness, one was in English and one was in Dzongkha. Next the Teacher on Duty conducts the rest of assembly, reading announcements (today there was a reminder to the house captains to submit the names of the students who will be participating in the extemporaneous speech competition). Lastly there is a daily pledge (Tuesday’s pledge is about empathy and compassion) and then the students sing a traditional song.

I always have 1^st period with my homeroom, which is class 7b. Because I am their class teacher (as opposed to just their subject teacher) I have to take their attendance, and do other homeroom like duties. Today they had news corner where I read them an article from the newspaper and they identify the 5Ws, plus define new vocabulary.

Interval is the 15 minute break in between 3^rd and 4^th period, and it is kind of like a mini recess for the students, who can leave their classroom and go talk and play with their friends. The teachers take tea, and momos, which are made by our wonderful cooks in the mess hall. It is, without a doubt, the highlight of most days. I mean, its naja and momos, and not a lot can top those two things J

After interval I taught Class 6, and we are studying a story called “Flood Waters” about a family who is evacuating their home due to the flooding of the Mississippi river. We made lists of what we would save from our homes if a flood came. Most times, I read them the story, and explain each paragraph in detail, since a lot of the vocabulary is very hard for them, and its not feasible to learn 50-60 new words for a 3 page story in the 2 weeks we have allotted to study it. We also spend time making story maps, and identifying the different features of a short story, since that is what they are tested on.

After 4^th period is lunch, and I go home, and make rice and curry. Today I made potato and cheese curry with chilis and tomatoes as well. I will read a book, or watch some tv on my computer. Tuesdays are lucky days for me, and I don’t have class in the afternoon.

My lovely kitchen!

 Today I was a substitute for a teacher who was out of station, so I subbed in 7B. I took the free time I did have to grade assignments from my class 8, plan lessons for the next day, and to consolidate grade results for 7B from the quarterly exams. After 8^th period ends, the students have afternoon prayer, and I went home, and took a bucket bath.

This evening I plan to do some laundry, finish reading The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho, and call the lovely Reidi, who is another western teacher working in Bhutan. Sometimes a go down to visit my class at evening study and play go fish with them (it helps them pose English questions). Other times I go on walks with some of the other women teachers, or hang out with Zam and watch movies. I’m normally exhausted by the end of each day and end up going to bed no later then 10 or 10:30.

That’s my life in a nutshell.

My lovely shelf/windowsill with all of my books and calendar and lamp. its cozy :)

My scary water heater as I heat water for doing laundry

And as the weeks turn to months...

First off, I am sorry that I have been neglecting this blog. My intention (which remains) is to write about every week or so.

I cannot blame poor internet for not doing so. I have wifi. Yes, other BCFers, I have been hiding this from many of you because every time one of you finds out you look like, or sound like, you are going to murder me- but just remember, its like people who have good old regular broadband in the sense that when the power goes out-as mine did for 5 days last week- it’s even more useless then the bmobile data sticks.

Nor can I blame a ridiculously busy schedule (although the BCF teacher who has the largest courseload still manages to blog about the most out of any of us…Dave, you rock). Honestly, its slipped my mind here and there, and when it has crossed my mind, I haven’t had anything specific to write about (although there is a post coming up on the great Bhutanese holiday of teachers day) or I just haven’t been motivated to write at all. I have been rather lethargic of late…school is fine, but has been exhausting, and I often am in bed by 9:30 (and quite honestly, the last 45 minutes of that is waiting for the girls in the hostel to go to sleep first). It’s a terribly embarrassingly early time to go to sleep, especially in Bhutan where people are night owls, but I just can’t help it most of the time these days. I admit I also am not getting much rest on Sundays as I have been gone for many of the past few weekends to go visit the lovely Noorin in Kuru which is only 2-3 hours away- absolutely nothing by Bhutan standards.

And more than lethargy, my failure to write has also come from what I like to term mental immersion. We have been here 3 and a half months or so…and I consider myself used to the culture and environment. Not an expert on knowledge or practice, but definitely used to it. The stuff that would amaze me (both in good and bad ways) 2 months ago is just routine now. Some stuff is still perplexing and confusing as ever, but those events seems to occur only a few times a week now, compared to the beginning when they came a few times in an hour. I have talked to a few friends from home this week, who all eagerly ask me “How is Bhutan?!” and I find I don’t have much to say, besides the bland “Oh, its fine. Getting a little warmer. Just finished exams”. Of course there is so much more to here then that, but at this phase of my experience, I can’t really see past the normalcy.

Don’t get me wrong, things are good here- really good. I am happy, have made lovely friends and enjoy teaching and all of that. However, it also feels really normal. Regular. Ordinary. Not boring, of course, but normal. Its such a juxtaposition to describe such a special place in those words, but for the moment I can’t help it- that is what I see and feel. Maybe this will change soon, or maybe this is a stage in the cultural adaptation process that no one tells you about. In any case, its certainly not a negative one, but does shed light on why I have not been particularly vocal about things here lately. I try to write everything down in my journal…even stuff that seems bland and normal to me now, because I know to others it doesn’t, and I know when I leave and look back, everything I considered normal will seem strange and fascinating once again, like it did in the very beginning.

In counting down the months until my mother comes to visit (3.5!) I also came to the realization that I am 1/3 into the experience here. Which is kind of a weird thought; in a way it doesn’t feel that long. I was in Thimphu last weekend and everyone kept telling me it would feel strange because I hadn’t been to the city in 3 months. But it didn’t- it felt perfectly normal- the strange (and wonderful) part was getting to take a hot shower in my friend’s apartment and sit on a comfortable couch.

So, all in all, things are going along smoothly, and normally. And nothing seems odd anymore, which is an odd fact in itself. And the days turn to weeks and the weeks turn to months…I have finally realized a lot of the time here is gone already, which is unnerving. As my friend told me as he was about to leave Bhutan after being here for almost 2 years,

 “Enjoy the rest of your time, it will be over before you can say kuzuzangpo-la”

Books in Bhutan

An college friend of mine kept a running list on her blog of books she had read while in the peace corps. This inspired me, and I decided to do something similar- I now have a running list of books in my agenda. But as I really wanted to share my thoughts on some of these books, and none of my new Bhutanese friends have read them, I thought I would turn to my blog, and write about them here.

I have been in Bhutan for 12 weeks, and have been trying to read a book a week. Somehow I have come out to 12 books…even though I know some weeks I have read 2 or 3 and some weeks I have read nothing at all.

So here they are, my first 12 books in Bhutan, with a short review following the titles (some are no longer in my possession and I didn’t write down author names).

1. A Baby in a Backpack to Bhutan- this book is a memoir about an Australian woman who leaves her job in publishing, marries a man who works for a Rimpoche and ends up living in Bhutan with her baby for three months while he works on the film “Travelers and Magicians”. It’s a lovely book, and is an interesting and charming story of a family who leads a traveling lifestyle. It’s a very rosy book, and although it tells a lot about Bhutan, it is very obviously (at least to me, who has lived here 3 months) focusing on the positive aspects of the culture. In any case, it is a lovely read and I recommend it to those who are interested in knowing more about Bhutan. I also recommend watching the movie “Travelers and Magicians” as it is a fascinating film.

2. The Wedding- This is the sequel to “The Notebook”. Enough said.

3. Three Cups of Tea- (I am assuming most people know what this book is about). I enjoyed it, as I am learning first hand about teaching in schools that are full of students who know the value of education (when you are the first generation to receive education, you value it more. I imagine it’s like being the first person in your family to go to college, except on a bigger scale). However, what I have read about the controversy surrounding this book has tinged the positive effects.

4. Water for Elephants- I read this based off a recommendation given to me by my dear friend Russell (if you read my blog I love you!) over a year ago. It’s a pretty good book, and a very entertaining story. I have not seen the movie, so don’t know how it compares.

5. Lonely Planet: Bhutan- This book is a traveler’s guide, and was mainly useful when I had that long weekend in Thimphu with nothing to do but go to restaurants. But after reading it a few months into being here, it took on an even more interesting (and sometimes comedic) level. To get a similar effect, try to read a lonely planet book about your home country. It’s pretty funny.

6. Emma- I am addicted to my kindle, and one of the great things about ereaders is due to copyright laws you can get any book written before 1920(?) or some year around that, for free online. So, I have started to read the classics.

7. Great Expectations- See the explanation for 6

8. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer- This book is really adorable (so many high schools in the US make you read Huck Finn, but this one is much more enjoyable I think. Easier to read in any case). It reminded me of all the boys in my class VI, who are very naughty but very clever and are hard to scold because they make me laugh so much.

9. A Thousand Splendid Suns- A good read, but terribly depressing. I now will probably never read The Kite Runner, as I really don’t like books that are that depressing, no matter how good they are.

10. Under The Holy Lake- This is another memoir of someone’s experience in Bhutan; a Canadian teacher in the late 80s who was in eastern Bhutan for two years. I really enjoyed it, it was well written and I thought gave a very thorough, honest, and positive all at once portrayal of what life here for a foreign teacher 20 years ago must have been like (and its strong similarities to what life is like here today). Again, this is one I recommend to people who want to learn more about Bhutan, and especially what it is like to be a volunteer teacher in this country.

11. Friday Night Lights- I bought this book on amazon after watching the first season of the TV show that is based off it. The book is so, so, so much better. It’s a memoir/sociological observation of life in a small Texas town in the late 80s where football is the center of everyone’s lives. The observations of how the sport completely dominates everything from the school to the town is really disturbing, and how this lifestyle manages to irreparably damage the high school football players it idolizes is ironic and awful.

12. 11/22/63- I LOVED this book. The funny thing is I probably wouldn’t have felt this way about it had I not been here. Don’t get me wrong; its good in any setting, but certain themes really resonated with me. The main character is an English teacher, and he goes back in time to try and stop the Kennedy assassination. However, he has to stay in the past for years preparing for this, and along the way falls in love and creates this great life for himself as a teacher in a small Texas suburb of Dallas. Throughout the novel the main character goes through this internal debate of whether he wants to stay in the past or not- and how he comes around to feeling at home and really living a full and happy life there, even though he knows he could never really belong, and its not really his home. Plus, other characters have these debates with him about whether he is meant to be a teacher or not, which is a conversation I think every teacher (teaching abroad or not) has with themselves at one point or another. Anyhow, amazing book in my opinion, I recommend it.

The Chili Conundrum

I am encountering problems with the Bhutanese diet. But not the problems you would expect.

Let me preface this by explaining the basic Bhutanese diet to those who aren’t aware of it. Its rice and curries for all meals (the word in Dzongkha for rice is the same as the one for food…this causes whole new problems when the students didn’t see me with a 25 kg bag of rice and passed the word onto their friends, creating the fascinating and frightening rumor that the new English miss doesn’t eat food, and is starving herself here)

And as for the curries…they are primarily chili based. No, not with a lot of chili powder, but chopped up whole chilis (that aren’t deseeded). My friend Zam regularly puts 5-6 chilis in a curry, which is average. Remember, this is for each curry in a day…breakfast, lunch and dinner. The classic Bhutanese dish is called ema datsi, which is a curry of just chilis and cheese. (They also eat a lot of cheese with everything)

This is a small food market outside of a shop in Thimphu. The green things in the basket next to the tomatoes are not beans, but chilis

A common Bhutanese snack is called ezee, and is pretty much like salsa, but again, includes the added ingredient of chilis and seeds. It’s actually pretty good, but you definitely have to aim for the tomato and onion bits until you are used to the chilis.

These are momos, (served daily to the staff of my school at mid-morning break...one of the many perks here) smothered in ezee

Now a little bit about me; as my family and friends will attest, I have never been one to really enjoy spicy food. Don’t get me wrong, I am somewhat of an adventurous eater, and am willing to try anything, but have always gravitated to the minimal spice level of things on the menu. For example, my favorite food is sushi. I am an avid sushi eater…have been since about the start of college. My abilities for sushi eating are amazing and somewhat disturbing; I have been challenged and beaten one of my friends at sushi eating competition twice (completely kicked his ass) and to give you some frame of reference, he is a 6ft 3 inches full grown man. I admit I’m pretty obsessed and will have it at least 2x a week at home. But it was only in the past year that I ever started to add wasabi.

When I found out I was coming to Bhutan, I started to force myself to eat food that was spicier, to try and prepare myself for my diet here. And yes, I took this as a great excuse to go out for sushi and thai food as much as possible (ordering green curry at maximum spice level and adding whole blobs of wasabi to soy sauce with enthusiasm). And as fun as all of my preparations were, I knew deep down that nothing could really prepare me for the Bhutanese cuisine, and I was right.

For the first few weeks, food proved to be the greatest of challenges. I looked at each meal as an obstacle to be overcome- and developed some defensive ways of eating (grabbing more potatoes then chili pieces when eating kewa datsi, and trying to swallow chili pieces whole so I wouldn’t bite into them and spread the hot flavor through my mouth, to give 2 examples). Plus, there was the problem of when you finish anything, the Bhutanese (ever concerned with being good hosts) will harass you to eat more and more. Although I learned and used the polite mannerisms of refusal, it didn’t seem to work as well for me as a chillip as it did for the other Bhutanese I ate with.

Yes, I treated my life like an episode of Man vs. Food, and in many cases it was. But then something strange started to happen when I was a few weeks into my experience here…I started to enjoy the chilies in the dishes. I found myself avoiding them less. By 6 weeks I had started to buy chilies and was experimenting with adding it to my own curries- first 2 chilies a curry and then more and more until I was up to the Bhutanese average of 5-6 chilies per curry (although I deseed mine. I like to try to participate in the cultural norms as much as possible, but we all have our limits)

And then, the strangest and most frightening thing of all happened- I became addicted to the chilies, and found myself unable to make a curry without them. My diet now consists of rice and chili curry for all meals, which leads to the consumption of between 15 and 20 chilis daily. Its terrifying when you think about it, and I am beginning to experience symptoms of what the Bhutanese refer to as “chili overdose” which is when you eat too many and your hands and face start to tingle.

So I am making a conscious effort to reduce the chilies in my diet, although it is much harder then it sounds as I have become so accustomed to it. I suppose there is such a thing as getting too immersed in a culture- and in diet at least, I have had a case of “overadaptation”.

I don’t like to think of what will happen when I return home to a chili-free environment. I have already started to have nightmares of going to whole foods in search of ezee.

Cleaning Campaign

March 24th

This week was a busy one at school. We had rimdo, and then international water day, and international TB day. This was concluded by a cleaning campaign on Saturday afternoon. The 4 different houses were assigned to clean different areas around the school. I was assigned to help Singye house (Lion house) clean Damji village. I was particularly pleased that I was assigned to monitor this group, as Singye house has some of my most entertaining students in it, and I really wanted a chance to walk around Damji village, a place that I had only been to once before (it is only a km. away from the school and I pass it all the time on walks to shops but rarely go into it)The group did a good job, and collected a lot of litter.

Posters that different clubs made for international water day

Students at the presentation for cleaning campaign...a few people talked about the importance of cleaning campaign before the work began

Singye house holding up the banners that Mme. Yeshi made this week before heading out to clean Damji village

Students cleaning up Damji village

Damji village, one of the most picturesque villages in Bhutan (in my humble opinion)

School Rimdo

March 20th, 21st

For the past few days we have been having a rimdo (a religious event) for our school. Because this was such a large event, and there is so much to say about it, I will divide into parts.

Part 1: Expelling the Demons (a.k.a. How Miss Pema’s hair got burnt and why my kitchen table is covered in dirt)

After a day of preparation for the event, the Lama and monks arrived. This was a very important Lama and I was told he was the religious equivalent to the Dasho Dzongda of Gasa. The even began in the assembly hall with a lot of religious chanting. All of the students and staff were present. After a time of chanting, the mask dancers came. These are people who dress in costume with no shoes and have masks over their faces. They have the power to expel demons, and so are essential to the Rimdo, which is supposed to purify the school and get rid of all the badness for the new school year.

So the masked dancers began to dance. I have forgotten to mention that they are carrying flaming torches. They ran around the assembly hall with their fire, expelling demons. This was mildly terrifying to some of the students (while some absolutely loved it). More pressing was the fact that they wave the fire sticks around quite a bit, and people are in danger of burning their clothes/hair. I was able to shield my hair and face, but my neighbor Pema was not so lucky, and they burned a bit of her hair off.

After expelling the demons from the hall, they continued to the rest of the campus, paying particular attention to the hostels. We were told to open our doors so that they could go into our quarters and purify. The masked dancers would run through the room with the fire, followed by the lama who would throw stones and wood powder in the room (which we are not supposed to clean up for three days…so my room is very dirty at the moment). After the lama and the dancers left, Zam and I went through our rooms to check the results. Poor Pema’s bed was covered in the wood powder, but Zam’s room was spotless. As for me, my bed only got a little of it, but they dumped a ton on my table and bukari. After our inspection, we returned to the hall for the end of the ceremony, and a delicious dinner.

The masked dancers preparing to visit the different rooms

Part 2: Rimdo Day

The incense pit that was built for rimdo day and was kept burning all day

We got to sleep in the next day, and then went to the lower class block to see how the Rimdo was going. One classroom had been turned into an altar room for the Lama and the monks to perform the day’s ceremonies, and for people to offer things. Another classroom had been turned into a religious classroom of sorts, where monks sat and chanted all day. And a third room (Zam’s computer lab) had been turned into a makeshift kitchen, so that the teachers could be making tea and food for the lama and monks all day. Because they had to be chanting for most of the day, their throats got understandably tired, so they were provided with tea and juice throughout the day, along with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

My co-workers preparing sweet rice for the lama and monks

Some more co-workers enjoying a comedic moment as they waited for lunch

Throughout the day, people went into the altar room to offer clothes, food and money, and to sit and hear the lama and monks, and receive blessings. The teachers all received a nice blessing towards the end of the event (and now we are all wearing our blessing cords for good fortune for the next year). Other then that, I ate a lot of good food, played a little basketball, took a lot of pictures, and had a very enjoyable day. One very interesting thing that happened was one of the girls was possessed by a demon. She claimed to have seen the demon coming after her after the dancers expelled them from the hostel, and had been in hysterics all night, having hallucinations and dreams. Her friends took her to the lama to be blessed and hopefully cured. I haven’t heard any more about it, so I think it worked. It was one of the more unusual things I have observed here; I have seen several girls with fainting fits, but never anything like this.

The altar

After our blessing, we served dinner to the lama and the monks, and then received dinner ourselves. It was again, delicious. The teaching staff spent an enjoyable evening just drinking and eating and chatting, which was very nice. I think everyone had thoroughly enjoyed the Rimdo holiday, and was sufficiently tired as it had involved quite a bit of work for most of the staff. All in all, I thought it was a great 2 days.

My Greatest Challenge

People (both Bhutanese and friends from the west) often ask me about what is challenging about living in Bhutan. Most Bhutanese people assume my answer will be that it is too remote here and too cold (yes my BCF friends, I don’t know about you but I wear long underwear under my kira everyday), there are no western things around me, and that I must be homesick. My friends from the west assume the answer will be about the foreign foods, difference of language, lack of hot water, taking bucket baths, and not being able to depend on the electricity or water supply. I do not mind the remote environment, I am in no way bothered by cold weather (thanks Antarctica!), and although I miss my friends and family, I am not homesick. Coming here was the right decision for me. The challenges that first come to mind are the kinds that my western friends say- the physical ones. But after being at my placement for over a month, those are negligible if nonexistent now. I am used to the day-to-day life here.

So when asked today about the challenges, I got to thinking about deeper ones. Ones that aren’t easily overcome by time, or are simply physical. And I have come to the conclusion that the biggest challenge for me here is my own independence.

I am a very independent person. It is a simple fact about me, and it’s been that way as long as I can remember. I think I was born with it, like I was born blond. And like the blond, its noticeable. My independence has served me well over the years. I have never been afraid to take the plunge of a new adventure that will take me far away from anything familiar. It is what got me to a college ½ the country away. It is what got me to the bottom of the world in the Antarctic. And for all intensive purposes, it is what got me to Bhutan.

But now that I am here, my independent self has hit a bit of a wall. For the first time, I am having to depend on other people for really simple things, and its difficult! Someone helps me get dressed in the morning, whether its helping me fold my kira (BCF crew- I am trying one of the kiras with ties these days…its warmer, but much harder to get on!) or just fixing the collar of my taego and wonchu. People translate everything that is said for me (even the stuff said in English, which is hilarious and adorable), speak for me at meetings, help me light my bukari and supply firewood, and feed me any meal that I happen to be around for. It is all unbelievably kind and I feel so welcome and part of the Bjishong school family. All of this care is why I am not homesick.

But my independent soul is dying a little. I want to do these things myself- well, actually, I want to be able to do these things myself. I want to know how! I am in awe of these life skills that everyone here has, and feel like I missed out on some important life lessons.

But I am not expected to do things on my own, and after awhile, I figured out something important; No one is. Other people don’t need help tying kiras and lighting bukaris, but everyone helps each other constantly (such as fixing each others hair, getting tea for one another, and making food), and because I am part of their community now, they do the same for me. Because they come from this environment of interdependence its natural for them, but I find myself trying to do things on my own, or more often, feeling guilty that I am not being independent enough. In the beginning I felt bad I was leaning on others as much as I was, thinking it was special treatment I was receiving because I was a new teacher, and a western one. And a part of it was. But now that I have been here a little while and have participated in helping others in my own way, I have realized that I have stumbled onto a significant piece of culture- interdependence. And as I am trying to learn Dzongkha and how to eat the most blistering of ema datsi, I am trying to learn this.

This lesson is my greatest challenge here to date. But as with most difficult lessons, I believe it will also be one of the most rewarding.

His Majesty's Birthday

About a week after school started, it was His Majesty’s Birthday, on February 21^st. This is a national holiday, and really quite a big deal here in Bhutan. Everyone celebrates, and schools throw celebrations of their own. This year was particularly special because the main celebration for the entire Gasa district was not going to be at the Dzong (the center of government) like it always had been, but instead here at Bjishong school. The celebrations take a lot of practice in the first place (its what the kids spend their whole first week of school doing) but needless to say, we had to prepare even more than usual since we were the hosts for the whole district (or so I inferred).

This was a dance performance by some of our younger students. And it was the cutest thing I have seen since baby seals in Antarctica. I have a video of it as well...if I am ever blessed with high speed internet I will post it.

The start of the celebration with the students marching

Having never celebrated His Majesty’s Birthday before, I really didn’t know what to expect, and I had nothing to compare it to, but I think it was spectacular. There was a presentation of dances, both cultural and traditional, and some with modern twists. Layap people came down for the celebration, so we got to see some of their traditional dances as well.

Some of the Layap people performing their traditional dance

As strange as it is to see people just preparing for this event for a week straight instead of having classes, I really liked the result. I think it is fortunate that His Majesty’s Birthday falls so early on in the school year, because it is a great way to start it, with an event that everyone is so enthusiastic about. Coincidentally, the 22^nd and 23^rd of February were Losar, which is Bhutanese New Year, so we had those days off- I got to go down to Punakha and see Noorin, and it was a lovely relaxing break before the start of the academic year.