Life in Thimphu..."Thimphu Cute"

The next days were filled with orientation meetings and tourist trips. I was overwhelmed with how fast the days were going considering I was in an unknown place with people I barely knew at the time.

            As we visited offices like the Ministry of Education, I began to really get a feel for this amazing country and its incredible people that inhabited it. As I mentioned earlier, I had met the Minister of Education, but neglected to mention the Secretary, a woman named Aum Sangay Zam . She was one of the first personnel who I truly felt I could be myself around. I believe she appreciated it more as well. She was very open- minded and informed of us of her role in the Education sector. She also joined us for dinner right before we departed for our postings at the wonderful Dragon Roots hotel. She talked about the major difference that we are making and she was very encouraging in her words. I just think it’s remarkable that many of the Bhutanese people continue to thank us for coming and praising us for our efforts to improve the Bhutanese Education system. I mean, the more I communicate and become more acquainted with the natives, I am the one that is thankful for this opportunity. I have never in my life met so many open-minded, kind spirited people! In Buddhist nature, what they say is true, “See yourself in others; your happiness is based on the happiness of others.” I feel the way these individuals speak (with such passion) you feel that compassion with every word. She spoke of her sons that had traveled to the United States to attend Universities and how she herself felt no worries for her sons in such a foreign land. She was a great influence in that aspect. I would be worried about the negative influence America would have on my well brought up sons. HA! Propaganda of America can lead to devious nature in my opinion.

                I was also privileged enough to meet Lopen Lungten Jamtsho who plays a major role in the Language and National Cultural Institute in Bhutan. He spoke about the many aspects of Buddhism, enlightened me with many facts, and even supplied great quotes about what Buddhism really consist of. He talked about the past, present, and future Buddha’s, the (2) faces of Buddhism, and how to have control over your own mind. In his words,” Have control over your mind; do not be a servant of your own mind. Tame your mind and let it do what you want it to do.” His words were like a breath of fresh air. One always believes that they have control over their own mind and actions, but in Buddhist nature you have to LEARN to do so. Meditation and breathing exercises everyday for 5- 10 minutes cleanses all insecurities in the mind. I have been doing these exercises daily since I have been placed in Kanglung. I can honestly say that it has helped to clear and refresh each day before my mind is clouded with my many teaching duties.

                On top of meeting these influential people, we were privileged enough to partake in the many tourist activities in and around the capital of Thimphu! One such activity included our hike to Buddha Point. This was my first experience “trekking” into the hills of Bhutan.  The walk started very easy and our whole group was staying together like champs, but then one by one we all began separating. Three of our members had to result in staying at the hotel because of Bhutan Belly and many of our members had to walk at their own pace. This included me. While five of the thirteen that went on the hike trekked on in front of me, I continued on this trail alone. I was eventually accompanied by an old man and his grandson, who helped me to make it up steep short cuts to catch up to my group.  They would say, “Shortcut, Madam?” And if you know me, I don’t turn down any short cuts! They were very steep and even though I wanted to give up at times, like other members of the group…I made it up with the help of my fellow colleagues Tara and Martin. It was such an accomplishment and I felt so amazing after I accomplished the hike. We stayed in the ambience of this Buddha for about a ½ hour, because we had to meet Nancy Strickland for a spectacular feast at her home in Thimphu. After a half way stretch down the trails, I hitched a ride with Nema and Martha to Nancy’s humble residence.  We were greeted by architects and other influential people of Bhutan again! I couldn’t believe it! These people who basically develop, plan, and “run” this small country were taking time out of their busy schedules to meet with us! I began to think about if this was America, and foreign teachers came to teach (which they do all the time) NO ONE would receive this type of recognition. It just goes to show the type of people they are and how much they care about the well- being of their country! Also, I am sure they want to know who will be influencing their education system as well!

                I was also able to visit Taktsang  Goemba , which is the Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Paro, Bhutan. It was by far the most I have pushed myself and the most rewarding aspect of my Bhutan experience yet! (Besides meeting my students)  I was sore from the hike to Buddha point, but there was no way I was going to miss out of this beautiful once in a lifetime opportunity!  As I got off the bus and looked up at the mountain that seemed like hundreds of miles away….I thought there is no way I am going to make this! There were about 12 other tourist buses there with people all around us. Many of the individuals took a horse or donkey up the entire trek, but I decided I had to prove it to myself that I could do this. After 2 hours of strenuous, rocky, dirt road I had made it to the half way point. I was lucky enough to receive a call from home at the same time of our break. It was all my friends and family from back home and just hearing their voices motivated me even more to complete this journey. After a short break with Noorin and Delaine, we decided to take a horse the other half of the Trek and for only $8, I couldn’t turn it down! This was a little scary to say the least. We were riding straight up a mountain on horses that take this hike twice a day!  Reaching the top was never so sweet when you began to see others who were on their way down. We had made it finally! Only to have the monastery close for an hour! I almost burst into tears right then and there, but I looked around and I realized I MADE IT UP A MOUNTAIN!!! I was proud of myself either way and at least I was eye level with the Magnificent Tiger’s Nest!

During our last week of Thimphu fun, we were able to celebrate a colleague’s birthday, endure Dzongka lessons, and enjoy a very helpful cooking class with some of my favorite people here! All which were some of the most hilarious times I have spent here. For Simon’s birthday we decided to take up a collection of gifts from each person’s home country. Simon is from Australia and he said he had never spent his birthday in such a celebratory way. We presented him with a Diva Broche, an American flag, a Canadian pin, and many other stickers that were meant for our future students. He accepted all the gifts and thanked us graciously for making him feel so loved on his birthday! Looking “Thimphu cute” we spent the night out and about in downtown Thimphu. As we arrived, we see our logistics manager Karma there and we all enjoyed many laughs with him as well. To top off the night a Dave and Tara performed many songs in Simon’s honor on the main stage! It was so fun and we all sang along as our talented colleague Dave strummed up the most beautiful chords I had heard in a long time. It was great to hear some American favorites and hear our whole group singing along together. Tara and Dave both have such amazing voices that it made the night even better. America, Canada, the UK, and Australia took over that club that night and will never forget the many laughs we all shared together under the Bhutan moon.

 Dzongka lessons were a bit different to say the least.  Our instructor was not a teacher at all, but tried his best to help us with this language. In a group of 6 of us, and everyone knows it’s hard to “Teach teachers”, I felt bad for him. We were all asking too many questions, pronouncing things wrong, laughing at each other’s pronunciation efforts, and basically confusing him more than what he expected. I will not say that I did not learn any Dzongka from Sangay because I did, but I would suggest a lecturer for the future BCFers.

 The cooking classes were a much better success in my opinion. I was able to video tape the lesson on my flip camera and even today I use it as a reference to cook my many Bhutanese meals. Meena and the other women were very helpful in preparing the traditional foods that we have all grown to love so much. They even suggested the best places for us to purchase the spices, vegetables, and other needed ingredients. That night we shared a family style meal that we all contributed in making and to top it off they surprised Simon with a homemade chocolate cake with candles to celebrate his birthday! It was a great night, with great people.

The last 2 days in Thimphu flew by. With shopping, last minute errands, and money exchanges to be made, the departure date crept in before we knew it! After spending two weeks with these remarkable people I was very sad to leave the great group that easily became my Bhutan family. We would all depart together, but some of us were heading south so we would not get a chance to say final goodbye at our postings. We piled our many belongings in the lobby of the Dragon Roots hotel and we stared in wonderment of how all of these items were going to fit in our bus and in one truck. Thanks to Karma’s logistic sense everything fit and it was a sight to see! Eight refrigerators, twelve stoves, countless buckets (big and small), 12 rice cookers, 15 + rugs, and other items stuffed strategically in the two vehicles. It was a bittersweet goodbye to the ever so helpful staff and hotel manager,too. We piled into our school bus and waved goodbye the busy town of Thimphu. With Trongsa in our sights and soon to come Bumthang …I began to realize my journey was just starting. Kanglung I will see you in all your beauty in a short 5 days.