I hope you liked the pictures from the Tiger's Nest hike. I was so tired all I could do was upload them. The hike was pretty demanding. My goal was to reach the cafeteria, which is halfway. I was able to reach it and met up with some others from our group. Three of us ended up taking horses the rest of the way up. I have never ridden a horse and it was so much fun! Everybody assumes that all Texans ride - I had to come halfway around the world to do it! Unfortunately, we arrived too late to go the rest of the way, but what an experience nonetheless.
Jan 31st - Today Vicki, Ian, and Scott from the 2011 BCF class joined us to talk about their experiences and answer our questions. Yea! They were very funny and informative. Then this evening we divided into two groups and half went to the BCF office for a cooking lesson and half stayed at Dragons Roots for a language lesson. I was in the cooking group. We had a nice evening out and the food was excellent.

Probably, the most important lesson I have learned (or am in the process of learning) so far is that no one can tell you exactly what to expect because everyone's experiences are different. Patience, Grasshopper! Keep your prayers and good wishes coming.



 

Tiger's Nest hike

Out and About

Pictures of the view from my window at the Dragon Roots Hotel.

Saturday evening - Today we were headed out on a hike to Buddha Point. Some of our crew is sick and were unable to come. I was winded after just a little bit and stayed with Sarah, one of the young ladies that is not feeling well. We lost sight of the others and headed off in the direction we thought they had taken. After quite a walk in what ended up being the wrong direction, we decided to head back down to the hotel. Sarah laid down and after 30 minutes I woke her so we could head out to lunch at Nancy Strickland's house. Sarah ended up not being able to go, so I headed off on my own. I had missed the tour of the city and hadn't a clue how far her house was, but I had a map. I got lost and ended up on the patio of a dad and daughter cutting tinder for their fire. I threw up my hands and said, "I am lost! Can you help me?" I showed him the map and pointed to the BCF office. "BCF, Bhutan Canada Foundation, are you a teacher?" I was floored! "Yes, from the U.S.", and we carried on this way for a bit as I told him about my posting. Then the gentleman led me off his patio and pointed to a field at the top of some steps, "Do you see the ladder by the water tanks? You will climb it and go over the wall then you are on the right street. Go down, but not too far because you will get to the highway and be really lost!" I thanked him and walked up to the field where four little boys were playing. "Hello, hello!", they all said. I couldn't see how to get to the ladder so the boys showed me the (very steep) trail and then continued to giggle as I made my way up and over the wall. Making sure I did not go too far, I finally found BCF and proceeded up the wrong way again!!! On another patio again asking help, I said, "Nancy Strickland's house?" "Yes, yes, right this way and the lady lead me to Nancy's backyard where I emerged from the trees and was greeted by Nancy herself. We had a wonderful lunch and enjoyed speaking with her other guest; a senator, a landscape architect, and teacher from the teacher's college.
Later, we went shopping for our supplies which is another story all by itself. Tonight, three of our teachers were taken to the hospital to get checked out.

Greetings from Thimphu

January 24th was the Day of Offering, a holiday similar to our Thanksgiving where families gather together. One activity the men might enjoy that day is a friendly archery competition. We actually were able to watch some gentlemen doing just that on a quick walk around the city of Paro. Archery is a national sport and Bhutan will send a team to the Olympics. We found out from Karma Tshering, BCF's Office Manager, our man about town and avid archer, the rules for Olympic competition are different from the Bhutanese rules - they are much easier!
25th - This morning we met with the Minister of Education, Thakur S Powdyel and the Secretary of Education, Aum Sangay Zam. The Secretary greeted each of us personally and told us a little about the school where we are posted. What an inspirational speaker the Minister is, he made us all feel so welcome and spoke so lovingly about his view of education! He spoke to us about the history of education in Bhutan, the aims for the future, and what our part would be in the coming year. It was so good to hear someone speak about teachers in a good way. My teacher friends - this is why I came to Bhutan: Teaching is a profession where one makes a difference every time something new has been taught and learned. The teaching/learning of a thing changes the life of that child and in turn the world forever. (my own paraphrase of the Minister's words)

On a personal note, Blog Followers, I must apologize for my spelling of Bahrain in the first post - that was my Texas accent coming out! Actually, I was just fooling around trying to set up my blog and didn't check the spelling, that's my reason but not a good excuse.
All the worry about the weight restrictions on our baggage turned out not to be that big of a deal at all if you paid the extra to get the business class ticket. Still it was probably good to have some kind of restriction as we would all have had too much from home! I am still trying to get acclimated. I ended up missing a tour of the town today as I was under the weather. I think the medicine I am taking for malaria is making me feel unwell, so I'm going to try taking it at night.
The scenery reminds me of Colorado, especially like a ski resort town that is nestled in the mountains. We are walking around with light jackets and the sun is shining. It is just beautiful! On the other hand in Paro (not as much in Thimphu) there was trash on the ground, mainly plastics, which are not burned.

Traveling Back in Time While Touring Bhutan

Getting Ready

January 7, 2012

Welcome to my initial blogging effort! With thirteen days to go until I leave for Bhutan, things are starting to get crazy. Yesterday I received my flight itinerary from the Bhutan Canada Foundation - I have a six hour layover in Bu rain! My first response was six hours???, then it dawned on  me to wonder where in the world is Bu rain. This whole trip is going to be a terrific geography lesson. From there it is on to Bangkok, then Paro.
We then spend two weeks in Thimphu for orientation and shopping trips to buy all the furnishings for our housing.
None of this would have been possible without all of you! Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support.