wEeK oNe ApRiL 2015
THE PROMPTS FOR THE
WEEK
MONDAY 6th
A SHAPE: I just love the shapes involved in creating these “toma” They are
butter sculptures produced by monks and this particular one is huge with the
shot only showing a small detail of it. It is still in very good condition and
has been in the upstairs resource centre since our purification ritual almost 2
weeks ago. The whole item is shown below
TUESDAY 7TH
BEAUTY: There is real beauty in the whole school engaging in a shared reading
program and older students becoming peer partners and relishing their role in
teaching youngers ones the joy of books. Today we started the shared reading
program, I designed for the national year of reading and it was a delight to
see scenes like this all over the school for over an hour.
WEDNESDAY 8TH
BREAKFAST: the breakfast I had this morning like almost every other winter
morning was of porridge and black coffee what a contrast it makes compared to
the one I remember best from our recent trip to Australia. The everyday versus
the exceptional!
THURSDAY 9TH
INSPIRED: I stumbled across this scene before school today We in the west might
describe it as a "clothing malfunction" What I loved was the way
these senior students came to her rescue and took the matter lovingly in hand
and solved it: no fuss no bother. When I asked them she wasn't the sister of
any one of them just a little kid who needed a bit of assistance. The ethos at
Druk School shines through. This inspired me to go on believing, it's the
little acts of kindness that can really change the world.
FRIDAY 10TH
DARK: At the end of the school day we usually assemble on the grounds for
evening prayers and today as the prayers were being chanted ominous, dark
clouds rolled in.
SATURDAY 11TH
THIS SMELLS SO GOOD: Right now the
wisteria is glorious in Thimphu and there is so much in bloom that you can
actually smell it as you walk down the streets. This smells so good I don’t
know why I have never noticed the scent before
SUNDAY 12TH
SOMETHING GREEN: This is a few days late
because I have been waiting for the tailor and the right day to wear it. Green
is just about my least favourite colour and I don’t think it suits me but at
Druk we have Green Day every Wednesday and that means we have to wear green for
environmental awareness and we also have to have something green in our
lunch-boxes on that day to encourage healthy eating. It is a good initiative so
I am complying. I was given the fabric for this new tego (jacket) by a new friend
and colleague and I actually really like the colour so the day this was the
prompt I took it to the tailor and got my new tego made, ready for the
following Wednesday (15/4- today). I love the fact that my eyes turn the same
shade of green when I wear it too. Thanks Anjana
wEeK tWo ApRiL
2015
THE PROMPTS FOR THE
WEEK
MONDAY 13th
PAPER: These beautiful origami papers are to create cranes with the classes
that are reading “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes” as a part of the
reading challenge, I am doing with some of the senior classes in my school. I
simply love this book and I have left copies in school libraries on 3
continents now. I am glad to say the many children I have introduced it too
seem to love it as much as I do
TUESDAY 14TH
UP: At Druk School Garfield guides the little ones up the stairs to their
classrooms and encourages everyone to use the left side of the stairs so we’ll
be accident and injury free
WEDNESDAY 15TH
DINNER: mixed vegetables with tofu on rice is a regular, weeknight dinner in
our place and it is just about always that Ian gets it on the table. Where would
I be without him?
THURSDAY 16TH
WHERE I WORK: we do mindfulness training frequently and always at assemblies.
This morning I noticed even the PP classes now know the correct stance and
adopt the position when instructed. I am still in love with the way these
little ones engage and interact at school
FRIDAY 17TH
AN ORDINARY MOMENT: being in a meeting is unfortunately a very ordinary moment
that is often repeated if we really want to get things right and keep moving
forward with school events and daily routines
SATURDAY 18TH
FLUFFY: A latte, the coffee I most often consume after a working day. It was
prepared with love and decorated with a heart to prove it and it has all that
fluffy milk on top. That and the raisin cakes were just what I needed after a
long, tiring day of exams and graduation practice in the rain today: sometimes
Ambient Café is a haven
SUNDAY 19TH
TOGETHER: It took a lot of work together to pull off today’s Graduation Day
celebration and there were ample opportunities for shots of people getting
together and working together but at the end of the day it was this one with
some of the hardest working and quietly committed and efficient staff sitting
in the shade together at reflection meeting, when it was all over that most
took my fancy. Still smiling and looking serene after at 7am start on Sunday.
What a team!
wEeK
tHrEe ApRiL 2015
THE PROMPTS FOR THE
WEEK
MONDAY 20th
THIS HAPPENED: By emptying the contents of the lost and found box onto a mat
today and making it look like a jumble sale, a lot of kids and parents came
‘shopping’ for their own possessions. We almost managed to get everyone’s
things back to them
TUESDAY 21ST
SEASON: this is the season of blue skies, black clouds rolling in, torrential
rains, spring flowers and snow capped mountains still visible in the distance.
It’s the season of not knowing what season it is or wants to be.
WEDNESDAY 22ND
MESS: Today at the Sports Day practice the PP classes were doing a synchronized
drill and it did get into a bit of a mess but since they are so adorable and
they were trying their best we just let them have their 5 minute of fame before
the arrival of the rain.
THURSDAY 23RD
SNACK: back in the same favourite café and this time with an excuse to buy a
snack just to snap the shot. Ambient Café fave with expats!!
FRIDAY 24TH
FILL THE FRAME: This tulip is about to lose its petals it is open so wide but
it is still very striking when its fills the frame: just not quite as striking
as the HM Ashi Jetsun Pema the queen of Bhutan after whom it is named.
SATURDAY 25TH
I SAT HERE: In the rain at Sports Day I sat here: - at the recorders’ table
under an umbrella and right next to the winning House’s Trophy. I was writing
first place certificates all morning and feeling extremely lucky to be dry when
most of my colleagues were drenched.
SUNDAY 26TH 4’OCLOCK: We moved apartments today and set ourselves the task of having everything in place and livable by 4pm. OK it was only a 5 metres across the hall move but we had reinstated everything in mirror image of how it used to be and were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves by 4 o’clock. Why would you do that you might ask? Well we love the location and the apartment but a new construction is going on in the adjacent block and that will eventually remove our view so now we get the keep the view, live in an apartment that is in better condition and see and hear less of the construction! Win, Win, WIN!
wEeK fOuR
ApRiL 2015
THE PROMPTS FOR THE
WEEK
MONDAY 27TH
IN MY BEDROOM: We have just relocated everything but I did love the décor in
our apartment so it remains the same and still by far my favourite thing in my
bedroom is the Yathra woolen weaving we bought in Bumthang last year ( there is
a good chance we will boil all summer because I won’t be able to bear to remove
it!)
TUESDAY 28TH
PREPARE: Prepare, produce and product – This is the picnic lunch we prepared
and delivered to the best, most generous, and compassionate café owners in
Thimphu. It was a small attempt to repay their kindness last year when we
really needed it and this year when they have continued in the same vein.
WEDNESDAY 29TH
I WALKED HERE: This morning I had exam
supervision and just out of curiosity I checked my favourite health app before
I started, so, while these kids did their 2 hour exam I not only walked here
(up and down these wooden floor boards) but I actually walked 3.5kms!! It
compensates for not being able to walk to school because of the pouring rain
and makes me feel better too.
THURSDAY 30TH
NEED: I need this aloe vera to try to calm the intensely itchy, radically
persistent and pervasive rash that is overtaking my body and has been for
several months. The plant needs to be repotted really soon so that I have a regular
supply. Thanks Madam Anjana for bringing it to me today at school and coming to
my rescue.
FRIDAY 1ST
WANT: At this point in time I want nothing more than the endless cycle of
writing, editing and correcting exam papers to be over…… but with one full
class set still to be checked and another blueprint and paper with model
answers just finished and ready to submit that is nothing more than wishful thinking.
This is round 1 of a cycle of 4 exams a year so dream on …….
SATURDAY 2ND
FACELESS SELF-PORTRAIT: Today is Teachers’ Day in Bhutan and we teachers have
to go to school. The students take full responsibility for organizing the day
and it typically involves lunch and a vast array of singing, dance and other
performances by students. They genuinely
do express their gratitude and both students and teachers don their finest
clothes. Therefore I wore this borrowed and very expensive ‘kira’ today and
teamed it with my favourite orange silk ‘tego’ and aqua ‘wandu’.
SUNDAY 3RD
A CUP OF…… asparagus. It is fresh in season here at the moment and I have
recently discovered that the best way to keep it fresh is to cut the bottoms
and store it in a coffee cup half full of water
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