APRIL 1st SOMETHING PINK: Today it would be my tego, which is the outer jacket of Bhutanese traditional dress. It would have to be my least favourite colour closely followed by green. However, on Monday we must all wear green and bring a rainbow lunch and these two items were kindly donated to me to wear while we are here so ‘beggars can’t be choosers’
APRIL 2nd SOMETHING AQUA: Our school logo is definitely mostly aqua
APRIL 3rd SOMETHING PURPLE: I spotted this purple school bag and water bottle matching set in the class IV room this morning
APRIL 4th SOMETHING YELLOW: after a 10-hour day at school, the only vaguely Bhutanese and yellow objects in our apartment: a book containing my favourite Bhutanese lyric poem and one of the set of greeting cards I bought last weekend
APRIL 5th SOMETHING BLUE: Masks are a big part of Bhutanese culture and this blue face demon is obviously one of the consorts of the Lord of Death for Tshechu because it has the skulls depicted on it
APRIL 6th SOMETHING GREEN: In this house we eat our greens and the Centenary Farmers Market here sells seasonal, locally grown, organic vegetables so it’s a joy to shop there. The current supply of green in our household mostly purchased this morning looks like this and some has already been prepared as Bolanis and frittata
APRIL 7th SOMETHING WHITE: This depiction of a conch shell on the mural of a stunningly beautiful temple we hiked to today caught my attention. Conch shells are another of the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism and are played in religious rituals often. The sound and image are both beautiful but I always wonder how landlocked countries like both Bhutan and Tibet ever came in contact with them let alone acquired so many
APRIL 8th SOMETHING BLACK: The carved black slate that is embedded in the wall of the chorten, which we circumambulate every morning. Each of the four sides has a different image enhanced with gold but the Buddha is certainly my favourite
APRIL 9th SOMETHING RED: This is the season for Rhododendrons and they mostly seem to be red flowering varieties. Today we had an all-day field trip to the Botanical Gardens and this specimen caught my eye
though I much prefer this image taken in the national park
APRIL 10th SOMETHING BROWN: Firewood is used for both cooking and heating in at least some cases even here in the capital in Bhutan but I was surprised to see this wood pile this morning as there are strict regulations about cutting down trees. I am assuming that this is the result of pruning in the eco park and is possibly destined to be burned
APRIL 11th SOMETHING ORANGE: It’s pretty easy to guess whose desk in the staff area this is! Orange loving mine
APRIL 12th SOMETHING GREY: Just a little cairn I built with the help of a friend on Sunday while we were picnicking in the Jigme Dorji National Park after a fabulous hike and visit to the Tango Monastery and Institute for Advanced Vajrayana Studies
APRIL 13th NEUTRAL TONES: just a simple fence that caught my attention while we were out wandering today
APRIL 14th 3 COLOURS: The iconic 3-coloured design on the front of my current sleeping T-shirt is the Indigenous Australian Flag
APRIL 15th MELLOW: I have a very small class of just 8 students as my home group. Whilst they are great fun, they are often very loud and they are also overly exuberant so this is my attempt to mellow them. The singing bowl is for mindfulness at the beginning of each class. How could I live without a bookcase full of books, a plant and splash of orange in my classroom anyway?
APRIL 16th STRIPES: There are numerous traditional striped patterns in Bhutan and these two are my outfit today. The horizontal stripes of my Kira (skirt) and the vertical stripes of my Rachu (ceremonial scarf) required for formal occasions like our assembly this morning. Interestingly enough the patterns are the same but women’s clothing always has horizontal stripes and the men’s always has vertical with the exception of the Rachu
APRIL 17th FLORAL: Right now, the wisterias are in bloom and there are gorgeous displays all over Thimphu. I took this shot out wandering on Saturday and it inspired us to purchase one for the school. It will be hopefully be joined by an Acacia as a small green legacy we will leave behind when we go
APRIL 18th POP OF COLOUR: Driving through the clouds and cold, cold, mountain air today on the bus to Bumthang (love that name) with lots of grey and green but the prayer flags add a pop of colour at regular intervals along the way, 9 hours down and counting. Not far now …
APRIL 19th 1 COLOUR: In Bhutan it could only be red. Red, dried, fresh, huge or tiny chillies are a feature of every meal and we both love them
*This one was also selected for the Fab four on Facebook
APRIL 20th PATTERN: Yesterday we attended Tshechu and the patterns and elaborate designs of the costumes were almost as impressive as the skills of the dancers. This religious festival is our favourite event in Bhutan and they are held annually at different times in towns all over the kingdom
APRIL 21st MATCHING Looking pleased as punch with ourselves dressed in our favourite traditional clothes and heading to Tshechu. We are unintentionally matching each other and the room decor
APRIL 22nd DARK: this window in the chorten door allows you to see the water turned prayer wheel within. See below for the full picture and interior view from the window
The view of the interior
The whole picture
APRIL 23rd LIGHT: A light-hearted look at Bhutan’s favourite exterior wall decorations. The phallas has symbolic meaning here and these were all snapped yesterday while taking a walk at our lunch halt in Nobding!
APRIL 24th COLOURS: These vertical, maypole style prayer flags are relatively new and very colourful and striking. On Monday returning to the capital, following a long-honoured tradition of flying prayer flags at every pass on the lateral road we added to this display at Kiki La by hanging the small horizontal set at the base in the front. It was a totally satisfying activity for Earth Day! Blessing the Earth and wishing her healing
APRIL 25th PASTEL: A pastel pink peony just about to open. Spotted in the local nursery
APRIL 26th VIBRANT: We spent the morning watching the junior school Futsal finals and these goal keeper’s gloves were definitely the most vibrant item on the field
APRIL 27th CLASHING: When what was once a traditional Bhutanese Dzong is taken over by IMTRAT (Indian Military Training Team) the decor is clashing - the colourful, intricate, Buddhist designs and architectural features become suddenly boarded over and painted bright yellow. Road trip to Haa
APRIL 28th GOLD: I have turned every wheel I have seen all weekend but only this set surrounding the White Temple in Haa was gold
APRIL 29th SILVER: A couple of weeks ago I bought this little silver locket for myself as a souvenir from Bhutan. The character on the outside is the Dzongkha word for ‘Om’. It opens and I hope to put a photograph of my siblings and I inside it and I don’t intend to wear it until then. It took quite some time to clean it up but I’m thrilled with it
APRIL 30th RAINBOW: The wheel of Dharma painted design on the door of a traditional shop front in Haa, where we spent the weekend
THE PROMPTS
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