oNe PhOtO a DaY aPrIl 2024:

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

Memorable teacher moment

 

This was just last weekend but already it seems like an age ago and if I don’t post it now, I just know I never will.

We had a completely school free weekend again… maybe two in a row means we really do have this now? 

After washing our second load of laundry, marketing, getting the zips in my boots and pencil case fixed at the cobbler l love, walking up to Shop 7 for the best local Gouda cheese, made in Bumthang of course and then eating momos for a late lunch, we got beers and were heading back to our much loved apartment at Ambient and then when we were climbing the stairs to Clock Tower from the National Stadium, unexpectedly the call “Madam Vicky,” caught my attention. 

I turned around and a former Druk School student threw his arms around me and hugged me before saying anything else. 

In a society that still rarely touches anyone but children, publicly, this was a heartwarming moment. We only chatted briefly but we hugged twice more. I’m a hugger! He vowed to gather his former classmates to meet too. 

Before I even crossed the square and then the main  street to get to our apartment, there was a Facebook friend request and unsurprisingly he has a largely dormant account. That is the reclusive student I remember so it wasn’t suspicious. However messenger was active and I sent a quick message. We had a brief exchange and that was enough to raise my flagging spirits and boost my motivation to persist in this teacher role. 

A true teacher moment. Thank you “R” - you know who you are and even better you are now a story of success ! 

Gratitude doesn’t even begin to cover how that felt. Memorable moment. I’ll ask for nothing more. 

A long overdue update from life in Thimphu

 

 

 Thursday April 4^th

We are finally feeling that we are on top of things and it’s not a daily struggle to get through the schedule and try to make headway at night with the paperwork demands that can never be attended to at school.

 

Having lodged our year plans a load was lifted. Surviving the chaotic first two weeks and then having writing, speaking and listening assessments for each student in each class, gave me the knowledge base I need to move forward with each of them and shift the focus from classroom management and individual evaluations to learning needs. It also helped me realise that I can still motivate them and hopefully instil some better self-discipline and more focused learning.

My doubts about my own ability are disappearing and my confidence is finally returning. Writing up lesson plans that are comprehensive enough to teach from and having them approved and available before I started this week’s teaching, I finally felt I was on track and back to a routine I can live with.

 

A completely school free weekend after being overwhelmed for so long was also more than welcome. We have now been out hiking a couple of times. We have another hike up to Tango planned for this weekend and this time with both Lhendup and Thinley and both their wives.

 

I have finally started to feel the school routine can be balanced against some quiet private time and some social activities with people we have been deferring until we reached this point.

 

My birthday was lost among the pressure of getting classes up and running, although we had a quiet and lovely night out, we were so exhausted it was easier to just go small and simple. However, a couple of evenings spent with Dependra, Anjana and Liza in their home have been real highlights, most especially last week’s unexpected Tuesday night invitation which included a belated birthday cake for me and truly stimulating, insightfully revealing and honest conversations. We love these two and the way they embrace the present with vision and intellect.

Getting the snail mail project restarted and receiving our first salary also helped the work-life balance and the wellbeing factor.

Sunday April 7^TH

 

What a very special day we had with Lhendup and Kinzang and Thinley and Kezang. They both drove up to Tango and we all climbed up to the Tango Monastery and Institute for Advanced Vajrayana Studies.

I had to look that up and am now informed that “Vajrayana Buddhism is a form of Buddhism probably originated from the Mahayana tradition. It is based on a complex philosophical and ritual system meant to provide a path towards enlightenment.” It is sometimes referred to as Tibetan Buddhism and that is what is practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal.

 

It was an easier hike than I thought it was going to be and we entered from a lower track so we were under the sheer walls and intricately painted wooden window frames of the newly restored sector of the monastery. The upper track we have always used in the past, we saw later is now crumbling away in places.

 

We also entered every room on all three levels and saw the 17th century statues and incredible ancient murals that had been cut in stone slabs from the walls and then reinserted. The process is not quite complete at the top level so we got a glimpse of how it was done. Only one room had a canvas mural which had also been removed and reapplied. I found the murals very enchanting and the work that had gone into reinstating them must have been painstakingly slow.

Our young companions all wore traditional dress and prostrated at every altar while we were happy to wander the rooms and see the completed restoration and valuable artefacts and treasures within.

The brisk hike down was punctuated by stops to watch the antics of a troop of Grey Langurs playing and sleeping in the tree tops. The young were swinging wildly from vines and branches hanging in the rhododendrons while the older ones lazily looked on or slept.

 

Soon enough we were back at the car park and driving on to the Jigme Dorji National Park heading for a picnic spot they knew near the river. We had never been inside the park before so that was wonderful too.

They were disappointed that there were so many cars when we arrived but quickly opted to walk on a little farther to find a secluded spot on our own on the rocky riverbank.

 

We all contributed to the picnic feast and enjoyed being surrounded by giant rhododendrons and even spotted more langurs cheekily jumping from stone to stone to cross the river onto the island in the middle, with their stolen picnic spoils. Not ours but a group nearby who seemed more amused than annoyed by their theft and actions.

We had brought prayer flags and Thinley and Lhendup were happy to hang them in the trees over hanging the crystal clear water of the river.

 

As the wind picked up and the sun disappeared behind the snow-covered peaks we packed up and made our way along the riverbank crossing to the island where our langur friends had feasted, on fallen logs and stones a few times and avoided getting wet feet. This alternative route avoided clambering back up the steep track we had come down and I was very grateful for that as I had been fearing how my knee would hold up.

Before getting back into cars we made plans for a weekend trip to Haa at the end of the month and then took a new to us route back to Thimphu via Kabesa. That was along a bumpy, dirt track in places but well worth it for the interesting homes and views along the way. It’s a vegetable growing area and we had purchased in the market on Saturday from a grower who had just brought in broccoli from there, when all the stalls were still closed.

We came back to main road at Pangrizampa and there were still long queues and crowds waiting to be blessed just as there had been last weekend when we abandoned going in and walked back. This blessing wipes away all your bad karma for the previous year we are told and it is incredibly popular and extends over a full week.

 

I have to hope we don’t have too much bad karma to atone for, as we didn’t stop and proceeded along the road we had walked down the previous week to Taba before crossing the river again and taking the newer highway back into Thimphu.

 

A red letter day for sure!

 

Monday April 8^TH

 

And today was an unmitigated disaster so I guess we are still on that roundabout of struggling to get on top of things and stay on top of things after all.