THE
PROMPTS FOR THE MONTH
MONDAY
1st COLOURFUL: Contemporary design with colourful traditional fabric as
upholstery
TUESDAY 2nd MONEY:
The Ngultrum of Bhutan is pegged to the Rupee of India and I can't think of two
more beloved and benevolent world leaders. Rupees are prized here where they
enable purchases in foreign countries, as the Ngultrum cannot be exchanged.
Even small denomination Gandhi bucks are saved
WEDNESDAY 3rd
SHADOW: When the air is crystal clear both the clouds and other mountains cast
a shadow on the Himalayan backdrop of Thimphu city
THURSDAY 4th
GEOMETRIC: Scouring the school today for geometric patterns I was delighted to
find this chart in a class one room. It's the features of a house in Dzongkha
and it's full of geometric shapes
FRIDAY 5th SIDE BY
SIDE: House Assembly on Fridays always ends with a march off the ground side by
side in house teams lead by the school scouts
SATURDAY 6th FLORAL:
Buddhist iconography often includes floral designs predominately incorporating
the lotus flowers and buds
SUNDAY 7th CLOUDS:
Out in the great outdoors with brilliant blue skies and marshmallow clouds at
our lunchtime picnic spot today
MONDAY 8th FENCE:
These brightly painted decorative designs adorn window frames, door frames,
lintels and even fences it seems here in Bhutan
TUESDAY 9TH DRAW:
Buddhist iconography is so complex but this is one I spotted today on my class
8 field trip, that perhaps anyone could draw, with the right geometric equipment
WEDNESDAY
10th BLUE & WHITE: An archive shot of the first flight I ever took
over the Himalayas into Bhutan. Spellbinding blue and white
THURSDAY 11th
MEALTIME: Healthy vegetarian food and rice is a staple in our house most days
thanks to Ian. Tonight's dinner fit the bill precisely
FRIDAY 12th AN ACT
OF KINDNESS: This beautiful book came to me secondhand through the act of kindness
of dear friend Jenny who mailed a huge box of books to Bhutan rather than toss
them out or donate to a second hand shop and she paid the postage herself. Now
that we are planning to leave Bhutan we are trying to reduce and pass on our
possessions and having completely forgotten the prompt today I gave this book
to an art loving couple my colleague- Karma and her artist / animator partner
SATURDAY 13th SALTY:
I'm definitely a savoury over sweet kinda gal and these are my all time
favourite salty products. I'm trying not to think about the fact that the
Vegemite is empty and the miso approaching the same state with no chance of
purchasing either here in Bhutan.
SUNDAY 14th KITCHEN:
From early morning preparation in the kitchen, to a kitchen packed full of
friends to learn to make frittata and simple lacto pickling and finally out of
the kitchen and feasting
MONDAY 15th
DELICATE: A delicate blend shades of my favourite colour, which I received as a
gift yesterday. I love it and will treasure it because knowing the artist
personally makes it so much more than just a painting
TUESDAY 16th
WRITTEN: All my Class VI students have written their essays on environmental
issues and I just have the stack of marking to complete. Hand-written essays in
exercise books with beautiful hand writing is definitely a dying art
WEDNESDAY
17th I AM OBSESSED WITH ………… Prayer flags and the flashes of colour and light
they create especially on the covered bridges.
This is a an archive
shot of the bridge leading to the Weekend Market in Thimphu and one of my
favourites
THURSDAY 18th EARLY:
evening view from our upstairs balcony - dining alfresco tonight
FRIDAY 19th LATE:
our "late" view. We haven't seen it of "late" as the
construction next door has blocked the view but this was taken on this day last
year when it was lit up for the first time. It has since been lit up every day
SATURDAY 20th
BRIDGE: The covered bridge leading to the weekend market and the end of a long
and exhaustingly hot day
SUNDAY 21st LEGS:
The legs of the stools all lined up at the window in our favourite cafe in
Thimphu
MONDAY 22nd HAPPY:
I'm happy to make happy, healthy lunches and even happier to eat mine by the
time lunchtime rolls around at school
TUESDAY 23rd SAD:
Many a sad and sorrowful existence has been turned around by the untiring work
of Lama Shenphen who helps street kids and addicts turn their lives around.
This book tells some of the success stories of sad lives reformed and new hope
reborn
WEDNESDAY 24th
ANGRY: I put up photographic displays to honour the students who have achieved,
contributed and excelled at my school. I really get angry when students peel
off the photos or damage them when they are on display. It only takes a few to
spoil it for everyone. So disheartening
THURSDAY 25th
SCARED: I've always been a little wary of these steep traditional stairs in
Bhutan but now that Ian has tumbled down them all the way to the concrete final
step, I'm absolutely scared of them. This is the exact flight he fell down 26
months ago and recovery is still underway even though there have been vast
improvements. The entrance to our once home in Samtengang
FRIDAY 26th EXCITED:
Sports Day and being out of the classroom and in the sunshine is a great reason
to be excited even if we've only just finished the warm up and practices
SATURDAY 27th LUCKY:
I feel incredibly lucky to have had the good fortune to be able to live and
work in each of these places in my career and to still be able to envisage more
places I intend to live in the future
SUNDAY 28th HAT: I
often see monks wearing in this type of crazy looking but very practical sun
hat and I hoped to find one today. Luckily this gentleman was in the market
when we arrived
MONDAY 29th LIFE:
This play area is the liveliest place in the school and this is certainly the
best part of the life of a student. Our new Canadian student is also pretty
much the most popular boy in the school
TUESDAY 30th
UMBRELLA: looking up through the big guns umbrella when the monsoon is just too
much and you know you'll get soaked. Luckily today this was an indoor shot and
one collapsible umbrella each was all we ended up needing to walk to school
WEDNESDAY
31st SUNSET: The sun just faded out of existence behind heavy cloud cover here
in Thimphu tonight, so this is and archive shot of sunset in Adelaide where my
heart and thoughts have been flying all day to my darling sister. I hope this
brightness begins to illuminate her life and turn things around very so
