Long as I remember the rain been comin' down

We are now in Day 5 of unrelenting rain that has gone all day and all night without stopping. I have never experienced rain like this, and even the Bhutanese are starting to wonder why we are receiving so much rain. September is technically the last month of the monsoon season, and I guess Mother Nature is letting the season go out with a bang (or a deluge, as the case may be). Next weekend is the Bhutanese holiday known as Blessed Rainy Day that marks the end of the monsoon season and the beginning of the clear and dry Autumn season. Let's hope the local rain deities take notice.

Despite the constant precipitation, Emily and I managed to have a good weekend exploring Thimphu and spending time with friends.

On Friday, we went into town in the afternoon and did some shopping and walking around. I showed Emily some of the good handicraft stores and the good bookstore (DSB books). We were trying to find the one Mexican restaurant that just opened up in Thimphu (no doubt the only one in Bhutan as a whole), but we had no luck discovering it and found out later that it had moved locations. We ended up eating at The Zone, which is a Western-favorite and serves burgers, fried chicken, fish and chips, alongside some very Bhutanese dishes like yak ribs and pork tripe. After dinner, we walked up to Clock Tower Square and there was a concert going on despite the rain to commemorate World Ozone Day (Bhutanese love to celebrate environmental things). The band that was playing, Druk Revival, was a pretty good bluesy-rock jam band. (And a hint to the lyric that is this blog entry's title.)

Waiting for the bus from campus to Thimphu.
Emily is filled with ennui because of the rain. 

Gotta love poorly translated English signs. 

Emily shows off her veggie burger at The Zone.

I got the fried chicken. It was really good!
(Although the cole slaw that came with it was very underwhelming.)

Druk Revival

The Ozone Day stage at Clock Tower Square.

Our first homemade momos. A bit dense and messy, but not too bad!

Saturday was a low-key day for the most part. We slept in, made a big brunch, read, did laundry, took a nap, etc. At night, Emily and I went out to dinner with our friends/neighbors Jeff and Sue. We went to the new "mall" in the suburbs of Thimphu called Shearee Square and to a restaurant called Chang. The mall is famous in Bhutan because it features the only escalators in the country. Apparently, when the mall opened last year people came from all over Bhutan to ride the escalators up and down. If you think about, if you are a 75 year-old from rural Bhutan, escalators are very magical. There were some that came to see the escalators that refused to ride them until a Lama had blessed them. I can't think of a more Bhutanese story than that! The mall is kind of silly and out of place for Bhutan, but there it is anyway. There are clothing stores that look very Western, a bar and discotheque, an arcade, and many random stores selling all kinds of random items. 

The restaurant where we had dinner was featured in a cultural magazine called Bhutan Time Out. The magazine claimed that it was Thimphu's best restaurant and "the place to be seen" in Bhutan. When Jeff, Sue, Emily and I went, we were the only people in the restaurant – at 7pm on a Saturday night. That does not bode well for "the hottest restaurant in Bhutan." The food was decent, but nothing special. The prices, however, were pretty outrageous for Bhutanese standards. Emily and I spent Nu.2500 on dinner, which is about $50. Basically, that's about 10x what a meal at a decent restaurant in Bhutan should cost. Emily and I agreed that we will probably not go back there again although, from the looks of it, it probably won't be open for much longer if its Saturday night business is any indication. 

The famous escalators. 

Jeff, Sue, Me, and Emily at Chang. 

Emily and I pose with the King and Queen. 

This morning we went to a puja that was hosted by my friend Deepak and his wife. A "puja" is a religious ritual that is used to mark special occasions and is practiced in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. In this case, it was a Hindu ceremony. 

Here, the occasion was the new apartment that Deepak and his wife (her name is pronounced Wangchu, but I don't know the spelling so I don't want to keep misspelling it all over this post) have purchased down the road from campus. When we arrived at the apartment, we removed our shoes and sat in the living room drinking tea with my other friends Arun, Bhudi, Suraj, and Kimi. Deepak also had lots of family members running around the house. There was a Hindi priest that was chanting in the altar room where people were giving their offerings. Emily and I brought fruit as our offering (which was an appropriate item). Deepak was busy praying and at various times coming in and out of the altar room. We sat in the living room drinking, eating, conversing, watching tennis on the television, and playing with Bhudi's 6-month-old baby. 

Eventually, we were invited into the altar room and we prayed while the priest read/sang the songs of Krishna from the Bhagavad Gita. We took flowers from a bowl and kept them in our hands as the priest sang. When the priest was finished (about 15 minutes later), he rang a bell and sprinkled the group with holy water. We then scattered the flowers from our hands onto the altar. 

It was a very interesting and cool experience, and I was thinking during the prayer how lucky I am to be experiencing this unique ritual closer to its origins than I have ever been before. Bhutan is, of course, predominantly Buddhist, but there is a sizable Hindu minority given Bhutan's geographically position so close to India and Nepal. 

Suraj, Kimi, and Bhudi's baby.

Bhudi and Arun.

Deepak praying with his family.

Praying all together in the altar room. 

Bhudi is apparently trying to raise a genius baby. 

After hanging out at Deepak's for a couple of hours, Emily, Kimi, and I went into Thimphu to do some shopping at the Sunday Centenary Market. (The Hindu/Neapli speakers call it the "Subji Market" which means "produce market.") Emily and I bought lots of produce, and then crossed the Thimphu Chuu on an traditional cantilevered bridge to see the handicraft bazaar on the other bank that is only open on Sundays. After that, we walked back into downtown to have a late lunch and coffee at Ambient Cafe. My friend Samir was hanging out there, so we joined him and then came back to campus together. 

The Buddha statue at Coronation Park along the Thimphu Chuu.

The rains, oh the rains...

The Thimphu Chuu is raging right now.

Emily on the Kundeyling Baazam bridge crossing the Thimphu Chuu.

It was a very good weekend, and I am excited to be able to spend time with new friends. I am also feeling better after a rough two weeks of being ill. Now if only the rains would end...

And Finally, to Bhutan!

Now, finally an update on my time in Bhutan thus far.

On September 7th, after one last delicious breakfast at my hotel, I headed back to the Delhi airport for my flight to Paro. Check in went smoothly, although I did have to pay a large fee for my excess baggage (the free baggage allowance is 20 kg). I knew that in advance so it wasn’t a surprise.  Then after passing through customs and security (shoes could be left on, thankyouverymuch), it was into the duty-free shop. I’ve never shopped in one before, only browsed, but I had a request from a certain husband to get a bottle of whiskey and some dark chocolate. And boy did I get some chocolate! We’ll definitely be sharing it!

And yes, the carpet at the Delhi airport is every bit as wonderful as Matt said. There were two styles but unfortunately I was only able to get a picture of one.

Other great perks of the Delhi airport: reclining chairs (genius!) and these humorous, completely unrelated news bites:

As with Matt’s, my DrukAir flight (Bhutan’s national airline) was able to take off as scheduled. Nothing too exciting to report except the views. THE VIEWS. I was lucky enough to get a window seat on the left side of the plane (crucial for mountain viewing). I may or may not have seen Everest’s peaks (I couldn’t quite hear what the captain was saying). In any case, I did see the peaks of some of the world’s tallest mountains and it was every bit as exhilarating as you would imagine. I was more amazed by seeing the mountaintops through the clouds than I ever imagined. It was truly breathtaking and in all my travels I’ve never felt as awed by a sight.

If any of you have read books about Bhutan, I’m sure that you have heard about how harrowing the flight into Paro is. I can now tell you with certainty that these are great exaggerations for literary effect. Yes, you do fly closer than usual to some mountains but it never feels like you’re going to hit them (as is suggested by many authors). It wasn’t any scarier than flying into SFO (which to me aways feels like you’re going to land in the water - anyone else?) And, as you might expect, the views are again spectacular. My window was very smudged but you get the idea.

After landing in Paro, we disembarked from the plane and entered the traditionally Bhutanese-style airport to pass through customs once again. This process was fairly slow and not helped by the fact the we lost electricity for a few minutes (an event that hasn’t yet been repeated). Matt had told me that I would need to pay $20 for my visa upon arrival, a fact that I forgot until I was sitting at the gate in Delhi with only $14 in my possession after spending most of my cash on chocolate (like I said, SO MUCH CHOCOLATE). Anyway, travel being travel, I figured something would work out. I mean, would they really not let me in the country? After the customs agent had looked over my paperwork, she told me that I in fact needed to pay $40 for my visa. Well, lucky for me I still had a 50 Euro bill that was left from a previous trip and that I found in the front pouch of an old purse a few years back. I held on to it figuring it would come in handy sometime. And the time was then. Hurray!

After claiming my luggage, I walked out of the Paro airport expecting to be greeted by Matt. Well, he wasn’t there but I wasn’t concerned. I figured that he was just running a little behind. However, everyone else was very concerned. I was offered a ride into town and one particularly concerned man insisted that I use his cell phone to call Matt. I did and I was right - Matt and his friend were just running a little behind. 

They arrived not too much later in a small car that was luckily able to fit all of my luggage. Then Matt offered me a Dramamine and we were off driving along the windy mountain road (pretty much all roads in Bhutan are like this) with lush greenery and steep hillsides all around. We made one stop at a holy water site (water flowing from the top of the mountain) and one stop to buy fire-roasted corn and green beans from a family selling on the roadside. 

Matt had a faculty meeting to attend so after we arrived back on campus and at our apartment I took the rest of the afternoon to unpack. That evening was a faculty dinner that is hosted once monthly so we also attended that. I was pretty tired but it was nice to finally meet the people I keep hearing about. I wasn’t all the talkative due to jet lag but it was fun nonetheless.

On Saturday, we went into Thimphu in the staff van. The campus is 11 km from town so it’s not easy to just pop in. We walked around town for awhile, had lunch, checked out the handicraft sellers (where we bought a beautiful wooden bowl), got groceries from a store and the produce market (so fun!), and had coffee and cake at Ambient Cafe, a expat hangout that Matt has mentioned before. The only picture from the day was me drinking coffee there.

Thimphu is a very manageable city and I loved the fact that it is possible to walk around without being bothered! It’s fabulous and obviously makes adjustment much easier and less tiring. The town extends uphill so there are many staircases connecting the different streets. I don’t know my way around yet but I’m sure I’ll pick it up soon. It’s quite interesting to be surrounded by the ancient and the modern. There are the ubiquitous prayer flags, monasteries in the mountains, religious sites visible in the mountains and in town. In contrast, many Bhutanese young men sport the gho, the traditional male dress of the country, rolled down around their waists with t-shirts on top. My favorite: Megadeath. A large number of young men also have punk hair styles - gelled in crazy angles and occasionally dyed various colors (and, oddly enough, it works for them!). Matt even said the he once saw a monk driving a Mercedes and using a Blackberry. Such are the complexities of development.

Sunday was more of a lazy day but in the afternoon we did go for a hike. The campus extends directly uphill and if you follow a path near where campus ends, you arrive at a large stream that is the water source for campus. 

We tried to figure out a good way to cross the stream and eventually settled on the tree that formed a kind of bridge across the water (which is obviously why it was there). Matt said that he’d seen people walk across it before but we opted for scooting instead. We tried to find more trails after crossing the stream but were less successful. We were able to find a few small ones but eventually we ended up bushwhacking, at which point I decided I wasn’t having fun anymore. We made our way back to the stream where Matt decided he should walk through the water. After discovering that the rocks were very slippery, I opted to scoot back across the log. I am happy to report that no injuries were sustained.

Baby bamboo

This week has been pretty quiet. I’ve been updating the blog (as you can tell), which actually takes quite a bit of time. In addition, the internet here is very slow so any online tasks take significantly longer than they would on most internet connections in the US. In fact Matt told me that it is possible to purchase more bandwidth for use in one household in the US than is available in all of Bhutan. That should give you some perspective. We were spoiled! Enjoy it for us. 

I’ve also been updating my resume so that I can find some sort of work here. We’re unsure if I can get an official paid position given that I am here as Matt’s dependent (don’t you love it?). We’ll see. I’m sure there’s something a nurse can do, even if unpaid! Once I get a SIM card for my phone, I’ll start networking more. So far I have a few good leads. The director of Royal Thimphu College has several siblings who are doctors, one of whom is an obstetrician and one of Matt’s friends knows the director of UNFPA Bhutan (United Nations Population Fund). Matt has also met the son of the dean of the nursing school and several people who have worked at the hospital in town. I haven’t yet been to the hospital so I can’t say for certain if I want to work there. Again, we shall see. In any case, I’m confident that something interesting will work out.

So far I’ve been enjoying my time here. Probably the best part is the beauty (besides being reunited with Matt, of course!).  It’s quite amazing to be constantly surrounded by pine-covered mountains. We get a good dose of nature were we live because, like I mentioned, we are located outside the city and are farther up in the mountains. However, the disadvantage is that we are removed from the city life and culture. Yes, there are Bhutanese people who work at the college, but it’s not the same at total immersion (as frustrating as that can sometimes be). I’m kind of missing my study abroad days when we got cultural orientation, local language classes, and a home stay! I’m sure more familiarity with the culture will come with time and some travel to more rural areas. 

One Day, Two Nights

Originally, I was very nervous about visiting India by myself. I had heard plenty of stories from other female travelers about how much they had been harassed and I wasn’t excited to experience this myself, especially not in a place so large and unfamiliar.  And if you’ve read Matt’s post about visiting Delhi, he got harassed enough without having the added factor of being a solo female traveler. I also knew that I would be very tired from traveling and the idea of fending for myself in a jet-lagged state was not appealing. In any case, this all led to me booking a guided tour with Delhi Urban Adventures which incidentally is run by the same company that my mom and I used for a tour in central Europe. They are not the typical tour company and encourage cultural immersion and real experiences.

My guide, Dipu, came to pick me up at the hotel at 10am. No one else had signed up for that day so I got a private tour. From the hotel we drove to central Delhi through all the traffic craziness that is common in many developing countries - lots of honking, ambiguous lane distinctions, motorbikes flitting between vehicles. Here are a few street scenes from the drive:

We were dropped off in central Delhi near a Metro station (I wish I could remember which one) which we took to Chawri Bazaar in Old Delhi. Entering the Metro also required a purse scan and passing through a metal detector. The Metro system is quite impressive - clean and well-marked. The female only cars would also have been an advantage for me if I hadn’t been with a male guide. 

After exiting the Metro, we took a bicycle rickshaw to Jama Masjid. And yes, it was quite the experience! The seats are not made for tall people and I had to use quite a lot of leg muscle to stay on. It did feel wrong to be transported by the energy of another human but I suppose there is an argument to be made in favor of these rickshaws as they provide an income for men who may otherwise be unemployed (this could be a length discussion, I’m sure!). 

While riding the rickshaw, I held my camera towards the street (in a way that didn’t make it obvious that I was taking photos) and took pictures throughout the ride. I am perhaps overly timid when taking travel photos. As an outsider, it feels intrusive and disrespectful. Here are some shots that I got along the way:

Mosque up ahead

Those electrical wires!

Jama Masjid is the largest mosque in India, was the final architectural accomplishment of Emperor Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, and can hold up to 25,000 people.  To enter, shoes must be removed (hello hot bricks!) and women must don a robe-like item to cover themselves. Interestingly, women don’t need to cover their heads during non-prayer times (this is in contrast to all mosques I visited in Africa). In consulting my guidebook while writing this post, I discovered that it’s possible to climb one of the minarets for “unforgettable view.” That certainly would have been a nice thing for Dipu to tell me during the visit! He did tell me some of the history about the building but I don’t remember anything. I’ll blame jet lag. If you are interested in more of the history, click to link above at the beginning of the paragraph.

Jama Masjid

Walking though an outer corridor

Looking out into the city - the Red Fort is visible in the background

Looking at the mosque for the outer staircase

From the mosque we walked through the labyrinthine streets of Old Delhi (if they can be called that given their narrowness) lined by all sorts of shops and filled with people going about their daily business. I could have taken some spectacular pictures here but didn’t due to above mentioned aversion to taking photos in certain places. 

Eventually we stopped for lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall that served paranthas, fried Indian flat bread made with whole wheat flour. I had two - one with mixed vegetables and one with lentils. They were served with accompanying chutneys and such. They were very delicious - much better than they look in the picture! While I was eating Dipu sat across the table from me barely saying a word and two men stared at me from the corner. Good times.

The view from where I ate

From there we walked through more of Old Delhi and eventually arrived Chandni Chowk, meaning “moonlit square”, and according to Wikipedia is “one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi” (although where we were, it was just a busy street). It was previously divided by canals that reflected the moonlit. If you think this sounds romantic, you would be very disappointed when visiting.

Street view of Chandni Chowk

We made our way to Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib (the place where Sikh’s worship is called gurdwara, meaning “gateway to the guru”). After going to a sort of welcome room, we walked into the main room where a large group of people sitting and three men were playing musical instruments and chanting verses of scripture.

We then walked over to the kitchen and dining room area of the gurdwara (called langar). One of the main principles of Sikhism is sharing and one way to do this is through the distribution of free vegetarian (so that all may eat) food to anyone who shows up. (Of course, it’s actually much more complicated than this but I don’t have the knowledge to delve more deeply into Sikhism.)

Cooking in the kitchen

Lunchtime guests

Hey, that's me!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good view of the exterior of the gurdwara because we never crossed to the street to get the view (another guide fail).

After this final visit, the tour was over. Dipu walked me down the street and near the Red Fort to wait for a taxi.

View of the Red Fort from where I waited for my taxi

Street view of where I waited for my taxi

Overall, I enjoyed my day. As mentioned previously, I wouldn’t say that Dipu was all that great of a guide but going on the tour allowed me to see the city with minimal effort. Much of the tour also involved walking through different parts of Old Delhi, which I love because it allows you to observe a culture close up and gives you a better sense of a place. I’m sure being with a male guide also saved me from harassment. Really the only time I was approached by people was when walking along one of the larger streets and they were mostly men trying to get me to come to their shops. Luckily Dakar gave me lots of practice with ignoring people on the street! Throughout my time in India, no one told me I was beautiful or asked me to marry them so that’s a successful trip in my opinion!

In stark contrast to what Matt experienced, my trip was almost too easy. I’ve never traveled in a manner where so many things were arranged for me. It was fine for this trip but it’s not nearly as interesting as roughing it a little bit more. Otherwise, where would the crazy travel stories come from? I’m excited to explore India more with Matt - perhaps this winter.

En Route to Delhi

Kuzuzangpo from Bhutan! I’ve arrived and will now be making regular contributions to the blog. Lucky you! However, before we get to my experiences thus far in Bhutan, I’m going to start with my trip through India.

On September 5th, I had an early day that began with a 5:15am departure from Rochester, MN (where my parents live) and a 9 am flight to Chicago. I had a 3 hour layover at O’Hare and was able to enjoy one last delicious torta at Tortas Fronteras. Seriously, go there if you can! This was important because Mexican food is in very short supply in Bhutan. There’s one Mexican restaurant in Thimphu but it’s gotten mediocre reviews from those who have tried it. Good thing I filled up on food because the hike to the international terminal was quite lengthy and frustrating. After following all the proper arrows, I arrived at an elevator. I boarded said elevator only to find that there was no further signage (?!). Someone was able to direct me to the correct floor, but sometimes I wonder about people who develop these systems.... 

From the elevator I walked to a tram that took me to the international terminal where there was even more fun to be had. When I originally checked in at MSP, I was told by the agent that I needed to check in with Air India at O’Hare in order to get my boarding pass. Seems like a simple task. Then I saw the Air India line. We all know how trying airport lines can be but this was unlike any airport line I had seen in all my travels. It consisted of many large families (including children who needed strollers and older adults using wheelchairs) all with several luggage carts carrying huge suitcases. The line extended far past the cordoned off area and seemed not to move. To my delight, because I had already checked bags at MSP, I was eventually directed to a shorter line. Then it was just another security screening (going to the international terminal required leaving the secured area). 

After a bit more chaos at the gate (there was a man walking around and yelling out which rows were to be boarding instead of announcing it on an intercom), I successfully boarded the plane and took my seat on one of the aisle sides of the center row. Not ideal placement for sleeping but excellent for stretching during the 14 hour flight. The flight itself went very well (other than the obvious fact that it was very long). I was seated next to an Indian psychiatrist who chatted with my just the right amount and enjoyed watching a very 90s Bollywood film. Given that the wind was favorable, we arrived a bit early at the Delhi airport (the flight was scheduled to last for 15 hours). From there, my Delhi experience went much smoother than it did for Matt. The airport was not busy when we arrived and I was able to get through customs and retrieve my baggage very quickly. I exited the arrival area and found my ride standing outside (first time getting picked up my someone holding a placard with my name on it!). Then it was off to the hotel.

After much persuasion, I had booked a very nice hotel (where Matt stayed on his second night in Delhi) that was near the airport (and included free airport transfers - hence the driver waiting for me at the airport). The drive to the hotel was very short but I still got a little taste of the traffic and feel of the city. I was struck my how similar it was to Dakar where I have spent a total of 15 months over 3 visits - the traffic, the facades of the buildings, the general state of the infrastructure, the air even smelled the same! It’s hard to describe but was very unexpected. 

Entering the hotel itself required more security screening than I expected. In order to enter the driveway of the hotel, the undercarriage of the car and underneath the hood had to be inspected (I’ve only experienced this one other time when visiting the USAID offices in Dakar). In addition, my luggage had to be x-ray screened and I had to pass through a metal detector. I’m not sure how long this has been happening but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it was in response to the 2008 hotel bombings in Mumbai. 

Given that I was very tired from traveling, I spent the rest of the evening relaxing and the pool and refueling with some delicious food.

Next up: my time in Delhi. The post got very long so I split into two entries.

Unwanted House Guests; or, Bye Bye Bhutan Bees

Lately, numerous unwanted house guests have made me question whether or not I wanted to even consider staying in Bhutan for two years. Thankfully, things have been clearing and my disposition has changed a bit. Here's my story...

Part One: 

Last week I started to feel itchy and I wasn't sure of the cause. I entertained all sorts of theories about this – even discovering that anemia can cause itchy skin and, not eating much meat in Bhutan, I pondered this scenario. But, the answer to my problem made itself known when – lo and behold – I glimpsed a small black dot on my arm and when I went in for a closer look ... it jumped. Yup, you got it, it was a flea.

Gross.

I immediately learned way too much on the internet about fleas and tried to figure out how to get rid of them in Bhutan. The sources of fleas are numerous here: there are dozens of stray dogs roaming campus, innumerable other animals in the surrounding woods, and lots of undergraduates (enough said). Unfortunately, most of the solutions to my apartment flea problem that I could find were based on widely-available items in the United States: borax, diatomaceous earth, vacuum cleaners, flea bombs, specialized shampoos and cleaning solutions, etc.. I started taking two showers a day because, fortunately, fleas are not waterproof. I washed every single item of clothing I had during the week, and used up almost all of my permethrin and DEET that I had brought for travel to malarial zones. On Saturday, I went into Thimphu looking for something to help rid me of this turbulent pest!

The concept of insecticides isn't really a thing in Bhutan. First of all, the pervasive Buddhist culture of Bhutan does not really accept such products. In America, we're pretty gung-ho to kill things. In Bhutan, killing that thing can either bring bad karma or cause damage to reincarnation cycles. I had heard that there might be some sort of insecticide imported from India or Thailand, but that it would probably be quite toxic. That was no good. After some searching, I actually managed to find a shop that sold vacuum cleaners. Of course, vacuums are quite rare here as carpet doesn't exist anywhere I've seen. But, there were vacuums in this shop – which imported mostly products from Thailand. It was a nice vacuum – an LG brand – but it was Nu.5500 ($100) which is a very expensive item for Bhutanese standards. But, after much debate, I decided that the vacuum was the only sure-fire way to get rid of fleas that I had at my disposal here so I broke down and purchased it.

As soon as I got home, I assembled the vacuum and got to work vacuuming the hell out of my apartment. Floors, mattresses, pillows, chairs, couches ... nothing was spared. I had read that fleas will mostly live on their hosts, but they can lay eggs anywhere and the eggs can remain dormant for up to a year. A vacuum can pick up fleas, eggs, and larvae alike and cut through the flea life cycle.

Sure enough, that was five days ago and I haven't seen or felt a flea presence in the apartment since. Bottom line: Nu.5500 is a small price to pay for a flea-free apartment.

Part Two:

Around the same time I solved The Great 2012 Flea Crisis, a smaller bug invaded into home. This one happened to be a virus ... a flu virus. Apparently, illness spreads like wildfire on this campus. Most of my class has been sick recently; some have been very sick. The campus flu caught me and by Sunday I was all but incapacitated. Monday I tried to teach classes, but only got through my 9am class before I knew that I needed to go home and cancelled the rest of my classes for the day. After sleeping or at least resting for the remainder of Monday, I started to feel better.  I didn't go to Draktsho Monday or Tuesday, nor did I attend play practice Monday night. Tuesday was better still, and today I'm feeling even better. I'm still not 100%, but I'm at least fully-functional. The cough has moved to my upper respiratory system and is pretty persistent.

Part Three:

Having rid myself of fleas, and a virus, what could possible replace them but ... hornets. Yes, those nasty stinging SOBs decided to start building a hive on my dining room window.

I informed the maintenance crew and tonight, at around 8:30, I got a knock on my door just as I was finishing dinner. I opened the door to find a funny looking little Indian man, dressed all in black, Hindi-pop music blaring from the phone in his pocket, and carrying a fully-lit torch. Not a "torch" in the British sense, but a stick with a ball of fire at the end.

He had come for the bees.

Somewhat curious and somewhat amused, I let him in and showed him to the window. In broken English, he asked for two things: a broom and a knife. While I fetched those things, he smoldered his torch ... on my floor. I assumed he knew what he was doing. So with broom in one hand, smoking torch in the other, and large kitchen knife at the ready, this bee hunter flung open the window and shoved the torch right into the hive. Many confused bees entered the apartment, which I still can't tell if that's what he meant to do or not. The next twenty minutes were spent swatting the broom at hornets and shuffling them out the open window. The hornets, sedated and stunned by the smoke, were at least not aggressive – which I was very glad about. I had been stung by yellow jackets at my grandparents' cabin in Iowa as a kid, and I can remember nothing pleasant about it.

The curious little Indian man was now hitting hornets with the broom, picking them up with his fingers, and throwing them out the open window. I don't think he was hitting them hard enough to kill them. After most of the bees were dispatched, he took the kitchen knife and cut out the hive from the window. After swatting a few more stray hornets, the apartment seemed clear and he nodded that his job was done. By the way, the Hindi-pop music was playing the whole time ... just for added effect.

Conclusion

I can only imagine what other creature might decide to take up residence here ... a yak? a snow leopard? a yeti? Ideally, it will just be Emily when she flies into Bhutan on Friday.

It has been a trying week living without the comforts and sterile, hygienic, luxury of the United States. I still feel good about being here in Bhutan, of course – a few bugs big and small can't take that away from me.

In conclusion, I'll let Band of Bees take it away ...

 

Weekly update

I haven't written in awhile, but really there hasn't been all that much to write about this week.

It has been very busy for me, now that I am going to Draktsho School twice a week in addition to my full-load at RTC and extracurricular activities such as soccer and theater. The Dean also asked if I would serve on the examination committee, which I felt I couldn't really say "no" but I probably should have because with midterms coming up – and an incredibly bureaucratic and formalized exam procedure here – it means a lot of extra work. I also need to have midterms written for my own classes, which are due this Thursday. As it turned out, I had two article drafts due by last Friday: one article that is near-publication on disability and religion for Disability and Society, and another article that needed heavy revision on Bhutanese education for Contemporary Issues in Comparative Education.

I'm also thinking about trying to spread out my research sites. Right now I'm at Draktsho Vocational School two afternoons a week, which was fine because there are several Wheaton College exchange students there for an internship and I became their de-facto advisor for that experience. However, Draktsho is a "special school" and I'm not really finding the inclusion and the integration that I am looking for to study. Draktsho is giving me some insight into disability and special needs curriculum, but I am searching for classrooms that highlight the paradoxes, difficulties, and balances between the contrasting objectives of modern schooling between inclusion and meritocracy. How do schools educate a diverse group of learners? What does inclusion mean in the Bhutanese context? Draktsho is certainly not a site of inclusive learning – in the Western sense – but, like I said, it does offer something to this project. The program coordinator for Draktsho gave me the name of the Principal of a regular school do the road from Draktsho that does feature some inclusive classrooms. What I'm thinking is that I may go to Draktsho once a week and another school once a week. At least that's what I can do this semester. Next semester, I am going to really push hard to fix my teaching schedule so that I can spend an entire day at a school.

This weekend was kind of a bust, since I came down with the flu on Saturday. Today I have been doing work off-and-on while also resting. Emily leaves Minneapolis on Tuesday, flies to Delhi for a few days, and then arrives in Bhutan on Friday. Hopefully I can be better by then!