First of all, I have accepted a position as Lecturer at Royal Thimphu College (RTC), which is located just a bit outside of the capital city of Thimphu, Bhutan. Here is a picture of the campus (click on the picture to make it bigger) ...
Pretty decent, huh?
As a lecturer in the Social Sciences Department, I will be teaching three courses for the autumn semester: Youth and Society (from a sociological/anthropological perspective), Comparative World Politics, and a Freshman Seminar course (basically an 'intro to college' type class). My contract lasts from the end of July until the end of June 2013. The Bhutanese school year is very similar to our own in the United States, with the exception that their winter break lasts for almost three months! Emily and I are planning to use this break to travel to other places in Bhutan and Asia. We will be housed on campus in a modern 2-bedroom apartment, which is fully furnished – a very nice arrangement for moving to a vastly different country indeed! One feature of the apartment that I doubt you can find in the United States is a sun porch that overlooks the Himalayas :)
Besides being a fantastic opportunity to live in a different country and gain some college teaching experience, the purpose of seeking out an opportunity in Bhutan specifically is that Bhutan is the location of my dissertation research. My dissertation is on inclusive education policy for students with disabilities in Bhutan and employs anthropological methods to study how inclusive education policies shape students and also how students and other Bhutanese shape the policies. (In anthropological parlance, this is called 'practice theory.') Perhaps the number one question that I get is: Why Bhutan? I have found this question hard to answer at times, especially for a person not in my field of comparative international education, because my answer tends to become fairly esoteric. However, perhaps I can assuage most of you here with an explanation. First of all, there are personal reasons that I chose Bhutan as a research site. It is a fascinating country that I have been interested in for a long time and, as a Buddhist, has meaning for me. Also, Bhutan is a country that is barely studied in terms of education policy and it benefits me professionally to be one of the few researchers to have access and expertise on Bhutan. Finally, Bhutan poses some very interesting characteristics that bring uniqueness to a dissertation on inclusive education policy. The school system in Bhutan is only about 50 years old, and inclusive education as a policy is very new. However, Bhutanese Buddhist culture presents some very inclusive practices inherently, so I am interested in how these dynamics play out in an inclusive education policy that is worded in a very 'Western' manner. Also wrapped up in the unique aspect of Bhutan to this study is Bhutan's now-famous Gross National Happiness indicator that drives its policies and its recent forays into democracy, modern technology, and globalization. As you can read, there are a lot of complex cultural interactions going on that makes for a very interesting ethnography! (At least, that's the hope.)
Plus, how could I resist trying to get to a place that looks like this?! ...
I had settled on Bhutan as a research site almost two years ago, but found that I put myself at a disadvantage because I had not been there, knew no one there, and managed to pick a country with one of the most restrictive visas in the world. So for the past two years I have been trying to make inroads on making personal connections with people and organizations in Bhutan. This has definitely been a trying process and Bhutan remained an elusive and distant dream. Just when I had serious doubts as to the efficacy of this project, I was introduced to the Dean of RTC through connections of a classmate of mine in the Master's degree program version of my doctorate. RTC moved quickly in interviewing me (via Skype) and figuring out if a position for the 2012-2013 school year was viable. And so by May I was offered a position – just as I was at the absolute breaking point in abandoning my Bhutanese dream.
As Bhutan is turning from a distant dream into an impending reality, there are a lot of emotions that I am experiencing. For the most part it does not seem real yet, although when I bought my plane ticket to New Delhi it definitely started to sink in. I am absolutely excited, but also nervous, but also overwhelmed, but also confident, etc..
One of the big unknowns of this whole Bhutan experience was whether or not Emily was going to come with me. She was waiting to hear back for a job position that she had interviewed for that would have been her dream job: labor and delivery nurse. That position was in Minneapolis and her intention was to stay here if she got the job (as she should!). Unfortunately, she did not get the job and made the decision to leave her current nursing job and come to Bhutan with me. Of course, there were a lot of conflicting emotions. We were disappointed that Emily didn't get the job, but also happy that we will be together next year. Ultimately, we were most happy that our future had some definition and we are now able to make plans accordingly. Finding jobs in Bhutan – especially in healthcare – from the United States is extremely difficult. So Emily is taking a big jump into the unknown and will try to find work in Thimphu once she arrives. There will probably/hopefully be a need for a Western-trained nurse with speciality in maternal-child health – even if the work is initially pro bono. I'll let Emily explain further in a future blog posting.
One last thing that I will address in this first blog post is the possibility of visitors while Emily and I are living in Bhutan. Many of you have asked me about this. As I mentioned above, Bhutan has one of the most restrictive visa entries in the world. The only way to enter Bhutan is either through a work visa or a tourist visa. Both are absolutely controlled by the Royal Government and issued very sparsely. Tourists to Bhutan have to spend a daily rate of $250 and be wrangled at all times by a Government-approved tour company. For immediate family, I believe that I can skirt these restrictions. However, for friends and non-immediate family it is a lot more unclear. I am under a probationary period on my work visa for the first 6 months, but I may be able to invite in friends to stay with us after that time (February 2013-ish). Whether or not I can save you from paying the $250/day is unknown. I will certainly let those that are interested know once I know myself. What is more certain is that if you want to come to, say, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, etc. it would be very easy for us to meet you there.
Well, that's it for now. Keep checking back for updates as I prepare for my departure. Thanks for your interest in this blog. I would love it if people left comments and feedback and made this site more interactive.
Best,
Matt
