Jigme Dorji National Park

We took a hike with several members of the RTC faculty to Jigme Dorji National Park, which is about a 45 minute ride away from campus. We went for about a two and a half hour hike up and down the trail, with no real destination in mind. It was a nice little jaunt in the woods and produced some great pictures, even though it was a fairly overcast day. The weather was cool, but comfortable. 

At the start of the trail is a large temple complex.
(The name is unknown to me and I can't find it anywhere.) 

Ah yes, the Bhutanese phallus.
As mentioned in previous posts, the meaning of these ubiquitous house decorations is somewhat debated, but most agree that is a symbol of protection and compassion. Have a field day with that, all you critical feminist scholars! 

Traditional wooden cantilever bridge (In Dzongkha: Bazam) across the river (In Dzongkha: Chhu). 

Clay chortens to commemorate deceased relatives. 

These are the three main figures that you will see in temples and monasteries. The middle figure is, of course, Buddha. To the left of Buddha is Guru Rinpoche or Padmasambhava – the 'second Buddha' and introducer of Buddism to Bhutan in the 8th Century. To the right of Buddha (with the beard) is Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal – a Tibetan lama who united Bhutan in the 17th century into the Dzongkhag system that it still maintains today. 

An elderly man walks around the temple (always clock-wise) and spins each and every prayer wheel.
Often at religious sites such as this, it is the elderly men and women that are deeply practicing Buddhism. 

Funny juxtaposition. A hobbled together rural hamlet, complete with satellite dish. 

One wall of this abode was made of recycled oil and ghee containers. 

On the trail. Emily, Cathy, and Prajna. 

Glacial mountain water is a stunning aqua-marine and almost completely clear (reminding me of other places with similar looking water I have been like Glacier, North Cascade, and Sequoia National Parks). The water appears this way because of light refracting off of 'rock flour' that is suspended in the water and has been slowly and finely ground by glacier movements. 

Interesting fungus. 

A huge rock slide that seems to have occurred recently. We had to scramble over it. 

In many ways, the forests of Bhutan remind me of places in the Northwest United States like the North Cascades
in Washington and many Californian forests on the coast and in the Sierras.  However, one thing that makes
Bhutanese forests unique is bamboo, which grows in abundance. 

Back at the trail head. The rural community is teeming with animals. 

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Monday was International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which is a United Nations initiative to raise awareness on the challenges, issues, and successes of persons with disabilities around the world. In Bhutan, a large event was sponsored by Coca-Cola, Ability Bhutan, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, and many schools that have students with disabilities (both inclusive and segregated). Since a lot of these schools are involved in my research, I will try my best to keep things anonymous below. 

The event was held at the athletic grounds of a local high school in Thimphu – probably the nicest track in Bhutan (and that includes the National Stadium). Emily and I arrived at 8:00am and preparations were well under way. Because Her Majesty, the Druk Gyaltsuen [Dragon Queen of Bhutan] was going to be attendance, there were a lot of protocols and security measures that must be followed and many people from the Royal office were there to make sure things were just right. (A few people told me that the King and Queen aren't really that into all the fuss that is made around them but, rather, it is the people just below them that are sticklers for official protocol.) A dozen of my students showed up around 8am as well to volunteer, which is commendable considering final examinations had just finished at RTC and the students were just beginning their three-month vacation. 

I met up with several of my friends that work on disability-related services and issues here, included my friend Jennifer who works for Ability Bhutan, and we tried to help out in the preparations wherever we could. Because the Gyaltsuen and many Ministers and members of the National Council were going to be in attendance, Emily and I dressed in traditional Bhutanese formal attire (as many of you have seen on Facebook). The male Gho and the female Kira are difficult to put on and we had to have my students assist us in putting them on. How many teachers can say they have been dressed by their students! 

The Gyaltsuen arrived promptly at 10:00am. There are strict rules about photographing anyone from the Royal Family, so unfortunately I don't have any photos to show you. (There were 'official' Royal photographers that were in abundance.) After the Gyaltsuen was seated, the presentation began with a few speeches and introductory pleasantries. During the morning program there were dances, races, a drama presentation, and several songs. The Gyaltsuen attentively took in the day and was very enthusiastic – which I would think would be exhausting to have to be 'on' all the time as a monarch. 

After the morning events and closing remarks, the Gyaltsuen rose to meet the participants and look at the artwork that was on sale to raise money for Ability Bhutan. As the Gyaltsuen made here way along the crowd, she stopped to talk to Emily and I and my students. I told her about our time in Bhutan and she was very pleased about the research and work that I was doing. Other Ministers walked by, including the Minister of Education, and we chatted briefly. 

There was a lunch that was being served, but the Gyaltsuen and the higher-up officials left before then. 

In the late afternoon, a forum was being held at the Department of Youth and Sports (DYS) auditorium. Many officials were there, including many people that I know from various schools, NGOs, and foundations that work on disability issues in Bhutan. There were some interesting presentations and discussions, and lots of talk about how much Bhutan still had to do for persons with disabilities. Near the end, I (unofficially) spoke about my preliminary research findings about how Bhutan already has much of the societal and cultural tools internally to provide an inclusive education and inclusive society for all people, and not to get down on themselves and think that all of the solutions needed to come from outside the country. That was well-received. 

There was a dinner that followed the forum and spent most of that time talking with the Director of Special Education in Bhutan. He is very interested in meeting with me to discuss things further so, needless to say, that was very exciting (both personally and professionally)! 

This week there was also a three-day conference put on by some medical professionals from the San Francisco Bay-Area on neurodevelopment and disabilities. I won't say much here about it, but it was an ethnographic goldmine as they kept referring over and over again to Bhutan as a 'developing' nation and the United States as a 'developed' and 'wealthy' nation. They also came very much from a medical-model perspective on disabilities, and kept saying things like 'abnormal,' 'atypical,' 'dysfunctional,' 'deviance' and 'disorder.' This conference was very hard for me to take-in quietly as an ethnographer because I am very much opposed to this model, in favor of the social model of disability instead. What was even more interesting was that the audience – made up mostly of physiotherapists and special educators – were very welcoming of the information from the conference that would better allow them to medically diagnose disabilities. 

So, all in all, it has been a great week for me in all aspects of my roles here in Bhutan. I finished my semester at RTC (blog post coming soon on that), spoke with several people in high positions regarding my research, and strengthened my personal connections with existing friends and colleagues that directly provide services for persons with disabilities in Bhutan. In the Spring, I will be very busy formally talking with officials, visiting more schools, and being involved with more organizations. My friend Jennifer is leaving Ability Bhutan to return to the United States, and I will be helping out there as a Special Education consultant. I am also going to assist the committee that is forming the new Special Education Law in Bhutan. Exciting times! 

Lots of pictures below...

Preparing the grounds. 

Our Bhutanese selves. 

Jennifer and I. 

Two of the professionals at a Special Education school in Thimphu. 

Jennifer mixes with the kids before the morning events. 

Me and my student volunteers. 

Emily and my female students. 

The races begin! 

A dance presentation from one of the schools. 

A theatre troupe does a skit on disability labels. 

Peldon sings a song.
At the Special Olympics in Greece, he won a gold medal. 

The Program Coordinator for a Special School in Thimphu addresses the crowd. 

The Gyaltsuen mingles with the participants at the end of the morning events.
(I had to keep this picture in wide-angle, lest I get in trouble for taking a picture of the Queen.)

Dochu-La

A couple of weekends ago, Emily and I went with a group from RTC to Dochu-La, which is a high mountain pass that separates the dzongkhags [districts] of Thimphu and Punakha. When it is clear, Dochu-La offers a commanding view of the high Himalayas, including the over-24,000 foot Jomolhari ["Mountain of the Goddess"] – the sacred mountain of Bhutan. Unfortunately, the day we went to Dochu-La was socked in with clouds. Oh well, that's life in the Himalayas...

Dochu-La is the home of the Druk Wangyel Chortens, featuring 108 stupas (the most auspicious number in Buddhism). The chortens were built by Her Majesty Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuk (the eldest Queen Mother) to honor the Fourth King. We started our day there. 

From the chortens we walked up the Lungchu Tsey Pilgrimage trail, which ends at the Lungchu Tsey monastery. The trail was a bit long for the amount of time we had, so only went about an hour down the trail and then an hour back to have lunch at the Dochu-La Resort down the road from the chortens. The Lungchu Tsey trail was a lovely and low-stress trail along huge rododendrons (famous in Bhutan) and birch, cedar, and coniferous trees covered in moss to take advantage of the fog and clouds that often shroud the pass. (This reminded me of all of the weekend hikes in the Santa Cruz mountains near Stanford, where most of the flora had evolved to capture moisture in the air from the Pacific fog rolling over.) Along the trail, we also encountered a heard of yaks that were both fascinating and a little bit intimidating. 

The chortens at Druk Wangyel. 

This picture captures all of the clouds that were rolling around.
To the upper left of the picture is the temple at Dochu-La. 

Clouds where the Himalayas should have been. Still a cool effect, though. 

This is what the view is like from Dochu-La on a clear day. (I didn't take this picture, I found it on the internet.)

Starting up the Lunchu Tsey trail, this is a wider view of all the chortens. 

Beautiful flora abounds. 

Yaks sit directly in the trail. We gingerly made our way around them – those long horns are intimidating! 

The beautiful forests of Bhutan. 

Hello, big guy.
This yak would not budge from the trail and looked kind of ornery, so we went around him by going in the woods. 

This is my favorite yak (as evidenced by my Facebook profile). Love the earrings!