Adventures in a drawer

Today I opened a drawer in my attempt to clean up my desk . . . actually it is the only drawer in my quarters . . . and pulled out my passport.  Some materials seem to grow mould while others do not.  There was no other evidence of mould in the drawer and I had cleaned it out after summer break.  It all wipes off . . . no big deal.  I just wonder if I am turning old and mouldy too. :)  My VP asked me what I will do when I return to Canada and when I said I will go back to work, he replied that people here my age are considered old and do not work any more. 

The white fuzzy stuff. . . inside there were brown spots

From The Bhutanese Guide to Happiness

If you have not experienced great suffering and great happiness, you will find it hard to tell them apart.

CHSS ANNUAL VARIETY SHOW AND FUNDRAISER

This is an event put on by the Culture Club. Today the show was for staff and students, tomorrow evening there will be a show for the public. 
The dancing is great.  I realy enjoy the traditional dances.  However Micheal Jackson is pretty popular and it brought back my early childhood memories of the Jackson 5 on Ed Sulivan.  That dates me!! 

I should add that the students and teachers are outstanding dancers and singers.  They have difficulty believing that I cannot sing and that there are no traditional Canadian dances.  My students in Canada would have a hard time believing the amount of dancing these students do as performers! 

Masks on either side of the stage - representing the  4 houses. 

My favourite audience "performer" - Kelly- a boy.  The llama has not yet given him his first haircut 

The Michael Jackson look

Kids crowding the stage for treats from the magician

Butterfly walk

On my walk today I saw the most incredible butterfly.  I cannot find a photo online - it was black and/or dark, dark green.  On the back of it's wings there was indigo blue and bright red.  It had a swallowtail shape (I think that is what it is called) and was the size of a large (4X6") postcard- perhaps a bit bigger.  I felt so fortunate to see it. 

This butterfly is called the Purple Sapphire - it could be similar or the same.  I only saw it in flight. 

Weekend in Thimphu and Chemgang

I met Matt, Sarah Schmitt and Dave in Thimphu Saturday night for Mexican food and margaritas.  The drinks were delicious, although some of the group had some difficulty the next morning.  We all crashed at Matt's upon the hill above Thimphu.  
Three of us were able to go for a hike and some medical volunteers, Dallas, a nurse from Sydney and Claudia, a doctor from Invacargill NZ joined us.  

Lovely day. 

Met some teachers who live at Royal Thimphu College, where Lucy, Matt's partner, works.  They had walked up to the goempa from the other side. Lovely views.  

Matt munching on Maggi to cure the tequila effects

 What did you do for the weekend????

View of Thimphu and the golden Buddha

School News

THE NEWS TEEAM AT THE END OF THE BROADCAST

On Saturday mornings students create a news broadcast for assembly.  During the first term the class 11 students alternated English and Dzongkha most Saturdays.  This week it was my class 9B who had to create the news in English.  This group is, let's say, difficult to discipline. 

I take the challenge and introduce reading for information, paraphrasing and summarizing in all of my English classes.  I spend time trying to find interesting news items, and get caught up in the King's Cup news from Thimphu. Students summarize, write, interview, rewrite and edit stories for 2 weeks. 

We have auditions for news readers.  Volunteers for the position of anchor change throughout the week. They are shy and the anchor is visible to the 704 students standing in the assembly ground.  The other readers are hidden in a classroom. The final anchor is a student with a high need for attention.  It is challenging.  I am a bit grumpy and lose my cool once. 

On Wednesday I was TOD and had to deliver the announcements at assembly.  There were no microphones. Colleagues said that my  booming voice was actually better than when I used a mike.  I got right on to finding mikes for Saturday morning. 

Mikes have still not arrived.  704 students and many teachers are standing patiently in lines.  I finally go to the Principal and ask him what to do.  Get told I do things too last minute and to put the kids all on stage.  Just as we are about to move tables out the sound system magically starts working. 

My students do a GREAT job of reading.  A few errors (six yearS old girl) jar my ears however we finish with top marks.   Lots of positive feedback from teachers and the Principal gets up and compliments us saying the students could all learn from class 9B.  

A great sense of accomplishment for the class. 
I am exhausted. 

DAWA DEM READING THE LOCAL NEWS

Musings and Flowers

Here are some photos of the flowers around the school campus.  They are lush and beautiful  Lush because of the immense amount of cow dung that gets washed into the flower beds. 

Food 

Great food in my kitchen these days.  Buckwheat flour made into banana bread.  The Bhutanese do not eat dessert or anything that is not spicy hot with plenty of chiles and very salty. When I described banana bread to a friend this evening I could see her nose curling with disgust at the thought. 

School 

Slowly easing back into the second term.  The "declaration of results" took a long time.  It is sort of like report cards, without the paper.  Each class has a topper, each subject has a topper, and each grade has its overall "toppers".  Very important.  As I am a class teacher, I had to gather the results from all 9 subject teachers and enter them into a computer programme.  The programme was well written by a teacher here, but only he had administrative rights and there were a few glitches.  I entered all of the marks three times before they would print out.  The only computer at the school with a functioning printer had viruses, so the process was frustrating and lengthy.  BCESIS will feel simple and straight forward when I get home! 

Fog and Humidity

Rob can attest to the fact that the fog is unlike anything we have ever experienced.  It got thicker after he left.  I thought I knew what rainy season meant prior to my summer break.  HA!  It rains more each day.  Un-believable.  Imagine wanting to light a candle because you have no power and everything is so humid that the matches are limp.  It took about 5 tries to light the match in the burner on the gas stove.  Luckily I have an electric lighter for the stove. I don't even want to think about the layers of fungus on my walls.  I scrape, spray, brush it off but the battle is constant. 

Students 

Lots of stories and comments and speeches about failure and trying again.  Suffering for the future of their families and the nation.  Some of it seems so unrealistic.  I asked them to write down the percentage they would like to achieve on the annual exam, and they all shoot for about 20 percent above what they have now.  When I ask them what they will do to get there the answers vary from "work harder" (they already study about 3 to 5 hours per day before and after school)  to "concentrate more".  The problem is a lack of understanding of the material and limited language skills. The amount of material they memorize is overwhelming. 

Consumables

Have you ever watched or been aware of what you consume around the house?  Living alone with limited access to some things, I have noticed the following:  I have only used 3 bars of soap, one of which has melted in the humidity, in 6 months.  YES  I wash every day.  Toothpaste does not disappear like it does at home.  2 tubes in 6 months.  Shampoo, still on the same bottle.  Face cream - am only 1/2 way through the expensive stuff my sista bought me for Christmas.  I hear that will change in winter as it gets dry and your face "cracks"??? 

Ok not so interesting but without television what else am I to think about? 

School Logo painted by a student