Four days in the land of happiness

I am sitting in a hotel room much like any other hotel room in a city much like any small city. Everything is different. 

It started with the flight through the Himalaya.  A clear blue sky with Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga out the window.  Paro is a thrilling descent and the airport is Bhutanese architecture. We spent the afternoon in Paro- tea outside in the winter sun at the hotel perched on a hill side.  Although it is winter here the sun warms everything up in the day time and it is very pleasant to be outside in shirtsleeves or a light jacket. 

We have been in Thimphu for 4 nights now.  The group is very interesting and diverse. We have had presentations from the Ministry of Education and met the Minister of Education.  It was a fascinating meeting - he asked us all to recount the moment when we knew we wanted to become a teacher.  Very passionate stories around the table and a deep level of commitment to the profession.  The depth of thought on the part of the policy makers is unbelievable.  If I understand correctly 30 percent of the population is in school and 30 percent of the civil service are teachers.  Gross National Happiness is being woven into the school system since 2011 with the Green school program.  

At this point I am intrigued.  

On a fun note we all were fitted for our national dress today.  Choosing colours and fabrics, ready made and tailored.  I am having 2 skirts made and bought the blouses and jackets. Anyone who knows me would guess that I based my choices around blue. . . pictures forthcoming as it will take a couple of days to sew the skirts. 

 Me wearing a Brokpa hat at eh BCF office.

Today a group of us woke up early to start a hike to the giant Buddha statue that sits on the hill above town. We left in the dark at 5:30 am and wandered up hill to find the road that leads to the Buddha.  The map and the roads did not really seem to match.  Perhaps it was the dark. Although we never made it to the Buddha, we found interesting parts of town and paths and had 2 dogs join us for about an hour.  Conversation may have contributed to lack of direction. We walked for f3 hours. 

The rest of the day was spent shopping. 

And celebrating Australia's birthday.  There are 2 couples and a young woman who are Aussies.  One couple has two young children 2 and 5 years old.  Great travellers and they add an great dynamic to our new "family" of BCF teachers. We are becoming fast friends.  My room mate has started to call me "mom"  she is 23 and although I still feel ageless I guess I am her BCF mom.