Bhutan Canada Foundation summer reading program

Five Canadian teachers piled into a Toyota Hiace van with luggage and guitars on Friday morning to head east. The weather was beautiful and the roads were, well . . . Not. The entire road east is being widened, all at once. Each 10 kilomrtres is contracted to a different contractor and is in a different stage of construction.  Mud, ruts, gravel, blasting, narrow, bumpy and slow.  And of course road blocks, which are closures for certain hours of the day. Along side the closures families have set up road side stands to sell cold drinks, veggies and junk food. 

We spent from 9 am to 7 pm on the road the first day, and stayed in the Phobjika Vallyey at Yo Lo Ki guest house.  I had stayed there with Jon in November 2013 to see the black necked cranes. The woman who owns the farm recognized me! 

The next morning was hot and sunny and we dropped Gina and Aldo at their school. The principal welcomed us with milk tea, then there was an assembly under the hot sun. A couple of Pp ( kindergarten ) boys puffed out their chests in pride as they sang the national anthem. It was results day so parents were arriving and sitting on benches,waiting to hear who the class troopers are and then get their child's report card.

The three of us contained the trek with Passang Driving and Karma riding shotgun.  As we reached the height of land leaving the Phobjika valley, we caught a glimpse,of the Himalaya peeking out of the clouds.  Lunch in Trongsa the Yangkill resort I think. 

1. We dropped Robert at the Nature Resort in Chumey, where Becky is working and welcomed us. More welcome tea.  When we arrived at the River Lodge an hour later Pema welcomed us with a whisky as more tea was out of the question and in Bhutanese style, there must be a welcome. 

This morning we shop, then head to our new abode in Tang. 

Vibrant Bhutan

The brilliant green paddy fields, the strong, rich colours of the womens' national dress, the red robes of the monks- it all felt so much like home when I landed in Paro. Of course it is not home and could never be home, nor do I want it to be.  

The plane left Bangkok fairly empty, in Bagdogra it filled up. From the tarmac we could see the mountains of Bhutan across the plains of India, the clouds of the rainy season swirling around in shades of white and grey, piling up and sweeping away to glimpses of the Himalaya.

I was vibrating with excitement or perhaps it was the black tea.  Descending into Paro is dramatic, I found it even more so with the clouds. So different to to clear blue skies of winter and the stark paddy fields of January.

That odd feeling of never having left overtook me immediately as I worked my way through immigration with my new colleagues, visas not quite correct, time spent explaining to officials, signing for money exchanged and paying entry taxes.   Meena was there to greet the teachers and Palden my dear teaching friend from Chukha, was thereto greet me.  It was overwhelming and I loved it all.

The day moved to Thimphu, where it was hot and cloudy,  sunny and windy. Lunch at Nancy's - delicious of course. Stories of years past teaching in Bhutan and hopes for the reading program.

Back in the hotel I did not want to let my heavy, weary body pull me into sleep, for fear of being awake all night.  I convinced Gina and Aldo, a teaching couple from Toronto, to go for a walk before dinner. In the monsoon.  Refreshing and muddy.

Indian dinner at the New Granf Hotel - Matt and Lucy introduced me, Rob and Jon both ate there with me. 
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I am now sitting on my back alley balcony in a wicker chair, wrapped in a plaid wool blanket listening to the chorus of dogs barking and howling, rendering the night sleepless at this point. 

Despite the shiny new cars, new buildings and rapid construction, some things have not changed here in Bhutan.

Rewind 2015

Here I sit in Bangkok and it all seems so familiar that it brought me back here to my blog. I sometimes wonder who reads blogs . . . .

To bring readers up to date, I am on my way to the Tang valley in the region of Bumthang, central Bhutan.  I am volunteering on a summer reading program in an elementary school. I will be working with kindergarten, grades 2 and 4 or 6. Very different for me and I have to thank Robyn Simard for materials and suggestions.

In regards to travelling, I am overwhelmingly amazed by our capacity to move so many people around the planet in the air. To me it is surreal to take off from Vancouver and be in Bangkok 18 hours later.  There is an awful lot of water down there as I look out the porthole from my cramped seat.  My contemplations on the flight took me to wanting to sail or at least go in an ocean liner to some distant destinations.  What a life it must have been sailing off to discover new islands. I don't think it was terribly long ago as one of my grandfathers or perhaps a great-grandfather "sailed the Seven seas under sail".

As I sit in Bangkok I am flooded by memories of arriving in Bhutan in 2013, not knowing the adventure that lay ahead. And leaving Bhutan with a dear friend (Dave-dear is an unusual word, but we share precious memories).  I am not certain what is drawing and pulling me back to Bhutan apart from the friends I left there; maybe the feeling that I was not "finished" when I left in 2014.