trekking, tourism and Thimphu

Another night in Thimpu, Bhutan's capital city. We are here for just over a week, at a lovely inn/hotel - Yeedzin - with edible, though not inspiring, cuisine. We survived altitude sickness - and I now feel much more experienced with identifying and dealing with it; key lesson - symptoms = descent, and not 'let's just take it slow'. Even after descending 500m, because two students were sick (vomitting and difficulty breathing), 2 more of us succumbed - including moi. Not pretty, or fun...that was one long night. An amazing thing happened the next morning though.... I hardly slept, and was pretty wide-eyed as of 1am. At 5am, just as the first light began to break, I heard the first bird song break the complete silence of night. Within seconds there was another joining in...and within minutes there was a chorus of bird songs the like of which I have never heard in any boreal forest, mountainside or jungle. It was simply extraordinary. We were in a meadow, just on the edge of one of the most magnificently mystical old-growth forests in the world. After about 10 minutes of the birds calling in the day, the insects starting chirping and whining - rising and rising to an almost deafening cry - even to the point of drowning out what sounded like the song of every bird in the world. All this rising to a cacophonous crescendo at 5:20am....slowly the insects started to fade away into the dawn, and I was left standing in a misty, chilly meadow with only a scattering of bird calls - unable to comprehend how anyone in the near vicinity could possibly still be sleeping. But they were - and it was just me and birds. And the nausea. Haha - for a few minutes there I almost forgot why I was awake and out of the tent at all... so, there I was, standing 'alone' in the meadow, in my PJ's, almost thankful for the challenge of the mountain.

Since then, we have all recovered perfectly, and have arrived in Thimpu to begin our community service work. As we arrive, I am immediately struck by the relative scale of haphazard development. This is definetly a growing city - and I can't help but try to reconcile this with all I have learned so far about Bhutan's philosophy and policy of Gross National Happiness, a pillar of which is sustainability and environmental protection. So begin the contradictions. There is no doubt in my mind that this country's intentions, with respect to getting it right, are sound, but it does not come without its challenges and paradoxes. (NOTE: 'it' here refers to the pandora's box of modernization, globalization, urbanization, democratization, industrialization, social/economic development, etc). I am fascinated, inspired, cynical, skeptical, curious, hopeful, doubtful and, at the end of the day, just a tourist. No matter what my limited experience here, it will remain only a tiny glimpse into the complexities of a nation that has only opened its borders to the rest of the world in my lifetime. It is mind-blowing to imagine that the trek we attempted early last week was, only 25 years ago, THE primary route (by foot/horse) between the communities of Paro and Thimpu. Now we drive by car dealerships on the way into the city, and watch as buildings are erected (using tall bamboo poles as scaffolding and support beams!) to accomodate the influx of the rural populace into Bhutan's biggest city (at 80,000 ). I have so many questions (and concerns!). How will they manage to protect their traditions in the face of such an onslaught of global culture, which is, in many significant ways, at odds with their stated intentions? Is it possible to modernize/globalize without internalizing the values of materialism? Is materialism the biggest threat? What about industrialization? Where does a country, that has a stated policy of protecting the environment before profit, draw the line between industrialization and conservation? I could go on, and on, and on...but then I begin to notice how deeply personal some of this feels - as though I want to drop everything and offer whatever skills and knowledge I have to ensure 'its' done 'right' - and I notice too, of course, that this isn't my country to 'save' (though it is our world). All this, and my head is still light from the altitude and lack of food in the past 24hrs.

From a tourist perspective, for those who maybe don't dig too deep, Bhutan is an idyllic experience. Prayer flags wave in the steady mountain breeze, everyone has friendly smiles and there seems to be a steady serenity. I am finally at home in a country whose religion/spirituality, while not something I practice with any great consistency or thorough knowledge, is certainly aligned with many of my own personal philosophies and perspectives. Bhutan was very much a safe haven for some of Tibet's most significant spiritual leaders - and, once again, I find myself thankful for the existence of this small Himalayan kingdom. I appreciate buddhism for the way it doesn't look to impose itself on others...and for its cyclical approach to life and death - and, perhaps most importantly, for its philosophy of compassion and respect for all sentient beings. Don't get me wrong though - I will continue to mange la viande and murder mosquitoes! (are they sentient, anyway!??) I will, though, continue to learn what I can about the practice and philosophy of Bhuddhism while here, and upon returning home...

On less philosophical notes - the trip is going swimmingly well. The students are all engaged, mature, keen and responsible. Makes my job as a programme manager very easy (so far). I can't say I'm thrilled about being here on my own as a staff member - is somewhat boring where I would prefer to have a buddy to explore and entertain with...but I am developing some friendships with locals I may not have otherwise experienced. Today, at the youth centre, I ended up in some great conversation with a young Bhutanese journalist who is working full-time in the information technology/management office at the youth centre we are volunteering at. I look forward to talking to him more as the week goes on - and hope he will teach me more about Bhutan and GNH, as he teaches a night school course on this topic to interested professionals. Yesterday I crossed paths with a Canadian teacher from Toronto who is in his 6th month of a teaching position in eastern Bhutan. His parents have just arrived for a visit, and he was so revved up with insight, frustration, cynicism, inspiration and passion it was a fantastic pleasure to be able to discuss Bhutan with him, particularly from our particular Canadian educators' perspectives. But back to the trip... this journey is certainly more cultural exchange than community service - but the few projects we have worked on in the past couple days have been super. Yesterday, the students began the day with a morning reading session with the children at the youth centre. Bhutanese children are on their 2-week summer holiday right now, so the youth centre has been very busy with programming. In small groups, the Canadian students both read to and with the children, and then spent time discussing Bhutan and Canadian culture with them. Just from what I overheard, I know that this generation of Bhutanese children is having the very unique experience of being the first to not only be aware of the rest of the world, but also to begin to value the culture, beauty, pasttimes and stories of the west. In exploring their library, filled with mostly donated books, I couldn't help but wonder how the children's stories of my own youth would influence and shift their own developing paradigms. In the afternoon, we were driven to a community housing neighbourhood for low-income civil servants where they had shelves of disorganized donated books, with no idea on how to 'create' a library. We spent the next 3 hours sorting, labeling, and organizing, at their request. It was actually pretty fun! This morning we helped in the youth centre's gardens, as the students from both countries continued to develop their budding friendships...but mostly we got rained out of that project. The afternoon was super fun - exchanging crafts! One of our students brought a stash of thread for making friendship bracelets - and everyone loved it! I was SO impressed by a blind Bhutanese man who showed up a bit late, and began immediately to learn the skill of friendship bracelet making without hesitation. He then continued to teach us about the art of making small woven fish decorations as their craft exchange. It was simply completely inspiring. He is full of humour and jokes, and works as an unofficial youth counsellor at the centre - awaiting his acceptance to a masters programme so he can officially claim his position as youth consellor. (For the record, the rapid urbanization is leading the growing creation of youth gangs and substance abuse problems - though the numbers are miniscule relative to other countries - Bhutan is attempting to nip it in bud...again, more hope and skepticism). There is actually a complete ban on cigarettes here, though alcohol is readily available.

Tomorrow is the last day of the summer break youth programmes. They are wrapping it up with a talent show which everyone is very excited about! They have asked us to prepare a piece, and as per my obsession with Waving Flag, I have suggested to the students that they do a rendition of this awesome tune as it is (still!) relevant, and is quite a popular song here - and is, of course, written by a Torontonian!! Not to mention - the ubiquitous prayer flags have added a new and unanticipated dimension to the tune! I can hardly wait! I will not be on stage, but will be singing along off-stage, with video recorder in hand! Thursday is a very significant national holiday (holy day) which is spent almost entirely in prayer. We will be going for a (flat!) one-hour hike, followed by a visit to the local zoo to get a glimpse of the takin, the national animal, and one of the stranger looking mammals on earth. We may also visit a temple or the like - and perhaps I will say a prayer...

Thinking a LOT about my friends scattered around the globe, and back home, and while loving it here, am also a little homesick for summer patios and awesome food in Europe, paddling and swimming in Ontario lakes and singing along to my favourite musicians/tunes with a beer in hand...hoping you are all well and loving life wherever you are. Love to everyone. :-)