Good Eats at Ann's

This might not seem very exciting to those of you who have access to any kind of food you might desire. Well, that is certainly not the case here in Mongar. I quickly tired of the typical Bhutanese fare of rice and ema datse, so I keep expanding on what is actually possible. Banana cake, pizza, and pasta with homegrown basil have all been done. I needed to try something new.

I’ve been doing some mighty fine cookin' the last few days. First there were the pumpkin pies. I managed to get all of the ingredients that I needed. I bought a beautiful purplish-skinned pumpkin at the market and cooked it until it was soft. Cream was of the tinned variety. The cinnamon sticks and cloves had to be ground up, and the ginger was fresh gingerroot, but it worked out fine. In fact, it was delicious. The teachers and my neighbours all enjoyed their first ever pumpkin pie, and even Nancy had a piece when she was passing through Mongar.

pumpkin pie

Chimi,Chundu,friend enjoying pie

Sunday morning I made buckwheat pancakes, with flour which Karma provides from her village of Ura. I do that every Sunday, but these pancakes were even better, because I had them with maple syrup which Lynda’s mum brought from Canada.

I was on a roll. I’ve been gradually improving my bread, and I made the best ever whole wheat bread yesterday. Saturday was a rare occasion at the vegetable market when I had been able to get fresh lettuce and tomatoes. With some shrink-wrapped bacon from Canada (what a fantastic idea!), Hellman’s mayonnaise from Nancy, black pepper from Richard...guess what I made? Yup, a BLT, and it was scrumptious!

Today I made some delicious potato soup. In fact it was basically kewa datse (local dish made of potatoes, chillies and cheese), but I added more water and used a hand blender to make it relatively smooth. Now that the evenings are getting cooler, it is nice to have a bowl of homemade soup. Now I’ve got plenty for lots of cool evenings.

soup and sandwich

I think my next project will be an apple cake. I’ve got a bag of apples from Bumthang, and since I’ve already made a couple of apple pies, I think it is time for an apple cake. All of this baking happens in the flying saucer electric oven which I borrow from Chundu on a regular basis.

Picnic at Yakpogang

Class 6A invited me to join them for a picnic last Sunday, organized by their class teacher. I was delighted. Our destination was Wengkhar, which is an agricultural research centre I’d been hoping to visit for some time, and this seemed like a great opportunity.
Luckily it was one of the few dry days we’ve had. We started off at 8:00 a.m. in a mix of sun and cloud, which kept the temperature quite comfortable for the hike. I walked with the kids, but the other teachers all drove. (Young wimps) It was about 8 km there, mostly uphill. Our route involved a shortcut into a subtropical ravine, across a stream, and up the other side. Down there it sounded like the jungle, with all kinds of very loud bird and insect sounds.

typical house

I was looking forward to reaching our destination and having a snack and a drink, and mostly, a rest! Just before we got there, we encountered students already retracing their steps, and reporting that it wasn’t a good place for a picnic. They were heading back a couple of kilometres to a better spot. I needed a break, and I wanted to see Wengkhar, so I kept going on my own.

farmer

At Wengkhar, there were lots of greenhouses, and terraced gardens built on the side of the hill, and a very pretty view, but unfortunately, since it was Sunday, there was no one to give me a tour. I did meet up with the class teacher though, and we got a ride with a lama back to the new picnic spot in Yakpogang.



It was definitely a better spot, with wood to gather for the fires, water in the stream for cooking, and room to play. As usual, everyone pitched in to get things ready for lunch.
Each of the 42 kids brought a bag of rice, which amounted to a lot of rice!

preparation

It was quite an elaborate lunch with rice, ema datse(chillies and cheese), dahl, potato curry, boiled eggs, papadams, ezay (more chillies) and to my surprise, disgustingly huge chunks of butter!! It was all very tasty ( I didn’t have any butter), but I ended up with my first case of Bhutanese diarrhea, what they call “shooting diarrhea”. I’ll spare you the details, but I will tell you that the walk home was quite uncomfortable, and I just made it to the toilet!

“Respected Madam,
It was truly an amazing day. Before picnic, our class teacher collected Nu. 50 from each student. Then my class teacher and class captain, that would be me, went for shopping on Saturday.
The total money collected was about Nu. 2000 and we bought vegetables, eggs, snakes(sic), juice and some spices to add in curry. Me and Karma Lhazin, the other class captain invited teachers and of course, Madam…
…We also made tea and it was sufficient for all of the students. Then at the time of 3:00 p.m. we ate our lunch, and it was really tasty. Then my friends and I played gymnastics and had lots of fun. I hope madam had also enjoyed a lot.” ~Thinley Lhendup
chopping onions

“It was a very hard journey because we walked to Wengkhar and to Tongsang and again back to Yakpogang. We invited some other teachers but they came in vehicle later. We made oven and cooked food using firewood. I cried while cutting onions and ma’am clicked our photo while I was crying.
While I was walking home I was lifted by vice principal.” ~Chimi Yuden

chopping chillies

“…When we reached at Yakpogang we swam in the stream. We made many delicious foods. We ate and ate and we were very tired and lazy. I went to pick up litter with Madam Ann and then we played the badminton.” ~Cheki Dorji

writing diaries (note the cell phone)

playing chess

“…After finished ating the lunch we wash pots and our plates. I saw old man sitting near river. Then I told my class teacher I want to gave the food to old man. Then I put rice on the plate with different curry. Old man was about to go. Then I sent one of my friends to wait him. Then he sit on the grass and I gave him food. This man was very please to me. He said me that thankyou a lots. This man was telling to me that study hard. I will pray god for you. I was very happy that he was telling nicely to me. ~Tshering Choki

By the way, badminton was played in the middle of the trans-Bhutan highway. Whenever a vehicle was sighted coming around the bend, someone would shout, “Car!” or the Dzongkha equivalent, and everyone would get out of the way. Just like road hockey.

Bikram the Bullied

Bikram is one of my special education students, and is, well, special. He comes to my room for two periods a week, and is always prompt and eager to be there. We usually work on his articulation skills and reading, both areas in which he is very weak.
Bikram is 15 years old and in grade 7, which is not unusual. He has cerebral palsy which has damaged his left side. He walks with a limp, and his left arm is usually bent, his hand twisted, and his fingers gnarled. He is known as a bully at school, and a fighter, but I have never seen this. When I have asked him about his reputation, he always tells me that the other kids tease him, and yes, he strikes out at them. This results in a fight, and he usually gets blamed.
Last week, Bikram came to my room a bit late, and sobbing. It made me very sad to see him so upset. At first he couldn’t speak, because he was crying so hard, but then he explained that it was the usual: he was being teased, he hit someone, but this time two grade 8 boys beat him. I asked if he was hurt, but it seemed that it was his feelings that were more hurt. I offered to go and speak to the other boys, but he was afraid that he would get in trouble if I did. I have spoken to the staff on several occasions about Bikram being bullied, but the staff seems to think he is to blame.
Bikram was too upset to focus on reading, so it was a good opportunity to do some dictated writing instead. I acted as his secretary (his writing skills are very poor) and told him to tell me again the story of what had happened. Although he didn’t touch on the events of the day at all, I think perhaps it shows the depth of his sadness –that he had been so happy when he first came to our school, and now he didn’t feel like he had a friend. This is the story he told me:

Picnic with My Friends

When I was coming for the first time in this school I was very happy because I made many friends. One day my friend told to us, “We have to go to picnic.” When we finished eating the picnic we went to our own house. Next time friend told to go to Gangola to swim. When we are reached at Gangola we were very happy and we had to undress and swim. After we finished the swimming we ate the lunch and friend told to go home. When we were walking to the home suddenly we saw a snake and my friend killed it.
~Bikram Rai

I have a computer in my room now, so I taught Bikram how to use it to type his story. He caught on very quickly, and with some practice even managed to hit the shift key with one finger of his gnarled hand to make capital letters. I told him he looked like a “dasho” working in his office, and he was very pleased. When I printed out his story, he was very proud, and eager to do more next time.

The Long and Winding Road

I had the opportunity this week to do something new. I was invited to another community, called Drametse, to do a workshop on English language instruction for a group of 30 teachers from k to 10. The workshop was for a “cluster” of schools, which meant that some teachers walked four hours from neighbouring villages to come to the workshop! That’s dedication.

Sherab, the young principal of the school came to Mongar to pick me up on Tuesday. We left here at 4:00 p.m., and with one brief stop to have a snack overlooking a beautiful river valley, we arrived at his house at 7:30. The last hour was constant zigzagging on a dirt road to the top of the mountain. I didn’t count, but apparently there are about 40 switchbacks in the 18 km climb. I didn’t get sick, but I was feeling a little woozy by the time we got there.

I was welcomed into Sherab’s home by his young wife, and their two young children. We had a late dinner of rice, curried vegetables, and fresh fish. No one is ever very clear about where the fish comes from, because it is illegal to fish in Bhutan. Maybe from India. Any way, it was tasty, and I am still alive.



The kids watched television for awhile, and I was very amused to see “Power Rangers” dubbed in Hindi. How old is that show?

The kids had been moved into their parents’ bedroom, so I had my own room. I’d like to say I was comfortable, but I wasn’t. The bed was a two-inch thick (thin) mattress on wooden boards, which is rather hard for me. It was very peaceful though. Not even any barking dogs.

Wednesday was a very full day. First I was asked to speak at the morning assembly to the 500+ kids in PP(K) to grade 10. I read them “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein, because it can be appreciated at different levels. It was a big hit.

The workshop went very well. We divided the day into three hour and a half sessions with tea and lunch in between. The teachers were keenly involved in various games, activities, and group presentations. There was lots of good-natured laughter, and they seemed to learn a lot.








After school there was an “Inter-Cluster School Quiz” in the Multi-Purpose Hall. The four teachers who had walked from other villages had each brought two students with them, so with Drametse’s two there were ten competitors in all. I was amazed with the amount of preparation which had gone into this quiz. It was very professionally done, using a computer, projector, and sound system. The five teams each had a buzzer and coloured light bulb for responding to questions. There were six categories: English, Maths, Science, Social Studies, Current Affairs, and General Knowledge. I was very impressed with the knowledge of the students. I think the only category in which I would have beaten them was in math. That was not their forte.

The ADEO (Assistant District Education Officer) was there for the competition too. He had spent a couple of days walking to visit these remote schools which can only be reached on foot. He was a very chatty guy, and quite a colourful speaker. I think he had probably had a fair bit of arra during his day of trekking from community to community. He said something about our main goal as “senior educators” being to “spread our educational experience, much like spreading HIV Aids”. Mmm-hmm. Anyway, he said that he hopes I will go to other communities to do other workshops. I said I would love to.

The vice-principal, a young woman named Tenzin Wangmo (an ex-student of Nancy’s), joined us back at the house for arra and dinner. This was the hot version with egg fried in butter. I had a bit to be polite, but after my previous very bad experience with arra, I couldn’t enjoy it. Tenzin could really put back the arra though! I was a little concerned because I knew she would be driving me home the next day.

In the morning, Sherab walked with me to the Drametse monastery which is the biggest in eastern Bhutan. It is famous for the Nga Cham drum dance, which was proclaimed a “masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage” by UNESCO in 2005. I was hoping to see a rehearsal, but it wasn’t the right time. I will have chance to see the dance at the Mongar tsechu in November.



Tenzin was in fine shape, and reached me safely home by noon. The ride back was harder on my system, and by the time we got here I had to lie down for a couple of hours until the world stopped spinning. As I lay there, I wasn’t so sure that I would like to go to other communities to do workshops. But that is forgotten now, and only the fond memories of the experience remain.

VP Tenzin Wangmo, viewpoint on the drive home

Blessed Rainy Day

Blessed Rainy Day is a national holiday in Bhutan. Until today, I thought the name was a joke. We have had way more rain than I want or need, so I had renamed the day something quite different.

But my feelings changed today. I asked my grade six class to write about this special day, and it seems to be very important to them. It certainly isn’t a joke. The specific details seem to vary from person to person, but then so do our beliefs and traditions regarding Christmas.

Here are some excerpts:

“Respected Madam,
I guess in your country there is no such day as Blessed Rainy Day. In dzongkha we say ‘Thrue-bub’. Tomorrow at 7:05a.m., if we wash our face or take a bath it is believed that the bad deeds we have done until now will all be cleared up. Our illness will be also healed. Also when we drink water, it tastes sweet and fresh. I don’t know how, but it is unbelievable! Every river, sea, oceans becomes like medicine, but people may not realize, only Buddhist people does as we believe in god.”
~Thinley Lhendup

“On Blessed rainy Day we believe that when we keep the water outside in the rain at night we get blessed from our god Lord Buddha, so most of us does what we believe and we wash our head or body with that water facing the north side, and it will clear up all the bad deeds and bad luck we have.” ~Kinley Wangmo


“In Blessed Rainy Day, we have to keep one bucket with flowers outside the house where rain can fall. At the night, rain will fall and no one will see the rain, but when it became day your bucket will be full of water. We have to wash our body with that water without soap. All our selfish and bad things we have done will be purified and we will not get sick and god will also bless us.” ~Pema Rinzin

“After washing our body we will be together with family and friends and eat the porridge. We will play and eat different kinds of food. After eating we will sing and dance for thank-you.” ~Thinley Wangmo

“Also when we go to the school, we will feel more comfortable and it will be easier to read or write better than before. It will make our brain clear and better. It will scent nicely on our body.” ~Tshering Penjor


“If we do good things on this day, it is like doing 100 times good things. If we do bad things, it is like doing 100 times bad things.” ~Sonam Choden

“In that time we also eat the delicious food in the morning, afternoon and night. Some people drink the alcohol and beer. Many people have to fight when they drink alcohol. Many people go to picnic on that time and they sing and dance a lot.” ~Dhendup Tshewang



After prayers at the end of the school day, many students came to wish me a happy Blessed Rainy Day. If I still had any doubts about there being something magical about the day, the last remnants were washed away then. There was the most beautiful sun shower, and a double rainbow extended from the top of the mountain down into the valley. We all just stood in the rain and admired the sight for about twenty minutes.

I have put my bucket of flowers and water outside to be blessed overnight. It sort of feels like hanging up a Christmas stocking. Tomorrow morning I will use the water to wash, while facing north and thinking positive thoughts. I will visit a few friends who have invited me to their homes. I will share the special biscuits, called khabzey which I was given today. They are pieces of fried dough in the shape of intricate leaves and flowers. I will try to do only good things all day.

Sorry about the wires

Photos

View from my balcony. It's always changing

Me

My hennaed hair

Mongar vegetable market

The milkman

Selling buttermilk and yoghurt

The cobbler who fixed my sandals

My favourite lunchspot for samosas and tea

Daughter and mother, who is exactly the same age as I am

Momos

Changkay (homebrew served at baby showers)

Class 6A students cleaning up the creek

Rimdro held to settle the spirit of my neighbour's sister

A Fairly Typical Saturday Afternoon

I just returned from a very pleasant walk into town. I walk into town almost every evening, but Saturday afternoons are so much more relaxed. The week’s work is done and I have a whole day and a half off!

Today is particularly nice, because it is sunny, and not too hot. I took my small backpack and some plastic bags, to be prepared to buy some groceries, if there happened to be anything good available today. As I walked into town, I met many locals along the way. Most had the usual greeting, “Where are you going ma’m?” I met some kids from my school and was given “a chewing gum”. Further on, more kids, another chewing gum.

I had to pass by above my school, hoping not to be noticed. There is a football (soccer) tournament going on, and I had been asked to be the “Chief Guest” today and tomorrow. This would have meant sitting through hours of soccer, occasionally making an announcement, and at the end congratulating the winning team. No thank-you. You know what an ardent sports fan I am. I apologized, using “other plans” as an excuse. Passing by unnoticed was not easy. With my bright red hair, and being the only woman in Mongar over 5 foot 2, I am easy to spot. Some people have said they can always see me because I look like a torch.

Further on, more kids, but this time I was given a little packet of Churapi, a snack I enjoy. It is a little foil pack of tiny pieces of very hard dried cheese. You can chew on one piece, about .5 cm cubed, and it lasts about a half an hour. I like it. I’ve tried the bigger more rustic version, which is about an inch cubed, but it is like having a rock in your mouth. Your cheek bulges way out and you can’t talk properly. I spat that out after a minute or two.

In town I first went to the vegetable market. Slim pickins today. I got some brinjal (eggplant), a small cabbage, some plum tomatoes and a ball of local cheese. I am making a pasta dish for a picnic tomorrow with my buddies, “The Bhutaniacs”. They asked me how I would normally make pasta, so I’ll see what I can do with the ingredients I have. I have lots of garlic and onions, and I have basil which I grew from seeds sent from Canada. It should be tasty I think.

I bought a few grocery items at my favourite shop, known as “The Tibetan Shop” because it is run by a Tibetan family. I keep hoping they will get a new shipment of butter from India. The butter on the shelf has been there since the beginning of the summer, and the cardboard packages are almost transparent from the melted fat. Yuck. I could buy local butter, which is wrapped in a banana leaf and sold at the vegetable market, but it tastes more like cheese than butter.

The main reason I want butter, is that I am in the midst of making my third loaf of whole wheat bread, using Chundu’s flying saucer shaped oven. The first loaf was weird because Chundu and I used what she thought was atta (whole wheat flour), but was actually tsampa, roasted barley flour. I don’t think it had any gluten, so it didn’t rise at all.

My second attempt was last weekend, and it was much better. It still didn’t rise as much as I would like, but it was tasty. I gave two thirds of the loaf to Chundu’s family, and they enjoyed it. I had a little each day, with real Swiss cheese from Bumthang. What a treat!

This third loaf is doing its final rise, and it looks promising. It is the first loaf-shaped loaf, because Chundu lent me a real loaf pan.

As I wandered around town, I saw quite a few vehicles still decorated with ribbons, bows and flowers. Yesterday there was a special puja for vehicles to protect against accidents. If I had a vehicle, I would probably do it too. Better safe than sorry. On these roads, one needs any protection one can get. We are still getting major rain, so there are landslides, accidents and road closures. The sunny days are becoming more frequent, so I hope the roads improve too.



On the walk home, instead of just crossing over the creek which is on my route, I walked up the creek to gather some watercress. I was careful to avoid touching the stinging nettles, because I’ve made that mistake before. The water felt very nice on my feet, and my sandals needed a wash. I had noticed the watercress last week when I was there with Class 6A, cleaning up. In English class we had read a story about a bunch of kids saving a creek, and they were inspired to do the same. That day they worked for about an hour and a half collecting plastic, metal and cardboard from the creek, and then they repositioned some stones so that the creek now flows unobstructed. As I said to them, the creek even sounds happy. They were very proud of their work, and many say they are inspired to clean up other areas.

I can hear shouts and cheers wafting up the hill from the soccer pitch. Time to go and put my bread in the oven.

I promise I will add photos in the next couple of days.