Wednesday, January 25, 2012

My first days

Well, I am actually here! After a trans-atlantic flight to Dusseldorf, an 8 hour layover, a really long flight to Bangkok, a 22 hour layover, and a flight to Paro with a stop in Dhaka, I have finally arrived!

The view from the window of the plane as we descended into Paro

We arrived at the Paro Airport, then met up with the rest of the teachers and went to lunch in the main part of Paro before driving to Thimphu. We got to walk around Paro a bit, which was our first introduction to a Bhutanese city. I thought it was beautiful.

Here is the large prayer wheel in Paro. There are small ones scattered throughout the city

Then we went to Thimphu, had dinner, and everyone crashed. It was a very tiring day, and if you add in the jetlag, it was exhausting. Today we had orientation in the morning, got to meet the Minister of Education at noon, and then took a city tour in the afternoon. We were shown all the markets and good stores to buy supplies for going into the field to our schools, as well as the touristy stalls that sell nice souvenirs. It was really nice to get to explore the city, but as it was another full day, its another night early to bed.

Thimphu- as you can see, it is a city crammed into a valley (which is the case for most large towns in Bhutan)

Bhutan is absolutely beautiful, and there is so much to see. The Bhutanese food has been spicy, but I am coming around to it...and the soups and teas are wonderful! So far, I am absolutely loving it here. The orientation has been good, all of the other BCF teachers are really nice and

interesting, and are all really remarkable people who are so passionate about teaching and being here. Its a great group of people to start off this experience with.

In Thailand, my friend Noorin ordered coconut water, and it came in a coconut with a flower!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Bhutan here I come!

On Saturday, I will be leaving for my next great adventure....teaching for a year in the remote Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, or, more poetically called, "The Land of the Thunder Dragon".
Over the past few months, besides traveling as well as undertake one of the most physically and mentally strenuous adventures of my life which was hiking the grand canyon, I have been doing sensible things like getting ready for Bhutan- getting vaccinations, figuring out what kind of clothes to bring, and packing.
All thats left really is to get on the plane, and go....