Leak Proof? What's that on the second battery then?
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Socks
I won't be going to Kuenga High School after all.
School got a request for me to swap over to Drukgyel High, further up the Paro Valley. We agreed to the swap. I am going with two other teachers from school. Lopen Ugyen is one of them.
By some strange coincidence (most coincidences are strange, aren't they?) I had a photo of Drukyel Dzong a few posts ago. The school is not far from there.
Now I am planning what to take. This is quite exciting and interesting for me, but probably not for you. Too bad though. It is my blog!
I like to travel light. If I can get away with less, then that is what I will take. Ideally, just the clothes I wear and necessary changes. My initial plan was to take my bike. That would give me some freedom, and a chance to visit further away places. Paro town is quite a distance away. However, a bike would mean extra things .... for example, cycling shoes and cycling pants. So, cancel the bike. Will I take a pillow? Probably not. Just a pillow case will be enough as I can stuff that with something soft. Marion is lending me a sleeping bag and Letho promised me one of those thin sleeping mats. One pair of shoes should be plenty. Matthew gave me a pair of shoes that did not fit him. They are still going. Not strong, but going. The stuffing is coming out of the back of the heel. Ugyen wants me to replace them, but a new pair from here would not be up to the old pair from there. Paro is going to be quite cold, so I want to take a warmer pair of trousers for evening wear. Some lovely Japanese students from Yokaichi gave me a nice thick shirt. That is still going very strong and will do nicely for exam duty. Hopefully that will last a week. When I left Japan, I got a very warm down jacket from one of the outlet stores near the airport. There is so much down, and a large hood that does not detach, so it does not pack down as much as I hoped. I have to turn sideways when I go through doors. Did you ever see that man made of tyres? He was the symbol for some brand. Michelin. No, I remember someone called 'Sam, Sam, the Bicycle Man'. Can any of you remember him? There is a small hole which I asked Matthew to find a patch for. He did. He posted it too. But it never made it. The post to Bhutan sometimes goes astray. Nice merino hats and sleeping bag liners have been swiped too. But I digress.
Are you still there?
Yes, the jacket. That will be good. If the nights are too cold for the bag that Marion gives me, I can sleep in the jacket. On the Sunday, I can wash the shirt. Instead of washing t-shirts, I can take enough to last. They don't take up much space. Maybe take an extra shirt too. There is just on thing that cannot go more than one day without cleaning. Something that I cannot do without.
Socks.
Isn't it time that some cunning scientist came up with socks that could be worn for a week?
School got a request for me to swap over to Drukgyel High, further up the Paro Valley. We agreed to the swap. I am going with two other teachers from school. Lopen Ugyen is one of them.
By some strange coincidence (most coincidences are strange, aren't they?) I had a photo of Drukyel Dzong a few posts ago. The school is not far from there.
Now I am planning what to take. This is quite exciting and interesting for me, but probably not for you. Too bad though. It is my blog!
I like to travel light. If I can get away with less, then that is what I will take. Ideally, just the clothes I wear and necessary changes. My initial plan was to take my bike. That would give me some freedom, and a chance to visit further away places. Paro town is quite a distance away. However, a bike would mean extra things .... for example, cycling shoes and cycling pants. So, cancel the bike. Will I take a pillow? Probably not. Just a pillow case will be enough as I can stuff that with something soft. Marion is lending me a sleeping bag and Letho promised me one of those thin sleeping mats. One pair of shoes should be plenty. Matthew gave me a pair of shoes that did not fit him. They are still going. Not strong, but going. The stuffing is coming out of the back of the heel. Ugyen wants me to replace them, but a new pair from here would not be up to the old pair from there. Paro is going to be quite cold, so I want to take a warmer pair of trousers for evening wear. Some lovely Japanese students from Yokaichi gave me a nice thick shirt. That is still going very strong and will do nicely for exam duty. Hopefully that will last a week. When I left Japan, I got a very warm down jacket from one of the outlet stores near the airport. There is so much down, and a large hood that does not detach, so it does not pack down as much as I hoped. I have to turn sideways when I go through doors. Did you ever see that man made of tyres? He was the symbol for some brand. Michelin. No, I remember someone called 'Sam, Sam, the Bicycle Man'. Can any of you remember him? There is a small hole which I asked Matthew to find a patch for. He did. He posted it too. But it never made it. The post to Bhutan sometimes goes astray. Nice merino hats and sleeping bag liners have been swiped too. But I digress.
Are you still there?
Yes, the jacket. That will be good. If the nights are too cold for the bag that Marion gives me, I can sleep in the jacket. On the Sunday, I can wash the shirt. Instead of washing t-shirts, I can take enough to last. They don't take up much space. Maybe take an extra shirt too. There is just on thing that cannot go more than one day without cleaning. Something that I cannot do without.
Socks.
Isn't it time that some cunning scientist came up with socks that could be worn for a week?
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Karma
I got a short message from Karma, in response to yesterday's 'Ugyen' post.
"Please write about me :)"
He could really mean not to write about him, playing some kind of double entendre.
But I am not sure, so I will write about him.
I have not spoken to him much since he returned from studying in America. Now his messages come to me with 'Written on my glorious iPhone' or 'From my new and fancy iPad' attached on the bottom. (A little poetic license on my part there.)
It would be nice to get together with him for a decent chat. Conversations with Karma are always very stimulating. He has lots of good ideas. Creative thoughts.
And if he is tired of his boring old iPad, he might give it to me.
You can read of an earlier adventure to Phajoding with Karma here.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Diary
This morning, some time between 4 and 5, I found this article on Leonardo da Vinci's notebook. The article goes on to talk about creativity, and how being able to let the reins loose brings about more ideas. Interesting.
This links in with something I was pondering the other day... diaries. The diary I have at school is more of a to-do list. Not quite as exciting as Leonardo's one. As I cycle to school most days, and that involves a long uphill climb home, I keep the diary at school most days. Trust me, the few grammes saved make a difference. In the past, my diaries have included more personal notes. When reading a book, I would find a quote and jot it down for future reference. If I saw something of interest, that would be recorded. Recipes that I saw on TV were written down throughout the diary. My bookshelf has diaries going back over the years. I cannot throw them out, even though I hardly ever refer to them. Throwing away a diary seems like throwing away your past. That could be a good thing.
My daily emails to Don now record some of my daily activities. You can read more about Don here. There are 1105 of those mails now. So, the computer could be a good place to keep a diary. There are many choices of software. A simple text programme would do fine, but then you do not get the calendar. Day One is a nice looking application for the Mac computer. I thought about getting that. I thought some more, and realised that I like having a book that I can carry with me. Something that you do not have to plug in to recharge. A thing that looks like a diary. Joe and Jenny gave me a beautiful leather bound book that looks just like the image of Leonardo's diary. That was a year ago, and the book has hardly been touched.
Next week, I am going over to Kuenga High, in Paro, to do invigilation duty. That means watching students sit their exams. Three hours of enforced meditation. I will be staying there without internet access for a couple of weeks. There won't be the daily mails to Don. It is going to be a change not having the internet. When I first came to Bhutan, one of the things I liked was not having the comforts of home. No phone to interrupt. No electrical appliances to fail on you, just when you needed them. No washing machine .... well, I did miss that. And no TV. There was time to sit and read again.
And write notes in a diary.
This links in with something I was pondering the other day... diaries. The diary I have at school is more of a to-do list. Not quite as exciting as Leonardo's one. As I cycle to school most days, and that involves a long uphill climb home, I keep the diary at school most days. Trust me, the few grammes saved make a difference. In the past, my diaries have included more personal notes. When reading a book, I would find a quote and jot it down for future reference. If I saw something of interest, that would be recorded. Recipes that I saw on TV were written down throughout the diary. My bookshelf has diaries going back over the years. I cannot throw them out, even though I hardly ever refer to them. Throwing away a diary seems like throwing away your past. That could be a good thing.
My daily emails to Don now record some of my daily activities. You can read more about Don here. There are 1105 of those mails now. So, the computer could be a good place to keep a diary. There are many choices of software. A simple text programme would do fine, but then you do not get the calendar. Day One is a nice looking application for the Mac computer. I thought about getting that. I thought some more, and realised that I like having a book that I can carry with me. Something that you do not have to plug in to recharge. A thing that looks like a diary. Joe and Jenny gave me a beautiful leather bound book that looks just like the image of Leonardo's diary. That was a year ago, and the book has hardly been touched.
Next week, I am going over to Kuenga High, in Paro, to do invigilation duty. That means watching students sit their exams. Three hours of enforced meditation. I will be staying there without internet access for a couple of weeks. There won't be the daily mails to Don. It is going to be a change not having the internet. When I first came to Bhutan, one of the things I liked was not having the comforts of home. No phone to interrupt. No electrical appliances to fail on you, just when you needed them. No washing machine .... well, I did miss that. And no TV. There was time to sit and read again.
And write notes in a diary.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Town
I walked into town the other day. Thimphu is the capital city of Bhutan. Having lived here for 10 years, about 20% of my present life, I am used to most things I see there. Today, I tried to see things through fresh eyes again. What were some sights that viewers from outside Bhutan would not see in their cities? These are some of the photos:
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Bhutan
I am hoping they will tempt some of my family and friends to make a visit.
The photo above is part of the Eyeamempty Exhibition, currently showing on Mark's Mac. It is a shot of Drukyal Dzong in the upper Paro valley, a Dzong built in 1649 which was destroyed by fire in the early 1950's.
The photo above is part of the Eyeamempty Exhibition, currently showing on Mark's Mac. It is a shot of Drukyal Dzong in the upper Paro valley, a Dzong built in 1649 which was destroyed by fire in the early 1950's.
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