Week 5 -- Time is flying!

Another week has flown by, and it’s hard for me to believe I’ve been here just over a month already.  Ugyen and I have been joined at the psychiatric ward with another volunteer, Darren, who will be here until mid-August.  His arrival is well timed because I will be out of the hospital for much of next week – Monday and Wednesday I will be at a conference at the Royal Banquet Hall, and Tuesday I will be teaching at Serbethang, Thimphu’s inpatient rehab center.  Friday I will be leaving for a weekend in Punakha.  Looks like a busy week ahead!

Every day here is busy and brings more surprises.  Last week I was glad I’d stocked my freezer a few days earlier because I learned this is “auspicious month.”  Twice a year there are no meat sales for a month.  I guess that’s very auspicious for the animals…  Then Thursday, after thinking it seemed a bit quiet on my way to work, I discovered it was “Pedestrian Day.”  No cars may be driven within the town all day, only taxis and only around the outskirts of town.  Made it a real challenge getting to and from my weekly meeting at the organization where I volunteer each Thursday. They used to have this day each week, but since the new government came in about a year ago, Pedestrian Day is only an annual event.

Saturday I met a Bhutanese friend in town and we visited the Textile Museums (there’s an old and a new one). The new museum featured a display of royal garments, both old and new, including the clothing worn by the current king and queen at their wedding.  To call this clothing beautiful is an understatement.  The tradition of weaving goes back centuries and the work is incredible.  There’s no photos permitted in the museum, so you’ll have to use your imagination.  We followed this with a brief meeting with the manager of another rehab center where I’ll be doing some training, and then a delicious lunch at Ama’s, a nearby restaurant.

Today, Ugyen, Darren, and I hiked up to Tango Monastery.  

Tango University of Buddhist Studies

It was raining gently, and the misty fog made the mountains and buildings at the top look even more ethereal.

We returned to town for lunch and then went on to show Darren the Takin zoo.  I was quite happy to visit these unusual animals again, and we walked the complete circumference of their park. 

View from the temple looking out

Joy and Ugyen at chorten on way to Tango

Entry to Tango Monastery

Tango Monastery

Next we returned to Buddha Point, and today it was open for closer viewing than my last visit.  The construction won’t be complete for another couple of years, but when it’s done, the statue will house over one hundred thousand smaller Buddha statues, each of which, like the Buddha Dordenma itself, will be made of bronze and gilded in gold.  Upon completion, it will be one of the largest Buddha statues in the world, at a height of 169 feet.