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Bhutan

Mindful Walking

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Our family just spent 2 months in the country of Bhutan.  If you are unfamiliar with our wanderings you can check us out at Byers Without Borders and if your geography needs help, you can find this little gem of a country nestled between India and China. You may also know Bhutan as the happiest country in the world, famous for placing Gross National Happiness (GNH) ahead of Gross National Product. This beautiful Himalayan country is heavily steeped in culture and tradition, reflecting a predominantly Vajaryana Buddhist influence.

 

One way this influence manifests is through the activities witnessed at Thimphu’s National

Thimphu’s Memorial Chorten

Memorial Chorten.  It’s a prominent landmark in the heart of the city center with tinkling bells, engraved Buddhas and a large golden spire.  A Chorten (Tibetan translation) or Stupa is a structure that contains buddhist relics, and is used as a place of contemplation/meditation.  In the himalaya Buddhists traditionally perform clockwise circuits around chortens while gently chanting, praying or reflecting. Thimphu’s National Memorial Chorten is one of the biggest in the country and is dedicated to their third king, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.  At nearly every hour of the day you can find devotees circumambulating this impressive structure. It is a large part of everyone’s daily practice, so naturally it became the focus of our daily mindful-walking practice. Over the 2 months we lived in Thimphu we set the goal to make 108 koras (circles) around the chorten.  A sacred number in many eastern religions including Buddhism.

 

Daily we practised mindful walking, making koras around the chorten. We practiced being mindful of each step, feeling the support of the earth beneath the foot, the micro-pause that leads to the flowing shift of the body’s weight into the next step. When our monkey minds wandered we gently brought focus back to the present, to that very step, to that snapshot in the kora.

 

At times we adopted local traditions as aids to keep us mindful. Mantra, mala, and prayer wheels are tools that many Buddhists use to keep the mind present. Mantras are short phrases, sometimes as short as a single word, chanted aloud or simply repeated mentally. They give the mind an anchor in the present, when you catch yourself wondering what’s for dinner. Om mani padme hum, the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, is the most common mantra throughout the Himilaya and is the one we adopted. Mala are strings of prayer beads (108) similar to western rosaries. They are used to count mantras recited, koras walked, prostations performed, or simply breaths taken. Prayer wheels are cylinders whose interior contains

spinning the prayer wheel

rolls of paper printed with a repeating mantra, and whose exterior is embossed with a mantra. Rotating on a central axis, the act of spinning a prayer wheel invokes its mantra. We found the physical act of maintaining its spin a useful aid in staying present.

 

Mindful Walking simply means walking while being aware of each step, each breath; it means intentionally engaging with each present moment.  It can be practiced anywhere. You can mindfully walk alone in nature, on your way to school, in a crowded city or in another country.

 

In this video you can see us mindfully walking around Thimphu’s National Memorial Chorten.  Stella is using mantra, Isabelle mala, and Lily the prayer wheel.

Watch the video HERE.

How Do You Spend 27 hours on a Plane with 3 Kids and Not Lose Your Mind

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As many of you know we left the comforts of home to travel to the other side of the world to do volunteer work with the organization Health Volunteers Overseas  in the country of Bhutan. My wonderfully talented husband, Bill, has been writing (his true passion) about our adventures and experiences on our blog Byers Without Borders (you can follow us there too) and I thought I would add a few tips and tricks here and there as well.

How do you spend 27 hours on a plane with 3 kids and not lose your mind?

#1 Bring along an empty spill-proof water bottle. Those little clear plastic cups you get are inevitably going to get spilled either all over your kid, their sibling, another passenger or all over you.

#2 Foldable Headphones. Earbuds never seem to fit little ears. Plus there is a lot of white noise from the plane. Most planes, especially overseas flight, have in flight entertainment built into the seat that you can plug your headphones into but their also helpful when playing games on the iPad.

Spill Proof Water Bottle
http://amzn.to/2F2SZIT
Kids Headphones by noot
#3 Fear of Flying. It’s normal for some to have a fear of flying and our Lily (10) has anxiety over the takeoff and landing.  Her go to reprieve is something she learned in her YoPlay classes with me.  It’s called Peace Begins With Me.  You tap each finger to your thumb while simultaneously saying a word to each corresponding finger.  For example, tap your index finger to your thumb and say ‘peace’, then your middle finger to your thumb and say ‘begins’, ring finger to your thumb and say ‘with’ and finally your pinky finger to your thumb and say ‘me’.  You can change the words to suit you best, other examples are Confidence Begins With Me, Kindness Begins With Me, Love Begins With Me etc…..  This along with following her breath helps her get through the takeoff and landings.

#4 Change of Clothes.  This is a no-brainer for kids 6 and under but when flying with bigger kids 6-10 like mine, it’s a good idea for you to have a change of clothes.  Last year we were on our flight from Seoul, Korea to Thailand , we had already been traveling for nearly 20 hours at this point so I was asleep when Isabelle shook me awake to then vomit all over me.  Or a new friend , another HVO volunteer shared with us recently his 5 year old vomited all over him soaking his jeans all the way through.  He abandoned them in the bathroom garbage and then wrapped himself in an airplane blanket for the remainder of the flight until reaching the next airport to then purchase the most expensive pair of sweatpants ever at an airport boutique.  Pack your extra pair of clothes in this awesome carry on back pack.

ebags Mother Lode Weekender

#5  Have a Sense of Humor.  It’s important during these long flights that you find things that make you laugh.

Here is a list of some great things to bring along.

Farewell & Thank you!!!

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And just like that it’s over. A decade of wishing, a year’s worth of hard planning and scheming, and here we are looking out at the frighteningly short and narrow runway of the Paro airport, awaiting our departure. None of us want to leave, the time went too quick, evidence that our life here was too perfect.

And it was a perfect community of friends and loved ones who made it all possible. Thank you for supporting us with your insanely generous donations. Thank you Hunt Regional CRNAs for working your VACATIONS! Thank you, to all who didn’t doubt, question, or discourage this dream. It is without a doubt that Jen and I are at this place in our lives because of the myriad interactions we have had with each of you along the way. We are a web of lives, each touching the other, pluck one of us and who knows where the vibration will resound. You have all made this trip with us, you have all helped the people of Bhutan.

Thank you our gracious hosts and new friends.

 

Farewell

YoPlay Away! Kids yoga can go anywhere.

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Prior to my arrival in Bhutan, I reached out to the Early Learning Center, in Mothitang, to organize some volunteer work for the girls and myself. Having spent two years teaching English in Japan, volunteering in ELC’s English Literacy class was a no-brainer. However, when principle Madam Kueron discovered my current passion, YoPlay, my true role in Bhutan revealed itself.

Founded by Madam Deki, ELC is a very progressive school (grades K-12) that puts as much emphasis on kindness and respect as it does on academics. Every class period begins and ends with 2 minutes of quiet meditation (they call it brain brushing) because the teachers believe an upset, angry or distracted child can not be expected to learn. Therefore learning is preceded by prepping the mind. Imagine my enthusiasm when they asked if YoPlay could take the place of their performing arts class for the month. Turns out, that class was lacking a teacher during our time here. Serendipity.

Of course it was a mix of excitement and trepidation I felt as I started my first day of YoPlay-Bhutan. Their school culture is so different from our own; worry about how my program would translate sat like a rock in my stomach. Their day begins with morning assembly. Rows and columns of children in the courtyard, standing in near military formation. The National anthem is sung, prayers are said, announcements are made and achievements are recognized (acts of kindness, recycling efforts, gifts to the school). The whole thing can last up to an hour. And then there is the cold! Unlike our schools, Bhutanese schools have no central heating, shivering children are taken outside to “warm up” in the sun. Even answering questions is different in Bhutanese schools. Here children stand up when speaking, and must address their teacher as Sir or Madam. These and a thousand other little differences.

Worry, anxious prepping, nervous introductions…

And it’s was all for not. For all our differences, we are still so much alike. It is a fact that despite country or creed, children can not form themselves up into a circle. Partner poses will always illicit rowdiness requiring shushing and stern looks. And all children, no matter where they are from, love to pretend (a bonus for my guided meditations). Basically we’re all the same; born in Bhutan or Texas, kids are kids. If there is a tree they’ll try and climb it, if there is a puddle they’ll find a way to get wet.

After a month of classes I can say YoPlay-Bhutan soared! The children, so kind and appreciative, would swarm my girls during snack time. Each vying for the opportunity to share their Bhutanese snacks with the foreign visitors. The instructors requested a teacher training that was enthusiastically attended one Saturday. And even after my departure, the school surprised me by posting a yoga video for international children’s yoga day.

Stella often likes to say she has 108 hearts. And she’ll name each one, “My daddy-heart, my mommy-heart, my puppy-heart, my ice cream-heart…”. As the children of ELC sang us farewell at our final morning assembly, my tears and cracked voice were evidence of my very own, new Bhutan-Heart.

Bhutan, Advanced Settings:

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Bhutan, Advanced Settings:

Bhutanese consider it impolite to say no. So they have many different forms of yes ranging from “very unlikely” to “it is certain”. If they say yes three times it’s definitely not happening. 

Bhutanese Ngultrum is the local currency. A one Nu bill is the smallest denomination; there are no coins. So when change of less than one Nu is owed, it is paid in hard candies or throat lozenges.  “Your change sir, 27 Nu and two peppermints”. 

Most Bhutanese parents take their newborns to the temple to receive auspicious names. Unfortunately, the monks don’t concern themselves much with surnames or gender. So Sonam the office girl who helped us with work permits is not Sonam, the boy who took us to Tiger Nest Monastery. Tashi Wangchuck one of my residents is no relation to the royal Wangchucks. 

My typical day starts with a short 20 minute walk to Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH). The pinnacle of the Bhutanese healthcare system, and where I will spend the morning in the OT (operating theater), doing hands-on clinical trading with two anesthesia residents. My afternoons are spent lecturing or various anesthesia topics. 

Until very recently Bhutan has been unable to train its own healthcare providers. Instead, doctors were trained in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand and Cuba. JDWNRH and the attached Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences is trying to change this. It is the only teaching institute in the country and it is crawling with students, interns, and residents.


Bhutan Basics

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Bhutan basics:

National Bird- Raven

Favorite Food- Anything with chilies 

Fridge settings-Winter, Summer, Monsoon

Toilets- squat (bring paper unless adept at the Asian bidet, water bucket and a scoop)

They drive on the left, so step off a curb and look RIGHT not left (that lesson comes quickly).

At day 23, life here is starting to feel normal. Everyone is settled into a pleasant routine. 

With only three sets of clothes each (one for wearing, one for washing, and one backup) Jen’s day usually starts with some laundry. You have to hang it out early, so it will dry before the afternoon weather rolls in (cold fingers hanging up wet clothes in 30 degree temps). Our little washer is on the balcony with the clothes line. It took some practice figuring out what the “fuzzy” cycle was about. Also, to power the washer Jen has to unplug the microwave, and run the extension cord from the electric blanket through an open kitchen window, but the chore no longer produces the profanity it did early on. 

On teaching days her and the kids bundle into a taxi and head across town to the school where they teach English Literacy and Yoga. 

Without the rush to make morning assembly, they usually choose to walk back home, picking up ingredients for the evening’s dinner on their meandering. Back at the apartment, Jen is still the teacher, and it is time for the girls to do their own schoolwork. 

On non-teaching days, the girls all head straight to the pine forest above the apartment. Schoolwork is still on their schedule, only now their classroom comes with a view. They always seem to negotiate time to build a fort or play among the prayer flags at the end of their lessons. After, it’s back down into the valley for the day’s shopping, a visit to the telecom office, or perhaps a coffee with another volunteer. 

I normally catch up with the gang around 3:00. After snacks and snuggles, we try to go out on some adventure together in town. A trip to the National Library, Tashi Dzong, the archery grounds, or just a taxi ride up to the telecom reflector tower. 

Evenings… the same dinner, bath, hair-combing, teeth-brushing routine as home. Except it is Indian cable that provides the background chatter instead of DirecTV. Occasionally a power outage triggers some flashlight games. And a game of Uno is never far from reach. 

We certainly are lacking many of the comforts of home here. We’re cold a lot, and we haven’t yet found a decent slice of bread. But there is something to the simple life here. It’s like the difference between those diabetic desserts and those made with real sugar and lard. One is richer and more satisfying.

Lunch with Lamas

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The snows held off. This past weekend we finally made it out of Thimphu, our guide, OR nurse Sonam. 

I couldn’t be more proud of the girls. They stoically endured hours of vomit inducing mountain roads (Jen and Lily were the only ones to avoid a purge) in a tiny car that smelled oddly of lemon Pledge. 

In Phobjika valley, winter migration grounds for the blacked neck crane, the kids politely sat on the floor of a farmhouse and ate red rice, fried fresh cheese, and pork belly. While they didn’t clean their plates, they also did not balk or turn up their noses to our host’s meager offerings. 

In Punakha we visited the city’s Dzong (a mixture fortress, monastery, government offices, and court house). The Lama of the Dzong was impressed that we made the children wear Kira as a sign of respect. So he invited us to celebrate one of his junior monk’s recognition as master mandala maker. Mandalas are the highly symbolic art pieces that are painted on buildings, and canvas throughout the Buddhist world. In some ceremonies, the artists spend weeks creating mandalas of colored sand only to sweep it away in an acknowledgment of the impermanence of reality. 

photo by worldreligionnews.com

For our hosts, the party we joined was bit like an office event, celebrating a promotion. The celebrant’s family was present, and naturally, they insisted we partake of the food. Again, the girls rose to the occasion. Taking cues from the monks, they balled up rice and ate with their hands, in local fashion. They sipped at tea I know they dislike, and Lily sampled an egg of unknown vintage that even I avoided. If diplomacy can survive our current administration, my girls may have a future in it. 

Shangri-La 2.0

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In Dzongkha, Druk Yul is the name Bhutanese give their country. It translates to Land of the Thunder  Dragon. They should call it Land of the Thunder Dog. Packs of stray dogs infest Thimphu. To my torment, they sleep all day and bark all night. The four that camp out at our apartment entrance have become de facto pets for the girls. Gi-gi, Noodles, Grumpy Dog, and Russell. 

Despite difficulties sleeping, Bhutan continues to confound and delight us. In Delhi, Bangkok, Tokyo, or Hong Kong it was easy to find a 7-11, Kentucky Fried Chicken, or Starbucks. Not so here. There are no chain stores, no billboards (other than pictures of the king), and no 6-lane highways. So we buy our produce at the weekend market, fast food is a street vendor selling Tibetan Momos (steamed dumplings), and our coffee is the instant crystal type.  

Unlike other Asian countries we have visited, Bhutan is not rushing headlong into the modern/globalized world. They’ve seen the result such actions have taken on neighboring countries (deforestation, pollution, urban sprawl, crime) and politely said no thank you. Bhutan chooses to enter the modern age in its own time. 

And so, as recent as 60 years ago there were no paved roads connecting this landlocked country with the outside world. The first television signals were not received until the late 90’s. In 1989, as a way to preserve Bhutanese traditions, the government began actively promoting Driglam Namzha, a code of conduct that specifies how to behave like a civilized Bhutanese. The most visible sign of this commitment is the requirement to wear traditional dress (Gho for men, Kira for women) at school, in the office, or when visiting temples. 

The ethos of mindful-modernization permeates the entire culture. As part of its constitution, Bhutan maintains 60% of its land under forest cover. New construction must conform to traditional Bhutanese design. Even traffic lights are an object of scrutiny. When one was installed in the capital, the residents of Thimphu complained that it was too impersonal. After it was dismantled their city became the only world capital without traffic lights, leaving us to decode the movements of their traffic police. 

In tourist brochures and travel shows, Bhutan is often compared to Shangri-La, that fictional Himalayan paradise first described in the 1933 book Lost Horizon. Having seen maroon clad monks with smart phones, in a country that jealously guards its forests despite their economical potential, Shangri-La 2.0 is a more apt description.