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Published: November 1st 2007
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My new friends
The girls at the park who drew and took pictures with me. I walk around a lot since at the moment I do not have a job. Thimphu is a giant hill so I’m beginning to feel like I’m getting in shape. Everywhere I go, I am stared at as though I’m this main attraction. As many of you know, I usually prefer to blend in so this has been an adjustment for me. The young and old usually say something to me as we pass. “Hello ma’am” “Where are you going?” “How are you?” I answer and ask them a question which they sometimes don’t understand. Many times I get giggles as the groups of kids head home from school. I have really enjoyed the kids when I have gone to a park near my home. I usually start out sitting there or reading in my journal and a group of kids come up to me to see what I am doing. The first day this happened, I met two young girls. They were shy at first but I took their picture and showed it to them and they giggled. Next I opened up my journal and drew a picture of a cat. “Cat” I said and they got excited because
Shane in a Gho
Shane is attending the Thimphu Tsechu, a religious celebration, with Yangchan. they understood me. English is the language of education here but the kids don’t start learning it really until around age 6. We drew pictures back and forth for a while. I ended up letting them take some pictures with my digital camera and they went crazy. They took pictures of their backpacks, pages in my journal, really up close shots of their faces, anything and everything. By the way, their backpacks had Mickey Mouse and Hello Kitty on them. It was hilarious but I eventually wanted to get my camera back before something happened to it. I loved meeting them and it still is one of my favorite moments here.
National Dress is required for all students and working people. Men wear the Gho and the women wear the Kira. The girls I met in the park drew me pictures of all the pieces of the Kira. Basically it is a long piece of fabric which is pinned at the shoulders. They wear a tight belt around the middle to keep it in place. It is always worn to their ankles. They then wear a coat called the Dhego when they go outside. I have heard that if I want to buy a nice Kira before I go home that it will be made of two layers of silk, hand sewn, will take three years to make, and will cost around $5000. I think I’ll settle for a mediocre one but I do want to purchase one before I go home. The men wear a Gho which they wear knee length. Supposedly the more power one has the longer the gho can be. They also wear a belt and let the upper half kind of poofs out where they store wallets, keys, etc… When Shane wore this Gho to the Thimphu Tsechu all the girls thought he looked so “sharp”. I am yet to wear a kira but when I start my job teaching in February I will wear one. One can wear any shoes you want to. I have seen some interesting outfits of the gho, argyle knee-high socks, and ankle boots. The women often wear high-heels and then walk all around town. Foreigners are not required to wear the national dress but the school I will be working at has chosen to wear uniforms. The royal family has tried to preserve many of the Bhutanese customs and the national dress is just one of those. As a foreigner, I love that they wear them as it is such an obvious symbol of this traditional society. However, I know this has been a controversial issue. Bhutan has many people from Nepal and Tibet who live here. In the 80’s, early 90’s, many Nepalese refused to wear the dress and were sent back to live in refugee camps in Nepal. The story is much longer than that but people are still living in these camps. I can’t imagine people in the US being told they had to wear a uniform every day to work and school. Who am I to judge though and I have noticed many people take pride in wearing their Gho or Kira. On off days people can wear whatever they want. The young people dress quite trendy in jeans. I went out to a “discothèque” and I was surprised to see short skirts and leather jackets.
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Steve
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Very Cool!
Thanks!! It is very cool to read your stories!!