tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-234133472024-03-22T12:29:22.771+06:00Bhutan, Cultures, and TechnologyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-89300350210972751282007-09-29T09:26:00.000+06:002007-09-29T11:59:39.149+06:00Network Connectivity - I agree with Om MalikOm Malik wrote a <a href="http://gigaom.com/2007/09/28/olpc-has-a-network-problem/">post </a>about the <a href="http://laptop.org/">One Laptop Per Child</a> project and mentioned that he is fairly critical about the project. Having stayed in a developing nation for almost a year, I tend to agree with him. I remember my excitement when I first learned about the OLPC. I was then an intern in a major US company and that company itself was involved in the OLPC project. From an engineering perspective, the OLPC project is the way to go. Instead of donating money, provide a device that is affordable. Bootstrap developing nations to help themselves. It's an excellent idea.<br /><br />Staying in a developing nation, I realized that it is not only a money issue but as well a development issue. How do you make sure that people interact with the device responsible? How do you make sure that it doesn't end up with the wrong person? How do you provide support? How do you get replacement?<br /><br />From my current perspective, the OLPC project is only the first step. An important step but many important steps have to follow. One of those steps is mentioned in Om's post: internet connectivity.<br /><br />Before I came to Bhutan, I took good internet connectivity for granted - at least during the last seven years. Coming to Bhutan, I soon realized that not everybody has good internet connectivity. At the institute that I'm staying, we have a 1 Mbps down / 256 kbps up connection. We pay more than US $1000 per month to our satellite provider. Compare this to Switzerland where you can get three times the speed for a tenth of the money. 100 computers are using this connection and it easily follows that we wait now and then. Making things worse, the 1 Mbps / 256 kbps are not guaranteed but we rather have to share this bandwidth with 20 other customers in the worst case. Effectively accessing the internet is almost impossible. Loading GMail - forget it!!<br /><br />The situation has improved a little bit after I tweaked our proxy server. Configuring squid, caching windows updates (1.5 GB in a week), blocking all porn / dating / .. sites. But still, it is a pain to access the internet.<br /><br />The developing world needs innovative solutions for this problem. Putting cables into the ground may prove to be too expensive; at least for mountainous countries such as Bhutan. Maybe <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratellite">Stratellite</a>?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-33830359357904322792007-09-18T21:35:00.000+06:002007-09-18T21:49:20.113+06:00Maslow's Hierarchy of NeedsMaslow is dead right about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs">hierarchy of needs</a>. If your basic needs are not covered, you do not think about intellectually challenging ideas. It is difficult to truly understand this if your basic needs have always been fulfilled. It is important to keep this fact in mind while interacting with people that have uncovered basic needs.<br /><br />Coming home today, we discovered a few hundred ants in our room. Guess, I didn't think about the latest Google <a href="http://docs.google.com/">product</a> but rather about how to get those ants out of our room in the most efficient way. We are done now and I hope that we got most of the ants out. Uff, it took a good three hours to accomplish that...<br /><br />Happy trails!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-90579109647429654762007-08-25T21:41:00.000+06:002008-12-10T06:14:19.632+06:00My BusinessGuys, I started recently a business down here in Samtse; have a look at the picture :-)!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrsKc1vlFNXwn-ITTxUE-Fw5WKzIbv7TEy6mzAPQ84csRR7UEzC0PAbiwRypBtgXH6cpr0k-PTIMcninQhzj-Fo9X6b827f9chyphenhyphen9kPwYlNQpm-QkIuTjz2aVyn8DSwj_OEtuMoxQ/s1600-h/IMG_6440.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrsKc1vlFNXwn-ITTxUE-Fw5WKzIbv7TEy6mzAPQ84csRR7UEzC0PAbiwRypBtgXH6cpr0k-PTIMcninQhzj-Fo9X6b827f9chyphenhyphen9kPwYlNQpm-QkIuTjz2aVyn8DSwj_OEtuMoxQ/s320/IMG_6440.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102664608026598850" border="0" /></a><br />Have a great weekend!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-45360925646197862992007-08-10T20:04:00.000+06:002007-08-10T20:07:54.345+06:00More fungus!Guys, just wanted to share this pic of my watch. Looks scary - doesn't it?<br /><br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sam.zurcher/RainSeasonInSamtse/photo#5095912123018970402"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/sam.zurcher/RrhRE5snBSI/AAAAAAAABLc/Ohe1yVPtiiE/s288/IMG_6435.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sam.zurcher/RainSeasonInSamtse">Rain Season i...</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />During the last couple of days, the weather has been pretty sunny but at the same time really warm. Time to dry all the things!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-90313506393507012682007-08-05T15:07:00.000+06:002007-08-05T15:26:50.324+06:00Rain Season (2)Some of you were asking for proofs of the impact of the rain season. Let me give you two. This morning - after a short <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=http:%2F%2Fwww.orelias.ch%2Fsam%2F2007%2Fgps%2F08-05-07.kml&amp;ie=UTF8&ll=26.856849,89.071655&spn=0.211953,0.362549&t=k&amp;z=12&om=1">trip </a>to India - we went to the place where the bridge was washed away to take a few <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sam.zurcher/RainSeasonInSamtse">pictures</a>. It's quite amazing to see how powerful water can be - not only the bridge was washed away but so was the entire street. Right now, there is no water and cars can pass through the river bed. But as soon as it will start to rain, this will not be possible and there will be no connection to the other side of the river.<br /><br />The second proof is a car with fungus. Never seen a car with fungus?? Well, it <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sam.zurcher/RainSeasonInSamtse/photo#5095140003863266562">exists</a>. It might look like dirt but it is not!<br /><br />Guys, have a awesome Sunday!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-79790114138049869402007-08-03T09:17:00.000+06:002007-08-03T09:55:06.170+06:00JavaScript on TV!A couple of weeks ago, I was conducting a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">week long</span> workshop in JavaScript for lecturers from both the Colleges of Education. Eight lecturers were participating and we had a good time although the subject was not trivial for the participants. Using compact sample applications, I tried to give the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">participants</span> a feeling for how to design applications. We were drawing rainbows, changed the color of a title according to the rainbow, designed a clock ('why should I program my own clock - I could just go down to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">checkpost</span> and buy one for 80 rupees ...'), displayed pictures in a slide show, and built our own calculator.<br /><br />All in all, we had a good time fighting with JavaScript. But unfortunately, on the first morning of our workshop, a team from BBS (Bhutan Broadcasting Service) - the national television - showed up. They asked a bunch of questions and were shooting a bit. A few days later, BBS reported on a JavaScript workshop held at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Samtse</span> College of Education. Fortunately, I missed that report as I wasn't keen on seeing myself. A few days later, random people that I have never met before asked me 'Hey, are you the guy that was conducting that workshop?'. For villagers, this must have been a really strange report. A <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">chillip</span></span> (foreigner) in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Gho</span> teaching something really strange on a computer :-).<br /><br />Guys, have fun and enjoy life!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-82074860781979073412007-07-31T12:49:00.000+06:002007-07-31T12:59:25.064+06:00RainingIt's rain season down here in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Samtse</span> and we got enough water during the last couple of days. Our roof starts to leak, we have to dry all our clothes inside, and Sunday shopping is dominated by umbrellas. A couple of days ago, a <a href="http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=8821">bridge</a> and part of a road were taken by the river. It's going to take a bit of time to restore that bridge and the road.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-71358576181572804172007-06-25T16:30:00.000+06:002007-06-25T16:45:34.933+06:00Dead?Some of you might have asked yourself whether I'm dead or cut off from all communication channels. Not quite true although I have to admit to have been silent for a bit of time. Life has been treating me well and more news will follow during the next couple of weeks. This week, I'm organizing a programming workshop for the lecturers of the two Colleges of Education and as a consequence, I'm busy preparing :-).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-16254765895454214212007-05-28T10:41:00.000+06:002007-05-28T11:51:18.705+06:00Visiting SchoolsLast Friday, I had finally the chance to go out to Bhutanese schools and get a first-hand impression. As <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Samtse</span> is a restricted area and my movement is restricted to the town of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Samtse</span>, we had to get an official permit to get out to the schools that are maybe 40 km and 10 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">km </span>from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Samtse</span>. Getting this permit was a non-trivial process and Karma - the lecturer that organize the visits - was struggling hard to get those permits. In the end it worked out, I got the official paper, and we were ready to go.<br /><br />The first school we went to is one of the largest schools in the country and has 1600 students. 50 teachers help kids from grade 1 to 10 to move forward and develop. We were received in a friendly atmosphere and were allowed to give a talk to the teachers and the principal. It turned out that in the beginning of May 07, the teachers <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">received</span> a total of six computers. Most of the teachers are not IT literate but a recent graduate from the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Paro</span> College of Education with specialization in IT has joined the school in the beginning of this year. During our meeting with the teachers, we presented a few ways of how <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">ICT</span> could be used in the school setting and gave them as well a short introduction of what could be available on the net. This was a bit of a futuristic presentation as the school has two computers with an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Internet</span> connection; one in the principals office and one for the students.<br /><br />Right before lunch, we had a session with the grade 10 students. Out of maybe 80 students, about 5 got basic experiences with computers. None of them has ever written an email and probably not too many of them have ever used Google. As a motivation, I put up my email address and asked them to write me an email in case they are able to get an email account and time. We gave a similar talk to the students as to the lecturers - this time a bit more focused on how they could use the computers on their own.<br /><br />I'm not quite sure how well the teachers and the students could connect to whatever we were doing - it must have been quite futuristic. I knew that people wouldn't have gotten a lot of exposure to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">ICT</span> before but still, I couldn't really put myself into place and understand this <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">thoroughly</span> as in Switzerland, it is probably hard to find a young person that has never touched a computer. All in all, it was a good experience but I'm not quite sure how well we have done.<br /><br />Luckily, we were not attacked by wild elephants as this schools is about 100 meter from really thick forest (rain forest?). There are stories of elephants coming to the tiny village and the local people are quite scared of them. There was military around during our entire visit and the villagers have put an electric fence around the forest.<br /><br />In the afternoon, we went to the second school. This school had about 300-400 students in grade 1 to 6 and seven teachers. The school got three computers and no <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Internet</span> connection. We gave a similar presentation to the teachers as in the first school. It was fascinating for me to see the enthusiasm of those teachers. One of them was running to the library to get a book with a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">CDROM</span> that he wanted to try but that he couldn't get to work so far. So we helped him to get that CD running.<br /><br />It turned out that one of the computers was rather noisy - the fan was running at full speed all the time. I opened the computer and it turned out that one of the cables disturbed the flow of the air. It doesn't come as a surprise that the fan is running at maximum speed as we had 27 degrees <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Celcius</span> in the room - and actually, this is quite cold for this place as a couple of weeks ago, the temperature reached 39 degrees <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Celcius</span>.<br /><br />Further, there was a problem with the printer. The printer was connected to one computer and the other two computers could print using a switch that connected all three computers. The teachers tried to print from one computer and didn't realize that the switch and the computer that is connected to the printer have to be turned on. All in all, there was nothing wrong with the setup but there was a lack in education. I tried to educate them what exactly they have to do to be able to print and hope that this problem is now solved.<br /><br />In the end, I was standing in front of about 200 Bhutanese kids - some of them looking into the classroom through windows. We gave them some ideas but it was probably pretty advanced. But all in all, it was a fun experience.<br /><br />I haven't taken any pictures in the schools but on our way to the schools - they will follow later on. I took my GPS with me but unfortunately forgot it in my Gho during part of the way and it didn't record our location. But you can follow at least part of our <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.orelias.ch%2Fsam%2F2007%2Fgps%2F05-25-07.kml&ie=UTF8&ll=26.974709,89.099121&spn=0.424688,0.725098&amp;t=h&z=11&om=1">trip</a> and you can as well see the thick forest with the wild elephants next to a place called Kumai.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-18063538551124474762007-05-23T21:01:00.000+06:002007-05-23T21:14:04.145+06:00Lizards...A few week ago, the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">power pack</span> of one of the computers in the men's hostel broke down. We were not quite sure what happened as there were no <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">power cuts</span> or heavy <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">lightnings</span>. Today, somebody took the pain to open the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">power pack</span>. It turns out that there was a lizard in the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">power pack</span> - completely burned. You see, we have rather strange culprits - rats and lizards :-).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-15746041915196013762007-05-20T15:00:00.000+06:002008-12-10T06:14:20.125+06:00Satellite RouterA couple of weeks ago, we got finally an AC for the server room. Before, all the electronic equipment was in the normal surrounding - sometimes really hot, sometimes really humid. Not exactly the way it is supposed to be. The AC was ordered more than a year ago and has arrived only now. Things tend to take longer around here and this is sometimes difficult to accept - but it is the reality.<br /><br />Installing the AC was not a trivial task as there needed to be a hole in the wall. No appliances that will do the work for you but rather your hands will do the job. After the installation of the AC, the entire server room was covered in dust and we had to clean up quite a bit before we could start the infrastructure again.<br /><br />While cleaning up, we realized that our satellite router still didn't have a nice spot. It was lying on one of the servers. As we have rats around and they tend to do their things in the worst possible places, this setup was definitely not perfect. We have a server rack - but unfortunately nothing to mount additional devices into that rack. You might say - just buy whatever you need. Not that easy in this context as the market for server racks in this place might not be huge - so going to the Sunday market won't help. Instead, we have come up with a creative solution of our own; have a look at the pics and smile!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzK_z3JTZ4zJxyLoEbZ8cMmMD5MrcP8YaPt1vru8lf1H5KDzUtkG3xQLKd7NHgnq9z0kntt6DbUbglJmnZi3ydIoJavimxG8aNge-i2MUt_l0cEiTqKLSc9uaP__S4MASaMWhkw/s1600-h/IMG_6198.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzK_z3JTZ4zJxyLoEbZ8cMmMD5MrcP8YaPt1vru8lf1H5KDzUtkG3xQLKd7NHgnq9z0kntt6DbUbglJmnZi3ydIoJavimxG8aNge-i2MUt_l0cEiTqKLSc9uaP__S4MASaMWhkw/s320/IMG_6198.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066592576167857730" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLbmxKKBL8IuxqFi4SOQc64pQbx_P3b35_ZuzoNSJmjZoMKtUI7p9eybF-iOGylX6XO3AbcVBJP0po-WFpQPqEXrtQ8uD3rwpwYeLjGwBOsDqavn-PF8N8k_w2hLVDlpwd8SSEjQ/s1600-h/IMG_6199.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLbmxKKBL8IuxqFi4SOQc64pQbx_P3b35_ZuzoNSJmjZoMKtUI7p9eybF-iOGylX6XO3AbcVBJP0po-WFpQPqEXrtQ8uD3rwpwYeLjGwBOsDqavn-PF8N8k_w2hLVDlpwd8SSEjQ/s320/IMG_6199.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066592584757792338" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMume8-JOO4jWl1fMR-xMqa45fgl6FT5L7-QwswEUxpdoyTuukDHaluyvxjsuRJcRBo7nPbvCOIBSVUQOPMgRLDTICkS2C_jTCtgyFT-DOmX6Mx1nNBagmYy0bHMSQahY3sQuTA/s1600-h/IMG_6200.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMume8-JOO4jWl1fMR-xMqa45fgl6FT5L7-QwswEUxpdoyTuukDHaluyvxjsuRJcRBo7nPbvCOIBSVUQOPMgRLDTICkS2C_jTCtgyFT-DOmX6Mx1nNBagmYy0bHMSQahY3sQuTA/s320/IMG_6200.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066592589052759650" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-21553877042338246402007-05-17T19:16:00.000+06:002007-05-17T19:28:06.544+06:00AmalkantiI'm doing ok although I'm a little bit busy right now. Instead of writing a long story, I post a poem by an Indian poet. We had a poetry day this Wednesday and that's when I came in contact with this poem.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">by Nirendranath Chakrabarthi, translated from Bengali by Sujit Mukherjee and Meenakshi Mukherjee</span><br /><blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>Amalkanti is a friend of mine,<br />we were together at school.<br />He often came late to class<br />and never new his lessons.<br />When asked to conjugate a verb,<br />he looked out of the window<br /> in such puzzlement<br />that we all felt sorry for him.<br /><br /><p:colorscheme colors="#2181b7,#ffffff,#001932,#ccffff,#99ffcc,#01b0ff,#6666ff,#1c6d9a"> </p:colorscheme><div shape="_x0000_s1026" class="O">Some of us wanted to be teachers,<br />some doctors, some lawyers.<br />Almalkanti didn’t want to be any of these.<br />He wanted to be sunlight-<br />the timid sunlight of late afternoon,<br />and the crows call again,<br />the sunlight that clings like a smile<br />to the leaves of the jam and the jaamrul.<br /><br />Some of us have become teachers,<br />some doctors, some lawyers.<br />Amalkanti couldn’t become sunlight.<br />He works in a poorly lit room<br />for a printer.<br /><br />He drops in now and then to see me,<br />chats about this and that<br />over a cup of tea, then gets up to go.<br />I see him off at the door.<br /><br />The one among us who’s a teacher<br />could easily have become a doctor.<br />If the one who’d wanted to be a doctor<br />had become a lawyer,<br />it wouldn’t have made much difference to him.<br /><br />All of us got more or less what we wanted,<br />all except Amalkanti -<br />who used to think so much about sunlight<br />that he wanted to become sunlight.<br /></div></blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-8962820439669111082007-05-13T19:15:00.000+06:002007-05-13T19:52:34.929+06:00HikingToday was an absolutely gorgeous day. Blue sky, almost no clouds, good view, and not even too warm. After having gone to the market early in the morning, I decided to give the mountain next to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Samtse</span> a try. It's a good chance to have a glance at the local environment and to get a bit of exercise.<br /><br />Together with Karma, a friend of mine, we left the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Samtse</span> College of Education at around 10am to climb this mountain. From <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Samtse</span> it doesn't look like this is a huge mountain and our destination seems to be quite close but it took us a bit of time to get up that mountain and my GPS confirmed my feeling - it is a climb of about 600 meters.<br /><br />On the way up, we met many locals that either went down to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Samtse</span> market or returned from the market. Karma insisted on carrying my backpack and I wasn't allowed to carry it during the whole trip. I felt a bit stupid but Bhutanese people are very serious about that and independent of how hard you try, they will carry things for you.<br /><br />As Karma had to be back by 3pm, we were staying only for a few minutes at our destination and then returned. Running down the hill, we enjoyed the scenery that was now in front of us.<br /><br />It was a really fun day although my legs are a bit tired now. This comes to no surprise as I haven't been eating a lot during the last couple of days due to my stomach disorder :-). And while talking about eating: running up and down the mountain, I imagined how much fun it would be to be able to go to a ColdStone. Or to the ice cream shop in Mountain View. Or any ice cream shop for that matter. Well, it's going to take another couple of months until I get my next ice cream...<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sam.zurcher/HikingInSamtse07">Pics</a> and gps log (<a href="http://www.orelias.ch/sam/2007/gps/05-13-07.kml">kml</a>, <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.orelias.ch%2Fsam%2F2007%2Fgps%2F05-13-07.kml&ie=UTF8&om=1&ll=26.899892,89.114305&spn=0.053887,0.090637&t=k&z=14">Google Maps</a>) from today's trip are available.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-2769695627491883432007-05-11T22:00:00.000+06:002007-05-11T22:19:39.734+06:00Stomach DisorderDuring the last ten days, my stomach decided to become independent and started producing problems. It is more or less normal to have stomach problems at least now and then during your stay in Bhutan although this time, it seems to be a bit long and it doesn't really stop. I could run down to the hospital and try to figure out what exactly I have. But instead, I'm making use of a thing called email-consultation. I'm writing emails back home to my doctor and she is kind enough to advice me. Sure, if it is more serious, email-consultation doesn't really work and we both know that. But for things such as stomach disorder, it is extremely nice to have somebody back home that you trust and that advices you when to take the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">antibiotics</span>, when to wait for a couple of days, and when to stop the malaria medication. And when to go to the hospital.<br />If you ever go to a subtropical or tropical place, I can highly recommend <a href="http://www.impfzentrum.ch">www.impfzentrum.ch</a>. Have a great time and enjoy a properly working stomach!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-81036372092464232432007-05-10T13:12:00.000+06:002007-05-10T13:22:21.679+06:00Rain!Yesterday afternoon, it started raining heavily and as a consequence, the air cooled down. Today, it's unfortunately hot again and all my fans are running at full speed.<br /><br />Rain does not only cool down the air but helps as well to clear it. The air towards India is really foggy or smoggy and you can see only a few kilometers even though the land is completely flat. I have never seen a real sunset down here as the sun always disappears in the smog. For a Swiss person, this is a bit special as we are used to get a good sunset at least now and then.<br /><br />Still no running water in my apartment. It seems like there is a problem with the water pipe as most people around us get water. We try to locate a plumber although this is not a trivial task. Well, meanwhile I'm quite experienced taking cold showers with the help of buckets :-).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-218164605886177032007-05-06T18:50:00.000+06:002007-05-06T20:45:01.927+06:00Boiling WaterAs I have written before, lecturers from the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Samtse</span> College of Education have been involved with the mock election. Some of them had to walk for hours or days to reach the remote villages they were assigned to. One of the lecturers that went to a remote village told me the following story:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">We were walking for a long time, had to cross the river many times, and in the end it even started raining. By the time we reached the village, we were completely wet and shivering. The local people in the village had arranged a fire and we were gathering around that fire. We were served tea to help us warm up a little bit. The </span><span style="font-style: italic;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Ghos</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> were put next to the fire to make sure that they would dry fast.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">On the fire, there was a pot with water. The local elder responsible for the community asked one of the village folks whether the water in the pot was already boiled. By health awareness campaigns, they must have learned that water should be boiled before drinking. The man touched the pot and told his elder that it was hot and therefore the water was boiled.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Upon discovering this, we realized that the tea that we were drinking consisted of water that was boiled this way. We told the elder how to properly recognize when water has boiled. He </span><span style="font-style: italic;" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">apologized</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> several times and told us that he didn't know how to detect when water is properly boiled. The next morning, we were getting properly boiled water and again many apologies.</span><br /><br /><br />Let me add two comments to this story.<br /><br />First, the story gives you a feeling for how remote certain places still are. Some knowledge is out and available although sometimes not the entire knowledge. Please understand me right; I have the deepest respect for people out in the villages. They have not an easy life and try to adopt knowledge from the outside as fast as only possible. But as the communities are remote and access to communication technology and the power grid is not available, there is a long way to go on getting knowledge out to those communities. Keeping in mind that those people are used to live in a kingdom, it might give you an idea that it won't be easy to establish a democracy - a system in which you can actually choose your representation.<br /><br />My second comment is a more personal one. Right now, it is pretty hot down here in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Samtse</span>. Normally, I don't have problems dealing with heat but it must be more than 37 degrees Celsius right now - and that's not too bad. Due to the heat and the missing rain, I'm not getting any reliable water supply in my room. Water comes and goes. The water tap in the toilet gives me access to water now and then. All the other taps - they are mounted higher up - are not getting any water. With a bit of knowledge about the local water system, I know how much water is remaining in the water tank; an outlook that is not exactly fun...<br />To those circumstances, add a stomach that decided to get its own life. I haven't eaten a lot during the last couple of days and don't really feel like doing so. Not quite sure what caused the problems; it might have been bad food or - and this brings me back to boiling water - unboiled water. Sure, I'm boiling my water but it might be that my water boiler is damaged and gives me a wrong status about the water. For the time being, I started boiling my water the old way with gas and will see whether this will solve the problem.<br /><br />My - or better my stomach's - conclusion for today: even if technology is doing simple things such as boiling water for you, it might make sense to distrust it now and then :-).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-44499441019483310102007-05-04T21:31:00.000+06:002007-05-04T22:12:09.682+06:00Checkpost<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Samtse</span> is a border town and the institute is only about 800 meters from India. That means that it is an easy walk to go down to New <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Chamargi</span> (not quite sure how to spell that) - or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Checkpost</span> as it is called by the Bhutanese. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Checkpost</span> is a small trading town next to the border between India and Bhutan. Because it is really close to the Bhutanese border, I don't have to make a proper entry to India and can therefore go to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Checkpost</span> whenever I like. Well, this is not entirely true as I should not go on my own. In case questions are asked, it might make sense to have a Bhutanese friend with you that can help to communicate.<br /><br />I bought my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Gho</span> from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Checkpost</span> a couple of weeks ago but haven't paid so far. As a guy that has grown up in Switzerland, I felt really bad about that. I tried to pay several times but the shop owner was never in. Together with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Tashi</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Wangchuk</span>, I went down to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Checkpost</span> today and luckily, the owner was in. I paid my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Gho</span> and felt relieved. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Tashi</span> had as well to pay a few debts. After he was done, we went to a nice food shop. I have been to this food shop last year and the owner could instantly tell me what I have eaten last year. This might give you an impression of how difficult it is to hide down here - it's just impossible...<br /><br />In the food shop, we had a long talk about what we should be getting. I'm never quite sure what I should get and I normally ask people what I should get. The problem is that often they don't feel like telling me because I'm higher up in the hierarchical system and it would be strange for them to tell me what I have to get.<br /><br />In the end, we got <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Lassi</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Piri</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Lassi</span> is boiled milk that is cooled down and that has a consistency somewhere between a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">yogurth</span> and milk. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Piri</span> is fried bread with white beans and hot <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">pickles</span>. I enjoyed both of them although I had problems finishing my meal because my stomach was telling me that it was more than satisfied. I haven't eaten a lot during the last couple of days and lost some weight - it's probably the hot weather.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Tashi</span> insisted that he wanted to pay and I felt bad about it. But it is hard to argue with somebody in a shop; you are never quite sure when the point approaches where you <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">embarrass</span> folks. Next, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Tashi</span> got his haircut. A tiny shop close to the street served the purpose. While he got his hair cut, I was waiting outside and looking around. People came up to me and started talking. It's always fun to talk to people and not difficult with the Bhutanese folks as their English is just really good. A young mother came up to me and told me that she was from the eastern part of Bhutan and has stayed down here for the last seven years. A couple of teens next to me very waiting for a friend that got his haircut and used the opportunity for a short flirt.<br /><br />It was amazing for me to realize how comfortable I felt in this environment even though it is so different from whatever I'm used to. Chickens were running around, cows resting in the middle of the street, street <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">vendors</span>, cloth shops with one fat guy sitting on a carpet and guarding the money while there are about four other guys around that actually do the work, and taxis that need to be pushed by a couple of men before they can take off. It's hard to describe this setting and I don't feel like taking my camera down there because this will put me back into the position of the tourist - and I was fighting really hard to get rid of that position.<br /><br />In the end, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Tashi</span> bought a fresh water melon, I insisted on paying, and we were walking up again. End of the day :-)! Enjoy life!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-72316470173655381002007-05-02T20:03:00.000+06:002007-05-03T08:07:25.780+06:00Teacher's DayBhutan celebrated today Teacher's Day and the birthday of the third King. As a consequence, we got a day off. In the morning, there was a celebration with a few speeches. The student that was organizing this celebration asked me on Tuesday whether I'd like to say something. I said 'Well, we'll see' - meaning that I probably won't be saying anything. This morning, he came up to me and told me that I was on the list of speakers... I had to improvise a little bit and delivered a short speech. It worked out <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ok</span> :-).<br /><br />In the evening, there was another celebration going on. Students performed dances, teacher's were honored, and lecturers were singing. A few of the students threatened me to ask me to sing a song. As a precautionary measure, I practiced one song - <span style="font-style: italic;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Ewigi</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Liebi</span> by a Swiss group call <span style="font-style: italic;">Mash</span>. At least if they'd asked me to perform a song, I wouldn't look like a complete fool up there on stage. After about 90 minutes of the show, the power went off. 500 people in an auditorium without light and fans. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Tashi</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Wangchuck</span> (the same guy as I have written about before - he is organizing all the events - not sure when he is sleeping!) was a little bit lost on stage and tried to keep the people entertained. I decided to jump in, went up to stage, and started singing that song. Hey - it was fun; it probably helped that it was pretty dark :-). After I was done with my song, other lecturers jumped in and we managed to get through the blackout with entertainment.<br /><br />At the end of the show, the lecturers were asked to come up to the stage and to perform a traditional Bhutanese dance. Well, I had as well to go up to the stage and made a complete fool out of myself. The steps are not that difficult but as you might know, I'm not a gifted dancer. I tried to do my best although it was hard. Just keep on smiling and the students will smile back to you!<br /><br />Staying in a place such as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Samtse</span> and closely interacting with the local people requires you to sometimes make a fool out of yourself. All the things that they have learned as small kids, you are learning in public. But in the end it is the only way to learn. It took me a long, long time to wear a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Gho</span> properly but by now, I feel pretty comfortable in that piece of cloth. It is not always easy to make a fool out of yourself and to learn in public. Sometimes, you get tired and would prefer to be a normal person. But being a normal person would mean not to learn about their culture and that would be a shame. All in all, it is a good lesson that will help me in the time to come.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-13722932836378728112007-05-01T21:02:00.000+06:002007-05-01T21:11:55.790+06:00No Rain Season yetA couple of posts ago I announced that the rain season has already started. Well, I was pretty wrong about that one. Rain stopped more than a week ago and it has been very hot and humid today. No rain around that could help to cool down - I guess we'll have to keep the fans running. Or I might as well find an excuse to work in the server room as we have installed an AC in there last Friday!<br />In general, it is almost impossible to predict weather down here. Neither in the long nor in the short run. I gave up looking outside to figure out whether there will be rain or not. I simply take my umbrella with me all the time. It looks silly but at least I'm able to deal with rapidely changing circumstances. If I'm not taking an umbrella with me and it's raining, one of the students will run - and get completely wet - and fetch an umbrella for me. I don't really want them to do this - so I just take my umbrella with me all the time :-).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-66820644157513865602007-05-01T09:16:00.000+06:002007-05-01T09:18:02.594+06:00Gewang Cultural ShowLast Saturday, the Gewang cultural show took place. Kids were again performing amazing dances from different cultures and most of the music was produced by them. As all the shows, I loved as well this one. It's a good way to learn more about a culture by seeing the kids up on the stage getting in touch with their heritage.<br /><br />Before the show started, I bought Momos from a group of students. There were meat momos, vegetable momos, and cheese momos. Basically, it's a thing made out of dough that is steamed and that contains either meat, vegetable, or cheese. The momos were then put into a piece of paper - probably the last math exam - and I went happily back into the auditorium. Inside the auditorium, I tried to offer the momos to folks around me. But nobody wanted to accept momos from me even though I insistently asked every person at least three times as you are supposed to be doing in Bhutan. Well, in the end I was eating all the momos myself. They were excellent, no question about that, but sharing would as well be nice.<br /><br />Impression of the show can be found <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sam.zurcher/GewangCulturalShow">here</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-67555205907932824382007-04-29T19:28:00.000+06:002007-04-29T19:39:46.358+06:00Playing Khuru<p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Guys, this post is in the form of an audio file about <a href="http://www.orelias.ch/sam/2007/audio/khuru.mp3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Khuru</span>; </a>the transcript can be found below. gListen to the file and learn about Bhutan. Pictures <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">accompanying</span> this post are <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sam.zurcher/Khuru">here</a>.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">A warm welcome to y’all out there. This is Sam – aka Sam <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Dorji</span> - <span style=""> </span>from <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Samtse</span></st1:City>, <st1:country-region st="on">Bhutan</st1:country-region></st1:place>. <o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">During the next couple of weeks, I’d like to present you a couple of audio samples from <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Bhutan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Living in a different culture, you are not only discovering new food, new customs, and new environments, but as well very special sounds. After having returned back home to Switzerland last August, I discovered how hard it was to tell my friends back home about the environment that I was encountering in Bhutan. Part of the reason for why it was hard to explain them was that I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">couldn</span>’t give them access to any sound samples. There are certain things that you have to listen to in order to get a good feeling for a place.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">The first audio sample gives you an impression of a traditional Bhutanese game. The name of the game is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Khuru</span> and it is played by men all over <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Bhutan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. A <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Khuru</span> is a dart that is made out of wood and a nail. Every <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Khuru</span> player builds his own two <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Khurus</span>. As you can build your own <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Khurus</span> without a lot of effort, both rich and poor folks can play <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Khuru</span>. This is not true for archery which is as well very popular in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Bhutan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Bows that are used for archery might cost a fortune. But let us go back to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Khuru</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Khuru</span> is played in teams of about 10 people and two or three teams share a track. In every round, every player throws his two <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Khurus</span> and tries to hit a target that is about 20 meters from the players. The target is a small wooden plate and all the players that have already thrown both of their <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Khurus</span> gather around this target. Considering that the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Khurus</span> have nails in the front, this looks a bit dangerous and incidences happen now and then. Let me tell you, you don’t really want to get hit by a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Khuru</span> – your foot might be badly damaged and if you are not lucky and it is not your foot but your stomach – then you’ll probably be lucky to spend a couple of months in the hospital at the best. The players gather as close as only possible around the target and try to convince the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Khuru</span> to find its way into the target. They do so by shouting, dancing, pointing, and running. It’s quite an amazing view. But the real fun starts only when one player hits the target. That’s the time when all members of the team start to perform a dance and sing loudly. It’s quite a song that they perform – so let us listen to such a song:<o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Did you like the song? Can you imagine how they dance? You probably start to understand why it is hard to get a good feeling for <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Bhutan</st1:place></st1:country-region> without having listened to such songs.<o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Let us continue where we left. The team that gets most hits during a round wins a point. Sorry, I cannot quite recall how many points you get, but I think it depends on the number of times that you have hit the target and how many times the opposing teams have hit the target. If none of teams hits the target itself, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Khurus</span> close to the target are counted. The team that acquires first 25 points has won the game. It might be that the number of points that you have to get in order to win a game might be different from tournament to tournament; I’m not quite sure.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Khuru</span> tournament that I have observed today started in the morning at 8:45am and most of the games were still going on at 3pm. Being in the sun all day long – considering that it is about 30 degrees Celsius in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Samtse</span> – and throwing the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Khurus</span> to a target 20 meters away makes <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Khuru</span> quite a tiring sport. Folks out here love playing <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Khuru</span> but often they have a sour arm the day after.<o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Guys, hope that I could give you an impression about life in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Bhutan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Cu next time and enjoy life. All the best from <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Samtse</span></st1:City>, <st1:country-region st="on">Bhutan</st1:country-region></st1:place>. This is Sam <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Dorji</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-75883304343258058052007-04-27T21:01:00.000+06:002007-04-27T21:39:28.647+06:00Satellite Dish MaintenanceToday, Karma <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Sherub</span> from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">DrukCom</span> (= dragon communication) came down to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Samtse</span> and was doing <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sam.zurcher/SatelliteMaintenanceApril07">maintenance work</a> on the satellite<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sam.zurcher/SatelliteMaintenanceApril07"></a> dish that allows us to get a reasonably fast Internet connection. During the last couple of days, the connection has become a little bit slow - only 20<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">kBps</span> instead of 100<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">kBps</span>. If you consider that we have around 50 computers on the network, it is easy to see that this is not great speed - well, during the day it is not possible to check email with that speed...<br /><br />Together with Karma, we went up to the roof and reconnected all cables and cleared any dust that might have settled. Speed was still not better and Karma started to call various places around the globe - but speed didn't really improve. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Samtse</span> College of Education will upgrade to 2<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Mbps</span> soon and Karma promised to investigate further at the time we increase the bandwidth.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sam.zurcher/SatelliteMaintenanceApril07/photo#5058127536314036194"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/sam.zurcher/RjIUMfaer-I/AAAAAAAABAM/fVeSLXNwlXs/s400/IMG_6182.jpg" style="border: 0px none ; margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a>Karma reconnecting the satellite receiver.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sam.zurcher/SatelliteMaintenanceApril07/photo#5058127982990635010"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/sam.zurcher/RjIUmfaesAI/AAAAAAAABAc/aUGh6h6DkeM/s400/IMG_6186.jpg" style="border: 0px none ; margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Ugyen</span> and Karma.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-79930985693073179482007-04-26T19:52:00.000+06:002007-04-26T20:51:35.388+06:00Uncle, Uncle...Uncle, uncle, what is your name? How old are you? What is your father's name? My name is Karma. I'm in fourth grade. My father's name is Sonam. This is my friend, he is in second grade. His name is Tashi. Where are you from? He is taller than me. Are you married? What is your daughter's name?<br /><br />Kids often approach me, want to sit next to me, and ask me tons of questions. Even though they are really young, it is amazing how well they are speaking English. English might be their second or even third language (after Dzongkha, Sharchop, Nepali) but still they are able to grasp the language at a very early age. Sure, they are not yet fluent but they will be getting there pretty soon. Medium of instruction in all schools is English and the use of Dzongkha is limited to a short period every day. Even in kindergarten, kids are trying to use English sentences.<br /><br />Sure, it is not that way all over Bhutan. Samtse is a forward-looking place in Bhutan. Folks in this area are pretty well educated and as a consequence, they help their kids from an early age on to get excited about school. Additionally, most of the kids that I interact with are the kids of lecturers. If you go out to remote places, the situation might look different. Some teachers might have problems with the English language and kids might not be well-supported by their parents in learning a new language. As a consequence, it might take a bit more time for them to get the feeling for the language. But still, they will grasp the basics and be able to communicate reasonably well in English. That's at least my experience from having interacted with the students at the Samtse College of Education.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-91820615907744665962007-04-25T23:50:00.000+06:002007-04-26T00:04:09.801+06:00Dungkhar Cultural ShowTonight, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Dungkhar</span> Collaborative Group presented their cultural show. During the last two evenings, I went to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">rehersal</span> and it was amazing to see how fast the students have been learning. One item was put into place only last Sunday afternoon and they did quite well today. The Swiss dance was working out nicely and I had to smile. Instead of telling you more about the show, I invite you to have a look at a couple of <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sam.zurcher/DungkharCollaborativeGroupCulturalShow">impressions</a>.<br /><br />After the show, we had happy-snappy sessions and later, I joined the students in the canteen. Eating rice with your fingers - not entirely easy if you haven't learned it as a kid - but I'm getting there ...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23413347.post-26957453581171470092007-04-24T22:20:00.000+06:002008-12-10T06:14:20.463+06:00Mock Elections in BhutanLast Saturday, mock elections took place in Bhutan. The fourth King of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Druk</span> Yul (as Bhutan is called by the Bhutanese), <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Jigme</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Singye</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Wangchuck</span>, decided a while back that Bhutan should make the transformation from kingdom to democracy. The NY Times has a piece on the mock elections that is a worth <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/world/asia/24bhutan.html?ref=world">read</a>. From the article:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">“Why have politicians?” people wanted to know, expressing doubts about the results of democracy in neighboring countries. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Isn</span>’t the king always supposed to know what is best for his people and guide them accordingly?<br /><br /></span>Interacting with Bhutanese people on a daily basis, I observe that people really feel that way - above statement is not just a cliche. Further, from the same article more of the same:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />This is one reason, he said, that even would-be politicians like himself find it hard to sell their message to the citizenry. “We are not starting a party because we have an ideology,” he said. “We’re not starting a party because we have a vision for a better Bhutan. We are starting a party because the king has ordered us.”<br /><br /></span>It sounds like a bad joke - the King is offering the people the installation of a democracy and the vast majority of the people strongly oppose. Not quite sure whether there is a country that was in a similar situation.<br /><br />Having the democracy in Nepal in mind, many people in Bhutan are scared to make this step. It could turn out the same way in Bhutan. Talking to people, I always try to encourage them and tell them that following a democratic process is probably a good thing. I try to argue that they have been extremely <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">furtunate</span> with their kings and that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">somewhen</span> in the distance future, there might be a different King. If such a King should really come to power, the Bhutanese people might be glad to have a democracy in place.<br /><br />All in all, I like the article in the NY Times though there is one aspect that is left out. The writer of the article has obviously gone to Thimphu to observe the elections. Parts of his story seem to indicate that this whole mock election thing is a bit of a joke. Why should you have mock elections and select among parties that are indicated by colors? The author had better gone out into the country and observed the elections out there; I think it is a whole different story out there.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClXQbJEyxGaIWpyz0fMAjH8zLXEqrx_nVLSD2LexHU7UmXUwyj7Oh7QtaQsRMCXks3uQIRbQPWAhU5B20w3UxvB1ya4ABYwJ91eZlZkvkPmBJ21VpeO6ssLq29fQQkCovRJbH8w/s1600-h/IMG_6100.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClXQbJEyxGaIWpyz0fMAjH8zLXEqrx_nVLSD2LexHU7UmXUwyj7Oh7QtaQsRMCXks3uQIRbQPWAhU5B20w3UxvB1ya4ABYwJ91eZlZkvkPmBJ21VpeO6ssLq29fQQkCovRJbH8w/s400/IMG_6100.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5057039625297678050" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Picture taken from an ad in the newspaper Bhutan Observer.</span><br /><br />Most of the lecturers from the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Samtse</span> College of Education - and many of the teachers throughout the country - have been out during the last 10 days in order to help out with the mock elections. As there is a huge number of remote villages in Bhutan, some of the lecturers had to walk for four days to reach the village where they had to conduct the mock election. No car but monkey trails instead. Leeches all over, crossing rivers without bridges. Conducting the elections in villages with villagers that still need a fair bit of education. After the election, running up the next mountain to catch a signal to transmit the result to the regional center. And after the election process, running again down the mountains to start teaching again as soon as possible. More than one lecturer at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Samtse</span> College of Education has a sour leg. If you look at the mock elections from this perspective, performing them is a very important step on the road to democracy.<br /><br />And by the way, it should not come as a surprise that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Druk</span> Yellow won the primary round of the elections; yellow is the color of the king...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13617422767435031479noreply@blogger.com0