Thanksgiving in Bhutan - Bash on Regardless!

While our friends and family are sitting down to Turkey dinners this weekend - Anne and I celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving in Paro, Bhutan with Nancy Strickland who drove down to meet for dinner from her home in Thimphu.Nancy is a kind of a rock star here - she came here in 1986 as a teacher and has been an invaluable resource to both the Bhutan government on education and as the unofficial Canadian honorary consul. EVERYONE knows Miss Nancy - she either taught them or their parents or she facilitated the arrival of another Canadian teacher who taught them.  She is a frequent guest of government officials, the royal family and any VIP who happens to be passing through Bhutan. Anne managed to surprise me with a book written by a student of Nancy's - Jamie Zeppa - called Beyond the Sky and the Earth - which describes Jamie's experience as a teacher between 1989 and 1996 when she taught in rural Bhutan, converted to Buddism and fell in love and married a Bhutanese fella. The book has been a great read during our stay in Bhutan and unlocked some of the mysteries about Bhutanese culture. We are getting pretty good at recognizing the various phases of Buddha - present, ascending and the various manifestations and other significant beings. But boy is it confusing!

The phrase Bash on Regardless is on a typical road sign at the Trumseng La -the highest pass in Bhtuan at 4000 metres. "You have reached Trumseng-la, Bhutan's highest road pass. Check Your Brakes. Bash On Regardless. Thank you."
Nancy treated us by bringing a couple of bottles of wine from the duty free store. Our dinner was a typical Bhutanese fare - cabbage, carrots and cauliflower, noodles, eggs and chile cheese (the Bhutanese LOVE their chilies - note the photo of the chillies drying on the roof) and fresh fruit.
We were joined by a Bhutanese government Agriculture public servant who recognized Nancy, and a Save the Children representative from Washington who was in Bhutan checking out a program. We spent the evening discussing education policy, the Canadian view from Bhutan, Canada's Development agenda for South east Asia (or lack therof) and ofcourse speculation about the outcome of the Canadian federal election. Nancy informed me that the Liberal's were now leading in seats so I couldn't help myself and I checked out the www.threehundredandeight.com website. Who knows what we will discover when we get off the trek on Oct 27.

Chillies drying on the roof

C