Category: Asia

I’ve never seen the Japanese sport of archery, so when I heard it was being demonstrated yesterday on the local archery ground, I jumped at the chance. I was late, but the first 45 minutes seemed to just be a presentation on the history of the sport. When they finally got started, 3 elderly Japanese… Continue reading Kyudo

Yesterday began cold and wet so we forewent a long walk or bike ride and Marie decided she’d try to join the over 40 run against poverty in celebration of UN day. She joined Michelle to complete the contingent of expats. For some reason (possibly the rain) no UN expats joined. The registered along with… Continue reading Run against poverty

I lost it yesterday. My tolerance finally cracked and I ended up in an loud argument with the driver of a large car. I’d rushed up to Shop No 7 to buy some butter and cream so Marie could make a cake for the French guests we have coming tonight. I parked neatly in their… Continue reading Parked in

There was one more interesting person I met last night – they were all women for some reason. Dorji Yanki (I have no idea about the spelling of this) is a young woman who leads the team that manages renovations to all cultural buildings in Bhutan. Her team consists of 2 Bhutanese architects, 2 Japanese… Continue reading Architect

But the highlight of the night was meeting Deki Yangzom, who was introduced to me with the words ‘MAG, this is Deki. You’ve probably seen her back.’ It took a moment to realise that Deki played a character of the same name in Travellers and Magicians. The poor girl told me that her back seems… Continue reading Deki’s back

Another Chimi I met last night worked for almost 20 years in the government, ending up leading (I think) the Policy and Planning division of the Ministry of Agriculture before deciding that she’d repaid the government for her education and left to work in the Tarayana Foundation. I know little of the foundation and my… Continue reading Retirement

Last night I was invited to drinks by Cathy Harris, the honorary consul of Bhutan to Australia. Although I didn’t really get to meet Cathy, I met a number of interesting people. One was Chimi who works for Respecting, Educating, Nurturing and Enabling Women, RENEW. We talked about the good work they do in helping… Continue reading Night Hunting

A chilip friend, Nathan, and I tried archery today in his backyard. I needed to ‘tie’ the ends of my string first, which was done by copying his. Someone else had tied his by untwisting the strands of the bite of the string and threading the tail through it – and repeating a few times.… Continue reading Definitely not Robin Hood

On the other hand, it’s been a good day for me. I’ve finally checked an item off the list that’s been bothering me for months. I have advertised an Australian phone number on my business cards, stationery and website. It makes sense to have an Australian contact when it’s an Australian based company and I… Continue reading Reception Service

Marie’s morale is very low at the moment. While we knew that her contract was unlikely to be extended and the embassy is certainly under no obligation to do her any favours, their treatment of the issue has been less than professional. All embassy staff, including the volunteers, got together in Delhi a few weeks… Continue reading Diplomacy?