Yep, I left Paro Wednesday 11/28. Flying Kathmandu, Qatar, LA, and Albuquerque, to arrive just . 3 days later in Santa Fe. I have to leave Bhutan for 15 days for immigration rules, so I’m coming to Santa Fe to to stock up on winter supplies, get essentials from storage, and visit friends. A chance meeting in the hotel breakfast room led to an invitation to participate in a sustainable entrepreneurial workshop for women. Each team prepared a business proposal. Mentors supported and critiqued the mock presentations. The last day there was a contest to select the top three proposals.…

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Just a quick message to my friends in Santa Fe. I’m here from Bhutan for a brief visit. I’d love to see you and catch up. Please come to an intimate dinner and gathering of friends Friday 12/14 at 6pm. It’s at my dear friend Rhea Goodman’s home, 3227 Calle de Molina, Santa Fe, NM. (Near Rodeo Rd & Richards). Please don’t bring anything, my suitcases are full. Just bring yourself. I’ll make a light Himalayan dinner. Life is good. I’m going back to Bhutan 12/17 to set up an apartment in Paro with my Lama husband, teach English, and study Dzongkha…

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Official Word from Immigration Office. They finally approved my permanent residence in Bhutan. Yay! But first I must leave the country for 15 days. So I’m making the best of things by coming to Santa Fe. Yay Yay! Is Santa Fe really cold? Who is Padmasambhava? The energy of Padmasambhava is very strong in Bhutan. His special vibration is one of the main reasons I’m here, since he’s been present in my meditations for a long time. Padmasambhava is said to have been born about 700 years after Christ in the NW Indian province of Oḍḍiyāna. He traveled and studied with many…

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I’m delighted to leave Kathmandu with it’s dusty air, dirt, and intolerable traffic. My sister Ghalem bought a flute for her cousin Dendrup from this street vendor. Ghalem and I arrive in Paro with 60 kilos and 6 suitcases of winter clothes and gifts for family. I find out I’m a spoiled American. Bhutan is seriously COLD in the winter. And guess what? There’s no central heat in the homes. Some people use a space heater. Most homes have hot water heaters. We’ll be staying with Ghalem in Thimphu and she has neither. It’s pretty rough for me. I don’t wash…

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My Lama and I went to a blessing with Lama Tsering Wangdu Rinpoche, a wonderful 80-year old Tibetan Rinpoche in Kathmandu, that I studied with for many years in Portland OR. I found out he has a monastery near the Boudha and is very popular. I was excited to see him after 10 years, so we walked to his monastery just 2 minutes from where we’re staying. There were many people waiting to see him. His sanctuary room is very beautiful, and I wanted to take a photo but it is not allowed. We brought him a big bag of…

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Good News! The Queen of Bhutan intervened for me at the Immigration office, through a friend of my Lama’s family. She sent an SMS message to the Immigration Director, encouraging him to consider my visa, instead of waiting 6 months. He agreed immediately. Now I can go to Bhutan in two weeks. Thank you! After our marriage is signed by the court in the Lama’s home village, it will be official. Then it will be simpler for me to stay in Bhutan. This week my travel blog is about the amazing people I see every day in Nepal, India, and…

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Visibility is poor in Kathmandu. Can you see the tall mountains just outside the city? A faint outline? Nope. The air is dirty and it’s hard to breathe. Early morning air is already smoky as thousands of monasteries, homes, and shop owners burn blessing fires. Soon cars and motorcycles fill the streets. By 9 am you can’t take a deep breath. My lungs are tired. Both Hindus and Buddhists burn herbs for blessing. Kathmandu is full of ceremonial smoke. But how much smoke is needed to purify a city?? Waiting in Kathmandu  Last Monday the Bhutan Immigration Office said I’d have…

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174 couples interviewed for foreign marriages last week, but the High Court approved only 26. Here’s the list of qualified couples. We passed! Somehow I feel accepted not only by Lama’s family, but also by Bhutanese culture. Yep, here’s the marriage certificate from the High Court. Trust me on this, though it’s in Dzongkha. See my name? I’m in Kathmandu for a few weeks, as my Bhutan visa expired October 6th. Notice the hazy air quality is different from Bhutan? We’re waiting for our Marriage Certificate to be printed in English. Soon the Immigration Office can issue my new visa…

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Another interesting week in Bhutan. Our Marriage Certificate looks very positive. We’ll find out for sure tomorrow when results are posted. I’ve been studying Dzongkha and continue to meet relatives in Lama’s enormous family. We harvest chili peppers, a mainstay of the Bhutanese diet. My sister Ghalem’s garden is enormous, so they eat lots of fresh veggies including cucumbers, beans, squash, pumpkin, corn, etc. Chili peppers were introduced in Bhutan in the 16th century after Portugese ships brought them to India from the New World. They’ve really taken over here. Peppers are spicy, easy to grow, and are very healthy…

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The Blessed Rainy Day in Bhutan is something like the Autumn Equinox. It marks the end of the monsoon season and the beginning of cold weather. Families traditionally gather for an early breakfast of thup (porridge) with yak cheese. My Lama made this the night before. We’re all enjoying it around Tenzin’s table. This video illustrates Bhutan’s tradition of the Blessed Rainy Day. On this day all natural water resources in the country are considered sanctifying. Citizens are encouraged to rise early and take an outdoor bath to be cleansed of “bad deeds, obstruction, defilements and accumulated bad karma”. I went…

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