Blog –

Our New Home in Paro, Bhutan

Our new home is something like a log cabin, except the logs are vertical, in the hills above Paro, Bhutan. It’s a 3-bedroom house with large living room and large shrine room. We’ll use the other rooms for guests and an office. It has 2 bathrooms, one is Western and the other traditional Bhutanese. We have two, yes TWO water heaters, one in the main bathroom, and a tiny one above the kitchen sink. Right now it’s pretty cold in here. We have a large wood heater in the center of the living room, and I’m learning how to get…

My Family Puja, Biggest Holiday of the Year

This week I was a guest at my Lama’s family puja. It is a huge gathering of his enormous family for annual prayers, blessings, delicious meals, lots of guests, and Buddhist ceremonies by monks and lamas. The family puja happens every January. The family farm is located in Punakha, 2 hours west of Thimphu, the capital city. It’s a huge farm house and today it is full of family, guests, and monks for the ceremony. Yes, the front stairs are rather steep. Lama with his mother Zekhom. Two very amazing and big hearted people. Zekhom works on the farm in Punakha.…

Getting to Know My Students at Yoezerling High…

Yep. It was a week of teaching high school in Phuentshoeling, Bhutan. Leaving behind the cold in Paro, we drove 5 hours south to the border with West Bengal, India, where we enjoyed a mild jungle climate. The Principal assigned me three subjects: Taichi, Creative Writing, and BodyTalk. He gave me five entire afternoons of two classes each day. I made a schedule and prepared lessons in PowerPoint. For “BodyTalk” I decided to discuss Health and Body Listening – one of my favorite topics! In creative writing students chose a photograph from my collection of magazine cut-outs, and wrote a…

We have a house in Paro, I teach English and Taichi

This may be my shortest post in history. The internet here in Bhutan is sparse today. Let’s see what I can do. As soon as my visa issue was resolved last week, I lef Kathmandu for Bhutan. It was a happy day, because my Lama had rented for us a very amazing house in Paro. It’s furnished with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a bathtub, and a shrine room. for heat it has a hot water heater, a powerful wood stove, and a radiator in the bedroom. There’s a large freshly tilled garden behind the house. The caretaker, a relative of…

I leave Santa Fe and get stuck in Kathmandu

I left Santa Fe on time. But a slight delay in my Bhutan visa required me to wait a week in Kathmandu, a wonderful city, but not for breathing. In the end it all turned out all for the best. In Santa Fe, my 3 weeks went fast, filled with errands, meeting friends, and shopping for gifts for my family in Bhutan. I stopped at the La Fonda Hotel in search of shoes. They decorated their tree with Southwest Christmas ornaments. I wore my Bhutanese kira for a dinner gathering, where I shared a slideshow of my travels. It was…

In the air today, Bhutan to Santa Fe

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.…

Gathering in Santa Fe Friday 12/14, Please Come!

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…

I Must Leave Bhutan 15 Days for Immigration Requirements. Coming to Santa Fe!

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…

Bye-Bye Kathmandu, Hello Bhutan, My Best Birthday Ever

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…

A Rimpoche Blessing & Someone Asks: Are You Pregnant?

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…