Global Hand Washing Day and The French

Oct., 15, 2010

I just returned from the Global Hand Washing Day spectacle.  Eight schools participated and there was music, dance, poetry, science exhibits, and dignitaries stressing the importance of hand washing for warding off germs and disease.   For third world countries, this is still a new concept.


I also met an adventurous French couple who are touring the world for four months. They went trekking in very high altitudes in Bhutan and relayed some amazing stories.  They were also very homesick for French cooking. 
Actually, I am too!  


Enjoy the photos.

 Minister of Education with opening remarks.  Dog enjoying the sun.

Miss Bhutan 2008
leading  demonstration of proper hand washing with students

Druk School in a moment of mindfulness before their performance

Deadly diseases trying, unsuccessfully,  to attack boys who are washing their hands.
The music was great with this skit.

Science exhibit of making scraps of soap into bars of soap.
Proud exhibitors

Kinders with washcloths attached to their Kiras.

                               
                                 The French

Frederic and Virginie enjoying 

non-Bhutanese spaghetti  There was no French food on the menu!!!

Italian was as close as they could get.

Thimphu, Bhutan

View of Thimphu from my apartmrnt

Bhutan!!! Glorious, magnificent and fun!!  I am in awe of this country's landscape 
every single day.  Not to mention the exquisite kindness of the people.  Here are some highlights so far:

-  Druk school and my recorder students

- Centennial Radio - I did my first program on Gregorian chant

Buddha Point this very large Buddha that sits atop a hill welcoming people to Thimphu, the capital city.   Upon its completion in January,  there will be a grand ceremony.

- Music of Bhutan Research Center- our first book on Classical Bhutanese Musicians will be published next month and we are preparing for a grand book release event in Thimphu.

The river that runs through Thimphu.

Bhutanese fiddle player who played for the court of the Third King

Buddha on a Thimphu Hill

Same Buddha

Prayer flags in Thimphu

Sonam's friend and her dog. There are lots and lots of dogs in Bhutan.

Friends from Santa Cruz on their visit to Thimphu with Sonam Dorji, master musician,  and Cheocki on left  who is
working for the Bhutan Foundation in Thimphu

Sonam entertaining group in my Apt.

Sonam and friends from Santa Cruz in Paro

My recorder class at Druk School preparing for concert
 for Global Hand Washing Day.

Tea break at Druk School

Thimphu Valley

Prayer flags atop a hill in Thimphu

Paro

Another view from my apartment

Youth Development Complex where I teach another recored class

Sonam, my assistant, at the Youth Development complex recorder class.     

Choling (who usually smiles), my audio engineer and I preparing for my first radio show on chant.

Bangkok- Reclining Buddha

So it has been more than  2 weeks since my journey began. I think I will just give highlights since there has been so much going on.

 Bangkok - Reclining Buddha - amazing gold plated statue of a peaceful Buddha Reclining.  It is 150 feet long and 50 feet high.  This Buddha has a dramatic peaceful aura surrounding it.

It is in the complex of temples called Wat Pho, oldest Buddhist temples in Bangkok.

 Here is a link if this interests you: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/thailand/bangkok-wat-pho

Wat Pho Complex

Wat Pho Spires at Day

Wat Pho Spires at night

Reclining Buddha

Face of Reclining Buddha

Bicycling in Bangkok

Biking along a canal. Many of the paths were quite narrow!!
This was a more comfortable path.

My guide and I stopping for a Fanta.

A wonderful way to see a country is to bicycle.  I was fortunate to find Grasshopper Bike Tours and bike throughout the rural outskirts of Bangkok. Canals, old temples, temple ruins, lush tropics, and great Thai people were quite remarkable.  I had a private guide and was able to go at a leisurely pace with time for many photos. I hope you enjoy the tour.

A monitor lizard crossing the bike path

Old temple overgrown with tree roots

Biking through flooded temple grounds

School children

A woman waiting for help in her flooded house

A monk with a religious tatoo

A Buddha in metal wire  sculpture

An encounter along the bike path

A warning along the bike path

A worker at the airport observing the warning
(Not along the path)

A garage gate along the path

Banana  tress

Grasshopper Adventures bidding me adieu