15 - 22 March

15 – 22 March

It had been a very busy week for me yet a very fulfilling one. As I embrace each day with a thankful heart, I find that there are so many things and people I can thank God for.

I met up with Anne, my Singaporean friend on Saturday, 15 March. The journey to her house was longer than I expected. I adopt walking as my “usual mode of transport” ever since I came to Bhutan because I know that walking allows me to see Bhutan in closer details.

Anne is a very hospitable and pleasant lady. She treated me with a sumptuous lunch cooked in “Singaporean” style.  Nothing beats catching up with Singaporean when we are away from home. Interestingly, the Bhutanese observed a no-meat month in March. So we have to be very creative in our cooking as well.

Besides catching up with Anne, I also got a chance to meet 2 American couples who were based in the school too.

The weather in Bhutan did not get warmer and drier as expected. It has been raining lately. Bhutan is not “spared” from the global climate change. Sigh…

I reported for work on 17 March. I was very excited to see the staff and the students.

All the local teachers and students are expected to wear the Bhutanese clothing, kira, when they attend school lessons or on official duty.  As a show of respect, I bought myself a set of kira too.

It took me 10 minutes to wear my kira in the morning. It was not as easy as I thought. One female teacher had to help me to wear the costume again because I got it all wrong!! I looked “pretty” though. J

I was introduced to the school during the morning assembly. The school usually starts with a standard routine of a prayer, students’ reflection and a teacher’s reflection. I learnt how to greet in Dzongkha, the Bhutanese language “Kuzuzangpo La”. The word “la” is a respect to the other person. But for the Singaporeans, it’s our slang.  Haha.

In the later part of the morning, I was told that the father of one of the Assistant Principal passed away. Some of the staff, including the proprietor and the Principal  will be attending the funeral. I took the opportunity to request to attend as well. I wanted to see how a Bhutanese funeral look like and to send my condolences to the family.

I met Dr Solomon Wang and the proprietor for the first time. The proprietor, Mrs Sonam, is a very nice lady who suggested the Punakha trip for me and the Thai teachers in my first week of stay in Bhutan. Mrs Sonam started the school in the name of her father. The school was built and established in 2002.

Dr Wang is a very chatty, well-travelled and knowledgeable educator and philanthropist. Together with his wife, Lorrie, they did a lot of good work in RHSS.

The Bhutanese uses cremation after a person dies. As many as 4 to 5 cremations can be carried out in an open space concurrently. The body of the dead will be wrapped with silk, and the mouth will be stuffed with silver, gold items before the body is brought to the monks for prayer. After a series of rituals, they will then bring  the dead body for cremation.

Compared to the cremation done in Singapore, I personally feel that the cremation in Singapore is much neater. The cremation is done in an enclosed furnace and within seconds, the body is reduced to ashes. No air pollution.

We were served with Bhutanese food before we bid goodbye to the bereaved family.

I met with the group of HODs and Mr Tshering to discuss what I can do for the staff during my 3 months stay in RHSS. Mr Tshering is eager to get the HODs to work closely with me to look into the training needs of staff.

Before this can happen, there has to be a reshuffling of timetable to “push” all the Saturday lessons to weekdays. I am very grateful that the school believes in me, believes that staff training is important, and makes time for the training sessions despite of the busy schedules.

My whole week in the school was spent on observing different teachers’ lesson. Each teacher has their own style of teaching and to each, I salute their professionalism and genuineness in wanting the students to learn.

The students are generally very respectful towards their teachers and they are very attentive. I spoke to many students and ALL of them believe in their teachers and RHSS. If I am to compare the Singapore schools and RHSS, I will say the teachers have the privilege of the full 90 minutes lesson without having to worry about class management problem.

I drafted a lesson observation sheet template and gave my feedback to the various teachers after my observation. It was an objective and professional exchange with one another. Though the classroom teaching is mainly chalk and talk, it suits the students’ learning mode very well. Teaching using technology is a bonus but not a must-have. I am careful not to put my “Singaporean’s superiority complex” into my interaction with the Bhutanese teachers because I have full respect for the teachers’ professionalism. I only hope to share and explore possibilities that can improve their teaching practices within the constraints of their available resources.

I began to enjoy the simplicity and the carefree life of the Bhutanese people. I got a chance to witness the school award ceremony on Saturday, 22 March. It is similar to Singapore school speech day where the students are recognized for their academic excellence. The only difference is that they will be receiving monetary award sponsored by Dr Solomon Wang.

It is very heartwarming to see how Dr Wang believes in education and he spurs the students in RHSS to make him “poor”.

The amount of monetary award increases with the marks attained by the students. A student may get 25 000 Nu if he/she attains a 100% in any subject. Wow!!

As he continues his speech, I begin to wonder about the sustainability of the award. It will be good to set up a “Dr Wang’s” fund where the school can start to encourage the ex-students who do well in life to contribute back to the school.

The event continued despite of the rain. The students took the chairs, shared an umbrella and sat in the open air while the ceremony continued. Though the weather was cold and wet, there was not a single complaint from any student or staff. They demonstrated the true resilience of a Bhutanese!

My highlight of the week was the welcome dinner held at the school library. I went to the venue at 6 pm, as scheduled, only to realize that the local teachers started trickling in at about 7 pm. Mr Tshering told me it’s BST (Bhutan Stretchable Time). It was really cool.

The welcome dinner was held for the 13 Thai teachers, myself and 10 new teachers who joined the school this year.  The staff really “let their hair down” that night. Dr Wang and his wife, Lorrie, and the proprietor joined in the fun as well.

With a simple tape recorder, a microphone and an amplifier, the teachers sang and danced to their heart content.  I appreciated this simplicity of Bhutanese lifestyle.  They are genuine towards people, warm and embrace their own culture.

Right at the bottom of my heart, I hope the Bhutanese will continue to keep this simplicity and not be influenced by the external influence that may come in as the country progresses and develops.

It is the serenity and the peace of the country, the simplicity and happiness of the  Bhutanese that attracts many foreign city dwellers like me to Bhutan.

And as a foreign passer-by like me,  I will not want to attempt to change or boost about my achievements in Singapore. I just want to appreciate the pace and the life-style of the locals and how they can get things done without worrying tomorrow.