Update #1: Kuzu zangpo la, y'all!
Kuzu zango la, friends and family!
It’s now a month since I left the lovely city by the Bay, bound for Bhutan, and a lot has happened. My first stop (after briefly landing in Seoul) was Tokyo, to spend a week with my brother, sister-in-law and adorable nephew Max, who was just beginning to walk. We had tons of fun eating sushi, visiting the annual celebration as a local shrine, touring ancient temples, and celebrating the Embassy’s new arrivals at an all-American BBQ, complete with clog dancers, bagpipers, and blues (which got Max dancing and clapping). I caught up with two Japanese Yale friends, which shows the far-reaching tentacles of the Yale environmental mafia.
After spending a night freezing in the new Bangkok airport (I got out my down jacket!) awaiting an early morning flight, I was on my way to Bhutan. As soon as I got on the plane, I knew things were going to be different. The plane was twice as big as the one used when I last came to Bhutan from Bangkok (fall ’03), and was filled to capacity. September and October are peak tourist season, and, as luck would have it, I was arriving in Thimphu the day before the famous Thimph tshechu, which draws visitors from all over the world. Attending the Thimphu tshechu is one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips that people plan for years – how fortuitous that it started two days after I arrived! My friend Tsering at the hotel lent me a fancy kira to wear, and we were off to jostle in the crowds. Thimphu Dzong was packed to the gills, and I couldn’t take too much time in the hot sun, but you will see some of the dances in the first set of photos below.
After the long holiday weekend, I was off to work at the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement, where I am attached to DUDES (Dept. of Urban Development and Engineering Services) (my colleagues don’t find that nearly as funny as I do!) Bhutan is in quite a bit of political turmoil, in anticipation of the first ever democratic elections to take place next March. A significant number of senior government officials have left their posts to run for elected office. The remaining officials have been shifted around. As a result of this political instability, I was unable to work with the Ministry of Agriculture on natural resource and forest management issues as planned, but received an invitation from the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement to examine rural-urban linkages and waste management, within the context of urban environmental issues. To make this work with my own interests, I suggested that it would be important to first understand the value and beliefs about waste and the surrounding environment that people are bringing with them from the rural areas to the urban areas. Thus, I am off on a two month field trip for the remote rural areas of eastern Bhutan, leaving tomorrow! I have hired a car and driver, and will be met by District Engineers, who will help me with logistics and interpretation in the various districts (Trashigang, Trashiyangtse and Zhemgang) that I visit. For those of you with long memories, Trashiyangtse is where I did my master’s work, but I won’t be returning to the same villages. Despite the changes in the framing, the theoretical point of my dissertation remains the same: I am attempting to discern how religious and cultural beliefs affect environmental practice (now around waste, instead of around forest resources). It’s good to have a specific issue, that is of supreme importance to the country to dig into. Waste management and rural to urban migration are two of the priority issues that Bhutan is currently addressing – His Majesty the King has specifically requested certain officials to do something about the problem of litter and uncontrolled waste, so it’s really top priority.
There’s much more to report, of course, but I’ve got to get ready for my field trip. I’ll have limited email access (once a week or less) for the next couple months, and will return to Thimphu Dec. 15. Here are a couple other ways to contact me:
Mailing address:
Elizabeth Allison
Dept. of Urban Development and Engineering Services (DUDES)
PO Box #129
Ministry of Works and Human Settlement
Royal Government of Bhutan
BHUTAN
Mobile: 975-1773-7720
NB: Skype is a great way to call – 0.22/ min. from your computer to Bhutan! My Skype name is Bhutan_Be
Photo links:
http://yale.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15044&l=c1f52&id=830872467
http://yale.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15191&l=f81d7&id=830872467
love,
elizabeth
It’s now a month since I left the lovely city by the Bay, bound for Bhutan, and a lot has happened. My first stop (after briefly landing in Seoul) was Tokyo, to spend a week with my brother, sister-in-law and adorable nephew Max, who was just beginning to walk. We had tons of fun eating sushi, visiting the annual celebration as a local shrine, touring ancient temples, and celebrating the Embassy’s new arrivals at an all-American BBQ, complete with clog dancers, bagpipers, and blues (which got Max dancing and clapping). I caught up with two Japanese Yale friends, which shows the far-reaching tentacles of the Yale environmental mafia.
After spending a night freezing in the new Bangkok airport (I got out my down jacket!) awaiting an early morning flight, I was on my way to Bhutan. As soon as I got on the plane, I knew things were going to be different. The plane was twice as big as the one used when I last came to Bhutan from Bangkok (fall ’03), and was filled to capacity. September and October are peak tourist season, and, as luck would have it, I was arriving in Thimphu the day before the famous Thimph tshechu, which draws visitors from all over the world. Attending the Thimphu tshechu is one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips that people plan for years – how fortuitous that it started two days after I arrived! My friend Tsering at the hotel lent me a fancy kira to wear, and we were off to jostle in the crowds. Thimphu Dzong was packed to the gills, and I couldn’t take too much time in the hot sun, but you will see some of the dances in the first set of photos below.
After the long holiday weekend, I was off to work at the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement, where I am attached to DUDES (Dept. of Urban Development and Engineering Services) (my colleagues don’t find that nearly as funny as I do!) Bhutan is in quite a bit of political turmoil, in anticipation of the first ever democratic elections to take place next March. A significant number of senior government officials have left their posts to run for elected office. The remaining officials have been shifted around. As a result of this political instability, I was unable to work with the Ministry of Agriculture on natural resource and forest management issues as planned, but received an invitation from the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement to examine rural-urban linkages and waste management, within the context of urban environmental issues. To make this work with my own interests, I suggested that it would be important to first understand the value and beliefs about waste and the surrounding environment that people are bringing with them from the rural areas to the urban areas. Thus, I am off on a two month field trip for the remote rural areas of eastern Bhutan, leaving tomorrow! I have hired a car and driver, and will be met by District Engineers, who will help me with logistics and interpretation in the various districts (Trashigang, Trashiyangtse and Zhemgang) that I visit. For those of you with long memories, Trashiyangtse is where I did my master’s work, but I won’t be returning to the same villages. Despite the changes in the framing, the theoretical point of my dissertation remains the same: I am attempting to discern how religious and cultural beliefs affect environmental practice (now around waste, instead of around forest resources). It’s good to have a specific issue, that is of supreme importance to the country to dig into. Waste management and rural to urban migration are two of the priority issues that Bhutan is currently addressing – His Majesty the King has specifically requested certain officials to do something about the problem of litter and uncontrolled waste, so it’s really top priority.
There’s much more to report, of course, but I’ve got to get ready for my field trip. I’ll have limited email access (once a week or less) for the next couple months, and will return to Thimphu Dec. 15. Here are a couple other ways to contact me:
Mailing address:
Elizabeth Allison
Dept. of Urban Development and Engineering Services (DUDES)
PO Box #129
Ministry of Works and Human Settlement
Royal Government of Bhutan
BHUTAN
Mobile: 975-1773-7720
NB: Skype is a great way to call – 0.22/ min. from your computer to Bhutan! My Skype name is Bhutan_Be
Photo links:
http://yale.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15044&l=c1f52&id=830872467
http://yale.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15191&l=f81d7&id=830872467
love,
elizabeth
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