tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23267113240450022532011-07-28T11:35:32.442-07:00Bhutan. the Himalayas. the UnNamable. Travel. Academia. Nature.elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.comBlogger1011100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-51895019889636565722010-06-21T17:28:00.000-07:002010-06-21T17:29:24.863-07:00

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elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-63169201244603883492009-04-11T20:57:00.000-07:002009-04-11T21:05:32.977-07:00

I've adored Michael J. Fox ever since he played Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties back in the day, and I've been saddened by his Parkinson's disease.Recently he traveled to Bhutan, where he noticed a significant lessening of his symptoms at high elevations. In fact, he became so exuberant that he nearly fell off a cliff in his dashing about.His documentary on the value of optimism airs on May 7 on

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-57463452550452813192009-03-03T21:06:00.000-08:002009-03-03T21:11:06.190-08:00

Well, if you've got a good grasp of accounting, poverty and environmental issues, Bhutan needs you for a 20 day consultancy with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).The job requires that you1 - Locate, review and assess existing information on public environmental expenditures 2 – Analysis of public environmental expenditures and recommendationsBetween March and May,

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-35709178458961939362009-03-03T19:20:00.000-08:002009-03-03T19:32:20.061-08:00

Namaste, trashi delek, kuzu zampo, my dear patient readers (if, indeed, you are out there...)!I have left you on your own much of this year - giving you ample time to contemplate your navel, and achieve enlightenment. I trust you are nearly there.I've been busy, with numerous adventures, mostly non-academic, that I hope to eventually get around to relaying.And, I'm writing you a book that will

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-68450917422878539472009-01-17T15:25:00.000-08:002009-01-17T16:27:16.785-08:00

Hola! Happy New Year! It's been a while... my blogging hasn't kept up with my peregrinations. Argentina was amazing: fantastic food, fashion, mountains, wine, people. Within hours of landing in Buenos Aires, Double Black Diamond (nee The Professor) and I were scheming about how we could spend an academic break there sometime. Now that we've got a house (yes, more to come on that) in the

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-81085324437912859342008-12-04T19:06:00.000-08:002008-12-05T11:09:54.647-08:00

"New thoughts and ideas emerge from chaos and devastation," according to Bhutan's PM Jigme Thinley. Therefore, the time is ripe for making Gross National Happiness more important than Gross National Product, say those who'd rather BeinBhutan.While the US automakers were pleading for billions for their bailout and investors were watching their stocks plummet, scholars and policymakers at the

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-44100873395030903112008-11-22T00:54:00.001-08:002008-11-22T01:24:11.634-08:00

Where it's sunny and 80 degrees!The plane takes off in just under 12 hours. This is my first time to the Southern Hemisphere. Aren't you supposed to do something in particular the first time you cross the equator? What is it???The plan is to fly into Buenos Aires, hang out there for a couple days, and then take a bus to Mendoza, the wine country at the foot of the Andes, where my friend

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-3447629015869759082008-11-15T22:48:00.001-08:002008-11-15T23:27:13.879-08:00

From the sunny autumn weather of Berkeley, it's hard to remember the misty monsoon rains of Bhutan. But here are some pictures from my last week in Bhutan, in Aug. 2008. I trekked with two other researchers, Joanne, a British undergrad, and Chungku, the Bhutanese intern who was assisting her with cultural interpretation, to Gasa, an area of north of Thimphu. The ever reliable and good-natured

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-37479081461215223102008-11-13T14:12:00.000-08:002008-11-15T22:18:43.382-08:00

About the same time the US was getting a handsome new leader, our polar opposite - a the tiny, undeveloped, devout Himalayan Kingdom - was getting one too. I'm a bit late posting on this. Those of you who keep up with the international news have already noted that Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, son of Jigme Singye Wangchuk, the Fourth King of Bhutan, who ruled for 34 years and oversaw the

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-62826880184898096732008-10-29T15:42:00.000-07:002008-10-29T16:20:40.237-07:00

I think I'm finally getting into it, starting to think Big Thoughts about the nature of knowing and the limits of knowledge. Or that could be just the caffeine and chocolate speaking.A few key quotes from a controversial book I've been reading:Philosopher Rene Descartes transformed the competition between reason and faith by providing a new and neutral context in which the world could be

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-83350017810354718552008-10-28T22:23:00.000-07:002008-10-28T22:33:47.868-07:00

I met few other Americans working in Bhutan, primarily because the US doesn't have official diplomatic relations with Bhutan, and therefore sponsors no large USAID or Peace Corps-type projects. American consultants pass through, but generally only for a few days or weeks. The most familiar types were the Canadians -- Americans, too, but kinder, gentler ones.And though most of my acquaintances

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-68377915422308923352008-10-10T11:40:00.000-07:002008-10-10T11:45:40.114-07:00

My two-year-old nephew knows where his next meal's coming from.Parent: "I have feathers on my wings, a beak, and I fly high in the air. What am I?".Max: "A bird!".Parent: "I have orange fur with black stripes, I look like a big cat, and I live in the jungle. What am I?".Max: "A tiger! Roar!".Parent: "I have fins and scales, I breathe with gills, and I live in the water. What am I?".Max:

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-34133980947492494882008-10-09T16:24:00.000-07:002008-10-09T16:29:01.568-07:00

UNDP Bhutan is seeking an international consultant for a four-month assignment, beginning in Nov., to study the mainstreaming of poverty and environment concerns into national projects.Alas, my dissertation calls. Plus, I'll be on vacation in Argentina. (Yes, I know the two previous sentences radically contradict each other.) So here's an opportunity for all ya'll who kept asking me to stuff

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-18894648009281620472008-10-07T12:00:00.000-07:002008-10-07T12:05:52.387-07:00

According to a current article in Science, "Religious people tend under certain conditions to be more helpful and generous than others because their belief in God assumes the existence of an all-knowing "supernatural police" force that monitors their behavior, says University of B.C. psychologist Ara Norenzayan."Apparently, this is particularly likely to be true when1) people believe that others

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-88737023776998842702008-10-03T12:24:00.000-07:002008-10-03T12:36:43.430-07:00

Beginning July 2009, I will be an assistant professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), conveniently located across the Bay in San Francisco, where I will teach courses in my specialty areas, including environmental ethics, religion & ecology, biodiversity conservation and political ecology to masters and PhD students in the Program in Philosophy, Psychology and

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-60972578767987711862008-10-03T12:21:00.001-07:002008-10-03T12:24:06.790-07:00

Only 8 pilots in the world are certified to land at Paro Interational Airport, the world's scariest runway.I would have to argue that the landing at Lukla, Nepal, in the Solu Khumbu region is even scarier, as the plane flies directly toward a mountain, before landing on the steeply banked runway. But that's not an international flight...

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-8978175880463249682008-09-30T14:46:00.000-07:002008-09-30T14:48:29.669-07:00

The Center for Biological Diversity has weighed in on the election, with its presentation of the Rubber Dodo Award.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-74401405471647163782008-09-24T12:35:00.001-07:002008-09-24T12:36:17.587-07:00

You can watch monks purifying sacred relics from Bhutan and dancing in midtown Manhattan, as part of the exhibit at New York's Rubin Musuem here.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-20210883364940812402008-09-22T18:27:00.000-07:002008-09-22T18:38:44.166-07:00

This is a pretty neat fundraiser, and not all of you out there are poor grad students.Donate $250 or more to the Obama campaign through this linkSend the receipt to Ayelet Waldman, successful author and fellow Berkeley denizen (not that I know her).And she'll send you ten randomly picked signed books by these authors. (Details are all on that webpage.)Do it now - books are being mailed out Friday

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-64315221169204656832008-09-17T18:10:00.000-07:002008-09-22T18:37:41.728-07:00

Everyone wants to tell their story of life in Bhutan!A few new books: "A Himalayan love story" in which a young man encounters a land rich in scenery and religion.An elegy for a changing Bhutan, by an anthropologist who's done research in Bhutan since 1990.And another Himalayan love story, in which a young woman encounters a land of spectacular scenery, rich religion and forbidden love. And the

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-28069361069741716112008-09-17T14:48:00.001-07:002008-09-17T14:49:18.555-07:00

It's supposed to be good luck today.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-23826704942360994042008-09-17T13:52:00.000-07:002008-09-17T14:45:25.318-07:00

Here I am, 15 days after returning from Asia, still crawling groggily through my days. The return from Bhutan to Berkeley was by far the most difficult re-entry I've had in my numerous trips across the Pacific. Factors that increase the severity of jet lag, according to The Lancet, include age (ugh!) and westward travel, as well as dehydration on the plane, and exhaustion before travel. I

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-32464944637124335622008-09-17T13:44:00.000-07:002008-09-17T13:51:57.125-07:00

Discovery of Hodgson’s Frogmouth(Batrachostomus hodgsoni)New Family and Species to BhutanBy Chris G Bradshaw and Peter LoboDuring late March and early April we enjoyed a birding tour of Bhutan in the company of three other birders. On the evening of 9th April 2008 we camped in a small orange grove with patches of forest nearby, a few kilometres up the road from Deothang, at an elevation of 1250m.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-83548829126966971302008-09-10T13:06:00.000-07:002008-09-10T13:10:01.371-07:00

The Digital Himalaya project collects and digitizes anthropological materials to contribute to their preservation and their wider availability to scholars around the world.You can support this project by clicking through their webpage whenever you want to use Amazon.com, and they'll get a tiny commission from Amazon for each click through.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-74959023577911736722008-09-09T17:41:00.001-07:002008-09-09T17:45:47.910-07:00

If you're in or near New York, drop by the Rubin Museum. This should be worth seeing.Arts / Art & DesignPrayers at an Exhibition: Bhutan’s Art and the Monks Who Protect ItBy JAIME GROSSPublished: September 6, 2008Two monks will perform daily rituals at the Rubin Museum of Art to safeguard the works in the exhibition “The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan.”

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-85403299376509902982008-09-09T16:51:00.000-07:002008-09-09T16:54:28.583-07:00

Bhutanese cooking with everyone's favorite Bhutan Broadcasting Service newscaster, Tshewang Dhendup.Now you too can try the famous ema datsi, or chillis and cheese, the national dish of Bhutan. To go with it, you need some Bhutanese red rice, available at Berkeley Bowl for around $10/lb. If that seems a bit steep for village food, basmati rice will work just fine.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-54374527865863107642008-08-31T20:58:00.000-07:002008-08-31T21:16:26.534-07:00

Signs of the times. Complementing the widened Paro-Thimphu highway, these signs suggest many options, even though there's not really anywhere to go. The old highway signs were meter-high concrete posts, painted yellow and white, with the name of the next town and the distance remaining. Talakha Peak blocks the south end of Thimphu Valley, and is said to offer the best views around. From the

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-57393466124661769562008-08-31T05:14:00.000-07:002008-08-31T06:36:06.132-07:00

Tango Gonpa is a monastery high on a hillside north of the Thimphu Valley. Aksel loved the prayer wheels. He got some help spinning the huge prayer wheel.A guardian spirit called a lu.Even monks have to do laundry. Chop wood, carry water, is said to be one way to enlightenment.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-45339121753826329202008-08-31T03:21:00.000-07:002008-08-31T03:45:37.095-07:00

Paro AirportI’m sitting here with a cup of very strong, very sweet Nescafe, waiting for the Druk Air flight that will take me to Bangkok, back to the ‘real’ world with its espresso and ATMs and salads and hectic pace. It’s rather bittersweet to be here, in this festively decorated airport that I’ve traversed half a dozen times in the past eight years, on what may be my final departure from the

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-4078117027820090752008-08-29T10:31:00.000-07:002008-08-29T10:37:35.686-07:00

Though I placed an order for residential phone service and DSL in June 2008, as of Aug. 28, the service has not yet been connected. I have called numerous service representatives, repeatedly since June, only to be transfered around, and then told that the problem is being examined and fixed. The problem began when my subletter attempted to switch the service out of her name. She called to cancel

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-64535501798784542008-08-20T23:45:00.000-07:002008-08-21T00:05:59.951-07:00

Not only are the Danes incredibly fun and hospitable, they even provide for things forgotten... like my camera cable.Here is a view of Simtokha Dzong, courtesy of Anders.Simtokha Dzong is the tiny building on the right side of the photo. The view from their house is even more impressive... but without a camera cable, what to do???If you're an ever-resourceful American, like my dedicated

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-57815339002158013142008-08-18T08:51:00.000-07:002008-08-18T09:05:13.662-07:00

I have dramatically upscaled my life, moving from a basic guesthouse, with a knee-high shower and hard beds, on the main street, where by night I was serranaded by barking dogs and arguing disco-goers, to the quiet of a sprawling, wood-panelled, Danish Liaison Office house, high on a hill 5 km outside of town. Well, the bed is still hard, but the dogs are scarce and the company is unbeatable.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-89548097802009619912008-08-13T04:40:00.000-07:002008-08-13T05:06:55.849-07:00

1. Tell her that you are very busy and would prefer to receive questions by email, even though she's sitting right in front of you.2. After she introduces herself, insist on calling her a diminutive version of her name.3. Don't answer any questions directly, other than to point out how irrelevant they are. Obfuscate, befuddle, pontificate.4. Obsessively review photos on your computer to avoid

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-34242639007394209842008-08-10T23:51:00.000-07:002008-08-11T06:20:47.480-07:00

My plans for a long hike and a day spent revising my conference presentation this weekend were dashed by the sudden onset of "Bhutan belly" late Friday night. One moment, I was snoozing peacefully; the next, I was dashing for the bathroom, sweating and delirious. The term 'explosive' comes to mind. By morning, I was conscious enough to realize that I should take a capsule of Cipro, every

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-26500952099929017222008-08-06T00:21:00.000-07:002008-08-06T00:35:38.709-07:00

Thimphu is such a small town that I've already run into - and astounded - a number of people I knew when I was here in the winter. Since tourists and expats consultants come and go with great frequency, no one really expects to see a repeat visitor. Bhutanese usually expect that foreigners have not been in Bhutan before, and when I explain that it is now my sixth visit, they are quite shocked.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-66968341729194977842008-08-04T23:11:00.000-07:002008-08-04T23:13:23.137-07:00

Kolkata, IndiaDruk Air treated us to an additional scenic stopover at no cost this morning. Rainy weather in Paro, Bhutan’s only airport, prevented the plane, which flies by Visual Flight Rules (VFR) to weave between the mountains into the steep valley, from landing. After circling in thick clouds above Paro for the better part of an hour, the captain announced that we would be unable to land,

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-68015413246032096342008-08-02T22:34:00.000-07:002008-08-02T22:40:02.106-07:00

Being home in the US lulled me into a sense of security, a casualness with my belongings, a feeling that you can leave you bag in your locked room and expect it to be ok. Though I was without my bag for a two hours while I ate breakfast IN THE HOTEL, and another two hours when it was ostensibly locked in a safe while I was getting a massage, 3000 baht (about $90) dematerialized from my wallet.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-18186970333718632762008-08-02T22:32:00.000-07:002008-08-02T22:33:25.946-07:00

In the Narita Airport, Tokyo, with a yen for sushi, but no yen in her pocket...

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-19926127045745961772008-08-02T22:30:00.000-07:002008-08-02T22:32:25.545-07:00

Just before leaving, I BART-ed over to San Francisco to pick up some of the knee-high men's dress socks that are welcome gifts in Bhutan. Conveniently, Nordstrom has an entrance in the BART station. Even more conveniently, its Anniversary Sale was in progress and the socks were 30% off. When I proceeded to the cashier with nearly a dozen pairs of socks, the associate was a bit surprised. “

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-9362985457945002882008-07-30T15:29:00.000-07:002008-07-30T15:53:39.376-07:00

Just when it seemed that I might have settled back into my NorCal groove, I am about to pick up and head back to Bhutan. My flight leaves at midnight tonight. Because overcrowding on Druk Air, I'll have two days in Bangkok enroute. It was already tough to get a seat on Druk Air, the only airline in and out of Bhutan, during tourist season (Sept. - Nov.), but now with spiraling gas prices, the

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-78043922126442276572008-07-29T16:18:00.000-07:002008-07-29T16:29:51.154-07:00

From time to time, prospective graduate students write to me and ask me about my program, why I decided to do it, and whether they should choose it also. This always strikes me as funny, because I never felt like I chose this path. Rather, it chose me. I became obsessed with a set of research questions that I could not put down, and that hauled me through two masters and most of my

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-45219722093994821562008-07-12T19:25:00.000-07:002008-07-30T23:59:42.348-07:00

Over the July 4th weekend, a dozen of us, mostly back-country skiers, rock-climbers, and other assorted Friends of Sadie (who sadly was away collecting wildlife poop in Africa), headed up I5 to commune with Mt. Shasta, a spectacular blast of verticality in the midst of an otherwise horizontal landscape. Snow-climbing is the dominant means of ascending Shasta, and those who'd visited the mountain

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-78520856541975815392008-07-11T16:53:00.000-07:002008-07-11T16:56:03.487-07:00

According to News Biscuit, An Isle of Wight man has been crowned the sixth Dragon king of the Himalayan State of Bhutan after responding to a job advertisement tied to a lamp post.'...I rang the number, and the next thing I know I was in Thimphu, being crowned in the Dechencholing palace gardens.'Terry Clithero, is now employed as the Sacred King of the Himalayan state, living in the beautiful

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-74696547470504359412008-07-08T15:43:00.000-07:002008-07-08T15:50:05.056-07:00

An excerpt of a Call for Papers for an academic conference:There is an increasing recognition of the need to combine intellectual forces, across disciplines, to theoretically delineate the precise ways in which the myriad elements of the Indian reality constitute an articulated whole. This is the immediate conjuncture. Intellectually, this conference relates to two preceding theoreticalattempts

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-92194068891755057352008-06-28T20:24:00.000-07:002008-06-28T22:25:08.971-07:00

Apparently, this occasional habit, as well as being unwilling to "dress for breakfast," would have made me a "failure" as a 1930s wife. In my defense, I do "Like[s] educational and cultural things."26As a 1930s wife, I amPoorTake the test!

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-85801851639770837902008-06-26T17:10:00.005-07:002008-06-26T17:59:12.741-07:00

Ya'll might've thought that ever since I landed back on American soil, I had nothing more to blog about, since I'm no longer in an exotic country marveling at the strange customs of the natives. Well, actually, I've been finding American culture pretty remarkable ever since I got back - that's what I love about traveling: it de-naturalizes all that I tend to take for granted - but that's

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-76316855506991260472008-05-08T18:25:00.001-07:002008-05-08T18:27:21.121-07:00

I leave Tokyo at 4pm. I'll reach San Francisco at 9am the same morning. How weird is that?!?!?So excited to be going home.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-18077275067954603232008-05-06T09:06:00.001-07:002008-05-06T09:07:40.162-07:00

How DID the Time reporter find me?First they descend on Bhutan, now it's Mysore.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-67624214550532214882008-05-06T07:09:00.005-07:002008-05-06T07:39:29.579-07:00

Holy cow!New friends, met on the way to the tailor.They LOVE Kirti! She's Indian, from Kenya.Musicians lead the way to a wedding near my hotel.The crowd gathers.Graceful women balance vases on their heads.The groom's fancy ride.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-64529688386586863682008-05-06T06:51:00.001-07:002008-05-06T07:07:00.182-07:00

Presumably, this sign points to south India.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-1764304615215271052008-05-06T06:43:00.004-07:002008-05-06T07:04:09.273-07:00

After 8 months, I'm back in the developed world, marveling over the cleanliness and orderliness of Tokyo. Restrooms are clean and stocked with toilet paper! Beds are cushioned and pillows are soft. Cars stop for pedestrians. Traffic moves on only one side of the road. No one honks. No one pushes. Drinks have ice. Hot and cold tap water are plentiful and drinkable. Even raw fish -

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-47671310032350926242008-05-01T00:54:00.001-07:002008-05-06T07:05:37.226-07:00

My month in Mysore ends Friday. It’s both strange and wonderful that it’s over. The month went fast, and I feel that I’ve just begun to scratch the surface of the many delights of Mysore, which is quite a livable city, once you get used to the noise and pollution, and of intense daily yoga practice. Though a month seemed like a huge amount of time to devote to yoga when I arrived, it now seems

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-40122204260731311802008-05-01T00:52:00.003-07:002008-05-06T09:09:36.563-07:00

I am an imposter, a fraud. I have no dreadlocks, no tattoos, few piercings. I don’t wear “unique” flowing outfits that advertise my place in the counter culture. I’ve never been to Burning Man. I think there’s something deeply contradictory about following a vegan, organic, no-sugar, no-refined flour diet, and partying it up on the weekend. I’m not a yoga teacher, a massage therapist, or a

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-11472527696872240152008-04-25T02:59:00.003-07:002008-04-25T03:11:23.439-07:00

The sexism, the sexism, the sexismNot to say that it's not present in the States, but - holy cow! - I don't have to give my father's name to enter the country, and I can wear a short-sleeved t-shirt without having eyeballs bored into my chest.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-51174203472255945292008-04-23T02:54:00.005-07:002008-05-06T07:06:22.807-07:00

Taking advantage of Sunday’s full moon holiday from yoga class (because, at 70% water, people are just as much affected by the waxing and waning of the moon just like the ocean, according to Ashtanga theory), four of us hopped on a bus to visit the Tibetan refugee settlements two hours outside of Mysore. Though a Protected Area Permit is officially required for overnight visits, we had been

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-5392777606842411312008-04-22T04:39:00.005-07:002008-04-22T04:54:44.570-07:00

The Southern Bhutanese refugees, resettled in St. Louis from Bhutan, will feel right at home because1) of the mountainous terrain2) the predominance of rice and chilis in Midwestern food3) the abundant rice paddies4) the Nepali, Dzongkha and Hindi languages heard on every street corner5) the warm, friendly people.Welcome to St. Louis!

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-84537059008266853672008-04-19T06:02:00.004-07:002008-05-06T07:07:54.725-07:00

One Intrepid Reader asked to view the Newsweek maps that I had to wait for the censor to clear, so I thought you all might be interested in this illustration of the way that governments shape and produce knowledge. What does Newsweek know about the external borders of India?!?!?In other news, I have just come from a photo exhibit and documentary film on the recent events in Tibet, put on by some

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-43076335177227189252008-04-11T03:24:00.004-07:002008-05-06T07:08:44.368-07:00

Last I knew, Christmas in April was a US-based poverty alleviation charity. But in Mysore, it seems to be an under-the-radar festival. I was humming along to Little Drummer Boy and Deck the Halls at the mega-mart last night, and all the Western comics in the newspaper (Blondie, Bettle Bailey, Garfield) are featuring Christmas themes. This bizarre time-warping is contributing ever more to my

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-90792510829868361382008-04-11T02:52:00.003-07:002008-04-11T03:02:16.291-07:00

Despite being tiny and isolated, Bhutan is not immune to the globally-interconnected material culture. Archers use thousand dollar bows imported from the US, and kiras, the women's national dress, are being woven by weavers just across the border. In the capital city of Thimphu, it was easier to find 'luxury' products like tonic and sparkling water and pizza and Newsweek than it is here Mysore.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-59107617334119603192008-04-10T03:20:00.003-07:002008-05-06T07:09:20.853-07:00

After a week of trekking down from the Himalayas, where it's still winter, to South India, where it's very definitely summer, I've settled into a bit of routine. This buffer between my time in Bhutan and my return to the Bay is meant to be a bit of a writing retreat, where I make sense of all (at least some) of what I learned in the past six months before it escapes from my mind. I figured that

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-4441333086597821082008-04-02T09:53:00.006-07:002008-04-02T11:05:41.958-07:00

... my first few days in India have been charming and relatively straight-forward!Here in Bangalore, a city of more than six million, I have been able to go about my business in peace and anonymity. My jaunts around the city including visits to Urban Yoga, to get stylishly outfitted The Leela Palace, for a relaxing aroma-therapeutic pedicure, to bring my hiking dogs back into sandal

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-72395501639955994662008-03-31T09:10:00.003-07:002008-03-31T10:28:23.692-07:00

This blog is sponsored by the Letter B.This morning, I bid bittersweet goodbye to Bhutan. By evening, I was in the sulty, mosquito-ridden plains of south India. Tom Friedman said "the world is flat," after visiting Bangalore, and he wasn't kidding. After the crenelated verticality of the Himalayas, it's very odd - and a wee bit panic-inducing - to see a plane with no breaks in it. (On the

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-80031483324869004512008-03-31T09:06:00.002-07:002008-03-31T10:29:38.100-07:00

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-84203963304497406962008-03-24T22:28:00.008-07:002008-03-31T10:53:42.333-07:00

Showing more wisdom and insight than anyone gave them credit for, the people of Bhutan have clearly expressed their wishes for the future of their country.A taxi driver expressed a common sentiment last night, after the election results had been released, "With DPT things will be done fairly, according to policy, because they have much experience running the country [five former ministers are

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-73595395720140297572008-03-24T21:25:00.012-07:002008-03-31T10:30:26.000-07:00

As with all adventures with the Bionic Woman (the indestructible woman who never sleeps!), this one began before dawn. We dressed in our finest kiras, and hopped in the car with the Great Dane to attend Paro Tshechu.We arose at 3am for the hour and a half drive to Paro, so that we could view the thongdrel, an enormous hand-stitched silk mural, which offers liberation on sight, before dawn.The

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-27701336847162627642008-03-20T00:14:00.001-07:002008-03-31T10:31:33.390-07:00

What with the self-destructing monarchy in Nepal, the violence in Tibet’s holiest city of Lhasa, and Monday’s elections in Bhutan, it’s hard to find a misty, silent mountain-top on which to meditate toward enlightenment these days.One Intrepid Readers asks: “What is going on over there? Riots in Tibet, voting in Bhutan, violent Marxists in Nepal. Is change in the air or what?”Though the

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-4535057431837242922008-03-18T22:24:00.003-07:002008-03-31T10:32:29.812-07:00

I'm spreading the word far and wide! It's tricky to look for a housemate from 10,000 miles away. But surely some of you intrepid readers know someone looking for nice, reasonably-priced housing the Bay Area. Read on...Housemate needed for two-bedroom, one-bath duplex with good light and hardwood floors, near El Cerrito Plaza BART. Eat-in kitchen and living room are on the first floor, bedrooms

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-50083360207296831372008-03-16T05:06:00.001-07:002008-03-31T10:32:55.741-07:00

A couple who have had a fancy tourist vacation in Bhutan go to see an astrologer with their guide and driver. The astrologer tells the wife that her life will be cut short unless she becomes more generous. The wife immediately decides to double the tip that she’ll offer to the guide and driver. The couple gives a very generous tip of $500 each to the guide and driver.As the couple leaves the

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-76377855034010842008-03-16T04:46:00.001-07:002008-03-31T10:31:57.809-07:00

There’s a story floating around town about two chilips (foreigners, chi = outside), let’s call them Edna and Suzy, who eluded the watchful eyes of their minders to spend an unmediated weekend exploring Haa. The strict control of foreigners, both tourists and resident expats, in this country requires that foreigners are always accompanied by a Bhutanese guide, driver, friend or colleague. Even

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-8708965056099371592008-03-05T21:23:00.002-08:002008-03-05T21:36:36.545-08:00

No, not the exclamation, the dzongkhag. Haa is the western-most district of Bhutan, bordering on Tibet and India, and where I'm headed tomorrow. My roommate, the Bionic Woman, has some friends there she thinks I should talk with about religious beliefs and ecology. The people of Haa are reputed to believe in deities of the landscape, as is the case in eastern Bhutan. At the same time,

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-5482497373658430082008-03-03T21:34:00.000-08:002008-03-03T21:37:10.578-08:00

From BBC OnlineFire wrecks refugee camp in NepalBy Charles HavilandBBC News, KathmanduThe UN says a fire in Nepal which destroyed most of a camp housing refugees from Bhutan is a disaster.Officials say 10,000 refugees are now homeless. The cause is unknown.The refugees are ethnic Nepalese forced out of Bhutan in the 1990s by the government, which was concerned over a Hindu minority in a Buddhist

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-48381264781964267132008-03-01T04:15:00.003-08:002008-03-31T10:33:26.868-07:00

Choose Dell.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-6942861276513814532008-03-01T03:49:00.002-08:002008-03-01T03:54:45.756-08:00

Less than a month after the fire on the hillside above my flat, Thimphu was ablaze again, this time threatening the Fourth King’s palace, and the Queen Great-grandmother’ cottage. According to the Bhutan Observer, a spark from a power line ignited the fire, midday on Thursday. By mid-afternoon, large plumes of smoke billowed above Thimphu, and at nightfall, red flames were visible licking up

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-32971039419024272662008-03-01T03:22:00.004-08:002008-03-31T10:34:20.827-07:00

The best place to view Bhutanese religious art is now Hawaii, not Bhutan. With the nearly simultaneous opening of the exhibit “Dragon’s Gift: the Sacred Art of Bhutan” at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, and the closing of lhakhangs (temples) to foreigners by the Department of Culture, non-Bhutanese will have better luck seeing thangkhas and statues in Honolulu than Thimphu.The Department of

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-48726390778853806892008-02-25T20:24:00.001-08:002008-03-31T10:34:46.615-07:00

If you’ve ever tried to get a visa for India, you may have encountered crowded, noisy waiting rooms, long queues, incomprehensible rules, and delays. If that is the case, you MUST get your next Indian visa in Thimphu.The whole experience was quite delightful. There was no chaotic waiting room and no interminable wait. Indeed, there was no waiting at all. After giving my name to the

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-29648403472348771402008-02-25T20:12:00.003-08:002008-03-31T10:36:49.436-07:00

Towering like a fortress over downtown Thimphu, the Taj Tashi is Bhutan’s newest international caliber up-scale hotel. It seemed a fitting place to celebrate the Fifth King’s birthday, especially when my about-to-depart roommate Buddha Boy was buying. After attending the gala celebration at the Royal Bhutan Police ground, BB, The Bionic Woman (my other roommate), The Golf Coach (on loan from

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-31324197311550078562008-02-18T22:03:00.002-08:002008-02-18T22:17:03.687-08:00

Apparently, you don't have to travel halfway around the world to view Bhutanese architecture. My brother has recently alerted me to the existence of buildings modeled after Bhutanese dzongs at the University of Texas, El Paso. The wife of a former dean of UT read an article in National Geographic about Bhutan, and was struck by the similarities between the landscape around El Paso, and that of

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-20768185872199049672008-02-11T00:19:00.000-08:002008-02-11T00:21:48.136-08:00

On a windy, spring-like Saturday morning, my roommate and I walked out of our flat in the hills about Thimphu to meet our other roommate in town for lunch. As we headed down the hill, he stopped to photograph some road-workers heating a 55-gallon drum of asphalt over a roaring wood fire. I turned around to glance up the hill, and was shocked to see billows of white smoke rising from the hills.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-64604312060731170152008-02-10T23:55:00.001-08:002008-03-31T10:39:14.145-07:00

About a month ago, the Professor came to visit, while working on a small project for another government agency in Bhutan. The great thing about being a professor at a prestigious university is that people all over the world want your help with things. The office he was assisting didn’t demand too much of his time, leaving plenty of time for exploring Paro, the location of Bhutan’s only airport,

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-42226709092546286822008-01-29T21:24:00.000-08:002008-01-29T21:32:36.840-08:00

In San Francisco, this sign would definitely have a different meaning that what I think is intended here.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-66995607675662283412008-01-29T19:46:00.003-08:002008-01-29T20:30:46.321-08:00

Snow in Thimphu is rare enough that the government calls a holiday for the first snowfall of a year. Last Wedsnesday, we awoke to swirls of the white stuff, and by mid-morning, government workers were headed home. That day, I was attending a Youth and Environment workshop - a program organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to enrich students during their two month winter break.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-55977009723609252232008-01-28T01:09:00.000-08:002008-01-28T02:04:06.578-08:00

Though I’ve long claimed to ‘love travel,’ I’ve found one of the most taxing aspects of my field research to be the constant moving about (aka, travel). Since last July, when I departed from California for field work in New York’s Hudson Valley, I’ve been more or less living out of a bag (or three).In the last six months, I’ve slept in at least 40 different places (counted as yet again,

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-36835505997143315412008-01-20T05:59:00.000-08:002008-01-20T06:05:21.848-08:00

I knew nothing of this until speaking to a friend. I hope this doesn't presage more agitation leading up to the elections. From KuenselonlineBombs blasted in four dzongkhagshome BREAKING NEWS20 January, 2008 - Four bomb blasts took place between 11.10am and 2.10pm in four different dzongkhags today, including one in the capital, Thimphu.The first blast went off at 11:10 am near the vegetable

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-11342557065490782312008-01-20T05:54:00.000-08:002008-01-20T05:59:36.825-08:00

Ok, I know there are readers out there somewhere in the blogosphere, because you send me emails saying "nice photos" and "funny story." How 'bout posting your thoughts where that little "Comments" button is, so we can get a dialogue going?

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-5724146723363447912008-01-16T21:44:00.002-08:002008-03-31T10:40:14.375-07:00

Here's another post from back when I didn't have an internet connection in October.Oct. 26, 2007On the way back to Trashigang from Bidung and Bartsam, two rural villages in eastern Bhutan, Prem suggested that we stop by a tree that was planted by the Body reincarnation of the Shabdrung, after he had come to Bhutan and before he was assassinated. He planted the tree, willing his next incarnation

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-33942987115165957032008-01-14T02:42:00.004-08:002008-03-31T10:53:14.888-07:00

The final two weeks of my Oct. - Dec. field trip were in Zhemgang, a district in the central southern part of Bhutan. Though I'd visited Trashigang and Trashiyangtse in the east previously, I had never visited Zhemgang before. It's got the steepest, most rugged terrain I've ever seen, and consequently, the fewest roads and probably least infrastructure of any Dzongkhag. After leaving the road

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-29691035672327100642008-01-14T00:34:00.001-08:002008-03-31T10:42:22.138-07:00

New Year's Eve in Thamel, the tourist hub of KathmanduPatan Durbar Square, at dusk

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-51829449867833867062008-01-01T23:50:00.001-08:002008-03-31T10:50:18.715-07:00

Yongphula Tsho, near Kanglung, eastern BhutanThis lake is just below an airstrip that was built decades ago, against the wishes of the local people, who were concerned that the construction would disturb the local deities. Construction went ahead, but the strong winds and heavy clouds of the mountaintop location prevented the airstrip from ever being used. Revenge of the local deities? Proof

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-19235131401732065132007-12-30T08:20:00.000-08:002007-12-31T05:50:31.480-08:00

My madeleine is a jiri, a round orange sticky deep-fried sweet, found at tiny road-side snack shops in Nepal and India. Give me two of these, on a tiny tin plate, and a fragrant milky tea, served in a short, thick glass, and I am swept back to 1989, when I was an wide-eyed college student breakfasting on these at my one-room cottage in the Pradhan's backyard in Kathmandu, not far from Boudanath,

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-82047318310002242482007-12-24T09:11:00.001-08:002008-03-31T10:45:47.073-07:00

Pizza, the best this side of New Haven; Pinot Noir, from Australia, really not bad, all things considered; twinkling lights; roaring motorcyclings; battling garage bands playing Wish You Were Here; all dark and silent at the internet cafe.Merry Christmas!

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-15010859770893520032007-12-24T08:43:00.001-08:002008-03-31T10:52:23.259-07:00

A few views along the highway from Thimphu, in the west, to eastern Bhutan.Jakar Dzong, in Bumthang, central BhutanKing of the RoadLangur

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-77808719650048699102007-12-23T02:49:00.001-08:002008-03-31T10:43:07.580-07:00

It's a bit off the beaten track from grandmother's house. Flying along the crest of the Himalayas on a clear winter day, past Kanchenjunga, Everest, Ama Dablam and Cho Oyu for a Christmas/ New Year's holiday in Kathmandu, was pretty dramatic. Strange to say, but it's really nice to get a break from Bhutan. There's no sign of Christmas there at all. No Christmas cards, no decorations, no

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-10797547192321563822007-12-19T04:26:00.002-08:002008-03-31T10:44:34.200-07:00

I dressed myself. On my second try.Ok, I realize that those parents out there are saying 'that's no big deal. My two-year-old can do that.'But does your two-year-old's outfit involve 3 meters of fabric that must be folded this way and that and then cinched with a belt that generally requires a maidservant or at least a good friend pull it tight? Does your two-year-old wear a top that has no

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-88210505497989252992007-12-18T04:56:00.001-08:002008-03-31T10:43:44.777-07:00

and tug of war, at the Nov. 11 celebration of the birth anniversary of His Majesty, the Fourth King.Ready for balloon bursting...Stomp!

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-6827652651281285992007-12-16T03:54:00.001-08:002007-12-16T03:57:02.625-08:00

I'm headed across the mountains from Thimphu to Kathmandu next Sunday, 23 Dec. Anyone in the neighborhood, please give a holler! I'll be staying at the Kathmandu Guesthouse.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-70881720068009904402007-12-16T03:49:00.000-08:002007-12-16T03:53:12.300-08:00

Well, well. I return from the wild jungles of central Bhutan only to discover that I have been edited out of my sister-in-law's website (www.aforadventure.com), where I used to have a cozy virtual home. Guess that's what happens when the offspring show up...So I've marched out and set up my own little internet home.Stayed tuned for pictures from the east.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-13060063255854372702007-12-16T03:28:00.001-08:002008-03-31T10:51:41.629-07:00

It’s not hard to see why October-November is festival season in Bhutan: the crops are harvested, allowing a brief break in the endless working of plowing-sowing-weeding-guarding-harvesting-storing, the skies are clear and sunny, and though the nights are cold, the winter has not yet descended. In this respite between the rains of monsoon and the cold of winter, the weather is unbelievably

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-66177787205347855162007-12-16T03:22:00.002-08:002008-03-31T10:48:45.106-07:00

In episode #3, our heroine learned “why social science is a good field for ladies: it doesn’t require that much effort,” according to a Nepali engineer.*****When last we saw our heroine, the Lady Social Scientist, she was being born north, toward Trashiyangtse district headquarters, reclining on her palanquin, accompanied by her parasol-carrying and corset-tightening maidservants, who ensured

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-54401382573593455762007-12-16T03:21:00.002-08:002008-03-31T10:49:25.704-07:00

My request to go to the restricted border of areas of Merak and Sakteng in the far eastern part of the country at the Indian border has been denied, or at least delayed, so tomorrow I will go a few hours down the road to Trashiyangtse, another eastern district, and begin village interviews there.Merak and Sakteng are rarely visited villages, 10 hours’ walk from the end of the road, where the

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326711324045002253.post-74674869403009313992007-12-16T03:19:00.002-08:002008-03-31T10:47:51.174-07:00

I've been here about a week, in far eastern Bhutan. Last week was spent in Bartsam and Bidung, two hillside villages on the dirt farms roads that wrap around the mountains like octopus tentacles. When I was in Trashiyangtse in 2001 and 2002, I thought that was the end of the road – but Bidung is really at the end of the road, being the terminus of the farm road that branches off from the main

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10887625097831786188noreply@blogger.com0