Arrival

Well, after numerous bureaucratic delays, and occasional academic ninja-ing, Rachel and I finally landed in Bhutan. After getting a ride from Paro, home to Bhutan's only international airport, we arrived at Royal Thimphu College, just outside of the capital. Rachel and I had often wondered what our living arrangements would be like here, and having seen the living quarters at other colleges, had not expected much. However, RTC is brand new, and we could not be happier with the living arrangements. Little things like a hot water heater, multiple rooms, cookware, a western toilet, wood floors, a bed with a mattress, TWO porches, are all more than we were expecting. We actually have a bona fide guest bedroom (visitors welcome!).

Perhaps the biggest change thus far is the temperature. While we're pretty far south, we are also up around 9,000 feet, so the temperature varies significantly. During the daytime the temperature peaks around 60 which is quite nice, but at night it gets down to around 30, which doesn't sound that cold, but houses here don't have central heat, or any heat for the most part. Luckily we have a space heater, so our bedroom stays warm to about 55 or so. I'm huddled under the blankets wearing a winter cap as I write this.

Campus is on winter break, which is actually about two months long, and the majority of the faculty have left, so campus is really quiet. However, we have pulled together the first of my teaching exercises with some of the 2nd year students, which starts on Monday, I'm quite excited to see where we can go with that. And we already have a potential line on borrowing a car for a couple of months until we might purchase our own.

I'll take a couple of photos of the view from our place, it is truly beautiful. But I don't want to stretch this post too long. There is lots of time for more entries.