Happy Birthday Madam

29^th October

The early morning postal delivery

I think it was David Green from Brisol, who conducted my first interview for a BCF teaching position, who told me that what a year in Bhutan would lack in material rewards and comforts would be more than made up for with gratitude.

  

I don’t think there could be any better time for me to fully experience this than on my birthday.  Even more so than teachers’ day, for so many reasons.

To put it into context, while children celebrate their birthdays, and adults celebrate the birthday of infants on their behalf, once a person reaches adulthood, birthdays are not celebrated.  When I gave a very small gift to by colleague and friend Zangmo on her birthday, she was deeply touched, it being the first birthday present she had received. Ever.

Birthday wishes from Thinley

The students, or some of them at least, knew about my upcoming birthday, since they had asked me about my birthday and how I might celebrate it in Australia.  These are students who want to know everything they can about me. 

Knowledge of my birthday became even more public as students were asking me the previous evening when I was SOD, staff on duty (the time when the bit in my contract about being available 24/7 really seems to come into play.  Report a little after 6am, get home around 7pm). 

I rose, more or less, at my normal time and headed into my tiny washroom with a bowl of warm water for my morning mandi bath (the cold shower is a bit of a challenge when its less than 15 degrees outside) and the knock on my door came just as I finished.  Acknowledging the knock but advising my preference for dressing before opening the door, I noticed the early morning delivery of birthday cards.

More birthday wishes from Thinley

It transpired that these were delivered by a couple of boarder students in the very early hours.  I think they might have been in deep trouble if their temporary AWOL status had been known.

The sentiments expressed brought tears to my eyes, they were just delightful. 

Birthday greetings from Norbu

The knock on my door transpired as my  young neighbors wishing me happy birthday; at 6:30am.

I walked down the path to school to wishes of happy birthday and found another 2 cards on my desk from another 2 of my delightful class 7 boys. One, from my highly gifted student Nima, reflected his increasing level of comfort with me through his gentle sense of humour and his finding of the “longest work” in English, was used with the comment that he could use this with me!!

Heading to class, I was presented with more cards, including as second one from Norbu who expressed the wish they we might meet in the next generation (reincarnation – but in Bhutan the term reincarnation is reserved for gurus)

Highly gifted Nima finds a lovely long
word that I would appreciate!

I was most delighted when my home group sang me "Happy Birthday" and then proceeded to give me the best birthday present ever:  everyone worked their hardest and quietest all lesson.  Much thanks and praise ensued. I overlooked that additional birthday cards were being made during the lesson – quickly hidden underneath maths books as I passed.

Second period was as normal, but third period with the other class 7 group gave another rendition of “Happy Birthday” with their quietest and best work as did the fourth period with class 8A- and even the boys who are usually as silly as wheels were perfect angels.

Through the day additional cards and birthday wishes came, both from students I teach as well as younger students.  Accompanying these wishes were apologies that there was no gift prepared for me.  My response was simple:  their wishes were gift enough for me.

Class VIIB worked their hardest and quietest
what a very special birthday present

One of my class 7 girls asked if she and a friend could visit me after school,  I agreed to this, and as their arrival coincided with that of a small group of girls who had fetched some rice for me (buying 1kg of rice at a time is aberrant behaviour in the village.  It comes in bags: 25kg or 50kg) I invited both groups inside and gave them juice and biscuits and toffees (chocolates in the local parlance)

Sangay had brought me a gift, which turned out to be a bowl: very practical and useful.  The negotiation of formalities of when I should open the gift were long and complex….finally I opened it after the other girls had gone.

Visitors after school

I had planned with Zangmo that she would come for dinner after she finished her Staff on Duty turn, so in the meantime, in between skyping with my son Jonathon,  I prepared samosas, having made the filling the night before.  In due course she turned up, and we enjoyed an hour or so together and she presented me with a most generous gift: a hand woven kira.  She had said it was her intent to give me a kira before I left, but knowing that birthday customs for me included gifts, she decided this would be a suitable time.  The giving of such items is not common in Bhutan, so her doing this was incredibly generous and a reflection of the close relationship that has become important to both of us through the year.

Reflecting on my birthday greetings from students

My brother Bruce rang while Zangmo was there and the conversation became quite hilarious in between hearing about the less desirable events of Bruce’s day.  It was lovely to hear from him.

Zangmo left quite early and I spent the rest of the evening reflecting on a wonderful day and rereading the cards the students had made – wonderful sentiments all.

Quite an amazing birthday!