14. november 2011

First day of work at the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources was a pleasure. People are so friendly and kind and we were welcomed like kings and queens. It won't be easy to go back home now that I am getting used to having a driver picking me up and taking me to work, opening doors for me and all with a smile. Kind people are offering me tea with milk and sugar several times a day and I have a receptionist who finds my key even before I get inside the hotel! I get spoiled J

I met two of my colleagues at the Ministry today - a man and a woman both named Karma. Here in Bhutan almost all names can be given to both girls and boys and all children are given 2 names. They don't have a surname in the sense that we know it - just two different names. Later today I learned that Bhutanese people can look at a name and tell if it's a boy or a girl - by looking at the sounds in the second name but I am pretty sure you have to be Bhutanese to do this! People are extremely kind and have a great sense of humor. I was told a lot about the vocational system and training of trainers in the past in the Ministry today and my head is spinning but I am starting to understand the system a little bit.
We were also presented to the Secretary of the Ministry who is in command right now because the Minister is in Japan with the King.
The Secretary invited us to dinner in the evening - a traditional Bhutanese dinner with snacks, soup and a main course consisting of different kinds of rice and vegetables, 2 kinds of meat and a very hot chili course. In Bhutan chili is not a spice but a vegetable and Bhutanese people say they are going to die if they don't get chili ;-)

Before coming here I read in a book that it is strictly forbidden to buy or sell cigarettes in all of the country but yesterday in the airport I saw a sign saying "You have to pay 300% of the price to import cigarettes." Today I found out that smoking is not prohibited (but only allowed outside like at home) - it is the selling and buying that's not allowed. You can import tobacco for your own use and many here are chewing tobacco instead of smoking it.

I got a Bhutanese cell phone number today and it is working - here in Bhutan - I tried to sms to Denmark but I wasn't able to. Well, e-mailing will be fine.