I think the course is going well - the trainers from the institutes are interested, motivated and active and we work and have great fun also. Bhutanese people have a great sense of humor but they are always so polite and kind so it is difficult to know what they are REALLY thinking. My impression is that they find the course interesting though (I hope).

Every morning when I leave the Bhutan Suites I remember to take some toilet paper with me ;-) There is never toilet paper available in Bhutanese toilets - even at the Ministry. Next to the toilet is a big bucket full of water so if you cannot flush the toilet you take some water and throw it into toilet - even at the Ministry. Normally there is only cold water in the water taps - but a piece of soap IS available! On Friday though there was no water at all in the taps! I was wondering how the girls preparing our meals could wash their hands after using the toilet. Oh well, I prefer not to think about it ;-)

When my kind participants pick me up in the mornings and take me home in the afternoons they always tell me that this is the rush hour. Compared to Danish standards it isn't bad at all but I understand why people here find it busier and busier day by day. Every day they get 70 new cars in Bhutan and that is a lot for a small country with a population of around 700,000 people! They are going to need some good auto mechanics here so I hope my colleague, Steffen, is doing a good job (I am sure he is!) - his teachings are needed. Some people say that they do have traffic rules but it is difficult for somebody from the outside to tell. It seems to me that drivers agree who is to stop and to drive by smiles and gestures. Everybody drives nicely and slowly here - they avoid hitting dogs and people in the streets and in the towns there is a speed limit of 30 km/hour (18 miles an hour) and outside the towns you drive on winding mountain roads with lots of construction going on so there you CAN'T drive fast. But some of my participants told me that they would like to go to Germany and drive really fast on the autobahn! (Boys will be boys ;-))

It has been a busy week and I am looking forward to the weekend now - hopefully the weather will be nice so I'll be able to get out and walk a little :-)