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The midway evaluation we did at the course for Master Trainers was the best I ever had - but knowing how difficult it is for the Bhutanese people to be critical - because of their culture where everybody is very kind to each other and always shows respect (especially to those higher up the ladder) - makes me think that they need to learn more critical thinking ;-) Although it is wonderful to get good evaluations!
When I arrived in Bhutan almost 3 weeks ago the passport control gave me a 1 month visa at the airport - they are not allowed to give more. But I am staying 5 days more than a month so I need to go somewhere and get an extension. The ministry is of course helping me with this. So today in the middle of class Mr. Karma Dorji got a phone call and said to me:
"We have to go and get your extension now."
"NOW? I am in the middle of teaching."
So he agreed to go and pick up all the papers and after that pick me up and take me to the right office. I considered my lesson plan for day and found something the trainers could work on for a little while by themselves and when Karma came back with the papers, miss Kinley and I went to the office for visa and work permits. At first they wanted me to have a work permit, which meant I was to go to the hospital and get some health papers. They also talked about going to the south of Bhutan (7 hours in a car each way) to get some other papers. Finally - when I downloaded my return ticket - they allowed me to get a stamp in my passport that I can stay till March 31.st. and I don't have to go other places ;-) What a relief - no more running around for a stamp.
Sometimes I cook at home in the evening - especially if I am busy preparing for the next day. I have bought some potatoes and vegetables at the market, which I often cook for dinner. For some reason potatoes take a while longer to cook here and I was wondering if their potatoes were of another kind than the Danish ones. Then Carsten suddenly gave me the answer. He talked about how water takes longer to boil in high altitudes! I didn't know that! I looked it up at Wikipedia:
"High altitude cooking is the opposite of pressure cooking in that the boiling point of water will be lower at higher altitudes due to the decreased air pressure. This lower pressure results in a lowered boiling point of water and may require an increase in cooking times or temperature and alterations of recipe ingredients. For home cooking, this effect becomes relevant at altitudes above approximately 2000 meters (6562 feet). At that altitude, water boils at approximately 93.9ºC (208199.9ºF)"
And we are actually a little higher up than that!
Wow - I learnt something quite new!
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