The Internet is SO slow at the Bhutan Suites - well everywhere around here I guess. This morning I tried to go to dmi.dk to see how much snow to expect when arriving in Denmark ;-) But I had to wait several minutes just for one page to download - phew, I learn patience here. Sometimes it even comes up with an error and I have to start all over. I am going to appreciate my fast and stable Internet connection so much!

This is my last day in Bhutan and I am here by myself now because Carsten left this morning. Oh well, it was quite a normal day even so - I went to work at the ministry, finished my mission report and a few other things and did what I normally do here ;-) I am looking forward to seeing Denmark again and I know I have to get used to a couple of things like the cars driving in the right side of the street. And being able to throw toilet paper in the toilet - last time I came back I kept looking for the basket for paper - he he!

I know it will be difficult to share my experiences because it isn't easy to describe feelings and impressions about living and working here. There are so many new impressions and feelings. It is much easier to tell about what I have seen or where I have been.
I guess it is also more difficult to share because most of the time here is work and not vacation. And to share about work will demand a lot of explanations concerning the work. It is much easier to explain about the clothes the Bhutanese people are wearing or the food. But I guess that is ok :-)

Early tomorrow morning a car from the ministry will pick me up and take me to Paro airport. After flying for 4 hours to Bangkok I'll wait around at the airport for 8.5 hours before boarding for Copenhagen around midnight Bhutanese time. After 11 - 12 hours of flight I'll be in Copenhagen and off to Hald! A long trip but I have a good book with me so I'll be fine and hopefully I'll be able to get a night's sleep on the plane to Copenhagen ;-)

Let me end my blog this time around with a story about 4 very famous friends here in Bhutan. You can buy pictures, embroidery, carved wood and a lot more with the four friends :-)

Come back in May for my next trip to Bhutan :-)

The four friends:
At first, there was just the bird, and the tree was just a little sprout. The bird could scratch around on the ground and find little bits of plants to eat. The bird was unable to fly, so it could only eat what it could find near to the ground. As the tree grew, it became difficult for the bird to get enough to eat.

Then the rabbit arrived. The rabbit would eat what was on the ground and would lift the bird up on his back so the bird could reach the growing tree. In this way they both had enough to eat. However as the tree continued to grow, it started to become too high for the bird, even on the back of the rabbit. Then the monkey arrived. The monkey could climb up into the tree and drop the fruit from the tree onto the ground for the rabbit and the bird. However, it was difficult for him to get to the fruit at the very top of the tree. Then the elephant arrived. With the elephant, if all the animals helped each other, they could reach the fruit at the top of the tree, and in this way there was plenty for them all to eat.

The reason the four animals worked so harmoniously together, and the reason they were successful, is that none of them were primarily concerned with themselves. Each of them was concerned with trying to help the others to get what they needed. Rather than being dominated by selfish concern, they were dominated by cherishing others. Another reason why they were successful is that they were willing to ask for help and to receive help. In this way, the bird is considered the hero of the story. The bird was the most fragile and needed the most help. Because the bird was willing to ask for help, and because the others were happy to help the bird, everything worked out very nicely.