On Thursday we had a great day at the counsellor course. Everybody worked hard and we talked a lot about behavior change and how to plan the first meeting with a student or trainee. All the participants agree that substance abuse - alcohol and drugs - is the biggest problem for adolescents in Bhutan and at the institutions. We also practiced having a conversation - remembering body language, active listening, etc. I think they all enjoyed it. But I am getting tired now - I don't mind that tomorrow is the last day of teaching ;-) One more day of work, a weekend and Monday morning we start the long travel back home :-)

Friday I was only teaching till lunch time, then Chief Sangay, Mr. Jigme and Karma Dorji came and said their goodbyes to the participants, we had lunch together all of us, took some group pictures, and then it was time to go back to the ministry. At 3 pm Aksel and I were to give our presentations to the director and the rest of the department. The director was occupied with another meeting so we had to wait. Finally at 3.35 we got started and gave our presentations, which were received very well in my opinion. Aksel had made a very nice presentation with a lot of really great pictures from the course he conducted - I liked it! As expected the conclusion about solar heating for the ministry building was that it would be much too expensive and it was suggested that maybe the school in Chumey should be the place for this experiment. It is so cold in Chumey in the winter, they have the trainees and workshop facilities and it would be cheaper. Nothing is decided upon yet - I think it will be a question about money ;-)

In the evening Carsten, Aksel and I had a very nice dinner together at the Taj Hotel, and Carsten told a lot of stories from his 36 years of working abroad - he has had so many funny, serious, dangerous and interesting experiences and I really think he should write a book about it all!

My own thoughts are very much on returning to Denmark, my family and friends and I also think about the very rich life and all the possibilities we have in Denmark compared to here. When I return from these trips to Bhutan I notice this much more than I ever did before. I appreciate the opportunities we have: for choosing our education and future area of work, for being able to save up money and buy whatever we would like to buy, for travelling abroad, for easy transportation within the country, for central heating and a water supply that works, and for so many other things. We take all of these things for granted and often complain because we want more. It creates perspective to live here for some months and experience how people are able to live and be kind and loving without a lot of this and how they appreciate it when they get some of the possibilities that we take for granted. I guess it is part of development but still…..