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Today Aksel went on an excursion with his group. They went somewhere close to the local airport where the very big and fancy hotels are built to see the construction with water and pipes. I think they had a good time even though Aksel complained that he had to drink tea inside with the managers and the principal from the school while the others had fun outside ;-)
The Internet wasn't functioning well today - there was no connection all morning - after lunch it was possible to connect but it worked extremely slowly. Maybe I am supposed to learn patience out here? Sometimes I just want to pick up my computer and throw it on the floor in frustration ;-) But I don't - after all it is my only lifeline to the world - even though it is slow.
After the trip to the forest and all the work the trainees and plumbers did yesterday we have water in the toilets today! Wow this is very nice :-) So much easier - it almost feels like at home - even though we still don't have water in the taps. They dangle from side to side and sometimes I'm afraid they will fall off - I don't think they are connected. But we still have the buckets with water so I use them to wash my hands.
I asked the master trainers today why people here are so willing to stay overtime and work in the forest - like yesterday. If that happened at home I think most people would only do so if they got extra payment or some other benefit out of it. They told me that Buddhists believe that if you help out when it is needed you will also get help one day. And that by helping solving problems for others they might get rid of some bad karma. In some ways their believes are very beneficial for society even though I can't see this happening at home ;-)
We talked about positive psychology today in class and had a lot of fun. I made them do the exercise of "wishing each other health and happiness" while shaking hands and having eye contact. They giggled and had fun and actually felt better afterwards. I think they liked that exercise.
On the less fortunate side I am coughing again and felt very tired at night so I went to bed early.
Friday morning we did our evaluation and after tea we were to do the test after module 2. The master trainers were very nervous and I gave them candy to make them "happy" - applying positive psychology ;-) One of them went around the classroom wishing everyone health and good luck - and maybe it worked - they all passed the test :-)
After the test I started having my interviews with all of them individually. We agreed to stay late and finish today because some of them have a very long way to travel back to their families. They would like to get going on Saturday instead of waiting till Sunday because they also must go back to work on Monday! And of course I understood that and agreed to stay late. My voice almost disappeared again because of all that talking! But we finished a little after 6 pm and everybody was still in the classroom waiting for me when I returned. We had a little "goodbye-time" and they gave me a curtain to hang in front of a door - a typical Bhutanese curtain - it is very beautiful. It was a little sad to say goodbye - I have come to appreciate this group very much and I am going to miss them, but luckily I will see them again in the autumn. Saying goodbye next time will be much worse because then it will be for good :-( But let us face that when it happens ;-)
Aksel and I had dinner together at the hotel and Aksel started telling me about his Shetland pony, who sometimes runs off to the neighbor's field to say hello to his horses. One day one of his friends was to move the horse while Aksel was at work. Aksel had told him that the pony was very quiet and easy to handle, so he just opened the gate to the field and then went away to turn off the electric fence. The little pony saw the opening and galloped full speed out and ran towards the neighbor's horses. The friend, who is very big and looks a little like a rocker, called Aksel and asked what to do.
- Go into the field and call him!
- Ok, what's his name?
- "Hi hi" (Danish: "Dav Dav").
After a short time the friend called again.
- I won't do it!
- But why not?
- I feel completely ridiculous walking down the field shouting "Hi hi"!
So Aksel had to walk down and get his pony himself when he returned from work ;-)
I asked him how the pony got his name and he said: "Well, every time I come home I say "Hi hi" to him and now he thinks this is his name!
We laughed so much that we couldn't eat, eyes were running and our stomachs hurt and the Bhutanese girls who serve the food laughed so much that they had to leave the room - even though they didn't understand one word but were looking at us laughing :-)
- comments
Rayn I LOVE this exercise!! It always lifts the spirits and increases feelings of love and connection. I am so glad you got to share it with the trainers. What a wonderful person you are, I am honored to know you.
Rayn Sorry, I misread what you wrote, I thought the entire class went around wishing each other luck, not just one guy. I think i like this Aksel guy! He is smart, and funny,...is he single?
Anni West Hi Rayn, Actually we all did the exercise the day before and then this guy went to all the class before the final test :-)
Anni West Yes, Aksel is single ;-) Divorced - do you want his e-mail ;-)