Day 2, February 24, first day of work @ UNICEF:

A relaxed early wakeup. Ready to start my first full day in Bhutan. I opened a bank account, got my international drivers license validated, and checked out an old badass baby Mauruti that I may buy to get me to and from work every day. At the office a pile of reading was already waiting for me. I had lunch with my supervisor, Kinley, the Communication Officer, a wonderfully kind Bhutanese man who further instructed me on what my main task at UNICEF would be for the coming three months.

They have asked me to write the Fundraising Strategy for UNICEF Bhutan, meaning that I will be directly dealing with the front office, helping them design a "new, upgraded face" for UNICEF in order to retain their current donors and attract new ones. Besides it being an incredible learning experience, it really gives me the opportunity to get to know the ins and outs of UNICEF, talk to all the staff members and understand what it is that UNICEF is doing in Bhutan. What difference are they making? With whom do they work together and how? I get a holistic understanding of Bhutans' demographics and all the major social, economic, political and cultural issues the country is facing, and learning into which clusters UNICEF hooks in to. It is also an opportunity to learn the ins and outs of Gross National Happiness, a concept that the fourth King of Bhutan designed. A beautiful profound philosophy that says that people's wellbeing cannot only be measured through economic standards but that non-material aspects also play a role in how content and well-off people are with their life. More about GNH later. Point is, I am thrilled! Just cannot wait. Let the work begin.

During lunch I coincidentally met the only three other internationals who are around my age. Anne, Danish intern at UNDP, Ricardo, Portuguese intern at UNDP, and Maartje, Dutch JPO at UNDP. Fun people who will probably be my lunch buddies and any-other-activity-I-do buddies.

Back at the office I did some reading and wrote out a plan for my approach to write the Fundraising Strategy. A hell of a challenge awaiting me!

Once I returned home I felt like relaxing my mind and going for a run. As I started my way down the mountain hill a group of around a hundred monks were winding down onto the same road I was running on, finished with their day's service. It was a hilarious sight! These poised, elegant, noble men, dressed in their crimson red and orange garments, filling up the vastness of the road with their overpowering colors, and I, a modern blonde girl with my headphones on, hopping through the crowd, smiling kindly to every eye-contact made. Tradition and modernity mixed into a friendly blend. Each astonished by the other. Incredulous euphoria. Life experiences are so beautiful.