April 7- A little more Thimpu, a lot more Buddhism

Today we drove outside of Thimpu a bit to trek up to one of their monasteries.  Before getting to the base of our hike, we stopped at this large painting of Guru Rinpoche that someone had done on the side of a large rock.

Our guide told us that everything in Bhutan is either up or down, there is no flat and this hike further proved it.  Thanks to Physique 57 my legs were completely up to the hike, however, my flat-lander-thick-blood wasn't so much.  However, arriving at the top was well worth it.  What a peaceful place.

I love old people.  And add old to monk and oh my goodness!  Moments after the second picture the older monk pulled out his apple juice box and had a drink.

After a tour of the monastery and a the hike back down we stopped into a traditional paper making company.  These women are separating the cooked and washed Daphne pulp to pull out the best parts.

After the paper place we went to the Semtokha Dzong, the oldest Dzong in Bhutan.  I have a few pics of the inside, but I loved this picture of a man sitting outside.  

Then a little journey over to the nunnery.  There aren't many nuns in Bhutan compared to the monks and this place was only built in the last 60 years.  Notice the dog in the left corner.  He was one of many hanging around.  Lots-o-dogs in Bhutan.

And our final stop for the day was at the Thimpu Dzong where half of the building is used for the government to work and half for the religious leader to work.  We were only able to tour the religious side.  Inside one of the temples on the religious side was a Buddha who was 25 feet high himself plus another 10 feet if you add the platform.

Before dinner, we attended a cultural show at the hotel.  Watch the end for special guest.  P.S. It would have been helpful to say "turn" or something- you know, for those of us who are new at Bhutanese dancing :)

April 6- Thimpu, Bhutan

Okay, so I have to admit that I really didn't know Bhutan was a country until about six months ago.  But it's not only a country, it's the world's only Mahayana Buddhist monarchy.

So this morning we woke up very early to catch a flight from Bangkok to Paro, where there is the country's only airport.  This is a picture of us flying through the Himalayan Mountains.

But don't worry mom, it was a big, modern plane

The nation is very rural and very spread out with small village dotting the mountainsides.

But since the 1960s Bhutan has been working to both modernize the previously secluded (self imposed) nation while simultaneously instilling a strong national identity in their people.  One of the way the government has done that is instituting a national dress.

Within the nation, it's life and religion are one.  There is no separating the two.  The prayer flags on the hill tops for the wind to carry the prayers of the people's blessings to the world is just one of the many reminders of their strong devotion.

We toured several places such as the National Library, the Indigenous Medicine Center, the Culture History Center, and the art school where students study for six years to learn how to preciously create the religious art.  Our guide told us that those who are born with deformities are believed to be artists in their past life that messed up on their projects so perfect art is very important.

Then we went to National Memorial Chorten, a place of worship that was built to honor the third king after his death.  Devotees circle the memorial (always clockwise) in an effort to earn merit that will lead them to Enlightenment. (Center in the white shirt is Dr_EAM)

At the memorial we also witnessed the monks, some as young as five or six, play worship songs on their horns and drums.

Tomorrow, our guide will be taking us on a small trek.

More then,

April 5- Bangkok

After a good night's sleep, we set out to explore The Old Town of Bangkok.  

On the way, we ran into the red shirt group.  But we figured you can't cause too much trouble wearing clown wigs and carrying stadium clappers.

The police thought otherwise.

We toured the Grand Palace in the 100+ weather.  It's an amazing structure that is covered in gold, porcelain or paintings on every inch.

And we saw some monks in the Amulet Market

Then we found an air conditioned restaurant where we could cool off and enjoy some lunch with two guests.

And we saw a beautiful sunset behind Wat Arun

Tomorrow- off to Bhutan.

9,861 miles in 29 hours

Saturday began as such an early morning.  Dr_EAM says that by the time we reach Bangkok will have traveled almost 10,000 miles.  It will be nearly Monday by the time we land. Likely it will be Monday by the time we reach the hotel.

I use to make up stories (okay, lies) to people when I would travel by myself.  When I was 16 and traveling to Germany on my own I told the lady next to me that I was betrothed to a man over there and I was on my way to meet him.  And that I would never get to see my family again.  Or the time I was traveling to Boston to visit Dr_EAM and for the 45 minute flight from OKC to Dallas I spoke in a almost moderately believable British accent to my seat mate.  But she bought it (and bought me dinner too!).  She wanted to set me up with her brother.

But the Boston trip was a decade ago and Germany more than.  This trip- no lies.  This trip is with my brother, Dr_EAM.  He has determined his role on this trip is fact-checker.  Though, he threatens to tell others that what I say that is true is not- just to be what he's termed "funny."

It's not often that two grown siblings (both married) get to take a trip alone together.  But I'm blessed to be able to come and blessed that we have always been close so two weeks with him doesn't seem hard.  It's been since, well, I suppose, that trip to Boston since we've spent much time together, just the two of us, and that was only a weekend.  So I guess, it's been since I was in high school and living at home that we've had this much time together.

For now we've traveled on two out of the three flights to get us to Bangkok.  For now, we're having a brief stop in the Narita airport.

The last time I was in Japan was the fall of 2000.  I left at the bottom of culture shock (not recommended) not caring if I ever came back.  Since then I have mellowed to my experience and realized what good times I had here.  And now, simply walking through the airport with the Japanese signs and people-movers on the opposite side and good luck kitties and strange electronic stores, I'm suddenly feeling a little nostalgic, dare I say, slightly homesick for Genki sushi and a dueling-lexiconigraphical conversation with my host parents.

My mom's parting advice to us before I left was that if we have to "think twice about doing it, don't."  How nice of her to give me permission not to think while I'm gone.  I'm pretty sure that's what she meant, right?  If we don't think before we do, than there can be no thinking twice.

Miles to go before we sleep,

SoCoS: Is

Last week Geo gave everyone the assignment of "Is" as the internet wide topic for SoCoS.  Strangely, no one decided to take me up on the stream of consciousness writing.  So, this week, I'll take myself up on it.

Ready, set, go:

Is to focus on someone else.  Focus truth or fiction.  He is running, she is pretty, that is weird.  Congigate- they are.  They are happy, they are crazy, they are skipping.

I hope I focus more on am. I am- what am I?  I am a child of God. I am a mother. I am a wife.  I am a travel agent.  I am forgiving.  I am (as others tell me) bold.  Did you know to do a "Kate" has become a coined term in my family.  I learned this last week. However it was used in referrence to talking to a stranger like you know them- and so I'd agree that's totally something I would do.  When I was 18 I went to NYC for a week and had my picture made with 42 strangers.  I would walk up, introduce myself, and tell them it was my first time in NYC and I'd like to have my picture made with them. Cab drivers, street vendors, fire man, the door man at FAO Schwartz.

Last week I went to dinner with Matt and Mandy while LK was out of town.  A couple gave us the stink eye the whole time.  They were older.  We decided they thought we were polygamists.  "They are" thoughts aren't always right.

I am thoughts aren't always either.  Best to be honest with yourself and kind at the same time.

Time

Now it's your turn. If you'd like to participate in a little SoCoS action, your topic this week comes from @Dr_EAM.  The tops is "architecture."  We're leaving on a trip to South East Asia today.  In fact, my SoCoS comes straight from the OHare airport so our mind is probably focused a bit on the Buddhism architecture we're about to see.  My goal is to blog a bit each night the highlights of what we see starting April 5- come back and watch us travel if you like. 
SoCoS Guidelines: Write for 3:37 without stopping. If you can't think of what to write, write "hit a road block" over and over again until something comes to mind. When you're done- post a link to your SoCoS writing as a comment to this post.

A little April Fooling

When we set a date to have our friend's Gena and Erick over for dinner, at first I didn't realize it would be April 1. But once two and two came together- I knew an April Fool's dinner was more than in order. After all we've celebrated Ground Hog's Day, National Pancake Day, and March 4th since the start of this blog and also been known to celebrate Bubble Day and other, um, lesser known holidays around our house so an April Fool's dinner is totally in line with our MO.

There were, however, two almost fails to dinner. The first the "fauxberry pie" never mentions a pie crust in their ingredients. So with less than 1 hour before our guest were to arrive and I read

Remove the pie shell from the freezer. (We placed ours in a Pyrex dish to help ensure that the pie would bake evenly.)

I started frantically looking for a pie crust that must have magically been put in my freezer because I didn't know said pie crust would be needed. But no matter, pulled out ol' Betty Crocker and made a fast pie crust (recipe below).

The second almost fail was that I erroniously thought a smaller meatloaf pie would not take 1 hour to cook like most meatloaves do. (This near fail was completely my fault- I just completely didn't see the timing listed

Transfer the meat to the shell, spreading it evenly with a spoon. Bake it until the meat is cooked through, about 60 minutes.

Needless to say, I did not have 60 minutes- I had 30, tops. And since I wanted this fool to be a surprise, I didn't want to have anyone else help so I needed it done fast.

Solution? Crank the oven up an extra 100 degrees and hope for the best. Now I've seen the M&Ms commercial and I know this is bad idea when baking cookies, but for the meatloaf- it actually worked. The meatloaf was fully cooked in approximately 30 minutes which included me removing it a few minutes to toast the "bread" for the grilled cheese under the broiler.

All and all the food was a hit and the time with friends was lovely. Hope you all had a very happy April Fool's day.

The recipes I've linked to the real recipe, but since I have a hard time following directions, below is how I modified them.

Grilled Cheese for April Fools' Day

Ingredients
Pound cake
1 can buttercream
Yellow and red food coloring

Cut the pound cake into bread-like slices and toast them in a toaster oven just until they turn golden brown. Once they've cooled for a few minutes. Now tint the frosting by stirring in a few drops of yellow and red food coloring (more yellow than red) to get a shade of orange that resembles American cheese. Carefully spread frosting between the slices of each half sandwich. If you mound the frosting on one slice, then top it with the other and gently press down, the frosting will ooze out a bit and look all the more like melted cheese.

And like my normal grilled cheeses, some of them came out a wee bit dark.

Fauxberry Piewith Betty Crocker Crust
PIE CRUST
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup shortening
4 to 5 TBSP cold water

"STRAWBERRY" POTATO TOPPING
2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 beets peeled and cubed
salt and butter as desired





CHOCOLATE MEAT LOAF FILLING
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon dark, unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup bread crumbs
1 pounds lean ground beef
1 egg, lightly beaten

Instructions
Heat the oven to 350. While preheating, mix flour, shortening and water together until fully mixed. Once fully mixed, press into pie pan until the bottom and sides are covered.

Bake for 8 minutes or until slightly golden and then remove from oven to cool.

Turn the oven up to 450º. In a small saucepan, combine the barbecue sauce, milk, molasses, cocoa, and chili powder. Set the pan over medium heat and whisk the mixture until it is lukewarm and the cocoa is completely dissolved. Set it aside to cool.

Sauté the onions in the tablespoon of canola oil until they are transparent, about 7 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the salt, pepper, and bread crumbs. Then add the beef, egg, sauce mixture, and onion. Thoroughly mix the ingredients using your hands or a wooden spoon.

Transfer the meat to cooled pie shell, spreading it evenly with a spoon. Bake it until the meat is cooked through, about 30 minutes.

While the pie is baking, prepare the mashed potato topping. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough water to completely submerge them. Salt the water lightly, cover the pot, and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and cook the potatoes at a low boil until they are tender, about 12 minutes.< While the potatoes cook, boil fresh beets in enough water to cover until tender. Drain the potatoes and the beets and transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Pureed beets and potatoes using an electric mixer until it's smooth and fluffy. Add a small amount of milk if needed and salt and butter to taste. Spread the whipped potatoes over the top of the cooked meat pie with a spatula, as you would whipped cream, mounding it slightly in the center. Slice and serve the pie while the potatoes are still hot. Makes 8 servings. The key is to serve them at the same time and to not have a goofy grin on your face. I achieved the first, the second was harder, I was pretty proud of how it worked out. And the meatloaf- pretty good in and of itself. But beware of chocolate allergies before serving to guests. (Yes mom, that means don't eat the meatloaf leftovers while you're here).

 Happy Foolin'
 

Thanks for the advice

Thank you to everyone who commented on my post Monday about Geo's school situation - or more my situation with something at his school.

One of my friends on facebook also commented something that was helpful.  She said:

As an "old" counselor and teacher, i can understand in some ways why she doesn't want you in the classroom. It could be more disruptive then productive for everyone.

 I completely agree- it was a threat I was hopping I wouldn't have to follow through with.  And when my bluff was called-  I had to at least look like I was willing to do it.  Lesson learned on that mom!  Don't threaten what you don't know you can do.  Good point.


My friend went on to say:

I wouldn't take it personal though. I have a real problem with her system. It is just too vague. If the class really is very social, then no one may getting consistent :)! Also it is now spring and with all the spring activities there won't be a lot of major learning. I think Geo will develop the tools that he needs. He has fantastic parents that will certainly see to that! I'm very pleased that he is respectful...I'd be extremely worried if that was a problem. Nurture his love of learning and school...and count the days until summer;)

And I was so thankful for her reminder that Geo has constantly done well in respect.  But I couldn't remember the last time I told him I was proud of him for that.  So after reading my friend's response I sat down and told him how cool that was and what a neat kid he is.

Then I spent the next 24 hours trying to decide what I was going to do.  The consensus of the comments asked what the face :), :|, and :( meant.  And I had to admit, I didn't know.  Maybe that was covered at parent's night, maybe it wasn't.  I couldn't remember.  So what I tried to decide was do I say something about it, asking her to please explain her system to me?  Or do I let it go?  I don't want to be labeled as a trouble making parent in his first year of all day classes at the school.  I don't want the second grade teachers not wanting him in the room because they don't want to deal with me.  But at the same time, I wanted to address the issue.

LK said let it go.

But I finally decided that to carry this question around and look down on her system without giving her a chance to explain it was not right.  So I wrote her an email trying to keep all tones are sarcasm and possible disrespect out of my wording.  (This is hard to do in email since tone is not easily conveyed through written word- and yes I know there is and invention that allows me to easily convey tone called the telephone. But who uses the phone anymore?).

I wrote:

Mrs. W

I hope you're doing well today.  I was wondering if you could help clarify something for me. The system you use for reporting the student's behavior, I realized I've been viewing the :| as being an unsatisfactory remark that communicates that not only does the student need improvement but that his behavior is closer to inappropriate than to acceptable. But I'm wondering if perhaps you're trying to say something else through that mark. I know we're fairly close to end of the year but perhaps clarifying this could help me better understand your expectations for Geo.

Thank you for your time

Later that day Mrs. W called me and I appreciate her taking the time do so. From what I gathered from the phone call, if her system were to be compared to a 1 to 10 chart with 1 being the best and 10 being the worst (LK thinks it should be reversed because 10 is always the best) than the :) would be around a 1 or 2- the student showed that he tried his hardest that week at achieving the goal in that area.  A :( face would be around a 9 or 10, indicating the behavior in that area is completely unacceptable and needs to be changed ASAP.  And the :| represents 3-8, everything in between, and is meant to tell the student that she knows he can do better.

I still think the system is screwy.  I would completely treat a known 3 different than a 5 or a 7.  But with the :| I have to guess if it's a 3, 5, 7 or 8.  I tried to explain that I felt like I've come across as a rather strict parent, which I do not think I am, but it's just I would rather address the issue when it's a 3 than to wait until we have a 7 on our hands have to go back and say- you know all that behavior you've done for the past ___ months, now it's not right.  I'd rather address the 3 and encourage it to be a 2, you know?  I don't know if she understood that or not.

And in the conversation I tried not to take offense when she, well, spoke to me like I was six (which I felt like I was six at that moment-- who let this child have a baby to raise!)  But that was me, allowing myself to feel that way, internalizing her tone of voice as condescending, when really she was just likely going into teacher mode and in teacher mode, she talks like she's explaining something to a six year old, because that's what she teaches.  I have to try and remember that when I explain things to people I tend to go into business mode- lower my voice and speak very matter-of-factly, and that there are times that comes across to others differently than I intended it to.

And I tried not to respond curtly when she gave me suggestions of how I can help Geo understand how to wait his turn in talking.  What she doesn't know is that I took to heart the advice my MIL gave me when Geo was born: what is cute at two is not cute at twenty.  Raise him like he will one day be 20.  She doesn't know that we already do that.  And she was just trying to help.

Ultimately I think the issue comes from one of two things- I am a backdoor thinker.  I might come to the same conclusion as everyone else, but I need to find my own way to the answer- I don't really "get" it otherwise.  So it could be that her system just doesn't fit into my way of thinking and I haven't fully come to a place where I can get it.  Maybe I won't ever.

Or the issue comes from the fact that Mrs. W and I communicate differently. I'm fairly certain we have the same expectations (or at least I'm telling myself we do) but we have different ways of expressing those expectations.  I think in kindergarten Ms. S and I communicated in a similar fashion so I could understand her better.  With Mrs. W I almost feel like I'm speaking German and she's coming back in French- it's not even the same language family.

But one thing I could tell from her phone call, and this is what matters most, I could tell that she loves Geo. I could tell she thinks he's just about as wonderful as I do.  And I could tell she wants the best for him.  And if Geo can sit in her class and feel that love and acceptance she has for him, and if he can thrive in whatever system of conveying expectations she has developed-- then I can need to step aside from my need to understand her system and encourage him in the same ways I have been.  And yes, sometimes that means taking away the Wii.

Thanks again for all the advice.