Dragon Roots

We were soaring high above the clouds when I first saw the peaks of the Himalayas. There, high up in the clouds, the stark darkness of the mountains cut through our soft cushion and reached for us. And we, tiny little creatures in a plane flew straight toward them.

The Captain actually came on to the intercom to inform us that we would be landing in 15 minutes, and by the by, if we see mountains closer to us than we ever have before, please do no be alarmed. Well, given that we had just dove through the cloud cover and were now weaving our way in between the mountains, this was a wee challenge. But it was also and incredible rush; I couldn't believe that people actually live here, fly planes here, farm and create families here on these inclines, this land of edges.

From Paro airport, which is the tiniest and most quaint airport I have ever seen in my life, we made our way to Thimpu. We have been here now at Dragon Roots Hotel for almost two weeks; eating chilies as vegetables (ema datse), drinking distilled rice wine with cooked egg and butter (arra), learning the basics of the national language (Dzongka), completing paperwork and preparing for our adjustment to our postings, the education system, and the culture.

We've met the minister of education and had dinners with all sorts of "important" people. This country is really funny, its all about the privilege of being here, and of loving it here, and of being able to SURVIVE here. I'm not joking! We have been buying supplies for the last week, trying to put together what we need for our rural postings. Water boilers and filters, blankets, dishes, heaters, food and school stuff... it never ends. We are trying to prepare for torrential monsoon rains, incredible cold, lack of electricity, rats, bugs, tree leeches, no fridges, teaching 6 days a week, loneliness, it goes on.

They are worried about me because they stuck me in the coldest place (being a winnipegger), so I am buying a woodstove to have installed in my apartment. I am looking forward to it. I cant believe this is actually happening. Sometimes I wake in the morning and feel frightened by the proximity of the mountains. It cuts a panic deep into me, thinking of the isolation and the ease of being forgotten here in this crevice, and it goes down deep. It feels fierce, like their angry gods painted on everything and the dragons everywhere. It feels like I have crawled into the mouth of a dragon.