n.b. a chilip is
a westerner, likely an American
Americans wear clothing with all sorts
of logos and messages displayed in every manner ranging from large print on t-shirts
to subtle diminutive logos on a lapel. Americans will also tell you exactly
what the message or logo means, they are aware of the messages their clothes
convey. Bhutanese will tell you that they pay absolutely no attention to
anything which might appear on their clothes. For them the words and logos are
just another form of decoration. Looking at the photo of the t-shirt one could
certainly wonder how ‘a great regent at
the casuals’ is determined.
We were
attending a school cultural program and spotted a young grade school girl on
stage in a musical number wearing a t-shirt with a cartoon picture of a bird
standing on its head and the words ‘flip
the bird’ in large letters. Of the several hundred people watching the
performance I am sure we were the only two being entertained by the little
girl’s attire. OK, one more in the same vein. A shirt has been spotted with a
picture of a cat and the advice ‘please
don’t litter, remember to spay and winter’. Every time I see a cat I now
wonder how to go about wintering them.
Upon
arriving in Bhutan many of us were eager to explore, to hike in the woods and
mountains. All of us were at one time or another cautioned to be careful and to
watch out for beer and snacks. As with most things which sound too good to be
true we all came to the realization that we were being cautioned about bear and
snakes. The pronunciation of bear to rhyme with beer is so entrenched that it
was seen as the correct answer on a class XII English exam.
The school
uniform is the traditional gho for men and kira for women. As a nod to the
culture I wear a gho to school every day. It is a large piece of fabric which
is worn a bit like a kilt. The pleats, length, etc, etc, are strictly dictated
by cultural norms. It is not common to see chilips in a gho, especially if it
is being worn correctly. I have learned to put mine on and then ask for help to
make sure all is well before venturing out. As a result I am often asked ‘do you wear your gho yourself sir?’. They
mean to be asking if I am able to put it on by myself but I am always tempted
to look into my large front pocket and say yes I think I am the only one in
here.
The verb to
take is used to mean to eat and to drink in daily conversation. Do you take
meat? Do you take beer? Do you take chilies? would be common questions. We
chilips are often asked if we take rice. The Bhutanese do not consider any of
the three daily meals complete without a substantial serving of rice. So when I
am asked if I take rice it makes me think of taking a prescribed medicine three
times daily. I am not a very good Bhutanese in this regard, on occasion I do
take rice three times in a day but often I skip it and do not take the food
prescribed by Bhutanese culture.
These
observations and many more keep me smiling here in Bhutan. Often times the
cultural cross connection can be frustrating but if I can remember to look for
the humor I can then smile when I am being told to ‘wait here for some time’ when I was hoping to get going a bit
sooner.
