Cultural Exchange -

Hello-la!

KILU music school is situated in what's called Harmony Village, a part of a new complex for youth that has various sporting facilities, classes, as well as cultural activities.

This past month, a group of young Bhutanese men and women have been rehearsing in one of the rooms near by KILU…first I heard music coming from that room and then I went to explore and see what was going on. Indeed they were dancing there, practicing what appeared to be a kind of Bhutanese way of dancing to popular Bhutanese music that you might see on BBS (national television) from time to time. About an even amount of men and women, all seemingly in their very early 20’s.

I got to talk to them and found out that they are preparing for a tour of raising awareness about Hygene and Sanitation. They will be going for 10 days to perform shows for primary schools in remote villages about this issue. They are fresh graduates of high school, and do not have a job, so the government (ministry of health and YDF) has hired them for 3 months to train and then execute this project.

They were very welcoming to me and I asked if it would be ok to come back another day and interview them for my radio show. Today (which was actually October 11), I came and interviewed them. It was quite lovely. They answered my questions, performed a skit, and were curious about my own life. They will be conducting presentations, that'll include dance and song, skits, and interactive informational/educational workshops. We joked about various things, including whether there was going to be any romance on their trip...in return they asked me if I was married, and when I jokingly said that “I was open to suggestions” they all laughed, and one of the women said something and then I didn’t really hear that, and the rest of the group laughed, saying she wanted to be my girlfriend…It was quite amusing. I then asked them to dance, and they invited me dance with them. So I did so, and had a great time making a fool of myself – I ended up somehow being partnered exactly with the same young woman who “wanted to be my girlfriend” - it was funny, and especially it was fun to be able to participate in these dances that I’ve only seen so far. The hand movements are pretty subtle and tricky to learn (at least for me). I (perhaps we all) laughed my way through this dance.

After this I invited them to come to KILU so that I could return the favor and perform some music for them. I played “Heartland” (an original composition) and “Maple Leaf Rag” and I think they enjoyed it. I certainly felt great about this kind of cultural exchange. This is exactly what I was hoping I would get to do here.

Meanwhile, in the days that followed I kept dropping in for visits to chat and hang out, and they in return also came to visit. About a week before they left for their assignment, they approached me and asked me to record some music for one of their pantomime skits. They didn't have the right kind of music and were wondering if I would be willing to help. I was happy and eager to help, they demonstrated to me what it is they wanted, and though it was a bit of a challenge to get things right, after a few tries, I got a version that they liked. They were grateful and I was humbled by the whole experience, and happy that I could help.

They left about ten days ago for some villages east of Thimphu, and today just as I was walking in town I ran into one of the guys, who informed me that they had literally just gotten back into town. He said they'll come for a visit sometime next week.

Here are some photos of us. We couldn't fit all in one frame, and so they wanted to do men and women with me, separately.

Peace and Love,

Noam