I Hijacked This Man's Day

Namgay and I are back in Bhutan and going around meeting friends and family and getting reacquainted with the mountains. There's some bureaucratic business to attend to. I told Aum Tshering at the bank this morning that I loved doing business in Bhutan. She looked up from the enormous ledger she was writing in. "Really?" she said. "Absolutely," I said watching her perfect, neat handwriting. It might take a little longer than going online in the U.S., but the actuality of paper is infinitely satisfying, not to mention the face-to-face conversations. And tea.

 Here's the form to get a license tag for the car.  

At the Immigration Office I ran into Gelay, the man pictured above and the one whose day I hijacked. He's a friend of my nephew Chencho and they were college mates. As we chatted he took my passport and my MC card (MC is short for "Marriage Case," of which I am one), and various papers. He made calls of inquiry on his phone, met twice with the visa officer, loaned me the equivalent of $25 which I'd forgotten to bring to get the stamp in my passport, and even offered me a ride home. He'd come to the Immigration Office on completely different business, which didn't happen because he helped me.

There's quite a bit of economic uncertainty here as the Bhutanese sort out their currency crisis.  And there are a lot of changes afoot in the country. Economically it's not a wealthy place. But for me there is still a great sense of abundance that manifests itself in the way people so gladly and generously help each other. It gives me a sense of contentment I can't find anywhere else.