There is a very good reason why this is late, I promise.

I promised to tell you about the Rimdro and so here I go. Firstly, a Rimdro is an annual Buddhist ceremony to purify a building or place. It's meant to drive out evil spirits so everyone will be happy and healthy for the year. I've been able to see two, the National Park centre's on the 6^th of April and, of course, the school's.

I didn't really know what to expect at the park's one. I was just told that there would be lunch and then a ceremony. Sadly, I had a coughing attack due to a spicy bit of beef but fortunately, it was a fairly small one and I've learned to always carry a bottle of water with me in case of such an incident. I can't remember if I mentioned the terrible coughing attack at the King's Birthday and there was nothing to drink. For the last few staff dinners I have managed to eat everything, even the ema datsi, so I feel quite proud of myself!

After lunch was the ceremony. As a non-Buddhist, I didn't feel comfortable prostrating in front of the alter but I still gave a donation. The monks were there with their impressive drums and horns which look vaguely similar to alpine horns but are made of brass. Or it looked like brass, anyway. There were also two masked monks with burning torches. They had some powdery stuff which they threw through the flame which caused a puff of fire. They did this into people's faces and, I'm sorry to say, when they did it close to me, I got scared and hid behind a tall man next to me. I didn't particularly want to get set on fire. All this was to scare away the nasty demons and I suppose there must be something nasty demon-y about me as I felt quite scared. Maybe if I were a good person I wouldn't have been so nervous.

The following Wednesday and Thursday, it was the school's turn. Classes were cancelled on Wednesday afternoon to prepare and I'm sorry to say only some students took their preparation duties seriously and other stood around and chatted. I think that proved that they are perfectly normal students.

At around 5 in the evening, we welcomed the lama and the other monks who came armed with their horns and drums. The same trumpeting and drumming took place and it really sounded as if the wolf from 'Peter and the Wolf' had moved to Bhutan and added a slight Buddhist influence to his theme. The fire dancers were there again and one must have thought that I needed purifying as he threw a big handful of powder at me. Unfortunately, the powder, which I have since discovered is rhododendron bark, did not go through the flame so I got a face full of powdered bark. Since I wasn't expecting it, it got in my eyes, nose, mouth, all through my hair and clothes and even in my open handbag. It did not taste nice. And I still have remnants of it in my bag.

Later on, I discovered that they would be purifying, not only the classrooms and dormitories but the staff quarters as well. I hoped as a non-Buddhist that my quarters wouldn't have to be purified, but no. The bad thing was that, since I had been given no warning, my place was not exactly perfectly tidy. I had books that I had been marking all over my desk and piled around it, plus some laundry lying about. They should have warned me! My place would have been perfect then. But the lama and monks came in, waved some fire around and threw some rocks around. Now that they've done this, I'll be really annoyed if I get sick this year! Before I would have just been mildly irritated.

The next day there were no classes at all, just the continuation of the ceremony, including a fun bit where we got to throw rice around. I was very glad to be at the very back of the hall so not much landed on me. I was also told to prostrate myself before the lama 6 times. I wish that someone had told me that women put their rachus (scarves) around their necks when they do this because I just left mine over my shoulder and so it fell off every time I bowed down. If I had just been able to see a woman do it before me that would have been ok but there were only men around when they told me to bow. Ah well.

The next day everyone was exhausted but not all classes were on because of the clean up. Even on Saturday, people still looked like they needed a nap. I was very happy not to have to cook on Saturday night as I got to go to a house-warming where I got to try ara again. It certainly has a unique taste though I'd never had it with scrambled eggs mixed in before. I'm embarrassed to say that I couldn't quite finish the eze (spicy, salsa-type salad) as it was just a tiny bit too hot. Lee (fellow BCF-er) would probably have complained that it was too bland.

We also watched a football game, Norwich vs Arsenal, and I decided to go for Norwich just because it's pretty there. They lost but I did teach the others the correct way to pronounce it so it was still a win!

I've also found out that the park manager studied at Oxford, which is a small town in England which makes very good marmalade and apparently has some sort of school in it, so Dad will have to have a boat race with him. Dad, of course, went to the wonderfully brilliant and world renowned university of Cambridge.