Friday, October 21, 2011

THE ROYAL WEDDING

His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk and Jetsun Pema are married!
The grand celebrations in Punakha and Thimphu were of course televised on BBS and reported around the world...



... but in my opinion the real excitement was happening here in Tashiyangtse. Just take a look at my three straight days of Royal Wedding celebrations!

Morning of the 13th - Prayers, butterlamps and offerings of khader (ceremonial cloths) at the school:





Followed by the the official unveiling of our magazine of students' wedding art and poetry that I spent hours and hours and hours and hours editing:














Evening of the 13th: Town dance organized by the Tashiyangtse Women's Association of which I am a member:







We tried to make the lighting and decor as funky as possible:




I even got a jazzy dress for the occasion:




Morning of the 14th: Hike with the Scouts from my friend Jigme's tiny Community Primary School in the forest:










Complete with a potluck of a dozen tiny little curry bowls:







Evening of the 14th: Chubardung Star! A flatbed truck was transformed into a sparkling singing competition stage.














My class captain has an incredible voice:





There was also a skit about littering that was hilarious even if you don't speak Dzongkha:







Evening of the 15th: The Annual School Variety Show






With everything from traditional Nepali dances...







...to Lady Gaga:





With adorable small children...





...and extremely talented bigger students. This was my favourite dance of the night. They twirled and flipped their backpacks to a Bhutanese pop song about student life:





I am so lucky to have been in Bhutan for the Royal Wedding.




Long Live the Queen!

4 comments:

  1. Wow, when you told me about the singing stage, I was picturing a regular sized truck! That's really awesome, Kendra! That performance night would've been neat to see:) If you can, you should save a copy of the wedding pamphlet to take home with you- I want to see it!

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  2. Wow Now that's a celebration. I don't think the people of England celebrated that much fo their Royal Wedding. But he was only a Prince. Gross National Happiness and a currency of Culture! Mom

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  3. I read all about the Royal Wedding online, but I'm so happy to hear your perspective of the occasion.

    You look very pretty in your dress too!

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  4. I followed the wedding online, but it is so nice to hear your first hand perspective on the event. What a wonderful occasion.

    P.S. You looked lovely in your new dress.

    P.P.S. I posted a comment like this yesterday and it disappeared :(

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