Reflections

The memoir Married to Bhutan is a joy to read. It’s an earnest, lighthearted, colorful account of leaving the fast-paced, consumption-driven American life behind to live in one of the most isolated and beautiful spots on the planet. Bhutan is most famous because its king promotes Gross National Happiness over GDP, and because he voluntarily transitioned his country from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional democracy. Bhutan is not easy to get to. It’s a tiny country between India and the Tibetan region of China, with the Himalayan Mountains to its north, west and east and thick jungles to its south. Author Linda Leaming first visited Bhutan in 1994 as part of a trip that included many other countries. Bhutan’s stunning landscapes, friendly people and sometimes difficult but overall relaxed lifestyle won her heart, so in 1997 Leaming left her job, family and friends to work as a volunteer English instructor at a small art school. It was there that she met her future husband, a Bhutanese thanka painter. Reading Married to Bhutan is a mini-escape in itself, and it’s both funny and informative. Leaming spends eight pages illustrating the leisurely manner in which things get done in Bhutan by describing how she went about purchasing handmade envelopes, Indian glue and sealing wax so she could mail a few letters. This involved many stops and much post-transaction drinking of tea with the shopkeepers. The mission ends at the post office where she could select from stamps so beautiful and unusual they are collected by people around the world. Leaming reports that the Bhutenese have printed stamps with reproductions of Japanese and European paintings, 3D stamps of the lunar landing, and stamps with Gandhi, American astronauts, Princess Diana, dragons, flowers, Buddhas, yaks and birds.