My Reflection

I learned a lot of interesting facts about Bhutan from Krishna's visit to our class. For instance, I found it fascinating that the people of Bhutan are required to wear the traditional attire of their country whenever they are in public. Krishna's talk made me think about how different the lifestyles and values of the Bhutanese and Americans are. I doubt the American government would be too successful in imposing an attire requirement on the American people. Yet, the Bhutanese people seem fine with it; the gho and kira are part of their culture, and they accept them without complaint. I also really liked the idea of Gross National Happiness being valued over Gross National Product. The government of Bhutan places the happiness of their people over gaining power or making a profit. I have never heard of a country doing this before, and I think it is a really great idea that other countries should think about following as well. Doing this project was a wonderful experience, and I feel I have learned a lot from it. The Bhagavad Gita holds some really great spiritual messages that I think everyone could benefit from reading. Furthermore, I truly enjoyed learning about Bhutan. Hearing about the lifestyles and culture of the country made me think about how different it is from America. I feel that Americans could learn a lot by studying the culture and values of the Bhutanese; I know that I definitely did.

Information About Krishna

-Krishna is 27
-Lives in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan
-His hobbies include reading, playing the guitar, and photography
-Attended both high school and college in India
-Has an engineering degree from an Indian college
-Used to work at a consultancy firm in Bhutan
-Is currently in Hawaii pursuing an MBA at the College of Business Administration at the University of Hawaii Manoa

Bhutan Stamps

These are the stamps from Bhutan that Krishna gave us during his visit. The upper-left stamp is a picture of Paro-Valley. The upper-right one is of Chorten Kora, the lower-left is of Thimphu-Tshechu, and the lower-right is of Wangdue Tshechu.

Interesting Information About Bhutan

Following are some of the intriguing things Krishan shared about Bhutan:

- People in Bhutan are required to wear the traditional Bhutanese attire at all times when in public. Men wear the "gho", which is a knee-length robe tied with a cloth sash called the "kera". Women wear an ankle-length dress known as the "kira".

- Most Bhutanese people who are seeking an education go to schools in India instead of in Bhutan. There, they are taught in English rather than the languages of India of Bhutan.

- Gross National Happiness is more important to the Bhutanese government than Gross National Product. They put the happiness of their people before making a profit.

-Only in the past decade did the king rescind the prohibition of television and the internet in Bhutan. Publicly, he expressed his hope that this would increase Bhutan's Gross National Happiness. However, he also said that he was worried it might negatively impact the traditional Bhutanese values of the people.

-The government of Bhutan is unique in that it cares more about the well-being of the Bhutanese people than in increasing its wealth or power. Therefore, until recently the government regulated foreign influences and limited the amount of tourism in Bhutan. The economy in Bhutan is more based on the Bhutanese culture and spirtiual values than in accumulating vast amounts of wealth and competing with other countries.

-The national sport is archery

-Majestic Bhuddist temples are located in the mountains of Bhutan