If I had any tree planted in my garden, in Canada, I would have a flowering bougainvillea. Our bougainvillea in our little courtyard has flowered since our arrival here in NayPyiTaw, since May 2017. What a treat! To me, overtime, bougainvillea flowers have become significant. It means life, joy and renewal.


Throughout September, we had a series of invitations both from my Myanmar colleagues and from parliamentary staff celebrating birthdays, farewell parties, and various other events, and, visiting one of my colleagues, in her office. KathyAung was transferred from the Pyidaungsu Hlataw to the Pyitu Hlattaw. As for events, Parliamentary volleyball, football and table tennis teams received a logyi for work and their rightful trophies: some semi transparent, some opaque glass plaques with a sport symbol etch in the centre of each plaque. What’s more, pleasantly surprised, my students and staff brought me a series of stunning colourful longyis that I now wear on different days of the week.


At work, my students continue to inspire me so. I’m in endless awe as I discover more talent in their workplace and in class. As I speak, they are in the process of developing, translating the activity resource book; lessons that were tested, reviewed and refined with my class, that is at the moment very much at its infancy. Still, the introduction and the first units : 1 to 4 are progressing well!
Now that the MP’s are away doing some good work in their constituencies, the cafeterias are closed and work reduced? Parliamentary staff in all departments, collectively congregate in groups, outside their department station to share their delicious lunches with their colleagues, and with guess who? that they’ve lovingly prepared and brought to work from their hostels. What’s more, during that same period of time, throughout the parliament, parliamentary staff spent a good part of their time sorting through large piles of duplicated files. They collectively sat on their office floor systematically re-organized files, ripped and threw out a good set of documents in large rice bags that almost mounted to the departmental ceiling. These files, a staff claimed, ‘There are no longer useful for the parliament, for the officials’.
Other news, at the end of the month, approximately 50 potential new parliamentary staff, young men, only a few, and the rest women in rainbow-colour fitted tops draped over their chic-vibrant longys, came to Pyidaungsu Hluttaw to be tested for law, economics and IT skills. Lined in the hall outside the research and training department, like school children in Cambodia, they patiently waited for officials and helpers (parliamentary staff) to instruct them to sit at a designated computer desk. Each desk was approximately 2 metres away from each other, carefully and precisely set apart, closely supervised by the IT parliamentary staff who walked up and down the rows to monitor them during their test. Some appeared nervous and certainly humble, ducking, bowing at the waist as these shy individuals passed their potential leaders on the way to a computer desk.
By the way, results of the
hiring process; exams and successful new parliamentary employees will be
publicized within the next couple of days – by the first week of October 2017.
That is all for now. In the meantime, Wishing you fun reading and lots of laughter for September …More will be added at a later date … :)