With a name like that you must be from Nepal?
No, I come from the happiest country on the planet.
Ah, so Bhutan then?
Yes, Bhutan.
And yet here you are in Perth.
Yes. I came here to study. I am completing my Masters degree in project management.
Where did you do your undergraduate study?
That was done in India. I specialised in hydraulic engineering. Building dams and water systems so communities of any size could generate power. There are a vast number of projects like this in Bhutan and even the smallest community can have a constant supply of electricity. The base load even in remote locations is such a constant no one ever has to worry about the power going on and off or fluctuating in any way.
My project management Masters is being done so that I can get more involved in the design and roll out of other energy projects, not just hydro. It helps me extend my skills and knowledge into other fields that benefit the community. But the study has been hard. I was hoping to be able to work while I was here and that was part of my visa application. A company was going to employ me here but only a few weeks after I applied and paid for my visa the Australian government changed the rules. I could study but not take up as an employee of a company here. They took my money and have not given me a cent back.
But my wife and children were allowed to come so that has made it a bit easier. I am going back to Bhutan shortly where I have been able to get a job. My children will struggle to leave the Australian school system and go back to a very different way of being educated. I don’t think they will welcome ‘rote’ learning at all (laughs).
(Technically an Uber not a Taxi story).
