When I speak with the people I am close to here in Laos, sometimes I feel like I am a pro at Lao language: I can understand what they are saying and can talk easily with them. Other times, I feel as though I have never studied Lao in my life! Especially when I am with a larger group of people, there are times when I cannot even pick out the words I know already. Once I slip out of a conversation in a situation like this, it is easy for me to zone out and think about other things.
This can be a little disheartening at times, since I would really like to be able to speak Lao well. It can also make me a little uncomfortable since I don’t really know what exactly is going on. When I am uncomfortable or nervous, then it becomes hard for me to respond when people talk to me! One of my goals is to become more comfortable in larger group settings (when people only speak Lao of course!). I am trying to push myself out of my comfort zone and into this sort of setting. This weekend, actually we will be going on a homestay. This will be a really great opportunity for me to have some complete immersion experience! I just hope I can say what I need to!
I am not sure why, but the children in Laos are just adorable to me! Volunteering at a school, I am lucky to see many throughout the week. I just want to play with them and hope they will help me practice my Lao! Unfortunately for me, the kids here are so shy, and I mean shy. Many a time I try say “hello” to the children, and I am lucky if they even say “sabaydii” back. That’s why I was so surprised when I was sitting reading at Patouxay (Victory Monument) and a little girl walked right up to me. We started talking a bit and then I began to help her with her quest for little snails (I’ve never seen snails before coming to Laos). I was very happy to chat with her and even learned how to say the name of some bugs in Lao.
At Donkoi, a few of the children are starting to warm up to me, too. On Monday I played “Simon Says” (Thevada Vao) with the youngsters. At first, they were too shy to pair up with me when Simon told us to get into groups of two. Soon the kids didn’t mind me though! There is even one girl who visits me every time in the craft room. Even the smallest interaction with children here in Vientiane really makes me so happy!
Something interesting about colloquial Lao: The first time the girl at Donkoi saw me, she called me “Falang.” Although in Lao this actually means French, many people use this word to refer to foreigners.
