2010 SAIlers in front of the San Francisco city hall.
2010 SAILers in San Francisco
This year’s SAILers, Phouthasack, Toby, Akarath, and Ryan are all leaving for Laos either this evening or tomorrow evening. It’s been exciting, stressful, and above all rewarding to work with the four SAILers in the past months.
The plane tickets were too high, almost $1700 for each student and it took what seemed forever to search for them. One of the SAILers lost his passport and had to apply for a new one on the departure date at the San Francisco Passport Agency.
Despite it all, I am proud of these young and energetic students who will embark on their journey back to the land of their forefathers. Listening to Phouthasack, Toby, and Akarath talked about how they grew up lonely and isolated because there were very few Lao families around or because they were different, reminded me of my own upbringings. Ryan’s desire to learn more about the country that he is so passionate about also reveals the important work that we do—to provide an opportunity for young scholars to engage in Lao Studies.
Since this is the second year, we have improved on a few things to make SAIL better and more enjoyable for everyone. First, we have included a home stay component to the second month of the program. Second, we have hired a very knowledgeable in-country program leader, Mr. Xuan. Third, the classes have also improved. We are gearing the lessons to the need of the students: only two students per teacher.
We hope to get more students next year, but understand that the $5,000 fee is a little high for some. The good news is that we will keep the fee at the same level even if we have to subsidize the cost. As long as there is a demand for SAIL we will find a way somehow; a big donation would help greatly though 
In about four weeks I will be visiting the SAILers before taking them all to the 3rd International Conference on Lao Studies at Khon Kaen University, Thailand. I look forward to seeing them again and to learn all the wonderful things they have done half way through SAIL. I feel so fortunate that the Center for Lao Studies started this program and truly feel like a proud parent to have Phouthasack, Toby, Akarath, and Ryan as 2010 SAILers.
