I have been to many conferences in my short life, and I swear I am not trying to brown-nose when I say that the 3rd International Conference on Lao Studies in Khon Kaen, Thailand was probably the best conference I have been to in a long time. Five reasons why I enjoyed the conference.

1. It was well organized. Like any professional gathering, there are bound to be bumps along the way, and should there have been any at this conference, they went unnoticed by me. The SAILers were able to also be a part of it by helping out with registration. It was a nice way to meet some of the participants and presenters.

2. Great panels. I have never been to a Lao Studies Conference but I am happy to report that I went to many presentations that were wonderful on the subject of Laos. Unfortunately, because of the large number of presenters, there were a few that I had to miss but I am confident that they would have been as exceptional as the ones I did get to attend.

3. Awesome receptions. Luckily I got to go to two awesome receptions – 1) Center for Laos Studies Reception and 2) Conference Reception. The CLS reception was amazing because it was for an organization we are all a part of. CLS is a young organization but it has grown into such an amazing one. We also got to share with everyone during a presentation what we have done so far in the SAIL program. We also got to showcase our reading/singing skills by singing two songs that our teachers have taught us. The conference reception was just beautiful. There was a beautiful fashion show of some of the Lao ethnic clothing and then a lot of Lao dancing. The girls were absolutely beautiful and I was utterly amazed by the beauty of our culture and what we have to offer.

4. Nice accommodations/food. We stayed at the hotel the conference was held at and that made it so convenient. The breakfast was great full of choices. Don’t forget, we have been in Laos for a month and usually eating similar things day in and day out. It was a nice change of scenery.

5. The conference brought Vinya to Laos! It was so nice to see him again. I think we all made him proud with the progress we have made so far. I still feel that this is the best place to be for me as I try to learn the language again since I know that what I lack (reading and writing) can only be readily found here. We got to spend some quality time with Vinya and even introduce him to some of the people that have made the first month as wonderful as it was.