Today was our final day at the Lao American College. It was certainly a sad day to have to say goodbye to our teachers and some of our new friends. The road to this point was definitely long and hard but I think I have definitely gained quite a bit on this journey. I was happy with my results from the language and history classes but more happy to have met and become close to our teachers. They are such wonderful people. They enlightened us with stories about their families and helped us outside of the classroom with matters beyond their required duties. The friends we made here in Laos will last forever. They were so friendly and considerate from the very beginning. I only hope that I was able to help them out in some way as well. The time that we spent together both at the LAC and around Vientiane consisted of many memorable moments that I hope to share with them all again one day.
Before I left the US to come to Laos, I was a bit wary of these other SAILers but I quickly found out that I could not have asked for a better group of individuals to have shared this experience with. Thank you to Toby for her humor and friendship, to Sack for his silliness and love of adventure, to Ryan for his openness and insightful observations, and to Natalie for her warm smile and frequent confusion (joking). Lung Xuan, too, made this journey very comfortable and at times, extremely entertaining. He made sure we were always alright. I can tell that he’s grown attached to us over these eight weeks and I know that we feel the same way about him. He will undoubtedly be a great program leader for next year’s SAILers.
As all the SAILers go their separate ways, I know I will miss everyone. My time here in Laos is winding down and it seems like there is still so much left to do. I leave Laos this time with a better appreciation for what the country has gone through, where it is now, and the hope that the people here have for its future. I am sure I will be back here one day, hopefully sooner rather than later. I will certainly miss this place and the people here. I know I still have much to learn about Laos but I feel that because of the SAIL program, my connection to Laos has been strengthened and will serve as a launching point to other great opportunities here in the future.
Lastly, thank you to Dr. Vinya and all the supporters of the SAIL Program and the Center for Lao Studies. Such a program is vital for Lao Americans and other Americans to understand their identities and the changing world around them. Laos is not stagnant. It is important for students to broaden their experiences and the SAIL Program is an excellent opportunity to do just that.
