I woke up in the morning thinking that I was in the States….shocking?  It may be that I haven’t gotten much sleep lately…..let’s see tonight.

I came in to volunteer in a high school English class at LAC.  I was surprised the way the students conducted themselves in class.  I was shocked to see that the students would walk in and out, come in  late and gossip.  I was very disappointed to witness the behavior of the students and the lack of the respect they had for their teacher.  She was a teacher from the Philippines that taught English. Even though I didn’t get hands on today, I hope she will include me in the learning process so that the youth will start to respect the time and effort she has put into the classroom.  I will also help out again tomorrow but with a different teacher.   Hopefully it will be a different experience.

I brought Eileen to get a hand-made dress yesterday.  It has a Lao American twist…customized the total shabang!  For $16 and some loose change.  It can’t get better than that.

We have a Lao language exam tomorrow so I have to study extra hard…because I’m the only student that has to catch up. =(  Luckily I have Sankerdas (I nicknamed him Twilight because when Eileen first saw him she thought of Edward in the movie Twilight) to help me with my Lao.  But I feel bad that he has to make time out of his busy schedule…so I really do appreciate his effort and help.  The other Lao language partners have been real flaky so I really do try to make the best of the lunchtime interactive for our LSBT “Lao Study Buddy Time.”

I am also in the process of planning our farewell party on August 6th.  I have random activities for the event but now I have to find a venue…

I got my memory stick fixed but I haven’t checked it yet. 16 gigs of pics and vids. I hope to see them soon.

Prior to coming to Laos I had the expectations of learning all about being Lao. Five weeks into my stay here, I realize that I don’t know much about the culture and mannerisms. So for the next 3 weeks I am going to hang out with the local Lao and ask lots of questions and take lots of pictures…..I will post again….on a mission!

Flash forward: So I am back and I learned about the “nop” or “wai” (bowing your head in a gesture of respect).  First, “nop” with your hands together placed at your chest to greet strangers or friends. “Nop” with your hands together with your thumb placed at your chin to greet elders or teachers or people with respected in the Lao community. Third, “nop” with your thumb at your 3rd eye (in the middle of your eyes) for the Buddha.

I also didn’t know that there are certain ways to speak to a monk.

On another note, my Lao friend got robbed yesterday night. The thief came into the house and stole a few items. Her sister saw the thief and yelled for her father. The thief fled after hearing her voice. The funny thing was that the thief was cautious to take his shoes off upon entering their house. In the morning, the pair of shoes led them to the thief because the neighbors recognized his shoes!

Bad news again…my 16 gig flash drive adopted a virus…so now I can’t access any of my pictures or videos. =(

The Mekong River.

Drinking iced tea.

My heart was left at the bank of the Mekong River. What a wonderful sight to see this river that flows through countries and serves as important source of livelihood to the people.  I really enjoyed getting out of the fast paced, over crowded streets of Vientiane for a nice bike ride and boat ride on the Mekong River. After heading up towards Luang Prabang the highlights would be one of the ethnic minorities and their huts just tip-toed on the peak of the roads with the children at play. Many things have changed…for example we had to pay for “entrances” into all of the temples. When I was here before it was free…and surprisingly most everyone spoke English and the women didn’t wear sinhs as much as they do here in Vientiane.

I hate to count down my stay here in Vientiane but…here it goes….3 more weeks….I’m actually really happy that I finally have a permanent Lao language partner. It was pretty hard trying to find the right fit and make time from all the volunteering and socializing time. Hopefully I can pick up more Lao along the way with the local Lao. I really enjoy my Lao language teacher…he is really nice. But it’s hard for me to remember the characters and I don’t want to disappoint him. I recently bought a Lao dictionary to pick up more vocabulary.

The internet is pretty bad…I tried logging in so many times that I had to go to an internet café to get a stronger “signal.” Oh…I am so sad…I had 16 gigs of video clips and pictures from the 1st day of our orientation on my flash drive, and a couple days ago we were adventurous and so hungry that we walked to That Luang which is a 10-15 walk and then it started pouring. So we ate in the rain and I protected the cell phone but I totally forgot about my flash drive that got totally soaked. I am so sad and will wait a while to see if it works. Right now it says I have to reformat my drive…..=( Today we met with Professor Grant Evans. I was intrigued by his knowledge of history, government, culture of Laos. I wanted to know more but there was not enough time…

Tuk Tuk or Jumbo, a common mode of transportation in Laos.

Lots has been happening and we had an especially social week, so here is the break down.  Sorry like I mentioned before I’m not much of a writer, but here goes.

Friday-we went karaoke at a Chinese Hotel and sang English, Lao and Thai songs…then we hit Club Romeo.  The club is very different than what I remember in the past.  They don’t have a dance floor just random stand up tables while people danced at the table.  Of course us being the “Americans” that we are, started searching for the dance floor. We tried to make our own, but then they moved the chairs and tables back into place.

Sunday-We went to “Taad Moun” for a picnic, it was a very fun mini adventure outside the Capital.  It wasn’t the cleanest river in the world, but Eileen, Yaeng, Phonh, Brandin, Samantha and I jumped right in just being a part of the river body floating fun.  Sometime during the day Eileen got kidnapped by some high schoolers and went off, hopefully to learn a couple of Lao phrases.  I sat out to sun bathe while locals singing songs flirted with the drifters.

Monday-We finally got our sinhs and now we can blend in. I just have to work on my tan!

Tuesday- Presentation by Mike Carroll “Working in Phongsaly in Opium Crop Substitution and Poverty Reduction or At Least Don’t make it Worse Projects” (funded by the US government/State Department).  It was interesting to hear facts about efforts to curb drug production, and encourage crop substitution in Northern Laos.

Wednesday-Interview with local Lao Magazine, and Bowling.

I forget which days that we went out for food.  But so far I have had about 5 “Khai Luuk” (chicken embryos).  I have seen them but have never eaten them before.  It was actually not that bad.  Can’t wait to try “jumping shrimp.”

Next I’m going to try to rent a bike so that I can have mini adventures from the side roads.  Lots to see…not much time to do!

Gosh…this is my first time bloggin blogs’…..I’m more of a “physical” socialite. But here goes….sorry…I tend to jump around with random thoughts.

So much has happened since I have arrived in Laos. Learning about Laos, visiting local organizations, getting used to the Hot weather, going to classes, making new friends, hanging out getting a great Lao massage for around $4 for 1 hour, getting invited to awesome social events and mixers, meeting individuals ranging from Lao American College students to high-level individuals.

It has been about a whole week now and I feel that I have been here for months! It’s good and it’s also bad..because I was looking through some past pictures from last week….and it just seems so far away…..and I can totally tell that I will miss Laos…the sense of sadness overcame me….because 8 weeks is really not much time to really capture the essence of the culture, and heritage. It’s just the tip. I have made random friends with anyone that would talk to me, managed to get a free ride into downtown, gave nick names on top of nick names for those I really enjoy spending my down time with.

I am mentally trying to focus being here in Laos but I have so much to think about with work. It’s so hard to find a place that has fast internet. Brandin and I found one  “turf” walking, and found a gamers’ café, and of course they were either playing “Counter Strike” or “Star Craft” — gaming is popular everywhere.

Being in Laos really humbles my spirit and helps to rekindle my personal self image and ways of life I can’t really explain in words. Just being here and living day by day I really appreciate my parents even more…struggling learning a new language and adapting to a totally “flipped” environment.

Despite all the traffic no one honks at each other….that’s pretty awesome….no road rage at all. Everyone just slows down, runs red lights and avoids  moving objects like cattle, stray dogs, old women and monks. Sitting in the front seat with the “Saam Low” (three wheeler taxi) driver I see more of Vientiane, choppin’ it up with them while holding on to dear life going against traffic.

I sat in on a couple of classes at the Lao American College and was very impressed by the Lao students’ manners. I really enjoy being a part of the learning process and compared the differences in teach/learning techniques.

Random thought….met my first Turkish person here in Laos.

I can’t express how amazing my experience coming to Laos is different every time. Laos is developing so fast.
I am totally getting a work-out climbing up 4 flights of stairs and trying to keep my balance from the uneven staircase, everyday at our guesthouse. Eventhough I made friends, it’s hard to find a Lao language partner without a cell phone…..so luckily Eileen had her phone with her. Now it’s time to scout out a partner.

It is awesome that we are starting to recognize Lao characters, but it’s taking a bit longer for me. Writing the Lao characters…it looks like a beautiful pattern on my paper. Hopefully these patterns will start to look like words..

Wow…even though it has been about 3 days I feel like I have been here for a longer time.  It’s great!  Because we only have less than 8 weeks….so we literally got off the plane running…

I was really excited and anxious to meet and greet the other SAILers I can tell they all were too!  After 3 days round the clock with them….I feel an interesting connection with them all…as well as the motivation and drive to learn about the wonderful country of Laos.

First off the Lao language is pretty hard….I love my teacher he is pretty awesome!  We learned 27 consonants and 28 vowels in 3 days….now it is up to us to practice pronouncing the words correctly.  I am learning so much this time around..because I’m not just coming to visit family friends…and touring around…I’m learning about my identity as a Lao person through the Lao-American College, students and fellow SAILers.

Coming back to Laos is always new changes and exciting things to see and do.  I can’t believe so much has happened since the last time I was in Laos.  First thing I noticed was the population and the paved roads.

Just got my first Lao massage…lovin’ it….ate last night at the Mekong river…I can’t wait to go to the villages!  Went to the US Embassy….and visited local Ngos….but gotta go….our ride is leaving….promise I will have more….FOOD IS GREAT…..