The last week was filled with lots of activities. Both Lao classes had final tests, and I’m happy to say all SAILers did very well! On Thursday we had our official graduation with all our teachers, as well as Ginny, the co-director of LAC, were there to present certificates and transcripts to the SAILers. Achaan Bounmy commented that he had to scramble to create supplemental lessons for the beginning level class because they learned faster than he expected. Ginny encouraged the students to correct any misconceptions Americans have about Laos by sharing her virtues and peaceful atmosphere. Achaan Viengsavanh made special dishes for us — steamed fish in banana leaves and her famous fried ribs! We all brought food and shared memories of our 8-week journey.

Between buying scarves at Saoban handicrafts (which were woven by the villagers at our homestay), spending time with friends and relatives, and arranging a very successful farewell party for our LAC friends, complete with activities (such as seeing who could stuff the most Lao meatballs into one’s mouth) arranged by party-organizer extraordinaire Sandra, we also had time to have a last lunch together just with each other. I asked SAILers to comment on some of the highlights of the program, and Brandin claimed that seeing his relatives on a brief trip to Pakse was very special. Another SAILer commented that “just being in Laos” was a highlight, and that if the SAIL program hadn’t existed, they wouldn’t have come to Laos.

So my parting words as SAIL trip leader are that I believe the program reached its objectives of providing an experience for Lao-Americans and those interested in Lao culture to really engage with the Lao people (both in and out of school), experience both city and country life, learn about the country’s history and culture from both the Lao and expats living here, push themselves to adapt to ways of a life foreign to their own, (even when frustrating), and enjoy the Lao virtue of “mak muan” (having fun/enjoying life). It allowed an opportunity for the younger SAILers to have their first overseas experience where they could learn to be independent while learning about Lao culture at the same time, and opened doors to new relationships and family bonds for those who had felt something missing in their lives.

I’m so proud of this inaugural group for jumping right in and being so enthusiastic about experiencing all things Lao. They not only explored the culture on their own, but were amazing ambassadors for both the SAIL program and the U.S! Yaeng never hesitated to speak eloquently about the SAIL program whether in interviews, or at events, whenever asked. Vatsana’s intellectural curiosity allowed the group to probe deeper into the meaning behind Lao behaviors and customs. Sandra was a shining light who showed how fun-loving and generous Americans could be. Brandin’s experience here has led him to explore work opportunities with the State Department or U.S. Embassy, and I know he would be an amazingly culturally-sensitive representative. Amy was an example of how a “khon Amelika sot sot” (full-blooded American) could embrace the culture and language so whole-heartedly, always pushing those around her to only speak Lao! And Eileen, our youth representative, was never seen without a sinh, and completed the LAC uniform by buying an official school sinh! Cutural adaptation at its best!

What a wonderful group to kick-off this unique program. I hope they will continue to be spokespeople for the program, since I know their Lao tales and amazing insights will motivate those considering this program to participate next year! Thank you SAILers for an AMAZING 8 weeks. Thank your for making my job so easy and enjoyable, and enriching my second trip back to Laos.

I am very excited to stay in Laos longer than originally intended. Although I am looking forward to returning to the United States, I am not ready to leave yet! There is still a lot for me to learn, see and experience here!

One significant factor that went into my decision to stay in Laos longer was because I want to study Lao language as much as I can before I go back to the U.S. There are very limited opportunities to study Lao language in the U.S, not to mention it is hard to fit anything in on top of being a full-time student with a part time job! By staying in Laos an extra couple of weeks before school starts, I hope to get a better grasp of the language so that I can study on my own when I return to the States!

Another great thing about staying in Laos is that I will have time to explore the country a little more. Next week I am very excited to travel to Xieng Khouang with Samantha! Seeing the Plain of Jars is something I have wanted to do for a while, and I am very excited to go! I also plan to stay outside of downtown Vientiane.

The most significant factor that contributed to my decision to stay in Laos, however, was to have new experiences. Since all the other SAILers will be leaving tomorrow (except Samantha, who will stay another week), I will be here- alone! This will be very interesting because it will really force me to depend on my own Lao language skills to get around! I will also be staying part of the time at a house with a family, which will be a great Lao immersion experience. This will really help me learn the language even faster!

I just want to thank you SAILers again for the wonderful experience! I am going to have to keep myself very busy for the next three weeks so I don’t get too lonely when I think about you! Good luck, keep in touch, and practice your Lao!

This experience is definitely one that I will never forget.  Everything from going to classes, meeting new friends, exploring the city and visiting my family in the village where I was born have been journeys filled with learning and excitement.  The emotions that I have felt while I was here have been only good ones and not enough words can describe the happiness that I have found here.  The Lao culture and people have welcomed me home with open arms and if possible, I hope everyone will one day get the opportunity to visit this wonderful country.  I am sad to leave, but excited that I will have the chance to share my experience with others once I get back to the States so that maybe I can spark some interest in others to learn about Laos.  I hope everyone that I had the pleasure meeting and/or working with knows how appreciative I am for them because they are the ones who have made my trip here unforgettable.  I can’t wait for my next visit because now I have even more family and friends here than I started out with.

We were split up into groups of two because each group would make our own organic dyes. Samantha and I were to produce dye from the trunk of the Jack fruit tree. We had to chop up pieces of the tree trunk with this huge machete and put the pieces into to a large pot to boil. We didn’t know what color it would yield, but after 25 minutes, we had a golden yellow and were very excited. We learned to boil the silk, wash and rinse it before soaking it in the natural dye we had just made. We then dyed our thread of silk and let it dry while we ate. After lunch, we took our bundles of colored thread and spoon it onto a spool and placed it in to the shuttle. Then we were taught the art of the maneuvering the loom. It was so much fun and yet so hard. Some of us took to it like fish to water, others of us had some challenges, but over all, everyone truly enjoyed the experience. It was hard work and very time consuming. A long roll of fabric that they would sell to the market was roughly 35,000kip or about $4.00US. I can certainly appreciate the fabrics I had recently purchased.

Later that evening, we feasted with the Lao women and celebrated our time together. We drank a special kind of “dry” Lao wine made from rice and rice husk. We had to add water and beer to it and I have to say, it was delicious!!! We eventually retired to “our” mother’s homes to sleep so that we could wake up at 5:00AM in the morning to make the rice, feed the animals and go to the Wat to give alms to the monks. Mother Mai’s house was a small bamboo house. I climbed up three make-shift ladders leading into the house which opened to a one room house that housed 5 people. The floors were made with long bamboo and split bamboo were laid on top to cover the floor. I was quite hesitant because there were many holes in the floor and the floors rolled and moved. I thought my feet were going to go through the floor board. Off to one side, was a small kitchen where they cooked rice, the size of a closet with no windows. We were surrounded by chickens, cows, ducks and other woodsy creatures on the outside. It was a fascinating experience but I was also filled with trepidation. They rolled out a bed and found that I had two bed fellows. I was relieved when they asked me if I wanted to sleep under a mosquito net and I eagerly answered yes. I could her the frogs, crickets, chickens, cows, and ducks outside and yet I sleep well. I like the sounds of the woods and I found it very soothing. I had a difficult time with the smell. They would burn charcoal with tire rubber and it would burn my nose and throat making it very difficult for me to breath and sleep. Other than that, it was a nice stay over and I know how lucky and blessed my life has been.

The next day we went to another village about 1-2 hours away where we made Lao baskets. It was also very fun and again, so much work and so much patience were required. I think it would have been even better had we had more time and had a longer stay rather than such short visits. We made many new friends and truly enjoyed ourselves. We hope to keep in touch with our new found friends and we will sadly say farewell to our 2nd home this Friday.

The first speaker I found was Charles Alton, an agriculturalist by trade, but ethnic minority enthusiast at heart. I had little time to prepare him for the talk, but he quickly put together a presentation of the four main ethno-linguistic groups in Laos (most of which lived outside Vientiane). Although I had previous knowledge of these groups from having lived here, most of the SAILers did not. Charles gave some history of their migration to Laos, general characteristics of the groups, and some background on their animistic beliefs. He especially held our attention when explaining the difference between house spirits (or “pii”) and those living in animate objects (trees, rivers, etc.). It’s important for these ethnic groups to talk to, and constantly appease these spirits, lest they anger them and bring problems onto themselves and their families. He said one danger was the fact that those working on development projects in these areas, and who don’t respect these animistic traditions, can create lots of unnecessary tension between themselves and villagers. There should probably be a “Pii Handbook” readily available for all those intending to work with these communities!

To round out the religious discussion, the group paid a visit to Wat Ongteu in central Vientiane. The Wat is well-known because of its Sangha College. When we arrived, we were greeted by one of the Head monks of the school, as well as other Buddhist scholars. I loved that the discussion was an open forum, where we could pose any question we wanted. We covered everything from the color of their robes to whether it’s a violation of the precepts to smoke (which created a little debate among the monks) to the role of women in the temple. But the cultural bonus the SAILers received was spending time with the monks in their territory, seeing how they interacted with us and each other, and even use computers during the discussion. The monks were incredibly gracious to us and very enthusiastic about our visit. “If you have time, please come back and visit! And if you have any questions, you can email us!” Buddhism in the modern age. Before we departed, they asked to take pictures with us, and even said it was OK to stand. But the SAILers, ever culturally-conscious, kneeled down in front of the monks. Maybe they didn’t have much to learn after all!

Our temple trip occurred on the same day as a scheduled class field trip to That Luang. There, the Buddhist ceremonies were brought to life for us by our Achaans. With Yaeng acting as interpreter for those few words (ha!) the SAILers couldn’t catch, we learned how gold bars inscribed with Buddhist writings were placed all around the stupa, but were taken by the Siamese (Thais) when they invaded Laos. We learned that the parts of the stupa that curved outwards were Lotus flowers, and that during the That Luang festival, the Lao walked around the stupa 3 times — once for the Buddha, once for the Dhamma, and once for the Sangha. I had done this myself years ago, but not until today did I know why! After this week, I am confident that the SAILers have deepened their knowledge of an extremely important aspect of Lao culture in a comprehensive way. They heard from a foreign researcher, Lao monks and their English interpreters, and Lao teachers. I’d say this exceeded any classroom lesson they could’ve gotten!

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.

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.

Okii doke, so tomorrow we’re going to be having dinner at a buffet with some of our LAC friends — Kii, Goong, and Nui — to celebrate them graduating from the University. So should I eat lunch or should I not?? just kidding.