Galia's Wedding

I recently attended the longest wedding ever! Before I begin to even tell you how long the wedding was, I will tell you how long I waited for it to even begin. I waited for an hour and a half! Apparently most weddings start that late, next time I will know better and try to be something like arriving 45 minutes late.

I have not yet been to a traditional Lao wedding. This wedding was in a fellowship of the Father and the bride was wearing white. Ordinarily, this is not the case. Don’t ask me what a traditional one would look like because I don’t know, all I know is that was not it. Too bad too because I was invited to a wedding today, but could not attend

This wedding was about 2 hours long. After the teaching from the shepherd of the fellowship and the thought time, and the two choirs with two to three songs each, and the lighting of the candle, and the giving of the gifts, and the singing of the songs (all the while the bride and groom didn’t touch or look at each other, but rather just stared at the crowds, standing the whole time) they then had a reception without dancing (what?, no dancing at a Lao party?). Whew, did I miss anything?! That was a run-on sentence (for a run-on wedding). It was actually quite enjoyable (you know, how when it is your first time doing something it always goes a little faster). I am so glad I was able to go!

The people pictured here are some of my friends from Candlelight language school (with CAMA).

Motorbike Ride Into the Country

That Luang Festival

This week was a holiday of sorts in Laos. The That Luang festival here in Vientiane. That Luang is a Buddhist temple, or stupa which is a place where someone important is buried. It is rumored that somewhere in the big stupa is a part of the Buddha. It could be considered the Mecca for Lao Buddhists. This time of the year many people from all over Laos come to Vientiane for a big festival where apparently, they buy things, get blessings from the monks, and walk around the stupa three times.

This week the traffic was crazy!!! I will never forget thinking “wow, this is not Vientiane” I felt a little like Dorothy. Ordinarily Vientiane is not such a crowded city. My first experience at the festival was at a concert that one of my friend’s friends was singing in. Stacy (my roommate) and I were waiting for the rest of our group and actually got followed by a student at the university I am teaching at, who proceeded to hit on us. That was… interesting. The concert was great.

The next day I went with a friend to the temple. My friend is not a Buddhist. She told me all about how many Lao people do this every year to gain merit. We had fun going there, she made about 5 u-turns before she finally parked my motorbike. Then when we walked a little further she changed her mind and decided that she would move the bike and park somewhere else. Also on the way, we were headed there with some of her friends, which I was hoping to get to know, but we lost them in the traffic. It was really fun to spend some time with her and meet some of her other friends that we saw there. They all had to do an interview with a foreigner as an assignment, so I helped some of them introduce themselves, in general, Lao people are so shy!! It was so interesting getting to experience a little Lao Buddhist culture. When we were in the festival, it was seriously crowded at times I just stood there, because I have nowhere to go. My friend and I ate, and she changed her mind about a couple more things, I changed into my Lao skirt from pants out in public and then back into pants (which by the way is acceptable here) and we had a great time. I was so glad I could spend this time with her!

Motorbikes, parties, rain, and the weird things we do in Laos

Yay, this week I got my motorbike. Aside from my horrible reaction time and the subsequential running into of the giant post in front of my students, it has been pretty fun. Yes, I alredy ran my bike into something. It is not easy driving here. It took me 20 mins to get my bike started that morning and then on the way, I got mud splashed all over me. By the time I arrived to school I was a half an hour late for class AND BONUS I was crying my eyes out! So I missed class. I thought only one of my students saw, however, today I got a call from a concerned student asking about my accident. Sweet, and yet, embarrassing!

Last night we had a party for my roommate Kat. It just so happened to be on Halloween, so we got dressed up into costumes! That was fun. But the best part of the night was when one of Kat's co-teachers was watching Kat do DDR (dance dance revolution, courtesy of Doug and Mirinda Cole). She was laughing so hysterically that she had the rest of us pretty much rolling on the floor.

Meanwhile another one of Kat's friends was stuck in the mud outside our house. The rain just will not stop here. I suppose I should count my blessings though, because I heard in Hanoi they are flooded up to the top of their motorbikes. I've not yet said anything about my street. Doug and Mirinda have said that it is the worst street in Laos. Read: the worst street in the world.

So, all day today it rained, hence, I didnt leave my house. Hence, the flooding will probably be too bad tomorrow to leave the house again. No worries though, Brad and Berkeley walked over from down the street where they live and we (Kat, Berk, Stacy, Brad, and I) had a rain party. First, Berk walked over and their "little brother" as they call him followed him very stealthlike, so we hung out with him for a few hours. His name is Guidong and he is a pretty amazing little kid. He is very curious and into everything! I was doing my Lao homework, and then I wasnt anymore because he was doing it for me. We have some pictures of people on our fridge, and after he left I noticed that he had covered all the faces with magnets.

Anyways, we played some games once Brad came and then he had the brilliant idea to try putting a tablespoon of cinnamon into our mouths. DONT TRY THIS AT HOME. That wasnt very fun! I cant even explain to you how long we were spitting after doing our puff the magic dragon impressions. A little while later we sang some camp songs and spent a good deal of time making up tongue twisters. Dumbo's dumber brother. Say that 10 times fast!

Teaching!

Well, I have been teaching now for about three weeks. I love my students! I am teaching year one reading and year 4 English for Science.

I go out to lunch with my year four students four at a time on Fridays for lunch. It has been a great time to bond with my students. Some of my students took me shopping this past Friday to look for a Lao traditional skirt! It was great to spend a little extra time with them. They are a very friendly class. I cant wait to get to know them further!

My year one students are a whole other story. It is so funny the difference between the two. These students have not previously had any foreign teachers, and I dont think they are quite sure what to think! In class, I am sure they are wondering what I am saying, or doing for that matter! They just stare at me without reaction. I cant wait to see what they will become once they get to know me and arent so afraid.

I like teaching university, but I do miss my third graders! China is so different, but both are good! Cant wait to get to know my students, colleagues, and friends I have made in the city better!

Vientiane Nights

It is so hot in Vientiane. I mean like Florida in the summer hot. I dont say this to complain, I say this to make a point: the fun comes out at night. I cant tell you how many times I have been outside during the daytime and thought, " gee, there really isnt a whole lot going on." Sometimes at night though, we (us new teachers) will be walking home from a meeting or out running and see things we would have never imagined!





The first night I stayed in Vientiane, it was just about 11 when I heard some children playing outside, "funny" I thought, "shouldnt they be inside asleep?" This was the pattern, whether it was hide and seek, or firecrackers, they were outside playing till late in the night. Oh, but that is nothing. Let me share with you some of my favorite evening moments in the city.





Lets see should I mention the time when we were about to run and before we could get our legs going we looked across the street and saw the breakdancing children? Ooh or what about the time when we ran into a festival at That Luang? I could elaborate on the time when there was a black out, which coincidentally was on the same night as the festival. You always have to be on the lookout for dogs, who bark and chase. But dont worry, all you have to do is pretend to throw a rock at them.



Also, night time is a great time to get out and exercise. Lao people are always looking to not be in the hot sun! One monument, Pa Tu Xay, has many people out for a late stroll in the park! It is a great place to watch people!

The Plague of Frogs

I had my first culture shock moment last night. Kat, Berkeley, and I went downtown to have a bite to eat at the Tex-Mex Restaurant. That ended up being too expensive, so we decided to go have Lao food across the street along the Mekong River. What a beautiful night it was! The sun was setting, the air was clear. We had just ridden our bikes, so we were all happy with endorphins running through us. The appetizer came and oops, somehow we ended up ordering two dishes of spring rolls, which happened to be cold. Then the plague struck. Frogs were coming out of the woodwork! I noticed them, and they noticed me. Suddenly, a frog lunged forward and suctioned himself to my ankle. I jumped up, kicking (and maybe screaming). Cool, calm, and collected I sat back down in my chair grossed out, but ready to eat. Before I could even begin to comprehend what happened, another frog leaps up onto my arm and promptly takes position on my plate of food. Lovely. “Can we move to a table in the middle” I said to my friends who were frog-slime free. They kindly obliged. There was a frog in my chair at the next table. Berkeley came to my rescue (and Kat tried really hard) flinging the frog off the chair. Together we thought we had conquered the frogs. But no! There was one frog just waiting for his moment, I waited and watched. Yep, he jumped on me too. This was not such a pleasant experience for me, but the rest of our food came and I tried to calm myself down. I tried a bite of my food and yum! Then I stuck a carrot in my mouth ready to savor…not a carrot. Ow!!! Red Pepper, HOT RED PEPPER! SPIT OUT THE HOT RED PEPPER! Uncontrollable laughter burst from my mouth as I turned a shade of red typically reserved for fire engines and the tears began to flow. Here is where I knew it was time to go for a walk, forsaking the food set before me. My mouth, throat, and chin burning I told my friends I would soon return.
All this said it turned out to be a really good thing. I had just received a package, and found some money I had forgotten about and was thinking, “yeah, I am a joyful person generally, but it seems today is exceptional. I need to be like this when things aren’t so great too.” As I walked around I found myself actually thankful all this happened and that it ended with laughter!!
PS When telling three of my new friends that have each lived here for a number of years about the frogs they all said separately “I have never seen or heard that happen.” Oh, did I mention the worm that was crawling on me? I need a shower just thinking about it!