What a Week!

Dear loyal readers,

My sincere apologies for falling off the blogging boat these past two days.  I've adopted the Lao way of life and there seems to be no urgency to post.  Unfortunately, so much has happened that you deserve updates.  Here you go....

I last left you on Tuesday, after recollecting my meeting with the venomous barista.  Tuesday night began with happy hour and a glass of red wine downtown with Kiki, Adam and Brad.  Because the Vientiane Times lets out around 6, happy hour makes the most sense, and I'm not going to complain.  From there we wandered over to Makphet, a restaurant on a mission: based off the model in Cambodia,  Friends International opened this restaurant which trains and employs street kids in hospitality and cooking.  The food is a fusion of Lao and western cuisine and accompanied with the traditional basket of sticky rice, was delicious.  It's actually a great organization and a visit to the restaurant is ranked #2 of things to do in Vientiane.  

You can check out the organization and its other establishments here: Friends International

Biking home, I had to wake up the 24 hour security guard to let me inside the gate and after apologizing profusely and realizing it was his job to not let creepers in, I headed upstairs and caught an episode of Borgias, which is a great show and you all should watch it.

Wednesday brought a whole slew of new adventures.  Having gotten to the office early I was able to live stream Kol Nidre services at my desk before beginning my daily morning routine of emails and laofab updates.  Through the screen I was transported right to the sanctuary, just this time I could control the volume of the organ and choir with the touch of a button.  It felt great to be part of my home community, yet so far away.  I spent the rest of the morning toiling away at the computer, attempting to teach myself the basics of Adobe software and trying to get in touch with our Xieng Khouang staff about my trip up there next week.

After lunch, Mark and I drove to the NRA for a quarterly meeting of the UXO Victim Assistance Technical Working Group.  Leaving our shoes in the doorway, we entered the building and were escorted to a conference room lined with Tigerhead water bottles (the only reputable Lao brand according to vegan Kate).  The florescent lights reflected off the walls and patent white tables, giving the whole room a pristine clean glow.  After initiating the meeting, and deciding that it was going to be conducted in English (thank goodness!), NRA officials began giving their reports on this quarter's activities in victim assistance.  In September alone there have been two UXO accidents, each killing one child and injuring two more.  While the recent facts were sobering, the group addressed the topics of barriers to emergency care, lack of transportation and how to standardize several NGO's approaches to UXO education and first aid training.  The meeting was a success, and most importantly the sinh got to make another guest appearance. 

On Wednesday afternoon I headed over to Home Ideal, determined to finally buy a lock for my bike, gloves to wear at rowing practice and a flashing light for night biking.  The trip was a success and I met up with the gang by the river side where the boys were enjoying their daily dose of BBL (Big BeerLao).  We split a parantha, a crepe style Indian pancake filled with banana and hershey's syrup before I locked up my bike to the fence nearby and we set off for meditation circle at Ruth's house.  Ruth is our farang boat racing coach and his house was so hard to get to.  After navigating our way through unclear directions, failures in anglo-lao communication with the Tuk-Tuk driver and backtracking several times past the barbed wire lined Chinese embassy, we finally arrived. Late.

Now, usually I would feel bad about arriving late to a function but the mix of Jew and now Lao in me has grown accustomed to waiting for things to start within an hour of when they are set to begin.  Promptly doesn't exist anymore.  Although meditation was supposed to start at 7, we found ourselves adjusting our lotus position a little after 8:05.  Sitting in a circle joined by Kate, Josepha, a Dutch woman and Ruth's two dogs, we began the meditation by inviting the bell. 

Inviting the bell is the hippie excuse for hitting a metal bowl with a wooden stick and striking it until it emits a pleasing sound.  Actually, it was quite pleasant and we spent the next 10 minutes listening to Ruth read an adaptation of the Noble Truths while we focused on breathing and not letting our legs fall asleep under us.  From that we transitioned to a silent sitting meditation for 15 minutes.  I let my mind wander and tried not to get distracted by the two labs attempting to lick my face.  Fifteen minutes felt like forever and I was relieved when Ruth invited the bell again.  The last phase was reciting mantras, which Ruth did while we breathed.  By the end, my back was sore, but my mind was clear.  Sounds like Yom Kippur, right?

The session ended with a potluck dinner for which we had not prepared anything.  Had we known we would have stopped on our way...next time! Ruth had prepared a variety of spreads with french bread while the Dutch girl had brought pumpkin soup.  Everything was really good, except I still don't understand how Ruth's guacamole was bright orange.  Confused.

We finally got a tuk-tuk out of her area and back to town where Kiki, Adam, Kate and I met up with Brad for a late night dinner at Aashifa, the indian restaurant.  The food there is so good and Kiki has been able to find vegan options so it's always a safe bet.  We ate there past closing time but the staff was happy to have us.  When Kiki and I went to go round up my bike so I could get home, however, it was no where to be found!!!!  The bike that had been ridden for years without a lock was stolen hours after a lock had been placed on it.  Seriously, who gets bad karma from attending a two hour meditation session on the day of atonement?!? Bike down, Kate and I shared a tuk-tuk and I made my way back home.  

Thursday was another slow day at the office, broken up by my lunch time trip to Kung's, house of the mango sticky rice pancake.  Other than getting some work done, my big news is that I'm going vegan for the next month.  I'm going to try it out and with Kiki and Kate at almost every meal, it's super easy.  Now I won't have to take my chances with rindy pork and blood ball stew.  Kiki and I are going to start posting about Vegan foodie adventures in Vientiane and I also recommend you read her wildly sarcastic blog, It's Me Kiki P!

Once out of work, I went home and got ready to walk (I miss the bike) into town.  I met up with the group again at their usual spot with BBLs and we chatted about Vientiane Times gossip, which is certainly more interesting than the happenings at my quiet little office.  From the bar, we ventured over to Lao Kitchen, a restaurant two blocks over that specializes in Lao/Thai cuisine.  The food was amazing and in true vegan fashion, Kiki and I went for the veg curry and tofu laap.  Now that I'm out of the omnivore circle, the boys can now rekindle their little BBL and meat eating bromance.  We have some pictures to post, but those will have to go up this weekend.

The best part of the meal was the sticky rice and mango dessert which was out of this world.  Certainly worth a revisit, or ten.

I made my way home solo, sitting shotgun in a tuk-tuk.  Although that seemed like a good idea (I wanted to point out exactly where I wanted to be dropped off), the driver leaned over and tried to kiss me when he stopped.  Shocked, I pushed him away and ran off towards home.  Lao personal space does not exist, but this went too far.  I'm willing to risk the Lao miscommunication in the future for sitting in the back seat.  Never again.

Friday.

I woke up this morning, showered, and threw on a sinh before running out the door to meet Mark at the office by 7:50.  We hopped in the truck and drove to km 5 (everything here is measured in distance), for the official UXO Sector Working Group Meeting.  This meeting had over 100 people, took place in a huge conference room and was officiated by the Chairman of the NRA (a minister of the PM's office), the UNDP resident representative to Lao PDR and the US Ambassador to Lao PDR.  The meeting overviewed what the working group covered on Wednesday in addition to information covered by the Working Groups on Mine Risk Education and UXO Clearance.  It was very formal and the immediate translation through head sets was immensely helpful.  

Head set, Tigerhead and ready to go!

While I've realized that these meetings bring up a lot of key issues, I've decided that the coffee break is the most important part of any meeting.  In those 15 minutes you can network, introduce yourself to the authorities and put a plug in for your cause.  During that time, I met the Ambassador, several government officials and other NGO workers who I will be working will moving forward.  In all, the meeting was a success.  

Excusing ourselves from the ritual luncheon, Mark and I headed back to the office for the driver (Tongma, who is fabulous!) to bring us Seng's house for a ceremonial lunch she was having.  Wealthier Lao families celebrate the anniversary of the death of loved ones with elaborate meals and religious traditions.  While the main event will happen tomorrow, and over 100 people are expected to attend, she had invited the staff and some friends over today.  Now observing veganism, I stuck to salad and sticky rice, luckily avoiding some questionable dishes.

Inside Seng's house.
The golden setup was in honor of the 5th anniversary of her mother-in-laws passing.

Heading back to the office, I sat myself down and began answering the mornings inbox.  Tonight Kiki and I are meeting at 6 to join the crowds of outdoor aerobics fanatics at the riverside park and hope to jazzercise our way through 90's pop beats.  Inevitably we'll end up at happy hour with the boys then who knows.  

Hugs and Kisses from Laos!!!

For the New Year

Have compassion upon us and upon our children

Help us bring an end to pestilence, war, and famine

Cause all hate and oppression to vanish from the earth

Inscribe us for blessing in the book of life

Let the new year be a good year for us

Caffiend?

And no, the title is not a spelling error.  A caffiend, a term coined by yours truly, is a caffeine addict.  I know there are some of you out there.  We can start a support group when (if) I get (come) back. 

Anyways...

Today I met Jason, an American working for SnakeBomb Coffee.  While anti-fair trade, Jason has been working to build a supply chain with Lao coffee roasters and market his product in the US.  Profits from the sale of coffee go to benefit UXO survivors, many of whom roast the coffee, and to purchase anti-venom for snake bites.  

Little did I know that snake bites were that common in Laos.  In fact, Snake bites are one of the most commonly neglected public health issues in rural communities in Southeast Asia according to the SnakeBomb website.  Due to the lack of adequate medical facilities, it is estimated that 16,000 people, many farmers, die each year from snake bites that could have been prevented.  Well, so much for doing that rural trek I had planned!

SnakeBomb seems like a very interesting organization with reasonable goals and a great tasting product.  It's slowly making its way onto shelves in the US and can be purchased online.  I hope you can take a couple minutes to click around their site and learn what how other organizations are trying to "disarm the facts" and "rise from the ashes" of UXO legacy in Laos.

Check Out SnakeBomb Coffee!

Big Buddha, Big Buddha, Big Buddha, Oh Yeah!

Perhaps the largest leaning Buddha in the world.  It's hard to trust Lao statistics.

So unlike last weekend when I managed to sleep in and finally drag myself out of the apartment to explore the evening market, this weekend was action-packed and adventurous!!!

Saturday began bright and early with a trip into town for coffee.  Sitting at the Patu Xai 2 Cafe (I'm not quite sure where1 is), I quickly joined the ranks of a herd of spectators, keenly watching a road crew cut down large branches from the trees hanging over the street.  Sounds boring, right?  Well, apparently on a Saturday morning this was the place to be.  Laos is pretty quiet and it was interesting to see how active this crew was at removing the dead branches.  More importantly however, was the shocking realization that there was no safety equipment, hard hats, street markers etc. separating the men working and the tourists below.  I only discovered this when, sitting quietly at a table looking at the street, I was suddenly showered with a pile of falling leaves and wood chips, quickly followed by the loud crash of the tree meeting pavement.  I immediately asked for my coffee to go, and rushed from the scene.

The afternoon brought yet another interesting adventure as I headed to Bee Bee fitness to meet the team for Dragon Boat Racing practice.  Not knowing where that even was (my hobomap even failed me, leading me off onto an endless "dirt road"), I hopped in a tuk-tuk.  Thankfully, I found the fitness center and met Kiki, another young initiate to the Lao ex-pat community.  Lao time ensued and while the meeting time was 2:00, we finally hopped in a doisan (a larger tuk-tuk, ironically the opposite of a jumbo, or smaller tuk-tuk) around 2:45.  We arrived at the village about 30 minutes later to a roaring crowd of men, women and children by the river bank.  Across the river, two Thai teams were competing and the villagers had camped out to scope out the competition.  Armed with binoculars in one hand and a BeerLao in the other, they were thoroughly enjoying their afternoon.  Kiki and I were invited to join a group of men for beer and talking.  We politely declined the beer but gave in to a quick conversation similar to that of most introductions in Laos (Are you married? Do you have boyfriend? Do you have children? Where are you from?... In that order, always)

After about an hour on the river bank, we finally made our way onto the boat for practice.  This week we had two coaches: Kibu ("You stop, I kiss) and a younger coach who made sprint paddling look like a piece of cake.  Practice was long and it was brutally hot out on the water.  The Lao women see it as very recreational and most the time, the coaches spend telling them to pay attention.  Now that I've mastered counting 1-10 in Lao, I can keep pace and add to the shouting camaraderie that is the racing experience.

I know many of you are interested in what this whole thing looks like.  This is a photo of a dragon boat (think war canoe on steroids).  We will be competing on October 31, so I will be ringing in 22 years Dragon style!

Lao dragon boats on the Mekong.  Each boat holds about 80 people in rows of 2.

We finally made it back to town around 6:45 and were exhausted.  Kiki and I planned on meeting for dinner and found a great Indian place by the river where for $3 we enjoyed naan, aloo gobi and veggie curry.  After dinner we met up with her friend Brad, an Australian who also works for the Vientiane Times, and headed to Bon Penyang, the popular rooftop bar overlooking the Mekong.  None of us lasted long and Kiki and I were sore from rowing all afternoon (I guess that means its working!) In order to be home by curfew (Lao government does not like having people out on the streets after 11 although it does not really apply to farangs), I hopped in a tuk-tuk, bargained down 50% and made my way home.

If Saturday morning is slow in Laos, Sunday is a somber funeral procession.  I finally made it out of the house at 10:30 to dead quiet in the streets.  Wondering if I had missed the apocalypse, I headed to the tourist district, where, thank goodness, there was a line at Le Banneton and Cafe d'or, the two french inspired bakeries.  I met up with Kiki, who finally got a Lao phone, and we wandered to Home Ideal, the DVD store and through the market before making our way to the Talat Sao bus station.  Following the handy one sentence directions in my trusty Lonely Planet, we boarded the #14 to the Friendship Bridge.  The bus was beautiful, clean and air conditioned.  Apparently the Japanese donated 50 new buses in an attempt to increase the use of public transportation and tourism in Laos. For 6,000 kip ($0.75), we rode the bus for about a half hour to the friendship bridge, which connects Laos to Thailand.  From there, we boarded a significantly sketchier mini bus to Xieng Khuan and Buddha Park.

This bus was much more of what I had expected from Lao transport.  The seats rocked back and forth, there was no observance of personal space, the engine shut off every time we hit a pot hole which I'm convinced the driver was doing purposely and the stick shift fell back into first every time he tried to accelerate.  It's hard to imagine a crazier piece of machinery, but the Lao among us seemed to love the ride, laughing all the way.  We finally got off the bus, paid our $0.25 fare, and entered the infamous Buddha Park.

Arial view of Buddha Park.

Although the park was built in 1958, by the Venerable Grandfather Luang Pu, it looks ancient.  Crammed in the space about the size of a football field, the bizarre yet ornate statues of reinforced concrete are numerous.  Being chased around by a crazy Lao guy with a video camera, Kiki and I tried to enjoy our visit and took time to pose with the statues.  The most famous one, at the entrance of the park, is four floors and contains a spiral staircase to the top.  We posed at the mouth (where you enter) before ascending.

Kiki and I in the mouth of the Buddha.

After wandering around for an hour, we made our way back to the road to wait for the bus. Not seeing one, we decided to walk along the road hoping that a bus would pass at some point (A reasonable thought but not all that reliable in Laos) Luckily a bus finally came, and we boarded amidst a dust cloud of clay brown dirt.  This dirt finally revealed its true identity when my "tan" washed away in the shower.

Pet Meanie and the Great Leaning Buddha.
Xieng Khuan, Laos. 

Arriving back in Vientiane, after another AC bus ride but this time next to a woman and her two bags of live crickets (one word: dinner), we decided to call up Brad and meet him from dinner.  Kiki introduced me to a great little falafel stand on the street and we sat there eating our pitas.  From there, we ran into Kate, another ex-pat, who invited us to her house to see her pugs.  She had been in the city rescuing a stray dog and had to run home anyways to get some pedigree.  Her wild and rambunxious pugs (3 of them!) were adorable and sad to see us leave.  But, again, we were exhausted and it was time to call it a night.

Back to the office today with new work adventures!  Stay posted!

xoxo Pet

#LaoOfficeLife

The Monk Mobile.
Vientiane, Laos

So I successfully came home after my first week of work in the office and I have to say, the 8-4 lifestyle isn't so bad after all.  I've spent most of my week sending emails, editing reports, reading articles, catching up on local and global news, and learning Lao.

Yesterday, Nang and I were tasked with finding a company that can produce labels to be sewn into the merchandise at the QLC gift shop.  We went across town to Saoban, the Lao equivalent of a 10,000 Villages, and inquired.  Unfortunately they import them from a "cousin" (everyone here has cousins, sometimes a friend of a friend of a so on and so forth) in Thailand.  We reached the same conclusion when we drove to Lao cotton, a factory store on the other side of the city.  Frustrated, we went for pho.

Pho is the go-to lunch among the Lao.  It's quick, cheap and comes in several varieties: fatty pork, fatty duck, blood balls, or questionable meatballs.  I went with the meatballs.  Little did I know that was going to be the beginning of two full days of food exploration.  Served as a noodle soup dish, the Lao like to add chili sauce, fish sauce and MSG to spice it up.  I now understand why Triple Star advertises "NO MSG" (but potential for spit in fine print!)  As always, the food was good and the meatballs weren't as suspicious as I had imagined.

Today I got to the office after stopping at Kung's for coffee.  Of course I ordered black coffee, which translates to instant, so the whole venture was a bust.  Regardless I got to sit in the shade of the alley cafe reading my book for a while before heading in.  The office has been quiet so I was able to continue with my search for grant ideas and try to work my way through some mapping software.  Apparently my office has a phone, because at 11 Nang called to remind me that I had told her I was interested in trying laap, a traditional Lao dish.  I was instructed to be downstairs at 11:55 to leave for the restaurant.  At 11:45 the phone rang again and I was late... How this happened in Laos still shocks me.

Nang, Towh (my Lao teacher and the secretary) and another woman all hopped in the car for the restaurant.  Not hungry, I was kind of dreading this meal as Lao have the tendency to over order and expect their guests to over eat.  They ordered a ton of food, only asking whether I preferred sticky or regular rice (Sticky of course!) When my basket of rice came however, a millipede crawled out from within the weaving and I was even less enthused about eating it.  The restaurant itself was cute and we sat in a pagoda area, on the floor.  Apparently at night it turns into a Beer Garden and the ladies were suggesting I come here on my own.  With Lady Gaga remixes playing in the background we feasted.  Everything here is classified by the meat in it: duck, pork, chicken, and beef. They ordered laap with duck and pork and beef and three other soupy dishes filled with meaty fish sauce.  I tried everything and fulfilled my motto of "you only have to try it once."

Nang and Towh at lunch.  Look at how much they ordered!!!

Returning to the office I again positioned myself in front of the computer and read a couple manuals regarding cultural sensitivity for hygiene.  It was really interesting and shines light on the fact that our villagers would prefer open defecation to latrines.  At 3:45 the phone rang again.  Apparently on Fridays we have mini happy hours, and thank god this time without the beer!

The ladies had prepared a dish of banana and eggplant and I tasted it but immediately turned red due to the amount of chili in it.  The Lao like it hot! The other dish on the table looked like a meat dish but I couldn't tell.  I obliged and took a bite. Opening up my Lao dictionary, I immediately recognized the mysterious cubes to be the infamous boiled cow blood.  Well, I guess I can check that off my bucket list. Here's to a good weekend!

Plague on a plate... or in a soup as the case may be.
I deserve a lot of food explorer points.

High Holy (Holi)days

L’shana Tova from Laos! As most of you spend the day listening to the sound of the shofar, praying with your community and ending with a delicious feast, I myself am absorbed in my own New Year, change of pace and time of reflection.

Today Mark and I sat down to create a plan for my next six months in Laos.  While I have only been here for 10 days, I have been able to experience cultural traditions that many people never encounter.  In addition to the Lao immersion, I have already made some friends within the expat community.  During my time here I will be working on several different projects: working with the Quality of Life Association in Xieng Khuang to develop a more sustainable visitor center and gift shop while working with the handicraft villages and quality control trainers to do product design for marketable goods, mapping the rural villages in Xieng Khuang to identify where potable water sources are located in relation to areas of open defecation with the ultimate goal of teaching villagers the health benefits of installing toilets in their communities, searching for any grant funding available, brainstorming any additional untapped avenues in Laos for World Education, learning Lao from my colleagues (I had my first lesson today!), and editing reports and proposals for my Lao colleagues.  When I’m not doing any of the above, you can find me near the closest AC unit!

The New Year has a lot in store for me.  Many new adventures, interesting jobs and run-ins with eclectic people are yet to come.  In thinking about what I was going to write for a High Holy Day reflection, I came across the Rosh Hashanah parsha.  In Numbers 29, Jews are commanded to present a burnt offering of pleasant odor.  While this is not traditionally read at my own synagogue, I thought it was funny.  Not only are the streets in Vientiane littered with street vendors selling charred meat, fruit, vegetables (anything really), but the aroma in this city is a pleasant one.  Maybe I just noticed it today (knock on wood I’ll go outside tomorrow and step into a sewage pit), but I think it was my Rosh Hashanah sign.  Luckily when we cooked our own meal last night (I celebrated Erev Rosh Hashanah with a Jew who advertised the meal on Couch Surfers! We spent the whole day cooking together at her house and then enjoyed a delicious feast with 6 of her friends), we didn’t burn anything despite the finicky oven and spitting stove top.  In all, it was a day of sweet aromas.

I wish everyone a happy, healthy and particularly sweet new year!

Proving Myself as Petmeanie

Well after 12 liters of BeerLao, 4 kilos of sticky rice and 2 grilled fish later I successfully made it home from my first Lao happy hour.  In the last two days I have learned that the Lao take their drinking very seriously, in a frat-drink-as-much-as-you-can sort of way.  Yesterday we continued our village visits, starting with a Hmong community about 2 hours away.  While we were there to survey their water system, they insisted on giving us a tour of the village, leading us up to a section of town inhabited by weavers.  With their looms carefully positioned under their houses, the women take shifts weaving and are able to produce some beautiful fabrics, made from locally grown silk and cotton.  We all purchased some of the fabric and paid using 100,000K bills, which the women had never seen before.  Being able to watch the fabric come off the loom and directly to the purchaser was quite the experience.

My new fabric and the weaver who made it.

As we headed back into the main center of the village we were invited for lunch and, because it is rude, obliged.  Little did I know that each Hmong meal with special guests ends with rounds of Lao Khow whiskey shots.  Not only do you have to take the shot, but if you say it was delicious, you have to take another.  Being a novice and not speaking any Lao, I was tricked into not two, but three shots of this burning liquid.  Now I know "Poh Sai Dai" which means "I've had enough!!!"  My colleagues think it's funny that I've already caught on to one of their most important traditions.

After the shots we piled into the car for our next village.  This one took about a half hour to get to and was even higher in the mountains.  We were greeted with a tea made from eggplant leaves and invited into the house for a meeting.  After discussing their thoughts on the RCD project, we were given a tour of the water supply then invited into another house for Lao Hai. And again, the drinking began.  Lao Hai is produced with fermented rice in a very large jug.  Although it tastes sweet and goes down easily, the drinking part is also turned into a game.  Two bamboo straws are placed into the jug and water is added to the top.  Each pair of people must drink two cups worth of the wine before passing the straws to the next pair.  Being a guest, I was asked to participate twice although I'm positive my partner was not pulling her weight.  Needless to say, I spent all day proving myself and by the time I got back to the office, word had got out that I could hold my own.  Odd, but that was a huge compliment by Lao standards.

Drinking from the deadly bowl of Lao Hai.

This morning we started the day by visiting the hospital. On September 1, three young boys had been playing about 9 meters away from their home when they found a 37 mm round and began to throw it around.  When it exploded, one was killed instantly and the other two were rushed to the ER.  One boy had to have his arm amputated while the other suffered severe injuries to the abdomen.  After several surgeries, the young boy is still recovering at the Friendship hospital and we were able to visit with him and his family.  WE has a program called the War Victims Medical Fund that provides monetary assistance to cover the medical expenses accrued after these accidents.  After spending 3.5M Kip, or about $500 on bills, the family had used up their savings (It was amazing that they had that much to begin with) and was eager to hear that the fund would cover all the expenses.  While the little boy looked frightened, it was clear that he was getting good care as the hospital was clean and medical staff kept coming in to check his status.

UXO victim, age 10, with his parents.

The Women weavers of our
handicraft village

From the hospital we went to visit a local village that the QLA center is working with as part of the handicraft project.  They have been producing laptop bags for the store and I will be working on some marketing and product design over the next couple months to increase sales.  The women weavers were all very eager to learn more and sell more, but their was a lack of materials, so we will have to figure out how to fix the supply chain.  After that visit we made our way back to town for a meeting with the Department of Public Health.  They discussed the WVMF, a hospital needs assessment and the RCD project.  I was able to meet four of the main physicians for the district and we donated a computer to one of them for use in RCD management.  Running late, we headed over to Halvetas, a Swiss NGO, for a meeting of INGOs in Ponsavan.  The representatives from about 6 different groups discussed relocation, education and handicraft production from their various organizations and it was very interesting to see how these groups collaborate while having different motives: empowerment vs. sustainability vs. sanitation etc.  We will probably end up trying to work with some of their villages, which produce bamboo crafts, in our handicraft project in order to diversify sales.

Woman displaying her Pandau
work on laptop bags

The day ended with Happy Hour at Barbara's house.  Four members of the office joined us and we sat around for over two hours sharing stories and drinking BeerLao (Every time someone raises their glass to drink, everyone else must follow).  Vyenmini tried to get me to sing the theme song to Titanic but I could only remember the chorus, which I nailed.  My Lao is improving and my colleagues are very excited to teach me.  Because Cah-lee (the only way Lao can actually pronounce my name) actually means prostitute (if only I could recreate the Chair of the DPH's face when I introduced myself), I have been given the nickname Petmeanie, or Pet for short.  It's literally translated to Diamond Starlight, so it's a big step up.

Tomorrow we are driving back to Vientiane although we are dropping Mark off at Vang Vieng and I am undecided if I will explore the city too for the night before heading back on Sunday.  I have a couple hours in the car to decide.

Much love!
Petmeanie

Village Life: Lost in Translation

I know I've said it before, but traveling can be exhausting.  After what turned out to be over a nine hour drive up to Xieng Khoung, we couldn't wait to check in to our guest house.  Although the drive offered spectacular views of steep rice fields and overgrown mountains, the roads varied from questionably paved to muddy pits.  At one point we had to drive the truck onto a ferry boat which brought us across the river because the bridge is under construction (Last December they sunk a car driving across after being told that the water wasn't that deep.  Mark still gets grief about yelling "Save the iPads!").

On our way, we stopped for lunch and I got to experience my first bowl of pho.  While it's not that popular in the city, lowland Lao crave this stuff.  And, it was pretty good.  I went for the vegetarian over the duck option after hearing Barbara tell us in the car that what she once thought were black tofu cubes ended up being the Lao delicacy of congealed blood.  I didn't want anything mysterious...

After checking into the Numchai Guest House, we got settled into our rooms and Mark and I left to tour the area.  As I'll be spending time up here alone he wanted to make sure I got the lay of the land.  Many of the buildings that he saw being built in May are now deserted and crumbling, being replaced by new concrete eyesores.  Unfortunately, thats the way of much Lao construction.  It looks good for a couple months then falls into complete disrepair.  For dinner we found ourselves at an Indian restaurant that was actually very good.  For a total of $4 we ate garlic naan, channa masala, aloo gobi and chicken tikka masala.  It was so much we didn't even finish it--- now that I know the owner, I will surely be returning.  Back in my room last night I indulged myself in two seasons of Downton Abbey before passing out around 9.  I guess I'll adjust to the time change soon enough.

This morning I was up with the roosters and out the door by 6:45 to wander into town for breakfast.  One of the main restaurants, Craters, which boasts the "American breakfast," is decorated with flowering plants potted in empty mortar casings.  In fact, these shells permeate the landscape up here, being used as fence posts, steps and overheads signs.  There is a lot of controversy about whether to use the UXO remnants for art but you can still walk through the Hmong market (which is only a block from where I am staying) and buy aluminum spoons and cow bells made from the scrap.  After enjoying my breakfast of porridge and mango juice ($2), I made my way to the market to pick up some apples for the drive.  Although I don't speak Lao (I've learned hello and thank you), I was able to pay the merchant and make my way back to the car.

The drive to our first village, PaKhom, took about 45 minutes.  We were greeted by 2 WE staff members and the entire community health committee.  They were gathered for a full-day training session which we sat in on.  The first order of business was to complete a pretest.  Among the group of Hmong villagers, the written Lao test was ridiculous and even Barbara couldn't figure out some of the answers.  I don't think it was oversight, but that surely needs to be corrected for future trainings.

Hmong Child; PaKhom, Laos

Unlike a meeting in the US, the group spent the first half hour discussing the rules for the day:
1. There will be mandatory breaks for 15 minutes every hour.
2. If your cell phone goes off (yes it was shocking how many Hmong farmers had cell phones), you must sing a song in front of the room.
3. If you fall asleep, we have the right to take your picture then wake you up.  Then you must dance in front of the room.

Raised Houses and Grain Storage; PaKhom, Laos

Although the training was conducted in Lao (Hmong can understand spoken but not written Lao) and I could not understand it, Barbara was able to translate most of the proceedings and it was all very interesting.  They discussed the importance of clean water, water resources, community health care worker roles their duties as committee members.  After an hour, Mark and I went to go survey some of the town and see where the water faucets were.  Engineers Without Borders was in the village a couple months ago and installed a water system with 11 faucets. Our current goal is to analyze the water usage and determine how cultural norms, such as hand washing and latrine usage, are related to illness such as childhood diarrhea.  In fact, the project I will most likely be working on, Reducing Childhood Diarrhea (RCD), utilizes GPS to pinpoint where outbreaks occur and SMS to alert local authorities of the cases.

Woman Carrying Corn; PaKhom, Laos

When the meeting broke for lunch we joined up with the rest of the group and walked to the Community Healthcare Chair's house for lunch.  On the way there we saw a snake cross the road!!! It was big and black and I didn't like it.  Luckily it was about 10 feet away.  Anyways, we all sat on little benches on the mud floor and were served communally around a big dish.  I stuck to the sticky rice, avoiding the canned fish, pork rind and bamboo fish.  When I reached to taste the other side dish, I picked up a fish eye and, with it looking at me, I just couldn't swallow it.  We finished up lunch and hopped back into the truck for our afternoon visit in Phou San, a village about 45 minutes away.

Hmong Child Observing Water Collection; Phou San, Laos

While PaKhom seemed relatively organized, the Hmong village of Phou San was not.  We arrived as if unexpected and waited for the committee to gather.  Once everyone was settled, they were able to discuss the needs for latrines, a fresh water source, more faucets and increased SMS training.  They told us that there was one know UXO by the school and then took us to see it.  Although it had been detonated by government crews, I did not want to get close.  The juxtaposition, a bomb at the entrance to a school, was all too much.  From there, they took us to see their facilities, a grassy piece of land with knee high bushes, overlooking one of the only bodies of water!!!! I guess thats where the training comes in.

My First UXO; Phou San, Laos

Trudging back to the truck, we said our goodbyes and headed home.  Back in Phonsavan I am enjoying the quiet outside before karaoke begins at the restaurant next door in a couple hours.  Eventually I'll venture out for some dinner and probably settle in with a couple more episode of Downton Abbey... I just love Maggie Smith! It will be an early day tomorrow as we are heading to a village about 2 hours away for another meeting of sorts.

Sending love from Laos!

Heading North

Well, today is the day. I spent a couple hours last night pouring over village profiles, water sanitation manuals, and potential curricula for rural hygiene. Do I know what I'm going to do yet? No. But, it all looks fascinating and I'm excited. Just a short 8 hour car ride and we'll be in Xieng Khouang! Keep a look out for some amazing photos of the Lao countryside and more updates later!

Sink or Swim?

After a morning run along the Mekong, I came back to the apartment to shower and head out for brunch.  I had been invited by Laura, a woman I met through Couch Surfing, to a vegetarian buffet in town.  She was hosting two CSers this weekend and we met up with two others who were passing through.  The six of us had a great meal and lots of laughs.

From the restaurant, we wandered over to a local stupa, which is famous for the stork that is perched on top of it.  A stupa, unlike a waht, signifies the embodiment of the Buddha.  The legend has it that at this stupa, a pregnant woman fell into a hole and died, thus leaving her spirit in the hole.  The stupa was built on top of her and the stork now protects the sacred ground.  When Mark told me about it, I didn't believe that a real stork actually lived there, but when we got close, the stork actually moved--- it was huge!!!!

The Stork Stupa.  This is actually the smaller of two huge birds.

Leaving the stupa, Laura and I noticed a group of young monks trying to pull down a dead palm tree.  We couldn't help but watch as they struggled to pull- it definitely warranted this picture:

Rushing home, I threw on some work out clothes for our first boating practice.  Nancy and I met two other women downtown and took a tuk-tuk about 45 minutes outside the city to the village that hosts us.  The boat seats about 80 people and is shaped like a canoe.  Because it is stored in the village waht, the boat is considered sacred and we weren't allowed to wear our shoes inside it.  That was fine because the bottom had about 4 inches of water and I spent the whole time worrying about water snakes and leeches... the Mekong is one murky river!  While I struggled to understand our coach's commands and couldn't for the life of me count to ten in Lao in sync, the whole experience was a lot of fun.  We shall see how my shoulders feel in the morning.  The coach seemed pleased with everyone's performance and had some great one liners such as "paddle faster or I kiss," and "focus here" which sounds explicit with a Lao accent.  It was certainly a sink or swim type of practice. And I was not swimming!

Making our way home, Nancy and I cleaned up before Mark joined us to head out for pizza.  Vientiane definitely has some of the best food and this might have been one of the best pizzas I've ever had (Sorry Harry's).  I'm calling it an early night after what was another very long day.  Mark did buy me the second season of Downton Abbey, but I'm holding out to watch it next week in Xieng Khouang.  

A LONG Day One

Although traveling here was exhausting, sleeping was not going to happen last night.  Between the gongs heralding prayer at the waht across the street to the morning cries of the neighborhood roosters, there was little quiet.  I guess I'll wear ear plugs tonight.

Getting up around 6:30, I joined Mark and Nancy at the kitchen table, which for all intensive purposes serves as the wifi hub of the house.  Due to the very low cost of food and despite having large kitchens, few people actually cook at home.  While they caught up with emails I continued my search for an apartment.  No luck so far.

Mark and I finally left the house at 7:45 to head into the office.  Everyone was very friendly and I even have my own office! (Well I share it with Barbara Lewis, an American who works part time for WE). It was all set up with a stapler, pad of sticky notes and a cup of assorted pens.  Needless to say I felt welcome.  I met with the Lao country director who is leaving for a month in the states tomorrow and was frantically trying to figure out what Lao gifts to bring with her.  After Japan I know how stressful that can be!

Insisting that I needed coffee, Mark and I walked to a nearby coffee shop that specializes in a mango sticky rice pancake.  We had to try one and it was delicious!  The coffee here is strong and certainly kept me up for the rest of the morning. Around 8:30, Nhang, one of the administrative assistants, and I went out to buy a sihgn, a traditional Lao skirt that I will need to wear in government situations. They expect very little from me in terms of office dress code, but when we interact with officials it is best to look the part.  The company driver took us to the marketplace where we wandered to a fabric store.  The selection was overwhelming but I finally settled on one pattern.  I don't love the look, but I really only need one.  The market was very similar to that of Mombasa and I was brought back to my mumu shopping days.  Luckily it was cleaner and far less crowded though.

Getting back to the office, Mark gave me a grant proposal to edit and a couple documents to familiarize myself with.  The grant, which was due this afternoon, was for the Australian embassy and was requesting funding for furthering the crafts and handiwork sales of the UXO survivor community.  WE has several different programs for UXO survivor families, most of which are up country.  Speaking of which, Mark, Barbara and I will be traveling up to Xieng Khoung on Monday for the week to tour the newest office and analyze the progress of the sanitation project up there.  If all goes well I will be spending about half my time up there and while I like the city so far, the country will have a lot of character. Its about a ten hour drive up to the city, that is assuming the rain doesn't wash out the roads.

Lunch time is taken very seriously in the Lao workplace (as is Happy Hour, or at least in our office). In fact, the two questions almost every staff member asked me were: Are you vegetarian? and Do you drink beer?  They were thrilled that I was willing to partake in their daily routine and look forward to future Beerlaos at 4:30.  For lunch Mark and I walked to his favorite Nudle shop down the road.  I get the feeling he is there alot! Although the noodles were great, the best part was the existence of DIET COKE!!!!!!  Yes Mom, I'm already enticing you to come visit!

After lunch, I called it an afternoon and was sent back home to nap.  I finally was able to fall asleep and woke up in time to grab dinner with Mark and Nancy.  We went to a delicious restaurant run by a Belgian expat.  He imports fresh mussels on Friday and Saturday from Thailand and they were great.

Tomorrow I am meeting some people from Couch surfing for brunch in town.  I think Mark is impressed that I'm already going out with strangers, but I also don't to impose on their weekend.  In the afternoon, Nancy and I are going to dragon boat racing practice.  She coordinates one of the local teams and recruited me to join in.  They train to compete in a big race at the end of Buddhist lent in October.  It should be interesting and I hope my war canoe experience comes in handy!

Je suis arrivee!!!

Well, after almost three days of traveling I finally made it to Vientiane.  While the nine hour layover in Bangkok was rough, I was able to sleep for most of it (Imagine that grungy looking traveller painfully curled up on a terminal bench).  After they changed the gate three times, and I got an extensive tour of the Bangkok airport, the 50 minute flight into VTE was a breeze.  The airport has one terminal and luckily my work visa was waiting for me at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Bypassing customs (I don't really understand how I got away with that), I was met outside by Mark, the program director for World Education Laos.  We walked through the muddy parking lot, which is being renovated for a global conference in November (over 50 diplomats will be arriving), and loaded my bags into the WE truck.

The drive to Mark (and Nancy's) apartment followed parallel to the Mekong, through the tourist district and four blocks past the WE office.  While I'm living here, I will certainly be walking to work.  Up in the apartment I have my own room and bathroom, but the best part is the AC unit, which is kept at 20 C.  (Maddie knows thats my favorite!!!)  Now that I've showered, I feel alive again and maybe even clean enough to sleep.  I'll be heading into the office tomorrow morning and have already been warned that the Lao staff is having a lot of trouble pronouncing the "R" in Carly.  I tried to explain that my grandparents Boston accent has made me used to being called "Cahhllie," but I think the reference was lost.  I'll let you know how it goes in the morning!

I've got my visa and I'm ready to take on the smallest capital of SE Asia!

P.S.  I've only seen one mosquito and one spider so far and it wasn't the giant huntsman!!!

Motley Crews

It's amazing how time flies when you're, well, flying.  I've already been gone for 24 hours and am sitting in the international terminal of the Hong Kong International Airport.  I can see the mainland from here, even though we're sitting in a dense cloud of fog. Arriving at 4:48 am, the place was a ghost town.  After disembarking we were forced through security before heading to the other departure gates.  Before I elaborate however, let's go back to the USA.

The trip started in Farmington, CT, where I boarded the CT Limo Shuttle heading to JFK.  Waiting with me at the abandoned Bonanza bus terminal was Peggy Ann, ready for her first trip to Israel.  While my mom asked her where in Israel she was going, I double, triple and quadruple checked for my passport, harnessed myself into my backpack and said my goodbyes.  Peggy and I got on the bus when it arrived, joining the company of a young Pakistani Cardiologist who just finished a three month rotation at St. Francis.  After having spent the summer in a craigslist rented room plastered with Justin Bieber posters, he was happy to be heading home to apply for residencies in the US.  The family he had been living with had belonged to Temple Beth David in West Hartford, and the polite stranger conversation quickly turned into a discussion about religion.  With Peggy heading to Israel, accompanied only by the body of Jesus Christ the Savior, the Muslim doctor and the Jewish girl, it was evident that despite all of our different backgrounds, we could bridge any cultural barriers and ride together in peace.  If only the rest of the world felt that way.  

After making several stops on the way down into NY and picking up a young couple heading to Estonia, an older woman leaving for vacation in Europe and a guy who said nothing, we continued to sit in New York city traffic for the next 2 hours.  Finally arriving 5 hours before my flight, I was able to check in at first class (I couldn't find the normal check in).  I was horrified when they asked for my Thai visa... I'm not going to Thailand!!! Luckily, management agreed that I could fly to Hong Kong then Bangkok before switching carriers en route to Vientiane, where I have a work visa waiting for me.  I guess I'll find out if that plan actually works!

JFK was mobbed, but by 1:15 am the terminal had cleared out and only those waiting for the Cathay flight to HKG were left.  I enjoyed a "me party" with my book and some great people watching.  I guess it's a good thing that I can enjoy being alone and meeting new people--- I'll have a lot of that in the next couple months.  

The flight itself was 16 hours of uneventful.  I've learned that movies inhibit sleeping, even though I am the queen of falling asleep during them.  Now I just have a couple hours here before the 4 hour flight into Bangkok and a 9 hour layover.  

I just have to keep telling myself that all this travel will be worth it once I get settled in!