Week 1: temples and tuk tuks, bacy and bowling, jet lag and mango passion jam

Wow!! It's hard to know where to start! this has been such a busy, beautiful, overwhelming but thoroughly enjoyable 7 days! I have had such limited Internet access and busy schedule that I have let far too many events go by without an update! So forgive me if this first post is a little long as I try to catch up my family with what's been happening this week. So, here are the highlights:

Day 1 (sat): traveling ALL DAY. actually, Whitney and I tried to calculate it and by what we can figure, even factoring in the time/day change, we were traveling for a total of 42 hours! with about 24 of those flying! the rest of the time was spent in airports or cars. We passed through the airport in Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh, Phnom Phen, and finally, Vientiane!! - the smallest, cutest little one building airport! (the building only goes a little bit farther to the right than the picture shows. and that's it! the entire airport! (and the largest in Laos btw))

That night we were EXHAUSTED. luckily it was 7pm Vientiane time when we got to the MCC guest house so we had a quick little dinner of Pho (yes, Vietnamese noodle soup) at a little restaurant across the street. I was so tired I forgot to take a picture of it.

Day 2 (sun): Time to see the sights! Justin (the SALTer in my position last year, who had so much fun he's staying on a few more months) was our trusty tour guide. It was so inspiring to see how good his Lao was after one year! I can't wait until I can speak/understand Lao!

Saw Patuxai (the building that looks like the French built it...because, well, they did), and climbed up a bunch of stairs to get to the top. I loved the way it looked like the Arch de Triumph but also looked like a Buddhist temple in the ornate carvings and detailing. That Luang is another big landmark in Vientiane (this is the gold-covered building). While this might seem like a temple (Wat), it is actually more like a monument (a stupa), and it is considered a sacred site for Buddhists. Legend has it that a bone of the Buddha is buried there. People still come to give offerings (we saw some people freeing caged birds, lighting candles, etc) but monks do not live here as they do at a Wat. Speaking of monks, we actually ran into a group of monks here who were very friendly and studying english. We got to talk with them for awhile and even exchanged emails!

I will probably talk more another time about traffic and getting around in Vientiane (because it is...well, crazy). But for now I'd like to introduce you to my new favorite mode of transportation: the tuk tuk. They are like the SE Asian version of New York taxis - they're everywhere. I love them because of their fun colors and just the slow pace (I mean, when you try to drap a cart full of three or four grown people behind a small motorbike, you just can't go very fast). One actually broke down while we were on it today, though! haha. that was fun. (the one on the left is the pic of when it broke and the guy had to tilt it up to try to fix it)

Day 3 (monday) - Shopping for Sinhs at the morning market! This was just the best thing ever. I don't even know how to describe in words the overwhelming number of stalls in the little outdoor shopping area. Actually, it didn't feel like you were outside since the whole thing was covered by various tents/tin roofs and once you entered, it was just a maze of little dirt floor alleyways that allowed you to squeeze by vendor after vendor. We were mostly in the clothing section, where brightly colored shirts and sinhs (the Lao traditional skirt that women still wear to work/around/for dressing up - see pic on the left) were displayed all the way up to the ceiling, and the vendors with Western-style clothes would have them hanging practically out over your head in the walkway. I only bought one sinh and a poncho, but I already have plans to go back this week with one of my new Lao friends, Touy.

Wednesday- Drove along the muddy Mekong River, where we ran into some cows in the road...

Thursday/Friday were fun days because they were MCC Laos staff meetings. Every four months all the staff working on projects anywhere in the country get together for a meeting. This time the meeting was right here at the MCC office. However, because there were too many of us (28 in total: 19 Lao and 8 Westerners) to fit in any one room in the office, we met under the tin roof of a little paved shelter on the MCC property. Thursday night we all went out bowling!

One of the highlights of the week was friday at lunch when the MCC staff held a Bacy (pronounced "baah" (like a sheep) "see" (like, to look)) for the new staff (me!). A Bacy is a Buddhist ceremony that is done to commemorate comings and goings (e.g. births, funerals, going away/moving, welcoming new people). We all sat on mats around a beautiful flower/banana leaf sculpture; those for whom the Bacy was for sat in the inner circle and held onto strings attached to the certerpiece. One leader was selected to say some opening remarks ("we're so glad to welcome you today..."), then those not being welcomed went around to us new folks individually and tied white strings to our wrists while saying a prayer/blessings over us (asking for good health, a meaningful time in Laos, safety, happiness, success, etc). Oh, and while they were doing this string tying, the receiver sits with the right hand extended for the bracelet and the left hand up in a greeting/prayer pose (like the Indian "namaste). This was followed by some EXCELLENT food! =)

okay, well, that's enough for now! I am so so very happy here and am looking forward to starting Lao language classe this coming monday (i will be in class for 6 weeks, 3 hours a day and will not start teaching English until Oct 11th).