Life at Sai Nyai - Part 1

This is where I live and work - Sai Nyai Eco School. The picture above is what it looks like where you turn off the road that connects Pakxe and Salavan and into the school's driveway. We have an excellent location, really. Right off the main road, but also tucked back from the road enough to not see it, AND right near "Huay Ga puh", the name of the river you see the bridge for in the picture of the road.

There are SO many different things I'd like to tell you about my life here...but I think I'll start with the most basic part - my house.

I live in a traditional Lao house with three other girls - Carly (the other American volunteer), San, and Bin (two Lao staff who were students in the first class back in 2009 - well, actually, they aren't Lao. They are Laven, a small ethnic minority group in the south of Laos. They have a different language too, which I LOVE to hear them speak. I'm starting to learn it a little. It's really interesting because it's a non-written language!)

The frame is wood (actual tree trunks and branches, not 2x4s, which I love. It keeps a wonderful, welcoming, natural aura to the house) and it's about 5 feet off the ground. The sides of the house are mats woven out of strips of bamboo. The roof is thatched, made of bundles of dried grass.


Out front is a fabulous balcony, where we spend a lot of time working and relaxing. Inside is just one room. All four of our mattresses are on the floor next to each other, taking up all but a few feet of the left side of the room. We sleep under two large mosquito nets - one covers two beds. On the right side of the room carly and I share a small three shelf rack, and also keep a few things in our suitcases stacked in the corner. Bin and San only sleep at the school about 4 nights a week (they return to their village on the weekends), so they keep their clothes in small bags in the back of the room. And as you can see, my laptop is there on the floor on the right side of the pic - so yes, we do have electricity! It comes and goes occasionally, but we do have one outlet and one light in the middle of the ceiling.
I love living in this house! Not only is it a fun construction and interesting setting - I love sharing it with three awesome friends - and a ton of little geko lizards, giant moths, and other assorted bugs! Sometimes it can be pretty loud at night, everything chirping, croaking, and making all kinds of strange sounds as I fall into a peaceful sleep...(the picture here is me and San)

A Week in Vientiane: Rediscovering my Love for Laos

Last year, I lived in a village just 25 minutes out from the center of Vientiane, the capital and largest city in Laos (pop. around 600,000). This year, I live 60km to the northeast of Pakxe, the largest city in the south (pop. around 70,000); half-way to Salavan. Due to slow motorbikes and a small, winding highway, this equates to an hour and fifteen minute motorbike ride into the city.

I flew into Bangkok, Thailand and took a night train up to Vientiane from there (much cheaper than flying into Laos). There was a whole day lay-over, though, so I got to get out and go exploring the city (almost too much exploring, actually...had a dramatic hour run through the streets of Bangkok to just barely catch my train just three minutes before it left the station!). I enjoyed taking the subway around and seeing the hustle and bustle of Thailand's largest market and Bangkok's largest city park. It was, however, a very strange experience to see a culture so similar to Lao living in a city so much more "developed". Take these two pictures as an example: the one on the left is Bangkok - just a few of the city's many skyscrapers, not even the tallest ones. The right is the tallest building in Laos - a 14 story hotel in Vientiane. Sometimes, as I look around at life in the area I live now, I think back to my day in Bangkok in astonishment, and...sickness. The inequality between America and Laos is also something I think about often, but somehow the contrast seems so much starker when it's so close, geographically and culturally.

Ok, back to the trip - so I reached Vientiane and got to spend the week staying with my dear friend Crystal, who is a three year volunteer in Laos with MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) working with a young adult's peace-building group. (in the picture here with our friend Fansida).

It was amazing to me how quickly everything seemed...normal again! It was definitely as if I had never left - even when it came to language! Which was such a relief. I had the opportunity to practice Lao a little at the Asian Counseling and Referral Center in Seattle during my time home, but it was only once a week. However, I was able to really pick it right back up - everything from the vocabulary to mannerisms (the Lao style for "umm's" and "hmmm's", the way they laugh, etc) and cultural customs (i.e. bending in a slight crouch as you pass in front of someone sitting, etc).

And it all just brought such a huge smile to my heart. That's the only way I can describe what Laos does to me - it just makes my heart...smile! I was falling in love with the country and people all over again: the winding claustrophobia of the market stalls, piles of fruit sold out of wooden carts alongside the road, the temples, the coconut trees, the banana leaves, the loud music at parties, the spicy food, spotting monks walking down the street, the feeling of freedom riding around on a motorbike, the sun, and of course, the smiling, gracious, loving, friendly people. **sigh** It feels good to be back.

One of the best parts of the week was reuniting with my host siblings - 4 of 8 as seen in this pic - it was fabulous. Nina, the 7 year old almost doing the splits in the front of the pic, gave this huge cry of joy when she saw me: "UUAI LISA!!" (BIG SISTER LISA!), and literally ran and jumped into my arms, and I twirled her around in a glorious moment of love. Also, Kat, in the back, now has my old room and there are four pictures of the two of us hung on her wall right next to her bed! It was such a happy reunion. =)

And, finally, a big highlight of the week was going to Lao church and joining Crystal in singing in the youth choir!! something we used to do last year, too! AND this time, Kinley, a new friend (who is the same type of MCC volunteer I was last year!) was able to get a video of our performance!! I'll try to post it here:

hmmm. that didn't work...well. maybe another time.

Lisa in Laos - Part II

Yes, yes, it has happened - I have returned to Laos! We all knew it would happen eventually. I just couldn't stay away for long. It was love at first "sabaidee"... <3

Even though I considered the original "Lisa in Laos" blog a complete failure (I didn't post nearly as often as I would have liked, nor explained and shared even half of what I should have...), I have been encouraged by friends and family to try it again! So, I am determined to try this method of communication again. If anything, it will at least be a place where I can share a few photos.

I left for this second Lao adventure January 19th. (As evident from today's date...I still am not a good and faithful blogger. However, I would like to say that this time I have a better excuse, in that I cannot upload large documents - like photos - on the internet available at my work/home.) I plan on returning July 12th.

In the meantime...I'll be volunteering as an intern at Sai Nyai Eco School. I'll be filling in more details about the organization as I go along here, but for now, I'll just say the basics and direct you to our FABULOUS (ok, maybe just 'good') website. http://www.sustainablelaos.org/

(I highly recommend taking three minutes to watch the video on the homepage of the website. It does a great job of explaining the mission of the school, while also giving a moving picture of the place where I now live and work!)

Sai Nyai Eco School is a project under a tiny little Canadian NGO (non-governmental organization) called Sustainable Laos Education Initiatives. We offer a free 4 month education program in "rural sustainability" for young adults (ages 15-24) from the surrounding rural villages. Most of the students are ethnic minorities and come from very poor families. They study everything from organic vegetable farming to raising ducks, sewing to TOT (Training Of Trainers, for skills to share what they've learned with others in their villages). They also study English with this crazy, tall, white girl! When the four months are up, they are able to take out a micro-loan from the school to help start-up a new project/business with the information they've learned at the school.

Technically, my job is "English Teacher and Alumni Network Coordinator", but I also am working on marketing alumni products in Pakse, teaching computers, helping staff with planning, and increasing tourism at the school.

Phew. Enough information for now - time for some pictures!