First Village Visits

Sabaidii!
This week I traveled out to four villages in the Luang Prabang province to help with the Back to School Campaign project. Our goal was to ask about 20-30 students questions like what they want to be when they grow up and why they enjoy going to school, ask their parents how they feel about their kids going to school, and take pictures of all the students and parents. The pictures and responses would be used in the Back to School Campaign that the New York office is leading.  Since I cannot speak Lao fluently (aka at all), I was in charge of taking the pictures and my coworker, Bounlam, was in charge of interviewing.

After piling into the van with our driver Ai Mai, our notebooks and camera, we headed off.  Pencils of Promise (PoP) has built more than 40 schools in Laos, and they are all public schools.  PoP focuses on public schools so that if we ever leave Laos or any other country we are currently working in, the schools will still be used by the government and villages.  We will either add onto preexisting schools (ie build a preschool where there is already a primary school), build replacements for government schools that have gone into disrepair, or build brand new schools in villages that did not have a school previously. Here is the first school we visited - it is a preschool that Pencils of Promise built to complement the preexisting primary school (right next door). 

 

After introducing us and explaining why we were there, Bounlam started interviewing all the students. 

 

As Bounlam interviewed students, I was taking both informal and formal pictures as the students waited.

 

Some students were getting antsy!

At two of the villages, the schools were right on the main paved road, so we did not see too much of the villages. However, two of them, we had to go on dirt roads to get there, and they were right in the middle of the village.  There was a lot of poverty, and most of the adults were out at the farms, so we saw mostly children taking care of younger children, animals roaming freely, and houses made out of a combination of cement and thatch. Despite the poverty, at one of the villages we had to wait 2 hours because they were not informed we were coming - during our wait, we were offered fruit and bottled water and a place to sit. It was so thoughtful and generous, especially because it was so hot out!

  Here are 2 pictures of the villages.

The last village school we visited was actually the first school that PoP ever built.  It was in dedication to Adam Braun's (founder and CEO) grandmother and the students have seen many people in and out of their village since 2008 when the first school was built. When we showed up, there were no parents and no students in uniforms, but there were a few kids waiting at the school like they were expecting us.  We had awhile before people would come for the interviews, so Bounlam, Ai Mai, and I were just waiting around and pacing in front of the school. I kept stealing glances to the side of the school where the children were hiding but sneaking glances at me and giggling.

The kids hiding behind the side of the school

I sat on the edge of the stoop and started taking pictures of the scenery, my feet, the pink umbrella the kids were holding, selfies - basically anything but the children themselves because I could tell they were shy. 

 

Then the two littlest kids started going out in front of me where I was taking scenic pictures, so I snapped a few shots and turned the camera around to show them what I was doing. This got them excited, and they started running out in front of me for long enough for me to take a picture, then they would turn around and run back to me to see their work of art.

 

Soon more and more kids were coming to the school for the interviews, and while we waited we took pictures, mostly making funny pictures and doing action shots.

 

I took at least 50 pictures of the children before we even went into the classroom!  This was by far the most fun I had on the 2 day trip, and it was so great to see the kids warm up to me, starting with just a few, and ending up with 20+ students gathering around the camera to see what pictures were being captured.  I'm excited to keep visiting the villages and schools, and I'm hoping soon I'll know enough Lao to ask the kids some questions on my own!

Basi Ceremony

Yesterday I got home too late to make a post, so here it is!

Jackie having white strings tied around her wrists and people saying blessings as they tie them.

PoP family dinner after the ceremony

Baci is used to celebrate important events and occasions, like births and marriages and also entering the monkhood, departing, returning, beginning a new year, and welcoming or bidding. The ritual of the baci involves tying strings around a person’s wrist to preserve good luck, and has become a national custom.

Yesterday was my coworkers last day in Laos before heading back to the PoP New York office.  She has been here for 2 weeks and so we had a baci ceremony to wish her luck on her travels and work back home. They also incorporated me into this ceremony because I have just arrived, another reason to celebrate (the Lao celebrate a lot). Both Jackie and I had white strings tied around our wrists (you need to keep them on for at least 3 days), ate a lot of chicken, rice cakes, and spring rolls, and drank BeerLau (the local beer). It was a great welcome into the PoP Lao family.

Lao Lessons

Sabaaidii! Hello!

I have started taking Lao lessons as of 6:30 PM tonight, and my head is already spinning.  First of all, they have their own alphabet, so I'm learning their letters, the sounds each letter makes, the sounds combinations of letters make, and how to read and write.  I met with my tutor for an hour tonight - at the end she asked if she went too fast, and I just gave her a blank stare and managed a nod.

I learned the first seven consonants on the chart below, and then also a few vowels and phrases.

Afterwards, I went to Joma cafe with my coworker Jackie to study my letters. This is me with some coffee and my new Lao workbook!

Oh and another fun fact.  All American names are too hard for the Lao to say, so they give Ex Pats Lao names.  I was christened with my Lao name tonight.  It is pronounced Ma Lee (kinda like Molly) and it is a local flower in Lao that smells good.  My tutor Keo gave me a few to pick from, and Ma Lee was the only one I could pronounce so I went with that one.

Daily Photo Challenge

Hello! I was What'sApp chatting with my friend Laura today and she recommended that I post one picture a day showing one really cool/weird/cultural/random thing I saw that day.  I am up for the challenge! I'm hoping it will make me take more pictures, as I am not a good picture taker, and make me appreciate everything I am seeing while over here.

The one I am posting today is actually from last nights dinner.

Duck Blood Soup

This my friends is what is called Duck Blood Soup.  It is a cold soup that the broth is made from duck blood. The blood was already congealing when it was brought to us, and there is duck skin and other duck parts (and supposedly vegetables - since when my coworker Jackie and I asked if we could order vegetables, Lanoy, our wonderful host pointed to the soup).  I was only able to get one spoonful down. This is definitely the weirdest thing I've eaten so far and hardest for my stomach. I'm sure it is just the beginning as I've been told the Lao eat everything - except cat because cats are considered lucky.

First Day in Luang Prabang

Hello from Luang Prabang!

I arrived in Laos after roughly 20 hours of flying and 10 hours of layovers/customs/immigration lines. This was my first time traveling a long distance by myself, and I could not have asked for a smoother, more hassle-free trip!  I did get a little bored with no one to talk to, but I ate a lot of ChexMix and Sour Patch Kids, wrote in my new journal (thanks Kelly!), and read Harry Potter (a comfort book for me) to help pass the time.

Upon arrival in the Luang Prabang airport, which is super duper tiny, my new manager Ya and the Pencils of Promise driver met me at the airport entrance.  It was easy to match the three of us up since we were all wearing our PoP t-shirts!  The city is a lengthy 5 minute drive from the airport, so we quickly jumped in the car.  I am staying at the same guest house that another PoP employee (the Accounting Fellow Pavath) is staying at, and many PoP employees visiting from NY stay here as well. My room wasn't quite ready, so Pavath took me out for coffee at a popular western coffee house. They have croissants, panini's, ice cream, and of course, coffee.  The coffee is very much like Vietnam's, aka saturated with condensed milk so its more like a milkshake. Tasty but you get a crazy sugar high/low.

My bedroom was finally ready! Just a bed, with a separate rooms for the sink, toilet, and shower. Wish one of those rooms was a closet/dresser! 

Once my room was ready and I took a very needed shower, Pavath took me on a tour of Luang Prabang, showing me the PoP office and the downtown area.  I will definitely need help getting to the office again tomorrow, as there were way too many turns to remember, and there are no street signs and all the corners look the same, but it was helpful to get acquainted with the area.

By the time we had finished my tour it was getting close to dinner time and Pavath invited me to dinner with Bai (another PoP employee) and Bai's brother-in-law.  They were going to one of their favorite places which is known for their goat and duck.  I had never had goat before last night, and I have to say, it is extremely tough and chewy.  The duck was pretty good, but similar to how other meats are prepared here, the entire duck appears to be cut with a butcher knife into big chunks so there is bone and cartilage and fat with every piece.  I've never been a fan of eating meat on the bone because it reminds me too much of what I'm actually eating, so this will either a rude awakening, or I'll become a vegetarian.  In my conversations with Bai and his brother-in-law, I found out that they both value education so highly, that they take in about 8 kids in secondary school to live with them and their families so they can attend school in Luang Prabang.  I was so impressed since I found it hard to have one extra person living in our apartment for a few weeks in Somerville! Since they have both benefitted so much from education and now have strong jobs in Luang Prabang, they are dedicated to making sure that others from their villages have the same opportunities.  The people that make up Pencils of Promise are obviously a reason that it is so successful!

Overall, the night was very fun and I could not have asked for better hosts, welcoming me into their boys night for beer and goat/duck.  And I got to ride a motor bike for my first time (I was not driving - thank god).

This morning, I went for my first run along the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. It was so hot and humid that I think I have to reassess what I wear for future runs.  I was told I can go running as long as I cover up, so I wore capri length spandex and a white Haynes t-shirt, which I thought would be conservative enough.  Good idea until I started sweating and the Haynes t-shirt turned translucent.  Oops - darker shirts from now on.

Mekong River

After my run on the balcony. I have a door from my bedroom that leads out to this balcony. Its awesome!

Tomorrow starts my first day officially working for PoP in their office! Wish me luck!