Life with my Lao family has been great. They have been very welcoming and hospitable. I have a mother, Mai; father, Paa; grandma, Mai-Tuu; a sister- Tuktik and nephew/ brother Lay. They all speak a little English except Mai-Tuu. I have also met quite a few of the neighbors and am gradually figuring out who is related to whom. They are a pretty friendly and close community, and I have been invited to a number of house visits, graduation parties and snooker games when Ihave "free time". Many of them also enjoyed practicing their English with me.
I've also been a part of several bacis- a traditional ceremony for important life events. Two of the bacis were for me- a welcoming from MCC Laos and also my family. I also went to one for a national MCC worker whose husband had just recovered from an illness. I have found these to be quite affirming as those participating in a baci bless each other, symbolized by tying strings around each other's wrists.
I've enjoyed the food as well. Usually for breakfast I have coffee and eggs or last night's leftovers. Lunch is usually phu or something similar. Phu is a popular Southeast Asian dish and is a big bowl of noodle soup with meat, vegetables and other goodies in it. Supper includes sticky rice which you ball up and dip into various dishes ofmeat and vegetables and also into jaew, which is spicier, kind of like salsa. There is also usually some type of soup or stew. My family is quite pleased I like their food and often ask if it is saeb (delicious). I've had chances to try different foods like chicken feet and duck blood, but they aren't served on a regular basis. My host mom told me she likes dogs (we have two) too much to eat them!
During the week I've been biking to language class in the afternoon. It's been great and tiring to learn more about the Lao language and how to pronounce it. We've learned the alphabet and the numbers, and now we're working on reading and basic situations like ordering food. It's also been fun connecting with other foreigners in class. The commute is not quite as fun because it is often hot and dusty. My first bike did not hold up very well and has pedal problems. However, I am content with a new bike, and am getting used to the commute. The weather has remained hot with highs somewhere in the 90s so it's nice when the rain cools things off.
I've not done a great job of taking pictures, but hopefully I'll be able to put some up in the future.
Hope you all are enjoying work or school!
Justin
