hola!
hope everything is well with you :)
over here things are as usual --- everyday bringing something both expected and unexpected.... i've started to settle into a more regular pattern over here which includes 4 days of language classes a week (I know, what on earth was I thinking???) Laura (my roomie) and I take private Lao lessons at our place twice a week and i also take a french conversation class at the french cultural centre twice a week for two hours at a time... the students are way better than me so i'm learning a lot, but it is kind of brutal to always have a lesson to go to!! also, who knows how effective it is to learn two languages at once, but whateves, dont tell me about it....
tired of my inadequate wordrobe (a result of my poor planning) i went out and bought material for no less than 4 sins yesterday (a little much, i know) i also bought a belt to wear with mine -- which seems to be popluar among 20 something women --so i figure i may as well just go all the way -- i'll post some pictures of my amazing style (i also bought three shirts of unidentifiable material to match with my new skirts) once i get my sins made! (i know, so hard to wait)
i also had the pleasure of going to vientianes only late night spot this weekend -- its this huge hotel on the river called 'donechanh palace' -- its a tacky disaster and i'm sure is barely used given its exhorbitant prices...but its the only place you can go out after 11 here (yes you read that correctly)... theres a dance club (which i thought looked hilarious but no one else was feeling) and then there are private kareokee rooms where you have to get bottle service in order to use them -- we did that and it ended up costing like 70 usd!!! (insane because a bottle of booze is probably at most 20 usd!) alas, we did have the priviledge of partying it up
'high so' style until 2:30 -- who can put a price tag on that??
saturday i had my first motor bike lesson --- it was a little tricky but not so bad! i'm not fully decided about whether i'll get one -- but i figure learning at least gives me the option... giving me some pause is the motto i saw painted on the back of a truck this week 'death trance' ... that pretty much sums up the roads here, people are driving in a death trance -- stop paying attention for a minute and someone is definately driving towards you on the wrong side of the road....
saturday i also went to a temple near my house where i had a herbal sauna and an hour massage for about 4 dollars.... while i was there i couldnt help reflecting about how i couldnt live like this in most places in the world and how ridiculous that this is the life i'm leading as a volunteer... i can see why people stay here long after their initial contracts end (dont worry, i dont think i'm on that boat yet, massages or not!)
i'll save work talk for another posting but i'll share one funny thing: we are setting up public legal education campaigns and one of the companies bidding on a contract to produce a tv show for us submitted a letter addressed to the 'internal propaganda department'--- how hilarious is that??? ok, maybe you had to be there, but i thought it was hilarious... we're considered the propaganda department???
ah, laos!
sorry this wasnt such an entertaining post -- i'll try to have pictures and some funniness next time! next weekend is the boat racing festival (i think) so that should definately make for some good pictures, at a minimum!
phop kan mei!
(goodbye)
3 comments:
oh choms! i was in laos for the boat festival last year, and it was awesome! i first saw vientiane during that festival, and i didn't recognize parts of it when i returned a couple weeks later - there are market stalls all over down the river. i had no idea what was going on with the race, but it was fun!! have an awesome time, i will work on quelling the jealousy feelings...
ps. that comment's from me, jess!
hahaha -- cool that you were here at the same time --- its 100% different than the everyday here in sleepy vientiane!! :)
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