Sabai Dee!

Sabai Dee (Hello) friends and family! I am in Vientiane right now, about an hour by car and 2 hours by bus from Ban Phao, where I am teaching English during the week. It has been difficult to teach, with the children ranging from ages 4 to 13, but it is great! I thought I would also be working with Microfinance, but it turns out I am only able to observe.
Thank you for your kind words before leaving, I am already missing home; especially the food! As you know, I LOVE to eat, and though I am not a very picky eater, EVERYTHING here is spicy. I tried to bring some food from home, but ants got into all of it. Ants are everywhere, and I have learned to enjoy the crunch of a nice ant in my white sticky rice, which I eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I have eaten beef, fish, and pork, but also crickets, frog, and other crazy things. One thing I can say: everything is fresh. And I mean FRESH. In the next e-mail, when I attach pictures, I will attach a yummy fresh cow head! I have an older brother (and 6 other siblings, all adults) who sells fruit, a peach-like fruit that is red on the outside and white on the inside. I think it's called mangosteen. They sell the fruit at the night market, which is crazy! I have helped them sell things twice, and there are people coming a going, yelling and laughing, all in Lao, which I knew none of last week, but have started to pick up more and more each day. As far as drinks, they don't drink water with their meals. I have to remind myself to drink water, because no one else does. They drink BeerLao in Ban Phao every day, they also drink Lao Lao, or Whiskey Lao, and LOVE to do that as a pasttime. My brothers and sisters have tried to get me mao (drunk) multiple times, all in jest.
I was able to go to a holiday, bon fai, or Rocket Festival, which is kind of like the State Fair, and each village hosts this in May. I was able to get Khalem (ice cream) there, which is great, considering the weather. It varies from hot and dry, hot and sticky, hot and wet, or very hot. This festival is for the coming of rain for the rice fields; the tradition is that the bamboo rockets, which are shot quite high, will pierce the clouds to make them pour.
My family has electricity, and my paw (father) is on the haed village committee, like the town council, so we are a little richer than some of the others. For instance, we have a car and a motorcycle, and a TV that works about half of the time. There is a toilet that does not flush; you have to put water in it after use every time, and there is no toilet paper. Showers are always cold, and you clean yourself by pouring water on your body. For fun, we play baan te (soccer), sit around... or sleep. They take naps every day, and when they are not working they sit. I was able to see them work and I was able to go to the wat (temple), where I had to sit cross-legged for about an hour. It was beautiful. Everyone is Buddhist, but when I told them I was Christian they were okay with it, and we were able to (barely) talk about the differences. I showed them pictures, one of my family at Easter, and they had NO CLUE why that holiday existed. I have a Lao-English Dictionary and phrasebook, which helps immensely. Without it, I could not communicate.
At school, I get there at 7:30, start teaching at 8, go home for lunch at 11:30, and come back at 1 to teach until 3:30. The kids ar eloud, but some pick up the language very quickly, especially when they get cookies for their good work. I didn't realize, but during the weekends I have to teach people in Vientiane, and one girl who is handicapped. It is mentally and physically tiring! I was able to go out last night, and attend a wedding on Friday, which was fun. Hopefully I will be able to attach pictures today. If not, next week. Hope everything is great in the USA!
La Kohn (Leaving first, how they say goodbye if they are the ones leaving)!
Will