Day 12, Thursday - Vientiane

We got to go back into the school this morning to finish our lessons. We were a little surprised when we arrived because they told us that the children prepared an hour long program for us to conclude the day. We adjusted quickly though, a skill we've had to utilize while being here, and did some review and a lesson on family. It was nice to see that the children remembered the majority of the words from Monday. We ended our portion by showing them examples of American songs and dances both performed by celebrities and the students in Portville as a transition to their performance. The section really worked well with our ideal of cultural exchange. The children's pieces were much more than we expected. They took a break to change into costumes and put on their make-up and then did two dances and a song for us. They even had made us a back-drop with different paper decorations that said "welcome" in English. The first dance was more traditional with a lot of focus on hand movements and done mainly by grade five. The song came next done by a grade five girl. Her performance included some dancing as well. She even had some grade four back up dancers. The final dance was mostly grade four and was a little more modern. After their program we exchanged gifts. We donated to the school one of the netbooks we brought, pens, pencils, colored pencils, chalk, books, baseballs, footballs and some basketballs that Maurice gave to us. We also left each child with a letter from a Portville student to keep for themselves and some more lollipops. We left the projector with Khamphath so that he could loan it to different schools within the district to use. The principal of the school presented us with two woven paper swan decorations.

Afterwards, Khamphath brought us to lunch for a Lao buffet. There was a variety of food including an interesting dessert dish. Dr. Andrianoff described it as "jello cereal". It was a sweetened milk with jello, rice, corn and something that Khamphath told us was a jungle fruit.

Day 11, Wednesday - Vientiane

Today was spent going on a few more visits to different schools. We first got to meet Houmphanh Keo-Ounkham who is the coordinator for the Department of Private Education in the Ministry of Education. Houmphanh has a project that he wants to share with us but before really introducing us to it, he gave us some background on his life. We all found his story very inspiring. Houmphanh was born to a family of farmers that did not earn enough money to financially support an education for him. Because of this, he left to become a Buddhist monk where he could study in their temple. As a monk, Houmphanh learned the English language. He went on to become a banker but was not satisfied because for him money should not be a priority. He believes that one should always give to receive and because of this, the many people that have only ever received are in debt. Houmphanh's outlook on life was impressive enough but it didn't end there. He quit being a banker and applied for the job in the Ministry. Being hired was a proud moment for him because he knew he owed it to his English skills rather than any family connections that others may have had. Since Houmphanh is able to personally testify to the importance of learning English and helping others has always been the most important thing to him, he has made it his mission to open up a night school that will teach primary students English and computer skills. He also wants to include lessons for older students that will focus on hotel and tourism communication skills. He wants to open the school this summer in July and teach there with two other people. Houmphanh has a lot of ambition but the project has taken a lot of sacrifice. He told us he doesn't own a car because he saves all of his funds to put into his school. In fact, the logo he designed features a candle to represent how he feels that he is like a candle because he is willing to burn himself out to provide light for others. He was given a grant for a five year contract but there are still a lot of expenses that he needs help with. He took us to see the building he is renting to use for classrooms. You could see the potential but at its current state there was a lot of work to be done. The few desks that he had needed repairs and none of the classrooms had windows for ventilation. It was at this point that we all seemed to agree this was something to look into supporting. There's the definitely opportunity for us to help in several ways and we all feel positively about it so we plan to talk to Houmphanh again.
Our next visits were to different primary schools. Khamphath took us to see another public primary school that had bilingual classrooms. We weren't able to meet any students though because they are currently in their finals week. After, we went to see the private school that his children attend. It had both a primary and secondary section but only the secondary students were in class today. At the time we were there they were on break and we got to watch them play in the schoolyard. They had a game of basketball going and we also were able to see them playing with a tekraw ball and practicing some martial arts. Even by looking just at the recess areas the difference between a private and a public school was clear. The facilities were much nicer in the private school and from what we've gathered their English classes are at a higher quality. On our way out we passed the "Room for Reading" as we understood it was a building that functioned as an English library, a luxury the other schools certainly didn't have.

Day 10, Tuesday - Vientiane

Today we got to see Candlelight School which focuses on teaching English, Business and Community Health skills to people here in Laos and teaching Lao to visiting foreigners. We learned about their different programs and got some suggestions for more ways to get involved here. They offered to hold a class for us if we come again to learn some phrases. Their program seemed really efficient and beneficial.
On our way back from going there, we stopped at Mulberries, a fairtrade store that helps to sell the work of refugees. There were many different beautiful silk pieces and Hmong designs. There were also animal figures carved out of water buffalo tusk that were really intricate and unique.
The rest of the day was spent starting to prepare our lesson plans for when we go back to the school on Thursday. It was a good thing we were able to stay inside too because the sky really opened up this afternoon. It never seems to rain for long at one time but when it rains, it pours. The ceiling in the middle of our hotel is open so that when there is rain it falls into the koi pond. At first we thought it was leaking but when we realized what was happening it was neat to watch it in full force.

Day 9, Monday - Vientiane

Everything ended up working out really well today when we went to teach at NongBoauThongTai. We started the morning by teaching the children greetings, including telling their age. We were surprised to find they already knew how to say numbers in English. We spent the rest of the morning focusing on the seasons. We taught them about how our year is divided into four seasons, what the weather is like in each, the clothing you normally where for the weather and what kind of things you can do such as playing sports and building snowmen. The children went outside with us to learn what a baseball and a football look like and how to throw them. Some of the boys had quite an arm on them and the girls did a great job of all joining together to play catch. The Director of Primary Education, Mrs. KhamVanh Razakhan came to watch and seemed really pleased to see the kids playing. She said that they had never had the equipment before. After the lunch break we started back up by teaching colors. Colors seemed to be a lesson that they all really grasped which was great to see. Following that we taught them about food and animals. We had a lot of fun playing with the children by calling out animal names and having them make the sound of the animal or vice versa. The favorite in the classroom seemed to be meow. Our last topic was a description of some of our main holidays: New Years, Christmas, Thanksgiving and Halloween. The class joined us in learning to sing jingle bells when we discussed Christmas. We noticed that it seemed like one boy almost new the song already which was interesting. The day ended by talking about Halloween and we practiced trick-or-treating. We acted as people in houses and the children had to ask for dum-dum lollipops by saying trick-or-treat. At first they were shy but when they realized they got a piece of candy each time they said the phrase they quickly got excited and "trick-or-treated' repeatedly. Overall the day felt really successful. It was rewarding to see all of the participation that they children gave us. In their drawing activities especially, they were really detailed and seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Day 8, Sunday – Vientiane

Our trip has officially completed its first week and moved to its second as of today. It’s an exciting milestone because this second week is really when we start doing the things we’ve talked about within the school. Accordingly so, today has mainly been spent doing preparation work for our lessons that we’re going to teach tomorrow. We have a powerpoint that we plan to show to address American culture and to let the children know what their friends in Portville have been interested in telling them and finding out about them. We also have some activities planned and we really hope that they make the lessons easier to understand and enjoyable. A main concern of ours though is trying to predict the amount of time each concept we’re working on will take to teach. It’s difficult to gauge because we’re not sure how the children’s comprehension will be. This really is a learning experience for us just as much as it is for our students, if not more. Wish us luck!

Day 7, Saturday – Vang Vieng

This morning we took a trip away from the city into the country to see the village of Vang Vieng. It has actually become quite the tourist spot in recent years with areas for tubing, kayaking, zip-lining and more but the drive there led us through some really eye opening areas. The whole adventure started this morning when our tour guide, Yealabanh picked us up with his driver from our hotel. Yealabanh was a fascinating person and awed us with his English. It seemed he had a new fact for us every other minute, whether it be about the city, the country, the culture or his personal life. The first stop he took us to was a Hmong market. He led us through a pointed out some things that seemed peculiar to us like eels that jumped out of their bowls and walked across the ground, frogs that had been caught in the fields to eat, and different roots used for medicinal treatments. Even the items we were used to such as fish and other meats were a little frightening because of the amount of flies and dirt. Next we stopped at a mountainous spot that had Buddha statues carved into the rocks. We got to see a Cambodian version and a Lao version. After, we went to a Fish market. After a very hot bumpy car ride, it was not an ideal place to be. The smell itself was not the least bit appetizing but the sights were even more shocking. There were fish hanging in bundles that had been dried, bones and eyes still intact and water buffalo skins formed into something similar to jerky. Yealabanh said it tasted good but we didn’t have a try. Our trip at the market ended early though when Jessie’s fear of snakes prevented the group from traveling through an aisle. There was quite a large lizard, over 5 kilos about four feet long tied against a wall. From afar (though not far enough in Jessie’s opinion), the creature resembled one of those awful reptiles because it had similar skin. Yealabanh was very understanding though and even bought Jessie a chocolate soy milk drink to make it okay. The last stop was to Thanh Chang, a cave in Vang Vieng. The hike to the opening was literally breathtaking, but the sights once inside were figuratively so, making it worthwhile. The cave had pathways through it opening up to views of the countryside and within was just as beautiful, comprised of intricate limestone structures. One of the most interesting parts of the trip though was being able to view the lifestyle outside of the city. There were homes that were nothing more than bamboo and many children could be seen running around unclothed. We were also surprised at the cows that grazed along the road. They were not alarmed by the speeding cars and motorbikes and frequently crossed into the road. Those cows were quite brave, the driving here is chaotic to say the least. At points we had to clench our teeth. It seems they believe there is always room for one more lane and to pass through traffic.

Day 6, Friday – Vientiane

Rainy season has arrived! Actually, we’ve been told it’s been pretty rainy the last few weeks but today was the first that we got hit by it. We’re actually hoping that it stays because it’s a little cooler with the rain. This morning we went to visit National University of Laos. Maurice gave us a quick tour of the campus and let us greet a few classes of older English majors. Shiyu was envious of a grading distribution that we spotted where an 80 was the cut off for an A. In the afternoon we went to see the elementary school that we’ll be working with, NongBouaThongTai Primary School. During our visit Maurice and Mr. Khamphath sat in with us as we discussed our opportunities with the Director of Primary Education and the principal of the school. Our plan has settled on being to go into the school on Monday and Thursday from 8:30 – 4 with a lunch break from 11:30 – 1:30. We’ll be working with the fourth grade. This wasn’t our initial plan when we got here, but something a few people have told us since arriving is that to survive in the culture here, you must be patient and flexible. After making our arrangements we got to see a few of the rooms in the school and we met some of the students. We were surprised to see a few of them playing English educational games on their computers. It will be interesting to see what they’ve been able to learn from their teachers and the computer games. Overall we were impressed with what we saw at both the University and the primary school.

Important notice - Saturday MOrning

We're currently having difficulties posting. We've lost internet service in our hotel and are not sure when it will return. We're posting this message from a bakery down the street but are having computer problems and can not post a full entry about the details of yesterday. We'll plan to update the blog as soon as we find an efficeint way. Thanks for waiting!

Day 5, Thursday - Vientiane

This morning we ate breakfast in our hotel again but opted for the “French breakfast” which consisted of fruit, bread and an optional omelet. After, we went sightseeing. It was challenging at first due to the sun. The heat seemed extra strong this morning and it was so bright that it was difficult to look up at the monuments for too long. Nevertheless, we bought some drinks and Shiyu purchased a hat from a vendor so we could enjoy the experience. The first place we went was to the Pha That Laung, or the sacred temple. Upon arriving, we were approached by a woman selling birds in cages. The custom is to buy the birds so that you can set them free in front of the temple in order to bring good luck. Jessie bought a pair in hopes that fortune would follow. Pha That Laung is a cultural symbol of Laos. It is a gold temple surrounded by a corridor that contained different Buddhist artifacts. Walking up to the temple from the corridor, you could see several different Buddha statues where offerings were being placed. To both the North and the South were other temples, called wats. We ventured into the Wat That Luang Tai, the temple to the south, and were able to observe the beautiful architecture. Upon entering, we removed our shoes and instantly our sight was drawn upward to the paintings on the ceiling. The artwork covered the entire space and told the story of the Buddha. Shiyu commented that the appearance of everything made it seem newly constructed. Another thing we found interesting while walking around were the animals that roamed through the grounds. We spotted some chickens and stray kittens. We also heard some very loud frogs but could not see them. Once we were done at the Pha That Luang, we went to the Patuxia. The Patuxia is reminiscent of the arches in France but is constructed with four rather than two. It is often referred to as “the vertical runway” because its funding came from a donation that was intended to be used for the airport. We were able to walk up to the highest level of Patuxia which gave us an incredible view of the city. As you traveled up, there were rooms filled with vendors. Our last stop was to the Wat Si Muang which is one of the most widely used temples. As we went through the temple, we passed many people making offerings to different Buddha statues. The whole place seemed filled with flowers, fruit and incense. We also were able to watch women practicing a form of fortune telling in Wat Si Muang. It was interesting because in western culture we do not accept fortune telling as a proper practice within the confines of religion and alms giving. In a way though, it made sense here because it is perceived that an image of Buddha found in the temple has the ability to grant wishes.

Day 4, Wednesday - Vientiane

This morning, we ate breakfast in our hotel, the Family Hotel’s restaurant. They served us rice soup which tasted fine, but was an unfamiliar choice for breakfast. Afterwards, we went to the “Morning Market” which was comprised of winding alleys full of vendors selling numerous things including appliances, clothing, art, souveniours and food. Shiyu and Dr. Andrianoff spotted bottles of alcohol with snakes inside them, a sight that was less than comforting to Jessie. She purchased a set of key chains for 40000 kip. The price sounds expensive but converts to $5 in US money. Dr. Andrianoff bought rambutan fruit, a favorite of his, and had Jessie and Shiyu try some. Its appearance is exotic but its flavor is subtle. Shiyu noted that the market was similar to those in China. On our trip to and from the market we noticed that a lot of travel throughout the city is done by tuk tuk. We were consistently offered rides but chose to walk.
Following our return to the hotel from the market, we went across the street to another hotel’s restaurant to meet Maurice Babcock for lunch. Maurice coordinates the ELIC program in Laos and teaches as a professor. He has aided us in setting up our plans to teach in the primary schools next week. Maurice has lived in Laos for nearly 12 years so he was able to share some stories with us and communicate with the restaurant staff. This far, everywhere we have gone during our trip has been very accommodating to people who speak English. However, conversations have been kept fairly short and formal due to the language barrier. It seems that many of the people we’ve interacted with have been eager to speak with us in English but it was nice to have Maurice speak to them in their native language. The meal itself was good. We were amused because Maurice was the only one that opted for a western dish, a cheeseburger. The rest of us ordered different Asian foods. Jessie’s eye was caught by the tuna spaghetti but she chose to order a different noodle dish instead.
After lunch, we went to meet with Mr. Khamphath Pheltlasy, Director of International Cooperation Division within the Ministry of Education. Mr. Khamphath impressed us with his English and invited us to stay with his Grandmother the next time we visited. We discussed with him potential plans for our stay here and set up a trip to the primary schools on Friday. After seeing the two schools that he has selected for us to teach in, we will decide if we want to go into both or only one. We learned that the fifth graders are currently preparing for their final exams so it seems that we will be teaching either in the second or third grade. Our plan is to provide the classes with information about our lifestyle in New York and we hope that visiting the schools will allow us to figure out more specifically how our lessons should be structured. We’re also hopeful that we may get to sit in on a university class this week.
We ended the night by eating dinner at KuaLao Restaurant which served traditional dishes. The meal was served family style, meaning that each food is placed in the center of the table to be shared. It seemed that each dish had a similar flavoring but it was difficult to identify. Jessie explained it as being similar to black licorice because it is a taste that does not match any of the main four: sweet, spicy, salty and sour. The flavor is closest to sweet but the dishes themselves are certainly spicy. During dinner a band of older men played traditional music while a dance duet performed. The songs were entertaining and Shiyu recognized one tune as being Chinese. It was easy to see that the movement of hands was crucial to the dance style.
Before going to the restaurant we had taken a walk to the Mekhong River. There was a lot of construction being done near the waterfront so we had to walk through sand past bulldozers. Across the river was a view of Thailand. Originally, we had planned to cross the border between Thailand and Laos by train to get to Vientiane but complications within Bangkok prevented us.

Day 3, Tuesday - Kuala Lumpur to Vientiane

Tuesday morning, which would have been Monday night in New York, we had a buffet style breakfast in the Concorde Inn's restaurant. The breakfast was pleasantly surprising because it offered vast choices of American and Malaysian foods. It was shocking to have fried noodles for breakfast, but they tasted great and everyone agreed that the juices were superb. It seemed that the apple juice tasted different than in New York, and Jessie deemed it superior.
After eating breakfast, we took a shuttle to KLIA so that we could catch a bus to the city of Kuala Lumpur. We got off at KL central bus station and purchased sweet and sour plum candy. Dr. Andrianoff and Shiyu suggested it to Jessie because she likes sour foods. Unfortunately, the batch was not as sour as they had had in the past. After walking around the station, we went back to KLIA by bus and then took the shuttle back to the hotel to pack. After doing so, we used the shuttle one last time to return to KLIA in order to check in for our flight to Wattay, Vientiane airport. Our plane ended up opening boarding late but went as scheduled afterward. It lasted 2.5 hours and our arrival time in Vientiane was 5:25 pm. It was interesting because that time was only 1 hour later than it was at the time of take off due to the time zones since Laos is only 11 hours ahead of New York, making it one behind Malaysia.
Following our arrival at the airport, we applied for visas and were met by a hired driver that took us to the Family Hotel. From there, we walked to Joma, a western food style cafe to eat dinner. Shiyu ordered salmon and cream cheese on a bagel and a mint lemon freeze drink; both were less than delicious. However, Jessie's BLT was fantastic. Dr. Andrianoff had a Greek salad which was different because it barely had any lettuce. Once dinner was finished, we attempted to begin preparing lessons and writing the blog (this is why entries are not posted on their actual day of occurrence) but the hotel internet connection had complications so we retired to bed in our rooms.
Something notable about not only the rooms in the Family Hotel in Vientiane but also in the Concorde Inn in Kuala Lumpur is that each was equipped with electricity that could be accessed only by inserting the room's key card into a slot. We've noticed the promotion of energy conservation in each city. There were also wall murals in Vientiane supporting wildlife conservation.

Day 2, Monday - Dubai to Kuala Lumpur

Our arrival in Dubai for the layover was at 8:00 am. Because of the time difference, it would’ve still been Sunday in New York. The layover was so short that we basically went straight to the gate after landing to prepare for the next flight.
Our plane ride to Kuala Lumpur lasted seven hours. Even though the flight was shorter, Shiyu and Jessie agreed that the second flight left them feeling more depleted during it. Once we landed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and retrieved our luggage it was after 9:30 pm. The time difference is 12 hours ahead of New York. The stamp in our passport for visiting Malaysia was the first in Jessie’s new passport which was exciting. After arriving, we went to the hotel associated with KLIA, the Concorde Inn, by a shuttle that was provided. The hotel had a tranquil beautiful appearance. Each hallway of rooms was split into terminals so that they were not connected to the others. The walk between each was done on sidewalks which were placed conveniently throughout a garden type décor. The night ended by ordering room service which appealed to us because full meals of varying cultures were offered at low prices. Jessie and Dr. Andrianoff both ordered juices as well that were not from traditional fruits; they purchased star fruit juice and pink guava juice respectively.

Day 1, Sunday - NYC to Dubai

Our flight left from Kennedy Airport in New York City at 11:30 am. We were in the air for 12 hours until landing in Dubai for a one hour lay over. The airline we used was Emirates. Thankfully, the plane had television screens for each seat because it was a very long flight. Each person was able to select from watching live information and video about the flight, accessing communication utilities and viewing or listening to different forms of entertainment. Watching the flight information was fascinating because it tracked the route that the plane followed and provided a live feed from cameras attached to the outside of the plane. The entertainment included a vast amount of movies, television episodes and radio channels. Shiyu managed to watch close to ten films; Jessie watched several episodes from 5 different T.V shows. Dr. Andrianoff watched a few videos and listened to some music as well. The airline provided three meals, each had a selection of western foods and Arabic foods. The dishes were pleasantly uniquely flavored.