LP “Living In” and Loving LP

I love Luang Prabang, I really do. I just think it’s so beautiful and peaceful—a pleasant place that I could stroll or bicycle for hours. And, the one downside, how very touristy it felt last time due to the many familiar faces strolling the main street from my slow boat trip is no longer as noticeable now that all those faces have left town. Of course there are new shipments everyday, but whether I just don’t know them and am therefore more oblivious, or if it’s really hitting low season, I don’t know, but the town is really low-key these days and I’m just resting up and enjoying some downtime after a lot of moving around. I’m trying against my natural tendencies to just chill out and take in the scenery and stop and smell the bourgainviller.

I have been doing a bit of volunteer work, just a few hours a day. And although it’s really not very much, it’s nice to be back hanging out with some kids and feeling like I’m contributing in some small way. I splurged on a nicer guesthouse at the urging of my lovely mother—i.e. shelling out $5 a night for my own room with nice white sheets, wood floors, a clean bathroom of my own with hot shower—as opposed to one with ants that would possibly shave a good $1 off the price. I suppose it is worth it! And it was probably a good idea anyway since I’ve spent the week be quite blessedly anti-social and quite a bit of time reading and sleeping in my room or on the lovely balcony of my guesthouse drinking the free green tea. After a while (and Vang Vieng was the epitome of social just like being back at college), it can get a little tiring playing the “where you from, how long you here, where you been, etc?” story, and even with my self-proclaimed fear of boredom, I’ve actually really enjoyed time to myself to recuperate from my crazy tubing week.

I wake up everyday and head to Big Brother Mouse to practice English with older Laos student (around ages 17-22) from 9-11am, which has mainly entailed playing scrabble. It is sad to see how much my English, especially spelling, has suffered from my year abroad (or perhaps you’ve noticed the typos in my blog, forgive me please), but luckily I’m still an asset to the kids here who seem quite happy to have a native speaker with which to converse. They are incredibly polite and kind, and I’m not sure I can say the same for the younger kids—more 8-10 year olds, who are beyond rambunctious (or perhaps I have just forgotten what 10 year olds are like already?!). But I come back in the evenings, from 5-7pm to play with them and mainly draw pictures, which translated to me making replicas of action figure playing cards for each of the boys—FUN! Midweek, I went to a local paper store (they make the most beautiful handmade paper here, and that was easier to find than some basic large reel paper) and bought a large 2 meter by 1meter piece to make a big mural for the front wall of the new office. By Friday we were gluing leaves, flowers, and animals of all kinds on to the paper in a jungle theme—and of course fighting the common children’s urge to use a whole jar of glue to paste on one piece!

Other than that I’ve been enjoying the beauty of the town, the shuttered French-style houses, the brick-lined alley ways overflowing with bourgainviller and other bright flowers, the cafes lining the river, and the daily thunderstorms. On Monday, I went to the spectacular local waterfall, Kung Si with some Danish girls I had met in Vang Vieng. On Tuesday I checked out the other side of the river with a New Zealand couple who was also volunteering at BBM. So there, I haven’t been THAT anti-social. On Wednesday, I rented a bicycle and looped the town, also checking out a lovely weaving center down river from Luang Prabang on the banks of the Mekong. Thursday, I treated myself to a Lao cooking course which was a real, all-day treat. The group of nine of us plus our two instructors from the Three Elephants Café in town visited the market to see local ingredients. Then we went back to the kitchen and our work stations to prepare no less than six dishes—two which we had for lunch (Luang Prabang salad with a delicious egg yolk dressing, and fried noodles with chicken and vegetables—healthy I know, but so good!), and four others that we had for dinner (pork and egg casserole, fried eggplant and pork, chicken and eggplant curry, minced chicken and herb salad called “larp”) all with sticky rice no less. I had to roll myself home! Then today, Friday, I checked out the national museum which was the king’s old residence from the time that Luang Prabang was the capital of Laos. Then I also had the opportunity to join one of my BMM students, who himself goes back to him home Hmong (an ethnic group here) village to teach the local children English, as a guest lecturer of sorts! Not sure how much I helped, but I definitely think I was a surprise for the children. I also saw some local cultural dancing that night at the children's cultural center complete with a fashion show by the youngsters of the various traditional ethnic dress found throughout Laos. And of course I’ve also been scouring the markets and indulging in fresh fruit shakes, spring rolls, and noodle soups galore!

Next it’s time for another treat, a belated birthday present to myself: I’m going to Elephant Mahout Camp! A two day, one night trip to the local Elephant Camp and Conservation Center to ride and bath elephants..can’t do that at home!