Lao PDR Sabaidee!

  Monday, October 22   ...Well, dear folks, the teaching schedule went on pause while my partner Sharon and I got settled in new apartments and went on trips toVang Vieng, north east by train, and Luang Prabang, two hours northeast by train. The photo on the left is at Vientiane Station;  Sharon is in front of our train to Vang Vieng. It was a full train.  It's tricky buying train tickets, here.  The Lao-China railway  only sells 3 days before your desired travel date. However, there are at least two reputable online services that you can use to tentatively "reserve" your seats; one is laostrain.com.  Sharon and I didn't think it was a big deal over the holiday (WRONG!) and we were able to get tickets easily to Vang Vieng, and tickets to Luang Prabang were tight going out, but totally sold out on the return before the 3 day travel window.  We ended up taking a plane  so we could get back in time to teach.  The photo to the left is t...

  I was 9 1/2 years old when I first arrived in Vientiane at Wattay Airport with my family. I remember landing there and being picked up by Bill Thomas and his family, long-time Foreign Service friends who at that time we had already shared a couple posts with. My dad would be working in the ICC slot * within the Political Section of the US Embassy Vientiane for the next nearly 3 years . Now 60 years later, I am not only returning for the first time since I left at the age of 12 1/2, but coming to stay for a while. I’ve been blown away by the what’s the same, what has changed and what memory is returning to me from the echoes of childhood. What’s the same is the gentle, understated Lao spirit of humility, kindness and service. I remember this from my teachers when I was young, and the spirit on the street responding to a young “falang” who went out by herself in samlors and on her bike to Le Lycée Français, the school I attended during most of our stay in Laos. Today, I feel it eve...

  Well, hello dear ones! It's been two weeks since the last entry ... two weeks with teaching at the American Center, classes for high school students and general public, as well as two workshops: one on leadership and one for pre-teachers. My partner Sharon and I have been working hard, sharing the burden of grabbing and molding content from our respective files and sources for "just in time" delivery.  The students are so appreciative and delightful;  the level of English is surprisingly high.  For my MLC teacher buds, many of them are at AI, with a few at INT and maybe a couple at  Beginner levels.              I moved out of the hotel last Monday and have just completed one week living on the 9th floor of a high rise next door to two modern malls and the more local morning market, Talat Sao. I thought I'd be crashing with Sharon, but we both felt having our own place would be good for each of us to settle in and find ...