I'm cold...wink wink

My days during the work week fluctuate fairly regularly; starts high, dips, and then climbs back up, thank goodness. I haven't really developed much of a work rhythm, but at least my project is picking up pace. Got some headway into writing up the protocol today, and that feels good.

Left the office plenty early to get to the 16:45 WHO Open House event, since I'd never gone out to the WHO office before on my own, particularly through rush hour traffic. Unfortunately, I thought 16:45 meant 5:45, which...for those of you as slow as me...it doesn't. So I was not at all early.

It was the housewarming, of sorts, for the new WHO office building, and the Lao Minister of Health and UN representative to Lao were there for the obligatory speeches (although not as painful as Japanese ones). The formalities ended with "tree plantation," which turned out not to be like the similar sounding CARE development activities of tea plantation or goat bank (that's gotta be my fav). Here are some photos of the event, including staff from WHO wearing their beautiful sinh.



Afterwards, Monica, Dave, and I hung out at Francette's place nearby (after she'd put Jacques to bed) and then later met up with Seng and friends for drinks at KopJaiDeu. Seng is a Lao national studying in Thailand for his MPH and doing his thesis on AI stuff.

I was getting kinda tired and folded my arms for support, when Seng said, "Are you cold?" Then, he informed me that in Thai, if a man says he's cold, that means he's cold. But if a woman says she's cold (now), then she's lookin' fer some action! What, what?? Then how do I say I'm cold?? Seng had to think hard about it, but said I could use the word that describes ice (nieng). Now that doesn't seem so fair, does it?

A Famous Novelist :-)

I got an iPod before I came to Laos to practice my Lao and listen to podcasts on the way to work, and one of those NPR podcasts, I was surprised to find, was about Laos. About a novelist writing about Laos. Yesterday, I met that man here in Vientiane.

Colin Cotterill is an interesting guy who never looks the same in any of his photos. He's an avid cartoonist and novelist, with his recent 7-book Dr. Siri series (which has shot him to fame) set in 1976-1978 about Laos' only coroner right after the change in government. One of the coolest things is that his royalties all go to grassroots projects in Laos:

1. COPE in Vientiane (see previous post)
2. Big Brother Mouse in Luang Prabang, which publishes Lao books for children in Laos
3. Colin's personal scholarship project, in Luang Namtha, which funds children from hilltribes to become teachers and return to their villages to teach in their own ethnic language

Laos doesn't have a reading culture which is hindered by a literacy rate of 69%. Many of the hilltribes, including ethnic groups with whom we will be working in our study, have only oral tradition without a written language. And they definitely don't speak Lao, much less read/write it.

So these projects are worthy causes...to bring Lao books to Lao children in their own Lao language (few even get a chance to own a book because there aren't enough to go around) and to train villagers to become teachers for their own people in their own language.

And to think I stumbled upon that reading and book signing accidently. I was actually looking for a lecture by a World Bank economist about the recent financial turmoil and its impacts on economic growth in Laos. Heard it was really interesting, but I don't mind the mis-cross-communication that landed me here. Now I have the first 4 Dr. Siri books, signed, and one with a cartoon of Colin riding a bike. How Lao.

More photos from the book signing at COPE.

COPE Laos

COPE (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise) is a joint venture between the Lao Ministry of Health and NGOs to support the development of prosthetic, orthotic and rehabilitation services for Lao people with disabilities. COPE is the only provider of these devices in Laos, which is significant considering that Laos is the most heavily bombed country per capita in the world (from the Vietnam War). Many bombs did not detonate, and today UXO (unexploded ordnance) litters the countryside and remains a threat to the lives and livelihoods of the Lao people.

Last night was COPE's 2nd annual fundraising concert at the National Rehabilitation Center. I must return during the day to check out the visitor center. The event was huge (by Vientiane standards) and brought out lots of falang, mainly Kiwis, Aussies, and Germans from what I could tell. With five bands, both Lao and falang, as well as DJ Pierre's dance mix to finish off the night, it was a pretty grooving time (Klusterfunk, falang band below).



They also brought on stage Laos' first-ever paralympic medalist to speak to the crowd. Simay Eay was Laos' only paralympian at the 2008 games, and he won bronze in the men's powerlifting event. Go team!

On an unrelated note, Laos doesn't have a DUI law. Good to have some PSA's (e.g., above) indicating that "Drink + Driving = Accident," but apparently, most of the DUI accidents are caused by falang, perhaps not so surprisingly.

My Companion, Laz

So the other day, Andy (my boss at US-CDC Lao) and I got out of a meeting really late, around 7pm, and it was already pitch dark. Getting my Frankenbike back from the 1000kip bike-sitting service (2000kip for motorbikes) near the U.S. Embassy is another story, but Andy was in a rush to get home. He cried, "I have a family to get home to!!! Do you have anyone to go home to? A cat, or a mouse?"

Well, no. No cat or mouse. But I did come home to find a plump new little friend whom I'll call Laz. I'll see if I can catch Leo and Lulu on film for you as well, but they're much scrawnier.

I don't see how Laz keeps himself so well-fed, seeing that the maid service is fanatical about keeping my room clean. I'll put up the "do not disturb" sign because I don't want them changing my towels and pillowcovers every day, but then they'll call before too long (even to my office!) to get in. They're just watching out for me, but it's still a bit excessive.

My Frankenbike is a Winner!

And now, introducing my fiery steed, the winner that has made my daily commute possible.

I've been peddling this little rental baby (~$1.75/day) since Day 2 of work, braving the Vientiane roads with its tuk-tuks, sawngthaews, imported cars, and motorbikes -- many sputtering lung-burning black exhaust. My smoker's cough scares everyone at the office and in restaurants, but I guess it's good to know that people here recognize that a hacking cough is not good to be around...pulling straws to link my influenza health seeking behavior study here!

The route is pretty treacherous, particularly around Patuxai (below), Vientiane's own Arc de Triomphe. The arch's plaza forms an island around which a huge rotary spins, and vehicles just don't know how to merge or change lanes properly! My winner and I've been cut off by more motorbikes and trucks than we'd like.

But no, not for much longer! I had my first motorbike lesson from Monica today. Cruised up and down the dirt path in front of the CARE office today in 1st gear. Tomorrow I'm graduating to 2nd gear, and by week's end, I'm upgrading from Frankenbike to motorbike, baby!

Do I Look Lao to You?

An Asian face with a Lao sinh, but with distinctly un-Lao manners. Confusion sets in.

I'm not sure what all goes through the heads of the Lao around me, but so far, people have guessed that I'm Lao, half-Lao, or Japanese. Recently when I traveled with the Kiwi and Germans down south, our boat driver observed that they had "American nose," and I have "Japanese nose."

Mostly, I just walk/bike around oblivious to any looks or non-looks, but my friend Dave, for one, wishes I would pipe up a bit more because apparently when he walks with me while I'm wearing a sinh, either I get double-takes or he gets dirty looks from the Lao -- since it's illegal for foreigners to have intimate relations with Lao nationals...not that we're doing anything other than walking down the street.

Gone South for the Weekend

Accentuating the work hard, play hard mantra, the day after last week's holiday ended, Monica (my co-worker at CARE) invited me down to Pakse (Champasak Province) in southern Laos with her for the weekend. Her tennis teacher was going down to Pakse, his hometown, for a work meeting, and invited her to tag along. Pakse is also the jumping off point for Laos' coffee-growing region, breathtaking waterfalls, and Laos' other UNESCO World Heritage site.

After work on Friday, Monica and I hopped the 10-hour overnight sleeper bus from Vientiane to Pakse (~$20 one-way). We were delighted in having upper beds, 9U and 10U...until we realized that 9U and 10U were the same bed. We had a good laugh and squeezed in. Yes, the weekend turned out to be a good bonding retreat. The ride was actually pretty smooth, although I had to stick my feet off the edge a bit to get comfortable.

(Left) Here's the inside of our bus. Along one side were single beds (200,000 kip) and the other side double beds (180,000 kip). The lower beds were even cheaper. That's only a difference of about $4, but that's a meal's worth, and neither of us minded the squeeze. (Right) That's Monica making our bed. I'm glad she thought to bring the clean sheets! Plus, they gave us treats: water, cookies, and fruit at night, and a moist towelette and breath mints in the morning. How thoughtful...!

(Left) This was my bus ticket from Pakse back to Vientiane. The number on the bottom was the license plate number of the bus we needed to look for. (Right) This buggy-looking bus was our ride back. Much glossier and bigger-looking than our first bus, but it actually was horribly uncomfortable. Being newer, it could also run faster, which meant bigger bumps. Not fun at all! Translation: Going into work this morning after that was killer!

Once we arrived Saturday morning around 6:30am, we took a tuk-tuk into town to find a guesthouse. On the way, we started chatting with a German girl, Nadine, who turned out to also work in Vientiane, with a German development organization. After grabbing a cuppa joe, we all found a place and cleaned up. I insisted on getting a place with hot water (I'll bathe in the freezing cold river in the mountains when it's time!), and we were all very grateful for that later in the day...

After a late breakfast, we booked a sawngthaew for the day to bring us 40km out east of Pakse to Bolaven Plateau -- land of coffee and waterfalls. The plateau spans several provinces and has several dramatic waterfalls set in verdant jungle. We visited Tat Luang (the tiered one), Tat Fan (the tall one), and Tat Champee (for swimming!), but didn't have time for Pa Suam which is surrounded by ethnic minority villages. These waterfalls were amazing. Highly recommended!!

On Sunday two of Nadine's friends caught up with us, and we booked a slow boat down the Mekong to Champasak town 46km south from Pakse. From that tiny, quiet town we took a tuk-tuk out to Vat Phou, Laos' second UNESCO World Heritage site, listed in 2001. This temple pre-dates Angkor Wat by about five centuries!

The Four Thousand Islands at the very southern part of the Mekong before it goes into Cambodia would also be worth a visit. And there you have it. I wish I could make some astute observation for you -- on the people, the cuisine, the history between northern and southern Laos -- but I can't, for now. For the time being, I am pure tourist, capturing these lovely images for you.

How ridiculous, but I am leisured out! This week it's time to get down to business. I have a number of key objectives to accomplish this week and next at work to move my projects along. Will post soon about those...ciao! xoxo

Luang Prabang (Just a Smidge)

As promised, here are a few highlights from my trip this past weekend to the northern Lao city of Luang Prabang, the ancient royal capital of Laos that was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1995. We didn't spend much time in the city, opting to speed off to Nong Kiaw Village the next day, knowing that we'll return again (such a hot destination and only a 40 minute plane ride from Vientiane; see pink arrow to the right).

We feared that the guesthouses and hotels would all be booked for the holiday week, but didn't have a problem locating vacancies. There's a wide range of accommodations in the city, but Vieng (the sweetheart that she is) found a guesthouse for us very close to the Night Market for $15/night.



Luang Prabang, farther north along the Mekong from Vientiane, is such a calm city, and the Night Market is so laidback and quiet. There's very little hassling or hard bargaining, even from the tuk-tuk drivers; all our drivers gave us fair fares from the start. The Night Market consisted of a long street of rows and rows of stalls selling handicrafts, like jewelry, lanterns, paintings, Tshirts, and textiles galore (silk scarves, sinh, bags, blankets...happy happy happy). But I resisted!! Besides, I want to first buy any wares (particularly the weaving) from the remote provinces/villages I'll visit for work and support those local economies.



Dinner of salted fish over charcoal, sticky rice, spicy bamboo, yummy green things, and fruit shakes. How many fruit shakes did we drink?? At 5000 kip (about 60 cents) each, it's hard to say.



Other sights -- on my last day out before returning to Vientiane, the afternoon spent was my call since Dave was staying on for a few more days to travel. So I wanted to hit the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Center. But it was closed on Mondays. Drat!

But there was a curious arrow sign to the side of the building leading to some wat. I hadn't done my reading, so didn't know what it was, but thought, hey why not? So we followed the signs, curving around hills and through people's backyards, scaring chickens, pressing on through a forest and seeing some dern cool dragonflies...until we reached a ticket booth.

We had reached the bottom of the Phu Si hill, which dominates Luang Prabang's skyline. The temples on this hill are newer, but the 24 meter high golden spike of That Chomsi atop the hill can be seen pushing through the green forest tops from most any place in the city. There were gilded Buddhas for each day of the week, a golden reclining Buddha, Buddha's footprint, and a small cave with a big, fat golden Buddha in the middle. The top of Phu Si presented great views of the city and Mekong River.

Next time in Luang Prabang, I would like to check out Wat Xieng Thong, Pak Ou caves, and Tat Kuang Si waterfalls. I can tell you more about them now from what I've read, but that would just dampen the joy of sharing them with you for real later!

End of Buddhist Lent

Today is Boun Ok Phansaa, the final and most important day of Buddhist Lent that also marks the end of rainy season. Several activities surrounding the neighborhood wat, or temple, mark the occasion.

Vieng let me accompany her and her brother to their neighborhood wat where the morning started at 7am with prayers and almsgiving. Families sat in rows across the wat floor with their offerings of money, sweets, sticky rice, candles/incense, and lotus/orchid flowers. We lit candles as the monks chanted in the ancient Buddhist language, and at the end, each worshipper poured water in prayer to offer as a symbolic cleansing drink.

Once prayers were finished, the monks wound their way through the rows of worshippers to collect alms. I was free to walk around and take photos once this started, but I had to be very careful not to step over or touch anyone or their offerings with my feet in passing, which ended up being quite a challenge! When the monks came around, I helped give each monk a sweet, making sure not to touch any part of the pot since women must not touch the monks. Once we exited the wat, Vieng used the water from the prayers for the wat's plants, and then we offered our respects at her ancestors' grave.

Several children (some homeless; others just neighborhood kids) were hanging about and grabbing the sweets and money straight from the graves, offering bins, and statues. True, the monks not only survive on alms, but also share them with the homeless. But these children were being rather disrespectful by grabbing the alms before worshippers had even left. Vieng scolded them, but they didn't seem put off.

Here's something interesting about monks: there are two types, those that make it their lives' work and those who do it only for a short time to earn respect and karmic points for their families and ancestors. The latter tend to be young men before marriage, after which they become impure and un-monkable. Many teenagers will do it during the summer holiday like a summer job, but they must do so out of their own will for the "earnings" to count.



In the evening, I went with a group from the U.S. Embassy to a wat to float gatong (candles/incense made of banana leaves in the shape of a lotus) down the Mekong River to cleanse ourselves of sin and bring good spirits. This nice monk had great English and was able to read my fortune for me after I had picked a numbered stick matching my fortune on a slip of paper. Number 11: good fortune. Bingo! He also tied this bracelet for me to wish me longetivity and good health.

So, according to my fortune, I'll have no injury while I'm here; everyone will be happy; my parents will be proud of me; and I will move from Laos eventually. OK, now that I'm surrounded by this karmic force field, let's move on to the debauchery of Boat Racing Festival for tomorrow!

One Week Work, One Weekend Play

After one week of work, I'm already taking vacation. Now how about that!

This week is local holiday in Vientiane with the end of Buddhist Lent on Tuesday and Boat Racing Festival on Wednesday.

And Monday, well, I've still got to celebrate Christopher Columbus "finding" the land to which my parents immigrated more than 500 years later and that fostered the destiny to send me to Laos on its behalf, right???

So, I celebrated by going to Luang Prabang, former royal capital and one of Laos' two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and nearby Nong Kiaw Village (pictured above). I must credit Dave for the idea of visiting these spots. He can't work yet due to visa issues, so why not travel in the meantime? And what better way for two freshly minted falang to explore Laos than to do so together blithely?

For your sake and mine, I will split up this blog entry. Stay tuned for the details!

First Days in the Office

I've been waking up consistently between 5:00am and 6:30am since arriving in Laos. I'm not complaining though since I'm usually a late riser, and this lengthens my days considerably.

This week I've been getting oriented with the projects born of the partnership between US-CDC and CARE Lao. On Monday I received a CARE security brief and overviews of CARE Lao's work and specifically, the avian influenza portfolio. And on Tuesday I went over to the U.S. Embassy to meet folks and learn about the services available to me.

All of the CARE Lao provincial coordinators and staff are in Vientiane for program meetings this week, so it's the perfect opportunity to meet the field staff and learn about CARE Lao's projects and strategic programming. Andy has in effect instructed CARE to "use and abuse" me, so I may be getting into other data collection projects for which they need more manpower. I hope they take Andy's note to the superlative (figuratively, of course)!

An Aussie, a Kiwi, and an American...

It's Sunday evening, the day before my first day of work at CARE, and I've got an Aussie and a Kiwi testing the limits of my drink. Welcome to Laos!

To think, it all started with a day out with Dave (the American I met at the airport) and Tony (the guy Dave's crashing with). We had planned to explore the city and go down to the Mekong to watch boat practices for the upcoming festival.

We ended up having early refreshments at Joma bakery cafe and then tuk-tuking to the Morning Market (outdoor stalls) and Talat Sao Mall (shiny, indoors with A/C). The bargaining here isn't as intense as in other countries, which is great for me since I'm horrible at it. I got two plain cotton/silk sinh, the traditional Lao skirt, to get by for the week since I didn't bring enough clothes. These two will be my rompers, and later I'll get nicer ones for work and official meetings.

When electronics, clothing, and jewelry couldn't quite satiate our hunger, we walked down to the Mekong Riverside Restaurant patio for a lunch of larb (minced meat w/ stuff), stir-fried morning glory, steamed fish, and sticky rice. Afterwards, while Tony tended to some business, Dave and I got 1-hour full body traditional Lao massages (bendy and stretchy; niiice after the long travel) for about $5.



We then met up with two blokes, Steve and Pat, who work at the Vientiane International School with Tony, at Mekong Deck for Sunday afternoon Beerlao.

Things went downhill from there.

When Dave and Tony left for a dinner engagement, Steve and Pat "took care of me" at several more expat hangouts -- Bor Pen Nyang, Khop Chai Deu, Jazzy Brick -- looking for port and teaching me all sorts of questionable Aussie/Kiwi humor. Pat says my nickname is now whatever "cat" is in Vietnamese. I don't remember anymore how we came to that, but I think I'm part of the expat family now.

Arrived in Laos

Vieng greeted me with the paperwork ready to get my visa when I arrived at the airport in Vientiane. While I waited for her to process through the line (yeah, she’s awesome), I started chatting with another American who had come in on my flight from Bangkok. Turns out he’s an MD/MPH student here for 3.5 months working on pan flu stuff for WHO. Our paths will surely cross; the Laos API community is tiny!! So we exchanged emails; got new friends already before even crossing the border! Niiiice.

The driver took us to the U.S. Embassy to pick up my boss, Andy, who is absolutely terrific. He’s always going 100 mph with his words, thoughts, schedules, phone calls. Immediately in the car, he was setting expectations for my three months, what we could hope to accomplish, and what I could learn. His emphasis is to provide me the best learning experience possible -- learning how to get things done in the “Lao reality.” He’s going to be an awesome mentor.

We took a quick spin along the Mekong to see the restaurants, bars, and sandbags (remaining from the flood back in August) lining the riverbank before checking in to my apartment. And then Vieng brought me to PVO, a Vietnamese food place near the Mekong, for lunch. The noodle salad was yummy, but only after I’d started eating did I realize that I might be better off avoiding the raw stuff. Sure enough my stomach was rumbling later on, but ginger tea helped. I’m also told that drinking a can of Coke (not Pepsi) with questionable foods is good to kill any nasties…

I was doing pretty good for the day till that warm shower around 5pm put me to sleep on the dining table. But I had a beer obligation with Monica, and she picked me up on her motorbike (thank goodness I brought a helmet from the U.S. after all) to go to Sticky Fingers, a surprising expat haven close to the Mekong. I tried my first BeerLao (a nice light beer) with ice, and Monica and coworker introduced me to the Tom Yum Martini. We had a good time chatting, with me interjecting lots of yawns with accurate timing.

That’s it for me. It’s 10pm, and I’m zonked. Much more to come; over and out.