The New York Times
By Thomas Fuller
September 17, 2009
VIENTIANE, Laos — Hammer-and-sickle flags flutter above government offices in downtown Vientiane, and the entrance to the national museum is decorated with massive sculptures glorifying the workers’ revolutionary struggle.
Officially, this sparsely populated country is still communist — and has been since 1975. But these days, that really depends on whom you ask.
See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/world/asia/18laos.html for full story.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Cooking from the Heart
A wonderful audio excerpt from National Public Radio's The Splendid Table (June 11, 2009) about Hmong traditional cuisine with the authors of Cooking from the Heart: the Hmong Kitchen in America, Sami Scripter and Sheng Yang. Includes interesting history about the Hmong people during the Vietnam War.
This is the first cookbook to clearly set out the culinary traditions of the Hmong people as well as the significance such traditions hold, which have always been passed on through the oral tradition.
Recipes
This is the first cookbook to clearly set out the culinary traditions of the Hmong people as well as the significance such traditions hold, which have always been passed on through the oral tradition.
Recipes
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The White House - Memorandum regarding Laos
The White House - Press Office - Memorandums from the President regarding Cambodia and Laos:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
__________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release June 12, 2009
June 12, 2009
Presidential Determination
No. 2009-21
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE
SUBJECT: Presidential Determination for The Lao People's Democratic Republic Under Section 2(b)(2) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as amended
Pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 2(b)(C) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as amended (12 U.S.C. 635(b)(2)(C)), I hereby determine that The Lao People's Democratic Republic has ceased to be a Marxist-Leninist country within the definition of such term in section 2(b)(2)(B)(i) of that Act.
You are authorized and directed to publish this determination in the Federal Register.
BARACK OBAMA
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
__________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release June 12, 2009
June 12, 2009
Presidential Determination
No. 2009-21
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE
SUBJECT: Presidential Determination for The Lao People's Democratic Republic Under Section 2(b)(2) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as amended
Pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 2(b)(C) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as amended (12 U.S.C. 635(b)(2)(C)), I hereby determine that The Lao People's Democratic Republic has ceased to be a Marxist-Leninist country within the definition of such term in section 2(b)(2)(B)(i) of that Act.
You are authorized and directed to publish this determination in the Federal Register.
BARACK OBAMA
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Siam Defeated
I've been changing my mind a lot (not new for some of you) regarding my travels, and I've decided to make things simple by just spending my last week over here in Siem Reap and Angkor, Cambodia, to explore the center of the magnificent, ancient Khmer civilization.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Visas, Visas
I'm chilling for a few extra days in Vientiane before I begin my travels to Vietnam and Cambodia, squaring away loose ends with work and picking the brains of friends who have traveled to both places.Getting my tourist visas has been easy. I got my Vietnam visa last week simply by popping into the Vietnam Embassy in Vientiane (no line), paying US $45 cash, and coming back two days later to pick up the sticker.
Just now, I placed my online order for a Cambodia e-visa for US $25 ($20 for visa + $5 processing). Granted, the photo I uploaded is horrid, but how memorable will it be to print out and staple that visa into my passport!
The post-it note pictured above amounts to a local visa that I had to get when I spent the week at Pee's house for Hmong New Year. Foreigners cannot stay in a Lao home without permission from the government, so Pee's father brought my passport in to get my "visa" written out by the village chief and stamped by the local authority board.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Happy New Year, Hmong Style!
Hmong New Year lasts for a month or more since villages celebrate at different times, perhaps having to do with timing of the harvest season. This week is the grand festival at Kilometer 52, a conglomerate of Lao and Hmong villages around the 52nd kilometer marker on Route 13 north of Vientiane Capital.
For the week, I was one more daughter in Pee's parents' household -- usually a large family of 15 , but expanded to about 30 or 40 (or more?) during the course of the week. The doors were wide open, ensuring new faces and new friends to be made each day.
The week kicked off ceremoniously with a family group ceremony to usher in good and rid the bad spirits on the day Pee and I arrived. The next day was the cow slaughter that was very much an all-day family affair. The two eldest sons bought the cow (about $175) for the family as an offering for the mother's health (she had had surgery earlier in the year) and for the health and safety of several traveling family members from the U.S.
I'm not from a large family, so the idea of activity and noise all the time and no privacy at any time was new to me. But everyone was so welcoming, social, and talkative. Maybe that's part of the territory of a large family. Even though we couldn't speak the same linguistic language, some forms of communication are universal -- like laughter and babies.
The Kilometer 52 Hmong New Year festival host rotates each year to one of the nearby villages. This year, the hosting village was right across the street, so it was a short walk from the house, ensuring about 2-3 visits to the fair every day!
Traditional Hmong Dress and Pov Pob at the Festival
The young folks don't really sing songs these days, but there were some fine specimens among the older folks. The language used is poetic and figurative, so even the young Hmong can't understand the songs. But from what I could tell, when a man and woman were interested in one another, the songs were woven into a kind of discourse to learn about each others' families and backgrounds.
Some Running with the Bulls
For the week, I was one more daughter in Pee's parents' household -- usually a large family of 15 , but expanded to about 30 or 40 (or more?) during the course of the week. The doors were wide open, ensuring new faces and new friends to be made each day.
The week kicked off ceremoniously with a family group ceremony to usher in good and rid the bad spirits on the day Pee and I arrived. The next day was the cow slaughter that was very much an all-day family affair. The two eldest sons bought the cow (about $175) for the family as an offering for the mother's health (she had had surgery earlier in the year) and for the health and safety of several traveling family members from the U.S.
Cow and Family
I'm not from a large family, so the idea of activity and noise all the time and no privacy at any time was new to me. But everyone was so welcoming, social, and talkative. Maybe that's part of the territory of a large family. Even though we couldn't speak the same linguistic language, some forms of communication are universal -- like laughter and babies.
Family Life
A Few Hmong New Year Traditions
The Kilometer 52 Hmong New Year festival host rotates each year to one of the nearby villages. This year, the hosting village was right across the street, so it was a short walk from the house, ensuring about 2-3 visits to the fair every day!
The kids of course were interested in rides and games, but the most important tradition, followed by both young and old, is the pov pob, the courtship game played between men and women, boys and girls, by throwing a ball to one another while singing love songs.
Traditional Hmong Dress and Pov Pob at the Festival
(I got to wear three different costumes!)
The young folks don't really sing songs these days, but there were some fine specimens among the older folks. The language used is poetic and figurative, so even the young Hmong can't understand the songs. But from what I could tell, when a man and woman were interested in one another, the songs were woven into a kind of discourse to learn about each others' families and backgrounds.
Pov Pob Song (with me playing wingman!)
Bull fighting is another popular event during Hmong New Year, mostly with the men. I can see the thrill of it...kind of like a potential running of the bulls in a dried out rice paddy.
Some Running with the Bulls
(Don't worry, I was safely on a hill behind a barbed wire fence!)
A Bit of Bull Fighting
I spent a lot of time with the kids of the family, and I took a particular liking to Ten (age 10) and Yer (age 12). Ten and I got good at the bumper cars together (the funnest dollar I've ever spent), and I helped Yer take care of the guppies every day.
This morning when Pee and I were packing to head back to Vientiane, he reminded me to not leave anything behind. And he said,
Pee: Don't forget your hat.Me: That's not my hat (pointing to one near my bag).Pee: Don't forget your HAT.Me: (Confused)Pee: Don't forget your HAT (with his hand on his chest).Me: Oh, my HEART!
When I was picking up the last of my things, I understood what he meant. I had printed out photos off my camera for the family using a photo printer the American uncle had brought. I gave the one of of me and the boys at the festival to Ten, and he had already put it up on the cabinet next to the photo of their sister.
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