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.

In Bangkok...twenty air hours and ten restless on-ground waiting hours later

I’m impressed by my first travel experience with Lufthansa and Thai Airways. The in-flight service was pleasant and attentive, and I enjoyed listening to the German and Thai that I couldn’t understand. The food was quite good, particularly the chicken & eggplant green curry with fragrant rice. I was tempted by the wine, but I didn’t want to end up completely bloated at the end. That’s no way to greet your boss for the first time!

Frankfurt Airport was a bore. That wait was the most difficult, being the 2am~7am chunk of my regular sleeping hours. With few seats in the waiting area, I couldn’t lean back on anything or get comfortable without getting dust bunnies all over me. So I decided to convert US$20 for just €10 in return and used 20% of that on a Haagen-Dazs macadamia nut brittle ice cream cone (might as well get happy) with which I sidled up with my book next to a cute puppy waiting with its person. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t occupy my entire 5 hour layover, so I eventually found myself rocking head in hand, waking with a jolt every time I nearly fell over flat on my face asleep. I was thankful when they finally announced my gate number about an hour before my flight to Bangkok, so I could go check in.

One good thing about international flights is the chance to catch up on movies and sometimes sleep. This time, success on both counts! So I watched two movies to edumacate myself on Marvel comics, wrapped myself in a cocoon, and fell right to sleep. The Spanish woman next to me didn’t know a lick of English, but with me on the aisle, she just crawled over me whenever she wanted to get out. Neither of us minded, so we had a great 10-hour relationship.

Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok is much nicer, clean and bright with lots of cafes, noodle shops, and places to chill (key!!). Plus, they’ve got the cutsie character thing going on (“Asia” nostalgia for me) and remakes of American “standards” playing over the speakers, like The Bangles’ Eternal Flame, bossa nova style (combining two of my favorite genres...). Here I converted US$20 for about 650 Thai baht, and used 10% of that on a Thai style iced tea, nothing fancy.

But I am well-rested and excited to arrive in Vientiane at midday after just one more short 1-hour flight from Bangkok, with the rest of Friday (and the weekend!) ahead of me to settle in. Bring it on; I’m ready!

My Journey Begins Today

What a whirlwind; I'm not sure where to begin. Flew back from DC to Atlanta Monday morning, straight into meetings (mostly fun, actually) with epidemiologists, field staff, and my home office, picking up my gear and figuring out what gear to leave behind... Not to mention trying to remember the Atlanta roads and how to drive. Dern drivers!! And the gas shortage? It's for real. Cars line up down the streets at all hours of the day, and people are getting into fights over it. The desperation...how the American psyche is so tied to fuel!

Now, no one warned me about the culture shock of returning to Atlanta... My culture shock is always worse within the United States for some reason, and this is no different, although these two days of adrenaline-pumping preparation have kept me from thinking too hard about why my diet has instantaneously returned to beer, steak, and fried chicken.

I voted this morning; thank goodness for early voting. (Note to Georgia voters: you can vote early, M-F, 8am-7pm, from now till October 31st. No reason necessary. Check it out.) I'm very appreciative and giddy to have a voice in this historic 2008 presidential election (sorry to all those local/state candidates for 7-8 pages worth of elections I didn't know about...oops!).

And I have proudly managed to fit all of my check-in material into one, albeit heavy, bag. I was freaking out a bit last night about what stuff to bring with me, but then I stepped out of my body, kinda slapped myself, and told myself to get a grip. I'm going to have an amazing adventure and journey, no matter what I bring or don't bring. So chill! So I'm a-chillin' right now, a few hours before I've gotta get to the airport. I'm gonna go eat lunch...fried chicken anyone?

Jao sabaidee boh?

In exactly three weeks, my feet will be planted in Vientiane soil and my hands touching the lazy Lao sky. Time has deftly carried me through Washington, DC, before I have even scratched its surface. But over these past three months, I've made loyal, everlasting friends and learned telling lessons, such that I can only look towards the next three months with wider eyes and a bigger heart for them.

This week was a rush of preparation for Laos, from figuring out travel/visa issues to discussing research protocols/logistics with the field team to sussing out the difference between "deh" and "deeh"...to even looking for a motorbike helmet that won't make me look terribly like a matchstick! Without a doubt, the fieldwork will be rewarding beyond my current imagination. And my housing situation, for which I can only thank my colleagues in Laos, will be phenomenal. You must come visit!!

Today was my third Lao language lesson with Bounchanh who works across the street from me and fills my head with Lao phrases and cultural tidbits in exchange for lunch. Shhh, I think I'm getting the better deal! I will have a translator, but I want to be able to communicate and build rapport with my Lao colleagues in their own language. I learned the importance of that as an English teacher in Japan. そうだね！

Lao is a tonal language with six tones, although so far I've only been able to hear five (still, one up on Chinese's four!). I won't bother with reading/writing, but the grammar is surprisingly simple, with similarities to both Chinese and Japanese. Bounchanh is a great teacher, and I look forward to showing you the difference between a chicken and a duck next week!

Flood Damage In Laos Costs Millions Of Dollars

Hard to say how this will affect my work in the fall...

VIENTIANE, LAOS, Aug 22 (The Vientiane Times) - The recent floods in Laos have inflicted damage worth hundreds of billions of kip (millions of dollars), destroying farmlands, irrigation systems, roads, schools and houses, according to unofficial reports.

The total cost of flood damage has yet to be officially confirmed because the government is still collecting information from provincial authorities.

But initial reports reveal extensive damage throughout the country.

In six of Vientiane 's nine districts the cost of flooding has already reached about 148 billion kip (US$78.5 million). This figure does not include damage to Sikhottabong and Xaysettha districts, which authorities are currently assessing.

In Luang Prabang province the cost of flood damage is almost 100 billion kip ($11.8 million). More than 50 billion ($5.9 million) of this damage was to the transportation sector, according to provincial authorities.

In Khammuan province the value of flood damage has not yet been calculated, but authorities say it will be worth at least 31 billion kip ($3.66 million). In that province floods destroyed rice fields, irrigation systems, roads and schools.

Almost 6,000 of the total 11,884 hectares of rice fields were damaged, along with 167 hectares of other crops, 48 irrigation systems and 41 schools. Authorities are continuing to supply clean water and dry food to villagers affected by the flooding.

In Borikhamxay province, authorities estimate damage to the agriculture sector to be at least 90 billion kip ($10.6 million). Road Number 13 South was damaged as were unpaved roads which had linked villages, according to provincial flooding and drought prevention committee head Leuam Sonsyvilay.

“We haven't calculated the cost of two flood-damaged schools and a number of irrigation canals yet,” he said.

A team from United Nations agencies is visiting Laos provinces affected by flooding, according to the national disaster management office.

Office head, Khamphao Hompaya, said UN agencies including the UNDP and UN Food and Agriculture Organisation would assess the urgent needs of villagers.

He said the amount of donations had yet to be calculated and urged ministries to report donation figures to his office so that he could inform the government.

According to Khamphao, the ministry of labour and social welfare is preparing more than 300 tonnes of rice while the ministry of health has asked for 1 billion kip ($118,131) to assist flood victims.

Most provinces were able to collect information about flood damage in areas such as agriculture, transport and education, but a more extensive assessment has yet to be completed.

(By SOMSACK PONGKHAO/ The Vientiane Times/ ANN)

Mekong hits highest level in at least 100 years

Not much news coverage can be found on the floods of this and last week...

BANGKOK, THAILAND, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Four people have been killed in flooding and landslides in Laos, where the Mekong river has hit its highest level in at least 100 years after several months of unusually heavy rain, officials said on Friday.

The communist government and private citizens in the landlocked Southeast Asian country have been rushing to complete a 2.5 metre (8 ft) wall of sandbags to stop water inundating the capital, Vientiane.

Police have closed roads leading to the riverbank to make it easier for trucks delivering sandbags, the official Vientiane Times reported.

"We've been fighting very hard day and night for four days, but after today the water level should recede," government spokesman Yong Chanhthalansy told Reuters in Bangkok.

The Mekong, which starts in the glaciers of Tibet and ends 4,350 km (2,700 miles) away in the rice-rich delta of southern Vietnam, hit 13.68 metres in Vientiane on Thursday, trouncing a high of 12.38 metres recorded in 1966, the worst floods in living memory.

That depth -- measured roughly from the river's lowest level in the dry season -- could rise slightly on Friday before retreating, Yong said.

Vietnam was recently hit by heavy rains, floods and mudslides as the remnants of a tropical storm caused the country's worst floods in four decades. At least 120 people were killed and another 44 remain missing.

In Vientiane, a levee was built along the Mekong's northern bank after the 1966 flooding but has been overrun in places, causing flooding in parts of the city of 200,000, one resident said.

There had been widespread flooding upstream and north of Vientiane, although the former royal capital of Luang Prabang had escaped with no damage to its ancient Buddhist pagodas, Yong said.

Downstream, eastern Thailand and low-lying Cambodia, where the annual flooding of the Mekong is crucial to rice and fish production, are braced for the rising waters. Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, sits right on the bank of the river.

Government officials said they had warned people living near the Mekong in the provinces of Kompong Cham, Kratie and Stung Treng to move their families and livestock to higher ground.

(Reporting by Ed Cropley and Ek Madra; Editing by Alan Raybould and Valerie Lee)