Lao Birthday Revue

I've gotten a lot of questions about how I celebrated my birthday in Laos. In short, the Lao don't celebrate birthdays. But here are some photos of what we did instead!

To make things easier, Monica and I doubled up our birthday and farewell parties. Monica was supposed to leave back in June, but has stayed on this long until CARE found a replacement. Now she can finally go back to OZ to finish that six-year master's degree.

I ordered birthday cake from a Lao bakery for the party. During the day, I found out that Khampy, the CARE Lao AI project manager, had the same birthday as me! He hadn't told anyone at all, but I was still able to get his name onto the cake, even if it did appear as an afterthought. I think it's cute. :-) Khampy thought it was hilarious that he was able to get such a birthday celebration without doing a thing. The cats on the cake were Phit's idea!

I had been planning all week to go out dancing after the party. In fact, there were so many fun activities to choose from. DJ Pierre was playing as Martini at 10pm. Vieng and Noi were going to a music club with a a cowboy costume contest. Not and French friends were going bowling. New friend Yumiko was having a girls-night-out at a transvestite club. And Dave and Jessie were gonna do whatever I did.

I went home to drop of my work stuff and found this wonderful note and a wonderful cake left in the refrigerator from the Parkview management and staff. How delightful!

But I was exhausted from the week, and couldn't muster the energy to go back out. So Dave and Jessie came over to my place to eat cake. So much for a grand night out, but I didn't mind at all. I'll never forget my 30th birthday in Laos and everyone who made it a joy!

Kopjaydeu, everyone!!

Thank you, everyone, for your kind birthday wishes...via Facebook, email, or in person. I've really felt loved today, and I will post more birthday celebration photos (by request by several of you!). I crashed pretty hard after work. But I still had TWO cakes and presents. I'm so fortunate to have so many people looking out for me.

Now it's 5:30am and I'm scuttling out the door very soon to look for this so-called mini-bus that runs a circuit around the city, with the earliest pickup being 6:30am, to get to Vang Vieng for my birthday weekend trip. I'm going by myself, but I'm not at all worried because I'm sure to meet plenty of folks along the way.

More stories to come. Have a great "birthday weekend," everyone!

Birthday Girl!

It's midnight, and happy birthday to me! I've wondered for months what it would be like to turn 30 in Laos. And I think...it actually feels THE SAME...as it would...in the U.S.!! My god!!

Delirium! I have a lot to accomplish at work tomorrow since I've been out on my back ill for most of the week, but after the work day finishes... Monica and I are having a PARTY! We'll start at the Lao Garden restaurant with her farewell party, to which she has invited colleagues from all the international NGOs and government authorities she has worked with during her time here. Then we will morph into my birthday party...which may include bowling, karaoke, dancing with DJ Pierre, who knows. I've already put down $30 for a big chocolate cake for the group. 30 is a good number.

This weekend is also my last "free" and complete weekend in Laos, so I'm planning to head up to Vang Vieng, the backpacker's paradise in Laos. It's also a shroom (and other delights) haven, so in an effort to avoid all that debauchery, I've booked a room at the Vang Vieng Organic Mulberry Farm that grows mulberry trees for tea and silk. "Mr. T" tells me that

"during the weekend the YOUTH CENTER is active you can participate the
Ethnic Sawing Club, Computer class, guitar class and in the everning
dancing class."

That combined with some handpicked Vang Vieng kayaking, rafting, or trekking should make for a fun birthday weekend and a much needed break from myself!

Bon Voyage, Anais!

Anais left Laos today via Hanoi to return to Oregon. She was here for a 3-month stint at WHO working on reproductive and women's health. Other than being super cool, she also sang in a band here! Last Saturday was her send-off party with a jam session.

Dark photos (L-R): David playing along with traditional instruments in the background; Anais & Jessie; the rest of the band grooving with the fish.

Afternoon in Thailand

I spent Lao National Day...in Thailand. The protests in Bangkok are hardly affecting life (from what I could tell) up north in Udonthani, the major shopping destination for Vientiane locals 40 minutes across the border. But it wasn't no holiday trip.

Vieng and the embassy car picked me up around 11am for a trip to Aek Udon International Hospital, a snazzy private hospital, to get my...um, stomach problems...checked out. Sure, I had my Cipro and Flagyl, but I could potentially have lots of stuff since I've been everywhere these last two weeks -- from stomping around remote mountainsides to doggy-paddling up waterfalls to sharing my table with a certainly worm-ridden newborn kitten.

Here are I am looking pretty chipper (although 1 kilo lighter) getting my blood pressure taken. After taking my history, the Thai doctor diagnosed me with a simple bacterial GI infection and prescribed for me:

• Levofloxacin (antibiotic) [sorry, Cipro]
• Hyoscine (for abdominal pain)
• Motilium-M (for distension, aka bloating)
• Smecta powder (like glue)
• Imodium
• Oral rehydration salts (orange flavor, yummier than the stuff from CDC)

All for 31 USD. Expensive by Lao standards, but the Lao who make more money will come here for health care because of better service. Here we are picking up freshcut coconut water at roadside stands and in the market to ease the tummy.

The King of Thailand says, "Now y'all come back now!"

CARE AI Meeting

Last Wednesday was CARE Lao's all-day avian influenza program meeting to share lessons learnt and discussing the way forward with donor representatives, government authorities (national, province, and district levels), and international partners, including the WHO and other NGOs.

CARE Lao's AI program works with all of these partners to pilot activities in Laos to build capacity in dealing with issues surrounding AI. This includes community-based surveillance, outbreak response, AI awareness, wet markets, model households, and the 166 free hotline to report bird deaths. I also presented on the health seeking behavior assessment and got questions from both local authorities (re: content) and partners (re: technical aspects). The two guys below were our simultaneous translators; very impressive!

Group photo!

After a day well done, the CARE AI team rounded out with Beer Lao at the Mekong Deck.

Health Headlines

My friend and colleague Not said it best (and with such cute English) with, "Ellen sad because small cat pass away."

That was the closest thing I've had to caring for an animal farther up the evolutionary tree than a fish, so the whole experience was rather traumatic for me. If a vet had been at the office, they never would've let me take it home b/c its chance for survival was so slim from the start.

And well, I've always said that I'd make an interesting case study for the mental-physical health link, and so here we go again. My stomach has not sat easy, and I'll leave it at that. Out of curiosity, I went online to see what's new in health and found these interesting headlines (disclaimer: I haven't actually reviewed any of these studies, so can't vouch for their findings):

• Lack of Exercise Explains Depression-Heart Link
• Women’s Heart Symptoms Often Blamed on Stress
• Americans Are Sicker Than They Think, C.D.C. Finds
• The Benefits of Therapy by Phone
• Better Mental Health, Down on the Farm
• Using Music to Lift Depression’s Veil

2 December is National Day here in Laos, and everyone in the city is getting ready with new coats of paint, strings of lights, and flags (the red, white, and blue Lao national flag + red and yellow hammer and sickle flag). The lights and gentle coolness of the evenings remind me of Christmas back in Louisiana. Curious to see what this 2 December holiday brings.