mon 15th Jan
I woke up around 8am. The first thing Seth said was ‘Dad, I woke up at 7.10’. We rolled out of bed and down the steps before the eggs and ‘congee’ (an Americanism for Jiok’) were turned off. No coffee just the 3 in 1! Yuks...they had real stuff just 2 years ago. Don’t complain Ian….
Cc wanted to check out the school so we walked down. The main road drains were being relayed both sides. It was a mess. It was dusty and dangerous to navigate. Apparently the Japanese gov financed the job. They hired Chinese and Cambodian workers. I was told that 'Lao workers are too lazy to do such a job'. Sounds a little unfair to say that. I see many Laotian people work quite hard. I don’t know why people say that…perhaps I’ll learn more.
We found our way down and met Jackie the school principal. She is an amazing lady. She took us through the school and we briefly met our kid’s teachers. Seth's teacher is a Filipino lady who's here with her husband. Her son is Seth's age and his name is 'CJ'. He put his arm around Seth and said, 'come on Seth, I’ll show you around your new class' and off they went. Seth said 'ok'.
Sarah's teacher’s name is Miss Katherine. She's an Aussie from Melbourne. I'd say she'd be in her early 50s. I spoke to her on my last trip. She is here to teach but seems like she’s also on a personal journey. That’s my impression. She loves to teach but is looking for a job that gives her personal satisfaction. The money the school pays her is around 1k U.S. per month. She said this meets her needs in Laos.
Katherine explained that her class will be focusing on science this semester and told Sarah ‘it should be a lot of fun’. She said the right words- ‘fun’. Fun keeps Sarah going around. Some of the girls in the class kept smiling at Sarah...many of the kids looked like they were all from 'bi-cultural' marriages. Hee…best marriages on planet earth, when they working well. That’s my opinion but then I’ve only been married once!!! And that’s the plan!
Shanae was the last to see her class...She was bursting to see her teacher. She talked about her bag, her lunch box and school uniform...her teach is an Indian lady. We didn't have to say much to encourage Shanae. She just said 'ok..ok..'.and shook her head violently.
We went up to Jackie's room and Shanae lost it....she wanted this and that. Nothing seemed to please her. But each time she wanted something Jackie would stop the conversation and see if she could help us. At no time were the kids overlooked. Jackie interacted with all of us over the entire time in a personal and yet understanding way.
Jackie shared with us about her struggles to fit into Laos when she first arrived. Things got better over time as friendships grew in the community. Her husband is a Chinese Lao. He speaks Mandarin. They own several businesses around town. One of which is a printing shop! My ears pricked up, so does Ccs dad! By the sounds of what they print, they are about 30 years behind in technology.
We chatted a bit more and left feeling that God had gone before us in many ways. I could see how Cc could get on like a house on fire with Jackie. Cc's candid humor and 'mum knowledge' is infectious.
We rocked up to ARDA and meet some newbie teachers. We ate lunch at the local Lao restaurant- it was slightly up market cause they had guys on semi acoustic guitars playing and picking in the background. My thoughts were to invite myself to join their team and learn something from them. Mmm...maybe later.
We left the place and set off to bank our money draft. One of the ladies we ate with ran down to the car and handed me my 'video cam'. OOpps...i'd left it on the chair in the restaurant! My guardian angel was 'Lao'. He passed it on to her as we walked out the door. Thanks Lord for covering our mistakes and blunders.
By the time we arrived at the "Malaysian Public BAnk' Shanae was asleep in my arms. Cecilia filled out the forms and deposited the American Drafts. Apparently, it will take up to 45 days to get the money back into our new account. The draft physically travels to Bangkok and is then sent onto NY...cleared and then sent back to Bgk and Laos. What we should have done to open an account was TT the money from Sing to Laos. We were told that after….hee.
We came back to base and Karen took us house hunting. We looked at 4 houses. Two were scheduled, two were not. Most of the homes were subdivided blocks. The Lao people live at the back or front and rent the other part. Land is getting scarce in the city and pushing up prices and making rentals more competitive.
We knew from the outset that securing a house was to be our 'greatest' challenge. Some of our boxes were/are piled up in a corner of ARDA and across two rooms in our guest house. We’re getting very tired of living out of suitcases. I’m teaching next week. Karen our house hunter buddy is busy next week...so off we went full of hope and 'unrealistic' expectations that we'd find something. And we did!!!
All the places we saw were all fine and we could live in any of them. But the one we stumbled across stood out because it had space for the kids inside the front yard and space under shelter. It also had 4 large bedrooms. These were the major differences between the other homes.
The young lady who walked us through the home was Nang. It was her father’s home. She won an Austudy scholarship and spent two years in Melbourne studying communications. Nang returned to Laos and now works for the Ministry of Health. Her current project is assisting with the Avian Flu Research.
Her parents were asking 500 US dollars per month. This was beyond our budget. We looked through the home and felt it was over priced. I asked if they could come down. I explained we had a budget of 350 US. She asked me if we can move up to 400. I said I need to speak to my wife. We made arrangements to meet the next day.
Cecilia was very happy with the place. She had a good feel and could see the potential in the place. She could see Lao kids coming over playing out the back...a garden flourishing and everyone enjoying the space and the home.
We retired for the night, grateful and tired.
I woke up around 8am. The first thing Seth said was ‘Dad, I woke up at 7.10’. We rolled out of bed and down the steps before the eggs and ‘congee’ (an Americanism for Jiok’) were turned off. No coffee just the 3 in 1! Yuks...they had real stuff just 2 years ago. Don’t complain Ian….
Cc wanted to check out the school so we walked down. The main road drains were being relayed both sides. It was a mess. It was dusty and dangerous to navigate. Apparently the Japanese gov financed the job. They hired Chinese and Cambodian workers. I was told that 'Lao workers are too lazy to do such a job'. Sounds a little unfair to say that. I see many Laotian people work quite hard. I don’t know why people say that…perhaps I’ll learn more.
We found our way down and met Jackie the school principal. She is an amazing lady. She took us through the school and we briefly met our kid’s teachers. Seth's teacher is a Filipino lady who's here with her husband. Her son is Seth's age and his name is 'CJ'. He put his arm around Seth and said, 'come on Seth, I’ll show you around your new class' and off they went. Seth said 'ok'.
Sarah's teacher’s name is Miss Katherine. She's an Aussie from Melbourne. I'd say she'd be in her early 50s. I spoke to her on my last trip. She is here to teach but seems like she’s also on a personal journey. That’s my impression. She loves to teach but is looking for a job that gives her personal satisfaction. The money the school pays her is around 1k U.S. per month. She said this meets her needs in Laos.
Katherine explained that her class will be focusing on science this semester and told Sarah ‘it should be a lot of fun’. She said the right words- ‘fun’. Fun keeps Sarah going around. Some of the girls in the class kept smiling at Sarah...many of the kids looked like they were all from 'bi-cultural' marriages. Hee…best marriages on planet earth, when they working well. That’s my opinion but then I’ve only been married once!!! And that’s the plan!
Shanae was the last to see her class...She was bursting to see her teacher. She talked about her bag, her lunch box and school uniform...her teach is an Indian lady. We didn't have to say much to encourage Shanae. She just said 'ok..ok..'.and shook her head violently.
We went up to Jackie's room and Shanae lost it....she wanted this and that. Nothing seemed to please her. But each time she wanted something Jackie would stop the conversation and see if she could help us. At no time were the kids overlooked. Jackie interacted with all of us over the entire time in a personal and yet understanding way.
Jackie shared with us about her struggles to fit into Laos when she first arrived. Things got better over time as friendships grew in the community. Her husband is a Chinese Lao. He speaks Mandarin. They own several businesses around town. One of which is a printing shop! My ears pricked up, so does Ccs dad! By the sounds of what they print, they are about 30 years behind in technology.
We chatted a bit more and left feeling that God had gone before us in many ways. I could see how Cc could get on like a house on fire with Jackie. Cc's candid humor and 'mum knowledge' is infectious.
We rocked up to ARDA and meet some newbie teachers. We ate lunch at the local Lao restaurant- it was slightly up market cause they had guys on semi acoustic guitars playing and picking in the background. My thoughts were to invite myself to join their team and learn something from them. Mmm...maybe later.
We left the place and set off to bank our money draft. One of the ladies we ate with ran down to the car and handed me my 'video cam'. OOpps...i'd left it on the chair in the restaurant! My guardian angel was 'Lao'. He passed it on to her as we walked out the door. Thanks Lord for covering our mistakes and blunders.
By the time we arrived at the "Malaysian Public BAnk' Shanae was asleep in my arms. Cecilia filled out the forms and deposited the American Drafts. Apparently, it will take up to 45 days to get the money back into our new account. The draft physically travels to Bangkok and is then sent onto NY...cleared and then sent back to Bgk and Laos. What we should have done to open an account was TT the money from Sing to Laos. We were told that after….hee.
We came back to base and Karen took us house hunting. We looked at 4 houses. Two were scheduled, two were not. Most of the homes were subdivided blocks. The Lao people live at the back or front and rent the other part. Land is getting scarce in the city and pushing up prices and making rentals more competitive.
We knew from the outset that securing a house was to be our 'greatest' challenge. Some of our boxes were/are piled up in a corner of ARDA and across two rooms in our guest house. We’re getting very tired of living out of suitcases. I’m teaching next week. Karen our house hunter buddy is busy next week...so off we went full of hope and 'unrealistic' expectations that we'd find something. And we did!!!
All the places we saw were all fine and we could live in any of them. But the one we stumbled across stood out because it had space for the kids inside the front yard and space under shelter. It also had 4 large bedrooms. These were the major differences between the other homes.
The young lady who walked us through the home was Nang. It was her father’s home. She won an Austudy scholarship and spent two years in Melbourne studying communications. Nang returned to Laos and now works for the Ministry of Health. Her current project is assisting with the Avian Flu Research.
Her parents were asking 500 US dollars per month. This was beyond our budget. We looked through the home and felt it was over priced. I asked if they could come down. I explained we had a budget of 350 US. She asked me if we can move up to 400. I said I need to speak to my wife. We made arrangements to meet the next day.
Cecilia was very happy with the place. She had a good feel and could see the potential in the place. She could see Lao kids coming over playing out the back...a garden flourishing and everyone enjoying the space and the home.
We retired for the night, grateful and tired.
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