Vientiane sight seeing

My husband came finally to Laos for his holiday month :D We went to look around town and stopped by the biggest temple with the stupa that is pictured on the Lao official stamps. Here are some pictures from that trip.

Information and Technology in the Global South

Last week I went along on a field trip to a small town 30 minutes from the city. There in the village temple community room the self employment project was having a meeting with all the farmers with disabilities from that village who had received ducks or chicken from the project to start their own business. Some had enough to sustain their own family and few had turned it into a business. I arrived a little after the meeting started. Some of the farmers were too shy to introduce themselves and how their achievements or struggles with the raising of ducks and chicken. I am not sure if they were shy just because they were shy to speak in a group of people or if my presence had any affect on it. One younger farmer was successful in expanding his farming into a business. He was invited to talk about how he had been successful in taking care of the animals. He talked about making sure to take regular care and keep watch for any abnormal behavior such as eating or drinking too much or too little. He encouraged using medication in any of these situations. He also raised the chicken coops above water and instructed to have a light for the chickens at night as light would keep a way the mosquitoes. It appeared to me that the other farmers had never thought of the fact that mosquitoes would be a problem for the chicken. What took me by surprise was when he encouraged everyone to search Thai websites on farming techniques as Thailand has developed and studied many methods to improve farming of livestock. This was not exactly surprising as it is very easy to get internet connection through phones and this was a village just right outside the capital city. But I came to the realization of how real the information sharing that has come along globalization is. Everyone can have access to this kind of vast access to information and technology in a developing country. Development work has changed and will change continually as more people get access and learn to use the available information. Just a small connection from real life to theory. :D

Sunday bike ride.

Hello from the Land of Smile!

I finally have some time to share something about my first week in the Land of Smile! And here, now, using my head to hold up the mosquito net, there’s nothing I can do but smile. 

My trip started on the 31^st, last Sunday. Turkish Airlines (good choice, Laura! :D), good food, and quite nice neighbors. But really bad weather all the time, the plane was quite shaky. In Bangkok (“Waiting Room for Buddhist Monks” is a must) I met my friend Sotiria (who’s trying to sleep wrapped in mosquito net now), and we flew together to Chiang Mai. The hotel was quite interesting, and I got to realize that the first challenge anyone going abroad has to face are the freaking doors. We had to call the guy at the reception to understand how to lock it. Wherever I go I find myself fighting against doors, now that I think about it. Nah well, we met out coordinator in the evening and went to the Sunday market – LOVELY. Even the way to get there was awesome, we took one of those red fancy vans, too bad they all were on the wrong side of the road. You Brits, exporting bad habits – but, was it really your fault? The market was incredibly nice, we had good food, took a look at clothes and jewels, and found everything so damn cheap. I understand why there are so many expats around, I really do. Smiley peaceful nice people, good cheap food, pretty cheap clothes. And a lot of cute geckos geckooooooing all the time. I love them, they look so smart, but the 2-feet-long one I saw today was a little bit too much. At the market, it was the only time I got to understand we’re having martial law, as there were plenty of police with creepy weapons around. Nonetheless, they were taking pictures with tourists and giving money to some kid singing and playing the guitar.

After a long night of I-can’t-sleep-save-me-from-jetlag, we had the first meeting with the organization. It’s called WEAVE, and has the prettiest office ever. The orientation, that lasted for two days, was really interesting, and I found out a lot about Fair Trade, the situation of Burmese refugees on the Thai-Burma border, culture, and much more. Also, we got to meet the staff and another intern and had some more good food. Chiang Mai is really nice, full of cute corners and shops. I will hopefully manage to go to the temple on the top of the hill once I’m back there.

Our next destination was Mae Hong Son, and we completely fell in love with it. The way to get there is terrifying, we were sitting in a small van and experienced something like 1800 curves, which made us quite car sick.  But the landscapes are just sooo beautiful! The town is amazing, the guesthouse where we were perfect (POOOOL!) and they had Western food. I never thought I could miss bread and milk that much, after only a few days. Finland spoiled me in this sense! There, WEAVE staff told us about the ongoing projects they have in the refugee camps, which are mainly about education

Then we moved to Khun Yuam, and from there to Ban Mae See Pee Tai, the village where we are now… And well, things are crawling everywhere. Tons of them. I’m too used to my life-free environment, I guess. Huge geckos, small shouting geckos, spiders, worms, and ants. A lot of huge evil ants. Ach. Apart from the crawling things, this place is awesome, kids are super sweet, teachers nice and helpful, and everyone is cooking for us, which is good.

Let’s see what happens next, tomorrow is the first official day of work!

Hello from The People's Democratic Republic of Lao!

I have finally settled in Vientiane. I have a place to live, a phone number, internet, a bike to use for now and a place to volunteer at and learn a bunch about development work. It feels weird to be back in Laos because it does not really feel like I have been gone that long (8 years). My Lao is just a bit rusty but its coming back quite quickly. Its hot and humid here which makes biking hot. Today was my first day at the association I am volunteering with. The people were all really friendly and relaxed. I had so much information about the association and its different components explained to me that even thought I didn't do much I felt like I learned so much. I'm excited about this opportunity and look forward to learning and working. On my way home I took a detour to take a picture of the monument for you all. It is called Patuxay (patusai).