Only in NYC

When I'm in a cab for a ride of more than just a few minutes, I often ask the driver where he is from.  I find it interesting to learn about new places this way.  Burkina Faso was one answer that had me studying the globe when I got home.

Imagine my delight when the last driver I'd asked, replied. "Bangladesh."

"I've just come back from Bangladesh!" I exclaimed.

 An engaging conversation ensued.  Remarking on how hot it had been, I explained:

  "I'm originally from Michigan, I am not accustomed to hot weather.  And, my heritage is northern European.  Finland.  So, I am hard-wired for colder climates"

He glanced in the rearview mirror to look at me.

 "Do you know the word, kiitos?"  He asked.

 "But, of course!  How is it that you know the Finnish word for thank you?" 

He'd had a Finnish customer a while back who had taught him.  We shared a good laugh at how unexpected that had been.

Soon, I was getting out of the cab.  I turned, smiled, and thanked him in Bengali.   "Dhanyabad!" 

He smiled right back...."Kiitos"      

Favorite?

     

     "Which country was your favorite?"  is a common question we get asked.

                                                It's like asking a mother to name her favorite child.

                                                                       Could you choose?

                                           
                                       


                                       
                                                                          Bangladesh.

                               

 
                                

                                                                              India

                                                                                        
                                                    
                                                                       Zambia




                                           
                                                                    
                                                                            Sri Lanka.


                                            

                                                                           Cambodia

                                   

                                                                           
                                                                             Vietnam 



                                    



                                      

                                                                                   Laos
                                  

                                    

                                                                                   Nepal.

                                           I think you'll agree.   Love doesn't divide.  It multiplies!



"Hor Phra Phoum" A Spirit House

                                         

                          
   

This is a Spirit House.  Many homes in Laos have one. It is an ornate miniature temple mounted on a post or a tree nearby

                           
  

 The Lao people believe one's ancestors continue to bless their lives.  The Spirit House is intended to provide shelter for these spirits and offer guests their blessing and protection.

                               
 

  Gifts of incense, fruit and sweet things are left to "feed the spirits"   "After all, they take care of us, we must return that care."  It was explained to me.
                                      

                             

Situating the Spirit House is the first step in any building construction.  A monk or priest advises the most auspicious location.  For the first 100 days as the building starts, alms must be placed in the house every day before sunrise.   And, from then on twice a month on Temple Day. 

     

This is the Hor Phra Phoum at the Settha Palace Hotel in Vientiane.

It is a tradition of thanksgiving and a gracious gesture to the hotel guests.

 

    

I brought home a hand-carved Buddha from Laos.  It is situated on a table by our front door with a dish of candy at it's base in honor of the Spirit House tradition.  

 And, I have noticed the spirits do, indeed, keep taking it!

Lao welcome

                          

(This photo from Sept. 2010)

We'd ventured to Laos with trepidation in '09.  We had still to discover more of Europe.  How did southeast Asia suddenly get on our bucket list?   But, Room to Read was offering a trek to Laos to see their program in action and I'd spontaneously checked the "yes" box on the RSVP.  We'd commited.

Though personally untouched by the Vietnam War, we were not immune from feelings about it. Dave and I

were quiet even to each other.

Our first day in Vientiane and first photo.
We watched as this lone Buddhist monk walked in the early morning.  It was a beautiful moment.

A thousand pictures later it remains a favorite image.

And then...

Within hours, upon leaving the RtR office, we saw these children peeking at us from a schoolyard next door.

Almost two years later, here I am, sitting by myself in a coffee shop writing this, and smiling at the memory. 


                             

We were smitten.

Dave came home from that trip and immediately devoured a 700 page book on the history of southeast Asia.  Photos of Souphe (see blog post) were fixtures on my desk.  And, it seemed I thought of Laos in one way or another every day.

                           
                           

Could it be that we are back in 2010? 

The children are saying. "Sai-bai-dee" (pronounced saw-bah-dee) which means hello and a whole lot more.   It represents not just welcome but like "Nameste" in Nepal, it suggests  "the spirit in me recognizes the spirit in you." 

               

      

 We were happy to be in Laos again.



Laos children

Multiply this photo 16 times.  16 pre-schools in Laos now have this same pile of toys.

When we visited a pre-school in Laos in 2009, we were dismayed there were no toys for the children. None.

Room to Read has plenty to do building libraries and schools and providing books and it's vital they stay on the mission for literacy.  But, the pre-schools were there. Wouldn't they be more valuable if equipped?

We came up with an idea to outfit them. Room to Read was willing to let us run with it. We made a list and found the toys. As a non-profit, RtR negotiated an attractive price with the company and co-ordinated the purchases. Most importantly, RtR added the toys to a shipment of books being sent to southeast Asia on a flight donated by Cathay Pacific.  Toy Project Laos was a success!

The pre-schools are in remote places. Travel can be difficult. But, by late summer, the in-country RtR team had distributed the toys. In September we visited a pre-school and saw for ourselves the result.

In the photo below, I had just given this little boy a toy car.

He didn't seem to know what to do with it.

I showed him how it worked.

And, waited for a smile.... that didn't come.

It was then, I realized how much these children didn't know how to play with toys.
They truly had never seen them before. It broke my heart.

But I have a feeling they will catch on quickly. They will learn to count and know their colors.

They will string the beads, master the puzzles,

and pound the pegs.

And soon they will be ready to learn to read.

The toys will last for years. The value of their learning will last a lifetime.

Story of Souphe - Laos

The girl pictured on the left is Souphe. Room to Read social mobilizers (mentors) are interviewing her as a candidate for the Girls Education Program.

This is Souphe's home. It is in Oudomxay -the poorest province in one of the least developed countries in Southeast Asia - Laos.

Room to Read had just begun working in Oudomxay Province in 2009 when the RtR country director, Somphet, troubled by the expression on Souphe's face, sent these photos to me. They haunted me. Every day for a year and a half I looked at them. Clearly Souphe would qualify for the Girls Education Program which would provide for her to go to school. But would circumstances allow her to go?

In Laos the law states children must stay in school for five years but that's it. When the five years were completed, Souphe's father who "eats drugs" refused to let her continue. She was forced to work in a roadside restaurant to provide for her father and a younger brother and sister. It seemed wrong that at 14, her fate was so firmly set. I kept asking, "Is there anything more we can do to help her continue in school?"

When we returned to Laos in 2010, I asked again about the "young girl in the photo". Somphet greeted me warmly with the triumphant news, "Yes! She is in school now - two weeks." Somphet had indeed kept trying. She even went around her father and appealed directly to Souphe, explaining to her that her father was not thinking clearly, and it was ok to do what would be best for her. Her father gave in and Souphe re-entered school.

Then Somphet showed me this photo. It was like someone pulled a spear from my heart!

Here is Souphe, now 15, with her bike, books, uniform, health check-ups, and a future!

Vietnamese Food

On the shore of the Mekong, we were treated to a lunch of traditional Vietnamese fare.

This is a sticky rice ball. It is about the size of small cantaloupe and mostly air. It has something on the bottom that I couldn't figure out. Sweet and delicious.

You can see a video of how they are made here.

Fascinating as it is to watch the fish expertly carved at the table, one can't help but wonder if it has come from the murky water of the Mekong.

River prawns are brought live to the table to prove their freshness. The long antenna-ed crustaceans were jumping out of the pot!

Note the bright blue leg on one of them post cooking. We are quite sure these have indeed come from the Mekong river. (Yes, they are delicious. A little taste can't hurt and they had been boiled.)

The pomelo is out of this world. It's a native fruit of southeast Asia that's like a dry grapefruit. The tradition is to dip it in salt that has a little red pepper added to it. I loved it. I've heard I might be able to find them in Chinatown in NYC. It will be worth the hunt.

Dragon fruit. What an interesting fruit.

Speckled with black seeds, it has a mild pear-like taste.

And, of course, lychee. They're scored around the middle, then the skin is slipped off the top half exposing the smooth white fruit. There is a stone in the middle that you remove after popping the fruit into your mouth.

Even though I don't have a photo of the coffee (I drank it too fast), Vietnamese coffee is the best. Brewed directly into the cup, it is strong coffee that lands on top of a dollop of condensed milk. Crave-worthy.

If you are interested in reading more about Vietnamese food, Secrets of the Red Lantern: Stories & Vietnamese Recipes from the Heart by Pauline Nguyen is a highly recommended cookbook/memoir.