One of the newest additions to the Laos Fulbright In-Country Orientation is the homestay weekend, where each Fulbright ETA is paired with a Lao alumni of a U.S. Exchange program. Some of these alumni have been to the U.S. for weeks, some for months, some for longer, but they have all studied English and been to the U.S. at some point.

We met our hosts on Saturday afternoon. My host was Ms. Vee and she was absolutely amazing! She picked me up from the American Center, along with her daughter Vienna, and we immediately drove to the nearest fruit shake stand. I know it’s bizarre, but I’ve never tasted an avocado before, but Ms. Vee recommended the avocado shake and how can I say no to her after I’ve known her for all of 5 minutes? One of the best decisions I think I’ve ever made. It was like drinking a milkshake that was actually healthy for you!!

We then took our fruit shakes on a tour to see some of Vientiane’s temples that I had not been able to check off of my list yet, including Wat Si Muang, Wat Si Saket, and Haw Phra Kaew. We began with Wat Si Muang, a small, yet beautiful temple in downtown Vientiane that is arguably the city’s busiest. Ms. Vee purchased a sack of candles and marigolds and showed me how to decorate a plate with them in order to give a “Kan haa” offering. 

After decorating our plates and lighting two candles, we each lifted our plates towards the buddha statue inside the temple to wish or make a request to the buddha for something. She then took me into the rear facing room of the temple where a monk was giving out blessings. I kneeled in front of him, one hand raised with the palm facing outwards, smiling as he chanted and tied a string around each of my wrists to bless me.

After Wat Si Muang, we stopped at Wat Si Saket, a temple with over 2,000 small buddha statues that sit in the small crevices of the surrounding wall. Next was Haw Phra Kaew, the former temple of the Emerald Buddha. The story of the Emerald Buddha is disputed between the Thai and Lao peoples, however, it’s current resting place is on the grounds of the royal palace in Bangkok, Thailand.

After our tour of the temples, Ms. Vee took me to her home which is actually located above one of the three businesses she owns, all under the name “All Time Travel”. There I met her husband, son, and mae ban (direct translation meaning house mother, but contextually similar to a maid in the U.S.).

Ms. Vee invited two of her sisters to join us for dinner, and informed me that we were going to be having a ‘traditional Lao dinner’. Sounds great for someone who is a lot less picky than I when it comes to food…. but if being dropped on my butt in an entirely new culture has taught me anything, it’s how to eat something interesting while keeping a smile on my face the entire time.

For dinner, we had a soup made of bamboo and fermented fish called Gaeng Naw Mai, with a traditional Lao salad, a big patty of fried pork, and some various seafoods both cooked and presented whole. And of course, they all made sure that we did not forget the BeerLao!

One of Ms. Vee’s sisters has been living in Australia for the last 15 years and was excited to meet me and talk to me. They were all so wonderful – offering help for my upcoming time in Luang Prabang and even to take me out for a night on the town here in Vientiane. All in all, it was a great experience – a weekend full of sight-seeing, food-tasting, and the always welcoming people of Laos.

ດ້ວຍ​ຮັກ (With love),

Claire

Ms. Vee and her family