Luang Prabang at Last!

The exhausting, 5-week orientation in Vientiane has now come and gone. I’ve now been living abroad just short of two months, and it still feels like a complete dream. We received cultural training, ESL teacher training, and were given our official placements for the next year, during our time in Vientiane. I will be placed at Souphanouvong University in the city of Luang Prabang, teaching at their Colleges of Engineering and Letters, and possibly even the College of Agriculture!

Teaching at the American Center in Vientiane

Me teaching various classes during our “trial” teaching period in Vientiane – I can’t wait to finally have my own classroom!!

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Luang Prabang is actually only the sixth largest city in Laos with just 50,000 residents. However, it is arguably the most well-known city in Laos (tied with Vientiane) by the outside world. It has an interesting city layout with both the Mekong and Khan Rivers flowing around it, creating a small peninsula. And fun fact, the town has been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO! It’s filled with nature, ecotourism, beautiful riverside restaurants, and amazing food. That being said, Luang Prabang has attracted quite a few expats to its quiet community, a category in which I can now include myself!

I traveled by US Embassy van for the 9-hour trip from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. The city is located in the mountains of northern Laos, so the ride was extremely bumpy and quite uncomfortable… We even had to stop for almost 2 hours around dinner time while workers cleared a small landslide that covered the mountain road ahead. Nonetheless, we arrived on Wednesday night and I checked into my hotel. I was in need of a full night’s sleep before I was to go on a housing hunt the next morning with the embassy driver (who was incredibly kind, but spoke little to no English).

The view from the window of the embassy van

Have you ever been dropped off in a strange city in which you don’t know a soul, you don’t have housing arranged, and you don’t speak the language? No? If not, let me tell you, it’s a straaaaange experience. It’s even more strange for me because I am the only ETA who is placed in Luang Prabang. Amazingly enough, I found a guesthouse (in a great location) on my second day, called Villa Merry 2, where I will live until the end of November. Actually it’s the same exact guesthouse (and room!) that the previous ETA lived in last year, go figure!

Villa Merry 2: the common areas

My room is a good size and is equipped with Wi-Fi and air-conditioning, so what else could I ask for? The guesthouse is home to entirely expats, most of them volunteers who come for 2, 4, or 6 weeks to teach English. So, I’ve found a place to call home and I’ve met other English speakers, but I don’t start at the university until October 9th. Until then, I get to explore this beautiful city, search for the best coffee shop in Luang Prabang and try to make some friends! Haha wow, that makes me sound lame. Not that I don’t enjoy my own company…. but friends would be nice!

My wonderful, adorable, and surprisingly spacious room

Here’s the thing, after being forced to live and be with the ten other Fulbrighters 24/7, for almost seven weeks, alone time is weird and really nice, but mostly weird. Take Friday for example, my first day in my new city. I woke up to my own place and went to lunch by myself for the first time in seven weeks. Then I went to a coffee shop alone, then to the market, then to another coffee shop, then to dinner… alone. It was the weirdest thing!! Thankfully since then, I’ve met two Princeton in Asia fellows who are working for the Luang Prabang Film Festival, and they’ve graciously begun to introduce me to the expat community here!

My first day in Luang Prabang: the view at breakfast on the bank of the Mekong River

Until I start work and the weirdness finally rubs off, I’m just choosing to bask in this alone time. Today as I was writing this post, I sat at a quiet restaurant along one of the main drags in the city center of Luang Prabang, wondering what I had just gotten myself into. Thinking about the 8,000 miles between myself and home, I decided to order a BeerLao and lifted my glass to myself! Because when in Laos, right?!

The hardest part about moving to Luang Prabang, was actually saying goodbye to these wonderful people. It might be hard to understand how I could be so attached to people who I’ve known for a total of two months, but it’s just as hard to explain! There’s something to be said about traveling the world with other people. You learn just as much about yourself, as you do about those around you. I didn’t think it would affect me, but I definitely shed a few tears when I left Vientiane last week. However, I’m thankful for the memories we’ve had together so far and I know there are amazing adventures and life-changing experiences waiting for all of us!