One of the biggest cultural differences we were warned about when coming to Laos was that they run on “Lao time”, which really means you can expect any given Lao person to be at least 20-30 minutes later than any agreed upon time. It happens all the time. Just a few examples off the top of my head include a public bus that was scheduled to leave at 10:30 and actually left at 11:15, a driver who agreed to pick me up at 8:00 came at 8:20 instead, or a dinner party scheduled to begin at 7:00, that didn’t actually start until 8:00.

The thing is, this also transfers into days and weeks, believe it or not. For instance, I showed up to teach on my first day, but they hadn’t finalized the class schedule yet (even though classes had started the week before). So I went with one of my coworkers, Sisoury, to teach one of her classes. When we arrived at the designated classroom, it was empty. Sisoury asked one of the students passing by if they knew where her class was. The student replied, “Did you see the schedule change? They sent an email a couple hours ago.” At this point, I was already so used to it, I started laughing!

But the worst part about “Lao time” is that I’ve gotten used to it. So much so, I think “Lao time” might actually be contagious. I mean look at me! I haven’t blogged in over a month! I procrastinate like no other and I’m five minutes late everywhere! Well wait.. I’ve always done those last two things…

Anyways, since the moral of that story is that I’ve failed to blog in the past month, I figured I’m past due for an overall update on my time in Laos. Et voila, I’ve finally settled in to my new home in Luang Prabang! It’s been a whirlwind, as I’ve had visitors almost every weekend since I’ve been here! The Fulbrighters based in Vientiane, have all been taking turns to come see me and the famous city of Luang Prabang. I’m living in the same guesthouse until the end of December and will be celebrating Christmas and New Years as best I can here – so FaceTimes are more than welcome!

Rachel and Mitchell make it to Luang Prabang!

My Fellow Fulbrights Visit Luang Prabang! Left: Joe at Wat Xieng Thong, Middle: Mitchell and Rachel at Kuang Si Waterfall, Right: Millie and Lauren at Kuang Si Waterfall

Life has started to pick up in pace here! I’ve found a wonderful group of girls who immediately took me into their friend group on my third day in Luang Prabang. I’ve begun taking private Lao lessons twice a week at my favorite coffee shop with my teacher, Bounlieng. I’ve also started to teach English to a group of 15 middle school-aged kids every Saturday at the LPB Library/American Corner. I volunteered for the Luang Prabang Half Marathon as a course marshall, directing the runners in English and Lao (who let me do that, I have no clue). And hopefully in December, I will start volunteer teaching at the Lao Friends Hospital for Children to their staff! I’ve also agreed to teach English to the staff at my landlord’s restaurant, Pha Khao Lao, in exchange for food once a week (best kind of payment there is)!

Left: My course marshall sign at the LPB Half Marathon, Right: Part of my new group of expat friends!!

The last month has also been filled with celebrations! I celebrated Halloween with a couple of American expat friends, Alex and Amanda. We dressed up and watched the expat kids parade through town in their costumes and then went for a Halloween drink! We also celebrated the end of Buddhist Lent with the Fire Boat Festival in Luang Prabang. At this festival, we light a Krathong, a small boat made of bamboo and leaves,  and send it down the Mekong River as a symbol of washing away mistakes of the past year. Ben and I were able to celebrate two Thanksgivings, one with a group of American English Teachers, and the other with my gal pals. I was even able to buy an actual pumpkin pie from a local coffeeshop! Lastly, I took a short trip with some of the other Fulbrights to Udon Thani, Thailand, to renew our visas. We relaxed by the pool, went shopping, and had Starbucks for the first time in three months….. that’s a long time without Starbucks, don’t judge me.

Lauren and I in Thailand

Rosie the Riveter for Halloween

Top Left: Lauren and I on the way to Thailand, Top Middle: Reunited with my Starbucks, Top Right: Rosie the Riveter Halloween Costume, Bottom Left: Halloween with Alex and Amanda, Bottom Right: Fire Boat Festival with my Krathong

On the official Fulbright ETA side, I am now teaching full-time with 14 hours of class instruction per week, in the Faculty of Languages. I have one true “co-teacher” who is present for each class, but really only translates if the students are confused. Otherwise, I teach solo for almost every class. We celebrated the 15th anniversary of Souphanouvong University a couple weeks ago – an experience on its own! I’ve found a regular tuk-tuk driver, named Pon, who takes me to and from Souphanouvong University every day. I’ve learned to be proud of the small victories in this past month, like how little by little, I am learning enough Lao to communicate with my tuk-tuk driver, or how I easily worked around a morning-of class schedule change, or how I finally feel like a community member!

My coworker, Julie

My coworker, Vatthana

Top Left: A typical teaching outfit/traditional skirt (sinh), Top Middle: All school assembly, Top Right: Julie and I celebrate Souphanouvong’s 15 year anniversary, Bottom Left: Vatthana, a co-teacher, Bottom Right: My colleagues at the Faculty of Languages

However, the best part of the past month, was the last two weeks because Ben was here to visit!!!!!!!! My co-teachers were so wonderful and covered some of my classes while he was here and I had a blast showing him my amazing new home! Pictures and stories from his visit will follow yet this week!

Teaching Ben how to eat Sin Dat!

Ben at Kuang Si Waterfall!

Thanks for reading, my apologies as this post was long overdue!

ດ້ວຍ​ຮັກ (With love),

Claire