Friday, September 13, 2013

15 Things I Learned in Laos

1. Listen to your father.
Daddy: “I think you should be a teacher.”
Me: “I think I want to be a health educator.”
Daddy: “Ok.”
Me: Spend $500 dollars on a health educator course, decide I hate it.
6 months later...
Me: “I don’t know what to do with my life. I didn’t really like the health ed course. Now what should I do?”
Daddy: “I think you should be a teacher.”
Me: “I think I want to be a midwife.”
Daddy: “Ok.”
Me: Spend $250, decide I hate it.
A few months later...
Me: I’m going to be an English teacher in Laos.
Daddy: Ok
3 months after arriving in Laos...
Me: I LOVE being a teacher! I think this is what I want to do for the rest of my life!
Daddy: Yep.


2. You can't judge food by its appearance.
River weed is really good!















3. Kids are cute the world over.





4. Dressing up is a pain, but worth it. Heels are a pain and not worth it.
We went to a wedding, and the road was dirt, and the dirt was soft. 
My heels kept sinking in the ground. 
I was not very graceful.

















5. Krataw (takraw in Thailand) is the awesomest sport on the planet.

6. Don’t believe signs in tourist areas.
This is what they said we would see.
This is what we actually saw.































7. Packages from America are huge blessings.
This cannot be emphasized enough. The highlight of our weeks was mail day, and it's terribly disappointing not to get anything. Even if it's just a postcard, send something to your friends overseas!

8. Write out lesson plans. Preferably before teaching.
Textbooks, red pen, computer, and tamarind.
All ready to lesson plan!

















10. Never take hot showers for granted.
Or cool ones for that matter. Our downstairs shower thermostat broke, so the shower was either scalding or off.

11. Lao music is cool.

12. When living abroad, adopt a family.
Brothers
















Sister

Sister

Kinda like sisters/cousins

Sister










































Brother





















Brother




















13. Hot is relative.

14. Hmong is the awesomest language on the planet!
When nyob zoo is pronounced nyah zhong, you know you have met a cool language. Move over Russian! Hmong is now my favorite language.

15. Go sightseeing.
I didn't go sightseeing until the last week I was in Laos. Mistake. Don't be afraid to be a tourist. Take the crazy pictures. Make memories. You won't regret it.

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