Swimming, Social Work Students and School

I began my second week without Hoa and it was weird for her not to be there. But on Monday I was suprised to meet two university students who were doing their fieldwork at Donkoi. They will be at the center for a month and half and it was nice to see new faces, even if they only speak a little English. I went to Donkoi on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday to teach English. On Thursday morning I went to a Women's International Group (WIG) meeting. It was really nice to see and the lunch was a potluck. The lunch represented all the different cultures that women in WIG come from. You don't often see a lunch with both sushi, samosas. pigs in a blanket and cream puffs!

On Friday I visited the National Rehabilitation Center and saw several kids who were staying there. Madame Xuyen and I played some games with the kids, and it was wonderful to see them so resilient.

On Saturday I went to Dongsavat via motorbike. It was the second time I've ridden on the one and they are growing on me. I still think they are dangerous considering the Lao drivers in general do not follow traffic laws except for stop lights, and weave in and out of traffic, dodging cars and tuk tuks. I taught English in the morning where a very nice volunteer helped translate for me. Then I watched the kids make tamakhung and we ate it with sticky rice and spinach dish for lunch. After lunch we all went swimming at the nearby pool. I do not the driving age in Laos, but I watched, amazed as three kids who were probably all 13 and under piled onto a motorbike with another maybe 13-14 driving. I rode on the back of Mr. Phonsay's bike, he had his son in front of him shoulder bag. It's amazing what you can fit on the bike when you try.

Saturday night I went to the Lao Cultural Hall downtown and saw a night of Bollywood music and dancing. It was very cool to see!