For the past month I have been volunteering at Saelao Project and having a wonderful time. Last weekend I went to Vientiane, the capital, and then crossed the border into Thailand just to come back again and get a new Laos visa. I now have another month before having to do the same thing again (why isn't there a multiple-month visa? My passport is running out of pages).
I have enjoyed not having to change locations over the past month, and calling a bungalow my home. Apart from the many large spiders, occasional unwelcome visitors under my pillow (six inch centipede, lizards) and small raindrops that leak through during a major downpoar, the bungalow is very comfortable and quite cozy. My feet and legs are covered in many mosquito bites (but no worries, cause there hasn't been a reported case of malaria in the area for ten years), but my body is happier than it was in Vietnam and my hair is growing - about three centimeters long right now and getting to the "awkward stage."
Going on the internet requires walking (two hours), biking (45 minutes) or motorbiking (25 minutes) seven kilometers along a very "interesting" road from Nathong village to the nearest town, Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng is set against limestone karsts and the a beautiful river, which unfortunately the tourists have picked up on. Tubing down the river and visiting the various bars along the way has exploded as the most popular thing for tourists to do in Laos, which in turn is harming the local culture and disturbing the serene environment. Check out the local's opinion on that in the article Down The Tube (the director of Saelao, Sengkeo/Bob, is quoted in it).
Luckily, at Saelao we get to enjoy the pristine Lao environment without too much disturbance. And enjoy it we do.
Our days are filled by:
Teaching English
Currently we are teaching English in the local primary school to grades 3, 4 and 5 - an hour and a half one day a week per class. It's not near enough, but at least it's something. The kids in grades 4 and 5 have been taught English before by Saelao volunteers so they are at least pretty good at the alphabet, numbers, and asking basic questions: what is your name, how are you, how old are you, where are you from, where are you going. Grade 3 has never been taught English except for those who go to evening English classes at Saelao. We're still introducing the alphabet to them.
Every weekday night there are two sessions of one hour extra English lessons for younger kids who know just the basics, and older kids who know more. It really varies how many kids show up, but I'd say it's usually about 30 younger kids and 10 older kids. It's much more difficult to hold the kids' attention when they are at Saelao then when they are in their school environment.
Possibly our most devoted students are three teenage Buddist monks: Novice Lo Ma, Novice Boon Ping, and Novice who I can't remember the name of, because every day he says it's something different. They come every day for lessons, I get the feeling they don't do much at the temple. I enjoy working with them and am answering several of my questions about monks in the process.
Eco Building
During the first week I was at Saelao we built a pizza oven out of clay mud and rice husk. The mud was mixed with our feet, which was quite fun. The oven is very thick so it will take months to dry, I will probably not be around Saelao long enough to eat a pizza from it.
We are also working on finishing the community center, where English is taught. This is working with the mud and rice husk again, as well as putting in glass bottles to let in extra light. Soon we will be adding doors and windows. Eventually, it will be locked and valuables will be able to be kept inside. Ideally there will be a computer and many books there.
Planting
We have planted morning glory into the pond for eating in the future, as well as a lemon tree. There are also some vegetable gardens for food and flowerbeds.
Eating Lao Food
Lunch almost always consists of sticky rice (the most important food in Laos, eaten with the hands) and vegetables (often bamboo, another very popular thing to eat in Laos). Simple and delicious. Dinner has more variety, from fried rice to clear soup to my favourite, spicy rice-noodle soup (Lao version of pho). The food is cooked by locals, usually lunch by Dom, who also does weaving an often brings along her three-year-old son, Pit Noy (Lao for "little duck"). Dinner is usually cooked by Meo (Lao for "cat"), the 20-year-old general caretaker at Saelao who lives there and speaks excellent English. He shows what typical Lao people my age are like (not so different from back home) and is also a good source when you want to know how to say something in Lao.
Daily life at Saelao is relaxing, in true Lao style. I have been doing a lot of reading, and have many book recommendations for those who are in need of a story with an interesting setting. Nearly every day the volunteers make their way to the Blue Lagoon, which is also a popular tourist destination. There are also four 'Buddha days' a month in which many people don't work. On these days we often go to a nearby cave or do some other sort of exploration like a hike.
I look forward to spending another month volunteering and then perhaps doing some travelling around Laos and Cambodia. Apologies for this rushed update, let me know if you have any questions.
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