This is the first place I've seen that has a weather forecast of "Smoke".

This is due to the slash-and-burn agriculture around Luang Prabang. The smoke has become very noticeable over the last month. We had a lovely cool breezy day last Wednesday which enabled us to see the sky. We got a lovely view of the mountains around us for a couple of days, but this was an exception. Most days the haze of smoke means we can't see the surrounding moutains. We have even seen ash blowing around in the air.

A couple of weeks ago Ron and I were returning to Luang Prabang from a motorcycle ride in the country. It was dark and we could see the line of fire beside us, on the other side of the Nam Khan River. Oddly enough, we have not heard of any forest fires, which we find surprising, considering it is very dry (after all, it is the dry season).

Oh well, Luang Prabang is still lovely, even shrouded in smoke.

Amy

Photos of morning alms

A few of us have given alms to the monks in our neighborhood. I enjoy it so much I go pretty much every day. The monks from 7 temples collect alms in our area between 5:30 and 6:00 AM.

There are as many as 130 monks in these 7 temples, but we usually see between 100 and 110 each day. Not all monks collect alms every day. The come in groups, by temple. For example, the monks and novices from Wat Aphay (pronounced a-pie) usually come by first, followed by the monks and novices from Wat Aham and then Wat Visoun.

The monks get up at 4:00 or 4:30 and pray before the collect alms. They eat breakfast when they get back to their temples, which can be as late as 6:30 or 7:00 AM. They walk at least a few kilometers in their bare feet. The locals who give alms get up a good 40 minutes before alms are collected to cook the sticky rice. The woman who runs the guest house where we are staying gets up between 4:30 and 4:50 everyday.


The second photo shows Emma, Zoe and I preparing to give alms. Notice that we are sitting on low stools, because women have to be lower than the monks.

The third photo shows Patrick about to give alms. Notice that he is standing. Men do not need to be lower than the monks. We are all wearing a sash over one shoulder and using silver bowls. If we were giving sticky rice, we would use the covered baskets used to hold sticky rice.



The last photo shows me about to give alms. You can see Patrick standing at the beginning of the line.

We work with many novices every day. A novice I was working with at the Mekong English Centre today mentioned that he is from Wat Visoun and sees me every morning giving alms. It was interested trying to explain that yes I did like giving alms - I like the way it binds the community together. The symbiotic relationship really appeals to me (the locals give alms for good luck and take it very seriously and the monks collect alms because that is where they get their food). My English-Lao dictionary does not have an entry for "symbiotic", but after much discussion maybe they (we had an audience) understood. They were certainly amused.

The Improved Buffalo

March 3, 2010

I have been going to Big Brother Mouse (BBM) whenever I have time in the mornings. From 9-11 AM native English-speakers are paired with Laos students who want to practice their English. It is fun working with the students.

I arrived early once and read one of the books while I waited for students to arrive. It was the Improved Buffalo. It’s a wonderful story, and the illustrations are magical. I bought my own copy and a couple of BBM’s collections of Lao folk tales. I am having a difficult time finding teaching material that is culturally relevant to Lao students. I am actively looking for good English books of all levels that cover topics relevant to Lao, and am very pleased with what BBM produce.

Check out the Improved Buffalo at http://www.bigbrothermouse.com/books/newbuffalo-book.html. I'm happy to bring back extra copies if you would like one. :-)

UXO

March 3, 2010.

There is a UXO (unexploded ordinance) visit centre here in Luang Prabang. People can go and find out about initiatives to educate the Lao about UXOs and to clear UXOs from specific areas.
One of the GVI volunteers has made contact with the UXO visit centre and is teaching English to the officials there for an hour a day.

The UXO situation was made more real to us a few weeks ago when the UXO team sent a notice to our guesthouse, which is right beside the Nam Khan (river) indicating that between 9 and 10 AM the next day (it was a Friday) they would be exploding an UXO down by the river. People were asked not to watch. I was teaching at the time but one of the other volunteers was in the guesthouse and said she could hear and feel the explosion. We were curious where the UXO came from. As far as we knew, Luang Prabang was not bombed. Ron was talking to a local who said that in general, Luang Prabang was not bombed but that the old bridge (right behind our guesthouse) was bombed as a strategic target. He said an UXO was found there a year and a half ago. He went to watch the UXO team detonating the UXO found recently and said it was a cluster bomb. I gather they wouldn’t have tried to take out the bridge with cluster bombs so we are guessing that it was washed down the river from somewhere further north. The river is very low at the moment so it is possible the cluster bomb was there for a while but only now visible.

A volunteer from London saw the following article in the Times shortly afterwards. It is very sobering to be living in a community for which this is a very real issue (and as I said, UXOs are not considered to be an issue in Luang Prabang).

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/article7036794.ece