I guess when you live somewhere for 3 months it's bound to have some influence on you (or maybe I should say that hopefully it will). Here are some of the habits or quirks I've picked up since living in Luang Prabang:
(1) I follow the lunar cycle. The buddhist celebrations follow the lunar cycle and I loved the 4 PM drumming at the 3 wats closest to our guesthouse (Wat Aphay, Wat Aham, Wat Visoun). So I kept track of the lunar cycle so I'd know when to go. I find myself still checking the lunar cycles when I check the wunderground weather where ever I am. Full moon tonight!
(2) I cover up in the sun. The locals seem to do that everywhere we've been in southeast Asia. I could not understand the long-sleeves in the HEAT when I first arrived in Luang Prabang (which was actually cool weather, I now know), but now I find myself only wearing my long-sleeved shirts, despite that fact that the temperature is over 30 degrees C and feels a lot hotter with the heat index.
(3) I really appreciate the elegant design of the cheap (~$7CDN) sandals I bought in Luang Prabang. They had a back strap (over the heel) that held the sandal on for walking, but that could be moved up over the instep for short distances when you need to slip in and out of your sandals often (e.g., for entering buildings - you remove your shoes when entering private homes and some public places in Laos). I can't even find this style of sandal in Malaysia, although I think I probably could with extensive searching. But I know I won't find them in Canada. Sigh. Ron has a pair; mine broke. I will post a photo. Funny how something so simple and taken for granted in Luang Prabang is just not even thought of in other parts of the world. It's a simple design that meets a real requirement in Laos, but the requirement doesn't exist in Canada. So the elegant design would not be appreciated. But now that I know about the requirement, I really appreciate the design. I once saw a novice entering a building right in front of me. He removed his sandals mid-stride, so seamlessly I couldn't tell he had removed them, except that I knew that he had and I could see them on the floor. The grace that comes from a long-repeated, common-place action...
(4) I walk slower. Not all of the time, but a lot of the time, and when I walk fast I notice it. This is significant for me. The Laos "please don't rush" approach to life has rubbed off on me. This is good. I needed to slow down - in life.
(5) I'm much more aware of the community that lies beneath the surface of everyone's day-to-day life, if only we choose to nourish it. In Laos, the families really LIVE together - the kids and extended family members and animals are in each others' lives for most of the hours of a day. For many people (there are, of course, exceptions), this is also shared with the neighborhood (the houses are literally open to the street). So people walking by look into homes. Everything is done in the open, from working to cooking, to watching TV, to shaving and even bathing, washing clothes, washing hair... It made me realize that at home we really shut ourselves off from the rest of the world, and this means our communities have atrophied. I think maybe we've lost something special. Ron has long been talking about creating a front yard that we can sit in and be part of the neighbourhood, and I think he's on to something. But we'll have to start with rocking chairs and hammocks to ease our neighbours into it. They might get upset if I started to wash the dishes and my hair in the front yard. ;-) Mind you, I'd probably bring people together if I did baking out there... mmmmm oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
