-Firstly most people don't even know where it is. Laos is located in South East Asia in between Vietnam and Thailand. I live in the capital Vientiane.
- Laos is a communist nation despite their name Lao P.D.R (Peoples Democratic Republic)
-Laos is a Buddhist nation and only 3% of people are christian. In some places like Luang Prabuang you can be arrested for sharing the gospel
-Being Buddhist, Monks are seen everywhere. Some things I have learned about Monks: You are not suppose to look at them, you are not suppose to touch them, you aren't suppose to talk to them you can talk to them only if they talk to you. In Laos they are viewed as Gods to the people and even themselves say they are not man they are better than man. If on the bus you must sit behind them, the only jobs monks can have are a teacher, they cannot where undergarments and have hair because it is seen as putting more sin on themselves.
-For Lao people food is an important aspect of family. All meals are eaten with family and never alone. Most meals are eaten on the floor. They have small tables or they use newspaper and mats. Communal eating is what I would describe as their style of eating. Everyone sits around the food, you grab a handful of sticky rice, then rolling a small you use your index finger and you're thumb with the rice on your thumb you take a little bit of the food and eat. My favorite Lao food is fried morning glory which is eaten with sticky rice. Lao people like spicy, the most spicy thing I have had is payapa salad which you think would be a fruit salad but it is more like a salty and spicy treat. The first time I had papaya salad I cried a little. Some interesting things Lao people like to eat: Dog, crickets, cow intestine, congealed blood ( they put in soup), baby egg, frog, grilled rat, fomented fish sauce, grilled baby bird, guinea pig, chicken heart and butt, bat and snake. Here are some pictures:
Grilled Bird
Dog
-Lao language is a tonal language and uses a sanscript writing. Well learning Lao has been fun, in all reality it is hard. With 26 constants, 56 vowels and 5 tones it has been a lot to learn. I feel like I know little but I mean it's only been two months. By the end of the year I hope to be able to speak fluently but who knows. Here is my Lao name Sengmany in Lao Script: ແສງມັະນີ
-Transportation is Laos is rapidly getting better. Japan donated buses to Laos that work very well. They are very big and green, have air condition and mostly go everywhere, they are very inexpensive most cost only 3,000 Kip which is about 30 cents. The only downside is they are sometimes unreliable. On many occasions I have waited for the bus and the bus has never come. But not to worry because Laos also had tuk-tuks they are motorcycle taxis that can take you anywhere you want! Not only tuk-tuks Laos has jumbos which are smaller buses or trucks with a oning on the back. Jumbos have routes they follow. I mostly take jumbos to school each day for they are much more reliable. In Laos motorbikes are mostly used but there are many cars as well. One day eventually I will get a motorbike license be able to ride a motorbike to school instead of going by bus.
-Beauty is of importance for Lao people. Though much differently viewed then North Americans, beauty here is the opposite from many things we call beautiful. Lao people love white skin, they use lotions and body washes that have whitener in them, but in America we love to be tan. In Laos they like hair and think arm hair is beautiful as in America we shave everything. In Laos it is okay if you don't match where as in America you are expected to match. Lao people as well like to wear socks with sandals which I don't understand in this climate why you would want to wear socks. It is best to wear the least clothing possible. Laotians like to also where dust covers because the dust here makes it hard to breathe. When we first came I asked, " Do they wear those for fashion or for dust?" So not to worry, it is for the dust. Another common fashion choice is long finger nails. They sometimes grow them all out or they have just one finger they keep long. Once on the bus a women had her index fingernail about two inches long! The most important thing of beauty in Laos is the sihn. The sihn is very tradition clothing worn by all women. They are skirts that are tailored to you and normally go to from your waist to your mid-calf. "You are beautiful in regular skirts, but you are even more beautiful when you wear a sihn," says Patti to me one day. Women notice when you wear a sihn and they tell you. "Ngam, ngam" which means beautiful is all you hear. Lao women also are not afraid to touch. When on buses, on the walk home, at church everywhere, will pet your sihn and your arm and tell you how beautiful you are. I have collected about 7 sihn's which is very much.
A tradition Lao outfit.
Hope that gives a little insight on Laos and life here!
