Sports and Other Ramblings

This past weekend was a big weekend here in Laos...It was the Boat Racing Festival. Basically down by the Mekong normal life shuts down and vendors take over, lining the streets with shops selling pretty much everything you can imagine...lots of tasty treats too! We went down there Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. It's called the Boat Racing Festival because that's what draws all the people there, but there is a lot more to it than that (and even though we went all three days, I think I saw about 1 minute of boat racing total!).  People go down there to shop and there are a lot of good deals to be found too. Saturday, Christa and I went with Touy, our language tutor who is the bargaining queen. Saturday evening many people either bring boats that they've made or buy boats made of banana leaves and flowers, light a candle in them and float them down the river. I don't have any pictures of that on my camera, but it's a pretty interesting sight to behold. All these mini lights floating down the river. Originally the symbolism was of one's bad things being washed down the river. Now it's more commercialized and to many more of a "date" type of activity to enjoy with your significant other and it seems to have lost much of it's original meaning. But it was moving to see these little lights floating down river, some of the candles extinguished from the wind, and think of the True Light who can never be put out and the only one who can wash away all our bad things, as far as the east is from the west.

Ok, so that's my philosophical musing. Didn't actually mean to go there, but you know, with me it just happens.

Anyway, on Sunday Christa and I braved the crowds and went in the afternoon to watch the boat races. Only, once we got there we weren't sure if the boats were actually still racing. Most of the people seemed to be leaving rather than going, and we didn't exactly know how to say "are the boat races finished" in Lao, so we just sat and waited for a while, hoping to see at least one race. It was a really beautiful day...but soooo hot.

We were sweating like crazy! And we were like the only people who didn't have umbrellas so the sun was pretty scorching.

Here you can see all the people standing on the Mekong River bank waiting for the boats.

This was one of the few races that we "saw" and by that I mean we probably caught the last 10 seconds of each race because the boats race so close to the bank that it was hard to see from where we were. I'm not exactly sure how many people are in each boat, but they all wear the same color...I think this was the blue team verse the orange team (orange and blue...just for you, Dad!)

Tuesday night Christa's friend Yui invited us to the last match at the Suzuki cup. Laos was playing East Timor. I've been wanting to go to a sporting event here in Laos so I was really excited to go.

This is the team warming up.

The players coming onto the field, the Laos flag to the left.

Here's Yui, Christa and I at the game.

There was a group of young boys in front of us who were really into the match.

Yui's friends know several of the players on the Lao team so here are all her friends posing with #20 who is the biggest soccer star in Laos. It's actually pretty cool because this guy and 5 others on the team are like-minded, if you know what I mean.

So, somehow even though we are really nobody, being a foreigner automatically catapults you to near celebrity status so we got our picture taken with #20 and his family. They were all super friendly to us, practicing the little English they knew.

Hanging out with Yui, her family and friends made for a really fun evening and gave us a unique glimpse of a part of Lao culture I hadn't experienced before.  We all piled into the back of her dad's pickup on the way home and I really felt like I was tasting a bit of "real" Lao culture.

This has been a really busy week, actually, and has included a lot of baking too. The Boat Racing Festival took up most of last weekend and Tuesday afternoon/evening was the soccer match. We always have team meetings on Wednesdays and this week we had a potluck so I made swiss cheese chicken (one of my favorite recipes, but swiss cheese is like the most expensive cheese, so I might have to think of a new fave), and then with Halloween coming up I baked pumpkin rice krispies for my students last night and Christa baked about 100 cookies. We're having a Halloween party tomorrow night at our house and invited all our students. I hope they come! But either way we will have lots of (hopefully!) yummy food to eat. I spent the afternoon baking a whole pumpkin (no canned pumpkin here!) to make pureed pumpkin for pumpkin bars. Tomorrow we're going to the market to look for costume resources. The three of us roomies are thinking about being the Powerpuff girls for the party so we'll see.

Well, this is becoming a really long and wordy update post. Please ask the Father to send students to our party tomorrow night!!! :) We thought Halloween would be a fun excuse for having our students over and having a chance to get to know them better.

139

Drove my motorbike in the rain to school today for the first time. Thankfully I remembered to wear the poncho backwards so that the rain didn't all drain right into my lap which is what happened the last time I wore it! I needed some windshield wipers for my helmet visor, but otherwise it wasn't so bad. I can't remember the last time I was stuck in the rain like that...So spoiled in my green camry that is waterproof :)

I'm learning to make the most of my commute time in the mornings. Usually I just think about random things, but since my time in the morning is so limited, I've been trying to be intentional about meditating on Truth or talking to the Father. Besides vigilantly watching for vehicles from every direction, I feel like I have had time en route to connect with Him. And that's been so good for my heart and my head. I was reading the other day in the devo book "A Shelter in the Time of Storm" that I mentioned in my last post and these words really struck me:

No one is more influential in your life than you are, because no one talks to you more than you do. You are in an unending conversation with yourself.

And for someone who is so overanalytical like me, this is so true. And it has often been a downfall for me because I easily get down on myself. Paul Tripp continues:

What do you regularly tell yourself about yourself, G, and your circumstances? Do your words encourage faith, hope and courage? Or do they stimulate doubt, discouragement and fear? Do you remind yourself that He is near or do you reason within yourself, given your circumstances, that He must be distant?

These words were so convicting for me. I have been battling discouragement basically since the moment we arrived in Laos. It has ebbed and flowed, but the mornings and bedtime are always really hard for me. After reading those words, I have been more aware of my self talk and realized how often I am down on myself. Being in a new culture exposes so many things, and you often feel like a complete idiot because you're incapable of doing so many basic things.

I'm learning - so slowly - that the Father accepts me to the uttermost. That His Love is steadfast, unwavering and unshakable, no matter how horrible my day was or how much I let discouragement rule the thoughts in my mind.  Psalm 139 has been a rock for me in the last couple of weeks. It's so familiar, and I feel like sometimes when I read something that is familiar it just bounces off my heart. But this time the words have been like a healing balm to my soul. I've experienced a lot of brokenness here, and these words feel like a glue that is piecing my heart back together (hopefully in a way that is more pleasing to the Father!!).

 One of the things I've been so struck by here (and something I wasn't anticipating at all) is just the feeling of not being known. Back home I was known well by many people. In fact, at our ladies BS I was always known as the confessing one because I'm a pretty transparent person (actually, I think that might be a slight understatement). To come to a completely new place where no one knows you, and then on top of that to be battling discouragement on an almost daily basis (so you don't feel like your true self) is hard. I don't want to sound complaining here. Just trying to be honest. I feel like a lot of times people go overseas and only tell the "good stuff" but there is also the hard stuff. I'm learning over and over that hard is not bad. It's often how we grow the most.  And in this place of not being known, the words of Psalm 139 O L, You have searched me and known me are particularly comforting. I am known by the Father. Known and loved. I think a lot of the time, the reason we can't be transparent is because we fear that if we are truly known, we won't be truly loved and accepted. But the Father knows me, He's searched me, I am known by Him, but His knowledge of every part of me in no way diminishes His love for me.

I've always known that. But in this place for some reason this Truth has become a lifeline and a source of great hope for me.  No wonder David said, Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain it.

O L, it's too high, I can't understand
That I, a wretch, am held by Your hand
O L, it's too much, I can't comprehend
That I, but dust, have been formed by Your hand

I am loved, I am known
Not rejected, accepted
Surrounded and covered

Friday's Thoughts

Just finished week 3 of teaching. Wow, it's flying by! This was a fun week with my students - we did some different activities and played some games that they really seemed to enjoy. I taught my one class telephone charades since we were doing a unit on communication, and they asked if we could do it every day. Unfortunately, there isn't quite enough "language practice" in there to justify doing it every day for my Language Practice class. But it was fun to watch them acting out things like making a birthday cake, visiting a temple,and  riding in a tuk tuk.  It seemed to loosen up the mood in the class too. It is so interesting - I think this every time I teach - but there is such a different dynamic in every class, even if you're teaching the same subject or have the same classroom set-up. I mean, it should be obvious I guess, since the class is made up of unique individuals, but it never ceases to surprise me just how much personalities and other factors can influence the dynamic of a classroom.

I feel like just now, in the third week, are the students starting to get a little bit more comfortable and (hopefully!) enjoying practicing their English. This week I was sick, so I missed class on Monday, and then sounded like a pubescent boy for the last few days which amused them but made it difficult to talk loudly enough! Oh well. I'm feeling much better today!

This is a picture of three girls from my Language Practice V class. I had lunch with them last week. They are super sweet and eager to learn English and practice with me!

This weekend there is a big festival in Vientiene (actually, I think it's all over Laos), but it's crazy here. It's a boat racing festival and they have boat races on the Mekong on Saturday and Sunday. But it's so much more than boat racing - the riverfront is lined with tons of shops that just sprouted out of nowhere, with people selling all kinds of goods. I've heard you can get some sweet deals during the festival so we're going to check it out tonight and Saturday.  Because of the festival, a lot of times students don't come to class either on the Friday before or the Monday after. So today I asked my students if they were going to come on Monday (because that's what you're supposed to do apparently and because I leave my house at 6:30 and didn't want to get ups that early if I was going to walk into an empty classroom!), and out of the 22+ students that were there 3 said they were coming on Monday! At least they were honest. But I'm going to still go on Monday and perhaps bring in some breakfast so that the four of us can chat more comfortably. 

I bought a motorbike yesterday! That's my big news. It was a little more complicated than I anticipated because Laos passed a new law that makes it more difficult for foreigners to buy a motorbike, but after spending two afternoons at the Honda dealership with Touy (my language tutor and friend-who-helps-with-everything!), I successfully purchased a bike, insurance and two locks - Hondas are often stolen here so it's important to secure the bike in multiple ways.

This is Touy at the insurance place. She's putting the sticker on my bike that proves I have insurance. Though, I don't think it really means much here...just a formality. I don't really have any other pics of my bike...more to come later.

Probably the best thing about having a motorbike is that I have more time in the mornings now! I leave my house around 6:30 or 6:40 and get to school early, which I mentioned in my other post too, and have time to just quiet my heart and journal, read and talk to the Father. It's been so nice. And I took some pictures of the place today. Here is the little area where I sit.

Our campus is surrounded by trees and greenery...it is really beautiful and peaceful (well, except for the Lao radio station that is usually blasting! :)

I was going to share something I read this morning during my quiet time at school and realized that I left the precious book, a devo book and journal at school!! What a bummer. I guess it's good that the Father has me in a place where living without those things for two days seems like way too long, so I'm thankful, but it sucks to be forgetful. Grr... Oh well, I shall share in my next post. You should really check out the devo book though - it's called A Shelter in the Storm and it's meditations on Ps 27. It's been really hitting my heart in all the places I've been needing lately - convicting, encouraging, affirming and challenging me.

Breaking the Silence

It's been a long time since my last post. Jill even threatened to come to Laos and look for me ;) Actually, blogger changed some things so I've had some technical difficulties, especially with loading pics, so there will be no pictures with today's post. Sorry about that.

Plus, my schedule just has gotten a lot busier and we don't have any internet access at the university. Basically, my day starts around 5:30 (or 5:50 when I get to "sleep in") and I get ready for the day, scarf down some breakfast and then attempt to break out of the house. Yes, I did say break out of the house. First you have to open the door, then if using the motorbike, unlock the padlock on the gate where the motorbikes are kept, then proceed to the main gate in front of the house, un-padlock that, open the gate, pull the bike through the gate, then re-padlock the gate so that the Lao boogey-men don't get your sleeping roomates. It is getting faster and easier now that I know which key fits in which lock,but the first few days it took about ten minutes just to leave the house! Not to mention I'd be sweating by the time I actually got on the bike! Oh well, I guess it's good that I feel secure inside the house.

For the first 2 weeks of school, I was taking a saangtheo to the University - it is basically a glorified pick-up truck with a covering over the bed of the truck and two rows of benches that people sit on. They run set routes and you just wait by the road to flag one down, almost like a taxi, but with way more people crammed inside (and much cheaper ... only 3,000 kip which is less than $.50).  Now that we are motorbike certified, I don't have to ride the saangtheo and I'll  (hopefully) be buying a motorbike tomorrow. 
I will kind of miss the cultural aspect of riding on the saangtheo though, because I met some really sweet people en route to school. I even ended up on the same saantheo with this one girl two days in a row so we enjoyed talking together. Sometimes I would study Lao during the ride too and the people next to me would look over my shoulder and smile and one lady helped me with my pronunciation.  Won't exactly get that while riding a motorbike, but it will save me about an hour in commute time each day.

Classes have been going well. Getting up so early every day (except Wed, though I still get up early because it's my only day to run) is tiring to say the least, and it's been a challenge to find time to be in the Father's presence because my preferred time is in the morning.  Since I'm a new motorbike driver, I have been leaving early to avoid the heavy traffic, so I've been able to spend some time journaling and reading at school before classes start.

If I sound a little random and haphazard, I guess it's because I kinda feel that way. Usually by this time I'm almost ready for bed, but most afternoons we have language lessons with our tutor Touy. Now that I live in a house with English speakers, teach English at the university and am busy lesson planning, it's challenging to find a time to actually go out and experience the culture and practice Lao. I need to strategize as to how I can do that better and provide myself with more opportunities to immerse myself since I spend about 95% of my waking hours speaking English. 

A recent highlight was going to Thailand on Saturday. It was my first "real" trip there (besides when I went just inside Thailand so I could renew my Lao visa) and I was able to buy a blender! That was exciting because I've been really wanting to make fruit shakes (the Lao version of a smoothie) here and now that I have a blender I've enjoyed some tasty banana mango shakes (the mangos here are really delicious...I never liked them in the states, but I love them here!). I've also really been enjoying having a kitchen and we've cooked something most nights...Usually simple stuff like stir-fried veggies and rice. I tried buying meat at the outdoor market one day, but it wasn't so successful. Not the best texture of beef I've ever had. I might just turn into a vegetarian here.  But we'll see.

Well, I guess that's enough rambling for now. Next time I will try to post some pictures. I've kinda gotten behind on posting pictures.

Teaching Schedule

After about 9 weeks of training, adjustment, language learning, exploring, etc... the thing I came to Asia to do is at hand! My first day of teaching is tomorrow - Monday, October 4.

I'm excited, nervous and scared all at the same time. I'm looking forward to meeting my students, and also preparing myself for the first week's awkwardness of not knowing how anything works, not knowing the level of my students, etc. Actually, when I taught at CMMS, I would go home during the first week and tell my roomate, "I hate teaching so much. Why did I make this my career?!" And she would wisely say to me, "Give it a week, you know you always like it after that." And it's so true. After a week, and adjusting to my students and getting to know them, I would usually come home loving my job and feeling like I have the best job in the world. 

This semester I'm teaching 3 different classes for a total of 7 class periods and 14 hours of teaching, which in teaching terms is considered a full load (I know, to many people 14 hours sounds like a dream job, but add in prep time and grading and you're pretty much full-time!). Just in case you're interested, and want to be lifting me up particularly during these times, my schedule is:

Monday - Language Practice V to level 3 students at 8 am
Tuesday - Language Practice III to level 2 students at 8 am, and LPV at 10am
Wednesday - LPIII at 10am
Thursday - LPIII at 8, Basic Reading I at 12:45
Friday - LPV at 8am

So basically I'm going to be starting my days really early - but that is good for me because I'm way more of a morning person anyway and would rather start early and end early. We are required to keep office hours too, so I'll probably end up being on-campus all day most days. Language Practice is one of the favorite classes for our teachers because you get to see your students 3 times a week which means you can get to know them better and hopefully build a more meaningful relationship with them. Academically, it includes all four language skills - reading, writing, speaking and listening.
I can't wait to "introduce" you to some of my students, and would so appreciate your thoughts and intercession as I embark on this new segment of life here in Laos. 8am Monday morning here is 9pm Sunday night EST (hint hint ;)