A memorable last few days in Laos!
I had the most wonderful evening with a friend from home, Lisa. Working as a teacher in Vientiane, Lisa lives just outside of the city with a local family. She picked me up by motorbike and we zipped across town where we spent the evening with her host family! I was greeted withe smiles and hellos from children and family members. The house is busy with bustle and home to Lisa's host family along with neighbor kids, extended family members and so forth.
Lisa introduced me to the evening routine of the "spa," or sauna. Family members and neighbors wrap themselves tightly in colorful sarongs, rinse off with buckets of cool water and step into the steamy room before taking a seat, men in one sauna and women in another. The air is thick and hot, breaks are necessary after only a few moments. Sitting outside of the sauna to cool off, men drink tea and women apply facial masks and milk or yogurt to the skin in efforts to keep arms and legs looking light in color.
With dinner time approaching, one of the children requested help in the kitchen. Lisa and I sat on small stools, over a larger metal tray, ripping fresh herbs apart, cutting tomatoes and peeling carrots for the salad. Dinner was served! I reached for the sticky rice, balling it in the palm of my hand and dipping the rice ball into Lapp (beef and herb salad) to take my first bite - delicious!
At dinner, I enjoyed speaking with one of the girls, Puna. She attends English class every night of the week and we giggled our way through several conversations. After dinner, it was time for a crazy game of Uno with the young ones! The rules were simplified and we all played a bit out of turn at times, but we had a blast slapping down cards and yelling "Uno!" over the Thai music that played from the television behind us.
Thank you, Lisa, for giving me the opportunity to spend time with your beautiful host family! It was wonderful to see you again!
