A Lao Funeral

Last Wednesday my school director's husband died. On Thursday and Friday there were Baci ceremonies (mentioned here) and the funeral was on Saturday. When we arrived at the temple, the monks led the procession inside. The young male family members joined them by shaving their heads and wearing orange robes. The older male relatives wore either black or white and came next in the procession 

After them came the nuns. This included female family members and close friends. They all wore white which is the color of mourning.  

After the nuns came the truck that held the casket. A rope was tied to the front of the truck and held by every member of the procession to signify the monks and nuns leading the body to the temple. 

After we were all seated, the story of his life was read and the monks chanted. Then we all put incense sticks and flowers on the casket. The casket and body were burned at the end of the ceremony.

A Boat Racing Video and GIF

It's amazing how fast those boats were! While we were there, it was fun to see this helicopter with a giant Lao flag hanging from it.

 

Mekong Lights

One of my favorite celebrations in Laos is the night before the Boat Racing Festival. While the main downtown streets are insane with thousands of people and super loud music, the banks of the Mekong are a bit more peaceful. People light lanterns to send to the sky and candles on banana-leaf boats that they send down the river. It's such a beautiful time!

Unique Treats- Yogurt Cola Gum

It's normal to see strange flavors of drinks, chips and candy, but usually gum flavor is pretty standard- minty or fruity. So I was surprised to see this gum's flavor was neither mint nor fruit. When I first looked at it, I was a bit confused by the smiling popcorn on the left, but I soon realized that they are partially opened cups of yogurt. (Sorry if the wasabi pea background is distracting. Mmmmm...wasabi peas....)

The flavor was very similar to Vanilla Coke (ohhhhh man, I could go for a Vanilla Coke right now. With my wasabi peas.) and it  lasted about 10 seconds. Bubble blowing was a bit strenuous.

The most exciting part for me were these Thai comics on the wrappers. The jokes (as you would expect) are based exclusively on Thai culture and Thai language. Poor Hong had to wring the jokes dry in order to explain them to me, and even then I only really understood one of them!

Thailand Trip part 2- Pots

Ban Chiang, Thailand is a UNESCO World Heritage site because of some thousands-of-years-old pottery discovered there in 1966. It's also the reason for our trip to Thailand!

We visited a museum with all kinds of artifacts (no pictures allowed) and then went to a preserved dig site. 

Then we went to a shop that makes pottery and paints them using the same styles and techniques as the Ban Chiang people did thousands of years ago. 

So beautiful!

Then we got the chance to paint our own small pots in the same style. 

They also let us use their pottery wheel to try and throw our own pots! 

I'd say they did a pretty good job!

(Go here for Thailand Trip part 1!)

New Experiences- Buffalo Skin

While cooler weather and bonfires make me think of roasting marshmallows, Hong is reminded of days in his youth sitting around the fire roasting buffalo skin. So we bought some.

 

As I didn't feel comfortable starting a bonfire in my front yard, Hong fried the little pieces of skin in a pan.

 

Right after I took this picture, the smell of frying skin wafted to my nose. I slowly backed away and took one last picture before shutting the kitchen door.

I am sorry to say that I didn't actually taste the buffalo skin. Maybe next time. The smell was an experience in itself.

The Baci- A Lao Tradition

The Baci (pronounced bossy) is a staple of Lao culture. It is a ceremony and party for anything that needs to be blessed: a new house, a baby, a marriage, someone who was in an accident, etc.

First, the family sets up a Baci tree (Mak Beng) made out of marigolds and candles.

Oranges, tamarinds, and other food may be placed at the base of the tree to attract any spirit to come and give blessing. The family then ties strings to the tree and invites a monk to come and bless the strings.

The monk chants for about 30 minutes, then takes a string off of the tree to tie around the wrists of the family members who need blessing. Others are invited to tie strings to their wrists as well.

This Baci was for a new baby girl, so I tied a string on her...

...and Hong tied a string on her grandmother. They leave the strings on as long as possible to receive the maximum amount of blessing. 

Then they dance.

Lions or Dragons?

On Tuesday, a troupe of performers came to KIS to do the traditional (what the kids were calling) "Dragon Dance". However, I'm fairly certain they were lions.

What do you think?
Either way, it was a lot of fun!

Along with the animals, there were two guys in plastic heads and a bunch of percussion instrument players.