Romeo and Juliet- Lao Style

On Saturday I had the pleasure of enjoying a play put on by the literature class of the Lao-American college. Here are a some pictures and videos. The crowd responses are my favorite. And also, in true Shakespearean style, the role of Juliet was played by a dude.

Sabaidee Pi Mai! 2

I had so much fun on Monday, the second day of Pi Mai, at a street party with some Lao friends. It's much more fun flinging water at passing trucks and motorbikes than being the one having water flung AT you.

The boys were arming themselves with little plastic bags filled with yellow-colored water (yes that is water, no they're not water balloons). These things have sharp corners and leave welts and bruises.

This dude had amazing aim. He would hit his target in the face with a water bag almost every single time. And he was encouraged to do so!

This guy, however...I call this one "Almost Got 'Im".

I call this one "Got 'Im".

 

So much fun. I'll definitely be celebrating this way again next year!

River Butterflies 2

More butterflies at the river! (Here are the butterflies from last year.) I knew I had to take a video this time so as to help everyone feel like a Disney princess.

Bits n' Pieces

On the way to the Lao/Thai border (no, I was not driving), I spied something curious in the back of a truck bed. What could it be?

Why, piles of legs, of course.

And skin.

That Luang Festival 2

The main part of the That Luang festival took place early in the morning on November 28th. Monks from all around Laos come to receive alms from people who come from many different provinces. The alms are given in order to store up merit for rebirth into a better life.

That Luang Festival

The official days of the That Luang (Taht Lou-ahng) Festival are two days before, the day before and the day of the full moon in November. This year it falls on the 26th, 27th and 28th. For the past two weeks, though, there have been festivities in the huge parking lot outside of That Luang.

The Ferris Wheel was definitely my favorite part this year. It was good to feel a bit removed from all of the insanity happening below and be able to observe it all from the air.

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.

 

Vientiane Boat Racing Festival

On Wednesday afternoon, a friend and I joined the thousands of people by the Mekong to watch the boat races. This festival signifies the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the cool*/dry** season. 

*cool = upper 70s
**dry = less than 100% humidity

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!

Idioms In Common

Idioms are an important part of any language. Learning idioms in different languages give much insight into that culture. Though English and Lao differ greatly in both language and culture, we both use idioms in similar situations. Here are four common idioms in English that have counterparts in Lao:

'Umbrella' sing-a-long in Lao!

 

Apologies that the sound and video don't quite match up.

Real lyrics to the full song can be found here.

Kanhom

Jao me hua jai kong khoy, 

Leh puak hao se bo kuey nyek tang

Bang tii nai magazine, 

De jao goh bpen dao kong khoy

Bao uei poh nai gan kuun,

jao hen lot nyai sot sai

Leh ta yaak hai khoy yuu
Gap jao hai dai sameu

Poh wa

CHORUS
Vela daed ock

             Puak hao leuam  namgan                 

Bawk jao khoy jah you talot gan

Vow wa khoy pen muu kong jao

Me kamsaban Khoy ja you nam jao hod talod pai
De dio nee vela fon tok haeng ti sut              

Huu wa puak hao nyang mi gan yuu

Jao yun dai you nai kanhom kong khoy (x2)

Kanhom, kanhom, eh eh eh 

You nai kanhom kong khoy (x3)

Kanhom, kanhom, eh eh eh (eh eh eh)