A Week of Newness

I was realizing as I checked up on a friend's blog (strange that I have time for that here in Laos when I didn't in Seattle but currently I do)that people don't just write day-to-day details but share truly thoughtful things on their pages. I don't promise anything; in fact, I may well stick to the day-to-day, which I think Wendell Berry would be alright with (have you read Jayber Crow? It's day-to-day, certainly, although profound as well, as Wendell is apt to be), but I will keep it in mind as I'm updating.
I have been here long enough now to have had several tours of the city by car. I think I'll need to walk and bike and run and perhaps motorbike around it before I can know it, but I've seen enough to understand why it was described to me as a feeling rural even though it is a capital city. There are just three major streets and the tallest buildings are but a couple of stories. There are no chain restaurants or shops, one of the few cities in the world with that distinction, I think. But you can find nearly everything you need, it seems, at the minimarts and the Morning Market (I've yet to go, but I've been told it is a source of all things-- I'll let you know). It is comforting to know that I can find the essentials, like bread and Skippy's peanut butter when you just don't want sticky rice for breakfast.
Speaking of which, I tried and enjoyed some Lao food today, including the ubiquitous sticky rice (it is to Lao cuisine as pasta is to Italian). It wasn't as spicy as Lao people would eat it (the restaurant made it mild for our group of foreigners) and I didn't try the traditional larp, but had green papaya salad, spring rolls, and Morning Glory (a tasty dish of greens and garlic). I tried to eat it the Lao way (you roll the sticky rice in a ball and either dip this into sauce or indent the ball so that it forms a spoon of sorts and use that to scoop the other food). I may need some lessons before I can do that with any sort of grace but I love eating with my hands so I'm willing to put in some practice and get it right.
Up until now, I've been taking baby steps into my new world-- a walk down my current street here, a talk with the local MCC staff or a past IVEPer there (someone from Laos who served for a year in the U.S. or Cananda, the reverse of what I'm doing). I also tried some rice candy from Thailand and new fruits like Dragonfruit and green guava, drank a sapota fruit smoothie by the Mekong River at sunset (makes you want to come and visit, eh?), went to visit a handicrafts partner of MCC and the graduation of an MCC acquaintance, and showered in a bathroom that lacks a tub or curtain so that I got the whole place wet and had to squeegee it afterwards (common enough practice here), so this week has been full of newness. But next week, I'll start language study and really get out and about, I think. I'm looking forward to it and I'll let you know how it goes, maybe less wordfully, maybe with pictures...

Orientation and Travel

It was a good, long week of orientation to the mission and policy of MCC, preparation for cross-cultural life and the joys and mishaps that accompany it, knowing oneself (turns out that I'm an INTJ, if I'm remembering my letters correctly) and others (50 other SALTers (SALT is the program I am doing: Service And Learning Together) and 40 International Visitor Exchange participants), etc. A good time of being in limbo before the next step of moving overseas, also. Being in limbo doesn't sound particularly desirable but it is not bad if one knows when it will end and it allows for time to think before an overwhelming life change.
Speaking of which, I am now in Laos having arrived safely last night. It was a long trip from Pennsylvania through London (a 12 hour layover gave us plenty of time to see Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and make it through security) through Bangkok and to Vientiane. It was a blessing to travel most of the way with other SALTers and to be met at the airport by my hosts, the MCC Laos country representatives, for the next stage of transition: in-country orientation, which will include some language study, many introductions, and ... I'm not sure what else. I'll let you know soon.

Hmm, so this picture is here so that it can be in my profile, not necessarily because I want it to be here. But, here it is, so enjoy the braids. I miss them myself.

Setting Things Up

Just eight days and I am headed off-- not yet to Laos, mind you. That comes only after a weeklong orientation to all things SALT in Akron, Pennsylvania. But, headed off in the sense that my bags will be packed, everything not packed in such a way will be stored somewhere or another, and I'll be finished saying good-byes (certainly the worst part of going somewhere new is the leaving of people who can't go with you).
All that is to say, it is about time I set up a way to stay in touch with folks in Seattle or not in Seattle and the plan is to do it with this blog.