Odds and Ends

The title refers to what I've been up to of late (a little of this and a little of that) and what was in my noodle soup yesterday (a little pork's blood (congealed so I could remove it without too much trouble!), a little beef and chicken and turkey and squid, and some meatballs and bologna that are made of whatever bologna is made of, who really knows?). Strangely enough, it was good soup. I just avoided most of the animal bits and enjoyed the noodles, broth, and bean sprouts. Anyway, next time you have pho, think of me.
I had this meal yesterday in the midst of visiting several villages where MCC has "Global Family" projects. Instead of one-on-one sponsorship, MCC supports villages, which means supplying school uniforms, school kits (paper and pens, etc.), health kits (toothbrushes, soap, etc.), and occasionally bicycles (the secondary schools can be too far away to walk so kids need bikes if they want to keep studying, and even with a bike the school can be an hour-long, bumpy ride away). I was glad to get to go along for the delivery of some of these gifts; to ride along potholed roads, walk over a make-shift bridge (and through some muddy water when the bridge ended), to grasp at the few Lao words I could make out (numbers, occupations, and the word school is about all I got), and to see how quickly life becomes more rural and disconnected from certain resources as you move away from the city.
Strangely, when I came back yesterday, I had plans to go swimming and to a yoga class at a fancy gym near the office. It was lovely but also strange knowing that the pool, etc. was a world so far removed from the lives of the people I met. How blessed that I can lead a double life, meeting people of a different culture and livlihood than me but also able to experience the luxuries of "home."