A Week's End In Bolikhamxay

With things slowing down at Nita School (all the testing was done and teachers were coming in just to come in... no, no there were still some grades to post and some rooms to clean), I took the end of last week to visit Ben and Alisa MacBride-Smith, MCC volunteers in Bolikhamxay Province.  Phyllis, the MCC Country representative, and I rode the bus out to the town nearest their village (Hoi Khun), with Lao music videos playing for our entertainment, as if watching the passing countryside with its forests, rice fields, villages, and former forests (there's a lot of development along the roadway) were not enough.  
   The next day, Alisa (who is working at the district health center, helping them organize health education outreach) and her co-workers allowed Phyllis and I to come along as they visited two villages upriver.  We were up at 5:30 am to go, so the weather was still cool as we rode in a boat for 1.5 hours up the Nam Ngiap river, admiring tropical forests along the river's edge and the peace of the river itself.  At each village, the health team weighed babies and children (more dramatic an event than you might think), taught the villagers how to make soy milk (involves straining the beans out after they've been cooked, mashed, and soaked in water, then adding sugar and boiling; not as tricky as I'd imagined), and spoke about nutrition and sanitation (the latter topic being the focus of an entertaining tale about a boy finding a place to go to the bathroom-- the woods and fields turn out to be bad options).  It was a blessing to see the natural beauty of Laos during our river ride, but also to be welcomed by the people in each village with shy smiles and a meal or drink.
   I stayed in Hoi Khun for the weekend, visiting another village the next day (this one just a short motorbike ride away, unfortunately :)),  learning the art of bread-making from Alisa, and enjoying the slow pace of life by reading, swimming in the river, watching Pirates II so I'll be ready for the next one when it comes this way, etc.  
  I made it home on Sunday and have since enjoyed a few slow days at the school.  It is odd to be at Nita without the kids who bring it to life in all its noise, joy, and bustle so I will be glad to see some kids return on Friday, as we celebrate Children's Day.  Then on Sunday I'll cook a farewell meal for my host family because the following Monday, I will move to a new place.  I'll be staying at a skills center near to the school (ARDA Language School) at which I will teach for my remaining time in Laos, which is 
now just under two months (!).  I am hopeful for this final stage of my time here, to be in a new community and at a new job, 
still near enough to maintain those relationships that I've already been given.  I'll let you know how it goes.