Western influences

During my recent trip to Bangkok, I was amazed by the Western influence in this city. I spent quite a bit of time studying in a shopping mall where Ronald McDonald greeted visitors with a wai (Asian respectful greeting) and this Christmas display from Starbucks lured visitors inside. Then I went to one of the many large shopping malls where Christmas lights were glowing and Christmas music was playing and throngs of people ate at McDonalds, Sizzler and Burger King. It was before Thanksgiving in America, but since Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Thailand, the"not before Thanksgiving" rule doesn't apply. I was thinking of the irony of listening to songs about snow and the birth of Christ in a tropical, Buddhist country. Then I thought just how sad it was that Christmas is so secularized. It is even celebrated with gift giving in the Communist country with significant Buddhist influence where I currently live. When I commented to my housemates about how strange it seemed, I was told "Christine, Christmas is a secular holiday." Huh? Maybe that is what the world has made it, but it is not a secular holiday. So, I am getting ready to start my Christmas music and I will strive to remember the reason for the season.

Traditional Lao-style house???

Minister of Health for the Lao PDR, H.E. Dr Ponmek Dalaloy addresses
those in attendance of the opening of the new WHO office

As the Health Frontiers Field Representative, I was recently invited to the Open House for the new WHO office in Vientiane. Leila and I rode our bicycles to the event and were hastily directed to the back of the building so that there was room for the shiny SUVs of the other NGOS and the black, sedans of the diplomatic corps. During the ceremony, the director of the WHO in Laos welcomed us to their new "traditional Lao house." Huh? Has he looked at the building? Traditional Lao-style houses do not have Roman columns and grand curved wooden staircases. They don't even have running water or electricity. The new WHO office looks more like a southern mansion, or the White House. There is a lot of money to be made in development. This event just served to help me appreciate the volunteer, low-budget mission of Health Frontiers. I rode my bicycle away with pride.

An historic day

Regardless of one's political leanings, it is difficult to deny that Tuesday, November 4 was a historic day in American history. For me, it was actually Wednesday, November 5 around noon as I sat with a room full of Americans in a far away land and watched the acceptance speech of America's first black president-elect. To be living in a country that is the most bombed in history and that is still suffering terrible effects from the unexploded ordinances left behind by my own nation, causes one to question the unabashed patriotism that used to be prevalent in America. America went from a partner to an enemy in this country where I reside based on fears of socialist ideaology and hatred. As was explained to our group by the US Embassador in a meeting yesterday, the US continues to slowly work to regain trust and partnership in this region. The terrible deeds and enduring consequences of the situation in SE Asia, remind me of slavery and the long-lasting consequenses it has had in America, among its own people. With this election, the US is making further strides to regain partnership and trust with its own people. While you may not agree with President-elect Obama's opinion on certain high profile and highly polarizing issues (I don't agree with all of them either), the importance of this event in history is not lost on this Caucasian, Christian woman. Although, I no longer have naiive unquestioned faith in my country, I am proud to be an American and I hope the rest of the world will work toward restoring its partnerships with us.

Another fun bathroom

When we went to the National Rehabilitation Institute last week for the Colin Cotterill evening, Leila made sure to show me this sink. Apparently it used to wear a pasin (Lao-style skirt) but now it stands naked in all its glory.

A Literary Event

Colin Cotterill at the book event at COPE. Yes, those are prosthetic limbs hanging behind him. Some of them are even made of bomb casings. Oh, the sad, sad irony.



I had never heard of Coliln Cotterill until I arrived in Laos. I was then introduced to his novel, The Coroner's Lunch, and am now a big fan. Colin is a native of Britain, with an Australian passport who spent 4 years in Laos in the late 1970s who now lives in Thailand. He is writing a series of novels set in Lao PDR in 1975 just after the Pathet Lao came to power. They feature an elderly surgeon who is forced from retirement to serve as the national coroner of Laos. He comes to discover that he is the host for Yeh Ming, an ancient Hmong shaman, and consequently has unusual interactions with the recently deceased people he examines. These interactions lead him to be a sort of amateur detective into these mysterious deaths. They are set in Vientiane with street names and sites I pass every day. They involve a fair amount of satire and do not always cast the Party in glowing terms but have not been banned. They also have a fair amount of animism which confused me at first. I read all 5 in the series to date in the first 2 months I was here and am already looking forward to number 6 which will be published next August.

It was exciting, therefore, to meet the author this past week. He returns several times a year to do research for the novels and has become an advocate for several charities around the country. His novels have recently been published in Lao and he is donating all the proceeds to three of these charities, including COPE. COPE is located at the National Rehabilitation Hospital and helps provide prosthetics and other adaptive equipment to disabled Laos. Many of their patients are victims of previously unexploded ordinances which remain a huge problem in this country which is the most bombed in history. He gave a presentation and signed books at COPE as well as gave a short reading from his 6th book. I had never been to such an event, and it was fun to meet the author of the books I enjoy so much, right in the city where they are set.

Thalea's Baci

I just returned from my first baci this morning. A baci is a traditional Lao ceremony to celebrate a special event such as a birth, marriage, homecoming, welcoming, or festival or to bring a cure to the sick. Before the ceremony, the women prepare a pha kwan which is a bowl from which an arrangement of flowers, bananas leaves and pieces of white thread is created. This is placed in the center of a white cloth which will be the site for the ceremony. An elder, often a monk, then calls all the wandering spirits back to their inhabitant. The kwan are components of the soul described by some as “vital forces, giving harmony and balance to the body, or part of it" or "vital breath". According to the Lao, the kwan look over the 32 organs which unite to form a human being. Sickness or suffering is often blamed on the wandering or loss of one of these kwan. The kwan are called back and then white strings are tied around the wrists of the people of honor with blessings of long life, health, prosperity, etc. Sometimes small monetary bills are tied on with the strings. The strings should be left on for at least three days when they can be untied, but not cut off. It is preferred to leave them on until they fall off. Afterward, everyone shares a meal (and alcohol) together.

So, when the neighbors came over this week to invite us to the baci for their newborn daughter, I had a vague idea of what was involved, but hadn't yet seen one. Thalea was born 1.5 weeks ago to her Thai mother and Belgian father. Overall, it was a baby shower with animist/Buddhist spiritual rituals. I do not share their spiritual beliefs, but they are our neighbors and it was nice to celebrate with them on the birth of their baby and interact with some other folks. Bryan and I bought baby gifts at the Shell station (yes, it was a little like doing Christmas shopping at the mini-mart on Christmas morning, but it is a nice gas station!) When we arrived, it seemed that the only people who brought gifts were falang and most of them had also come from the gas station. We tied the strings, ate the food and chatted with folks. Ning, our housekeeper, and Sou, our administrator, also came and it was nice to chat with them. This ceremony has special meaning to the Lao people, but for me it was just a nice break from my Saturday morning studies.

Ning and Sou with Thalea and her father.

Boat Racing Festival

So I experienced my first holiday in Laos last week. Or course, it was difficult to determine if it was an official holiday or not. Our office staff took two days off, but the hospitals only had one day of holiday (and maybe one day of pseduoholidaty) and some places were business as usual. Hmm, interesting. . . .

Anyway the occasion was the end of Buddhist "lent" or the Rains retreat. During the rainy season, the monks and novices remain stationed at a single temple and do not travel around. Many men are ordained as monks during this time (even if just for 2 weeks) and it is known as a time of spiritual renewal. On the day of the full moon of 11th lunar month, corresponding with the end of the rainy season, the lay people make merit giving the monks needed gifts and then they are once again allowed to travel about. This is also the night that people release heau fai into the Mekong River.. These are boats of bamboo or banana leave with flowers and lighted candles that they believe will carry away all the past and current bad luck and good luck will enter their lives the next day. This is also the night of naga fireballs--the one night a year that the Mekong Dragon releases balls of fire. All sorts of controversy exists as to the actual etiology of this phenomenon, with accusations of human involvement straining Thai and Lao relations. Overall, there was a jubilant atmosphere in Vientiane on this night with sparklers and fireworks all over the city. Of course, lots of Beer Lao and Lao-lao (rice whiskey) add to this merriment. I was very thankful to arrive home safely from Bible study and leave the drunk people to their celebrations.

The next day (?the official holiday?) was the boat races. This involved teams of people in long narrow boats, rowing down the Mekong in one-on-one heats with a bracket system. Paul, a British infectious disease physician with Wellcome-Trust, lives right on the river near the start line and invited us over to watch the races. We mostly ate good food and conversed with the other invited falang (foreigners). We did get brief glimpses of the boats as they sped by and then as they were being towed back up river to the starting line. Apparently the Beer Lao team wins every year and like with other amateur sporting events there are accusations of unfair recruiting, including professional crew members from Thailand. Plenty of Beer Lao and lao-lao was also consumed on this day and I was again relieved to park my bicycle in our driveway.