Sao Lao

Thai TV channel 5 TV Pool Live Star News.

Thai TV channel 5 TV Pool Live Star News.

Last month was a busy time for Aunt Kiane and Aunt Phone because they had to attend several weddings. Two of the relatives also held wedding on one weekend (one on Saturday and one on Sunday) so everyone had to help out the best they can with setting up the food for the reception after the Baci ceremony.

On this beautiful Saturday, it was a wedding of Uncle Khao’s niece. The bride’s father is an older brother of Uncle Khao’s father. Her parents passed away when she was very young and a relative on her mother’s side adopted her. The groom’s parents also passed away when he was very young and he was also adopted by a relative. Now they will begin a new life together.

Here comes the groom.

Beautiful Lao girls all dressed up and ready to party.

Bee Bee on the right at the wedding.

I wonder what the head and feet of the pig is for…

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On January 28th of last month, my relatives in Vientiane got up extra early for a special Morning Alms Giving. On that day Buddhist Monks from the nearby temples would travel beyond the usual routes. There would be around 40 Buddhist Monks that would make a procession pass a short and tiny street where Aunt Kian’s house is located. Aunt Kian is very religious if I compare her to other relatives for the fact that she takes part in the rituals of Morning Alms Giving daily and often attend religious events at her local temple. Some other relatives that I visited in Laos would not even take part in the Morning Alms Giving, not even once a week or once every two weeks.

Even though I am not a Buddhist anymore Aunt Kian always tell me that she tum boun and thuk badt for me as well because of the money I sent on a regular basis, which she used part of it for merit making. She told me that if we tum boun together and the next life we would see each other again. I told her that I don’t mind at all to see her and the other relatives again in the next life if there is such a thing.

Episode 26 of Song Kram Nang Fah broadcast on February 21, 2008.

Part 1

Part 2

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Episode 25 of Song Kram Nang Fah broadcast on February 20, 2008.

Part 1

Part 2

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Episode 24 of Song Kram Nang Fah broadcast on February 19, 2008.

Part 1

Part 2

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On Valentine’s Day a week ago Johan bought me a brown leather purse to go with a simple bouquet of flowers. Since I have allergies I am not fond of having flowers around me that will give me a headache for days. The last time Johan bought me flowers I told him that I had to throw them away after a couple of days because I was feeling sick. This time Johan made a good selection because I was not able to smell anything. Then again I was coming down with a flu and can’t smell anything.

I was very happy for the new purse. He must have seen me touching the brown purse last month and thought I wanted to have it. I don’t have any nice purse for going out somewhere nice. I only have two black Kipling purses (5 years old) that are sturdy and not fancy for a nice restaurant. It will go well with my brown booths.

So, did I get him anything for Valentine’s Day? The answer is no, not even a card. I just told him Happy Valentine’s Day and said that the day is more about the women than the men and how the men have to prove themselves and treat the ladies with extra love and care. Since I refused to go out to dinner with Johan because I was feeling too sick to get all dress up and feeling miserable at the restaurant, I made Asian Wraps for dinner and told him when I feel better I will take him out to dinner.

I’m not that thoughtless you know. I had plan to go to the beach on Thursday morning to make a nice drawing on the sand and take a picture of it and then print the design and create a homemade card for him. The idea didn’t become fruitful when I woke up sick and weak. In the end, how you treat one another each day is more important than making a big fuss once a year.

We’ve been having a few foggy days since last Wednesday. A couple of nights ago we were getting a record low temperature at night time. I was wearing three sweaters and hiding under a thick blanket, trying to stay warm and fighting the flu. I have to confess that I was not made for cold weather. Of all the places on this earth I was born in the warm weather of Laos. There must have been a reason for me to be born there. I’m seriously thinking about moving back to Laos. The weather is great, well not during the rainy months. The food and the warm hospitality of the people will make up for the humid and rainy days.

Can you just imagine me blogging from Laos?

For the past two weeks I have been wondering when I would be the next victim in the class to catch the flu. I thought I was in the clear when I only had a sore throat and a little bit of coughing a couple of weeks ago and got better. I’ve been sitting in the middle of a class with all sick people and in the train everyday so many people were coughing at me. It was unavoidable for me to win this losing battle. I even sat across a classmate on the way back from school on Wednesday and wished him a better health and said to him that I hope I won’t catch what he had and will try not to pass it back to him.

Well, guess what? I woke up to a not so happy Valentine’s Day with fever and a headache that felt like my head was going to explode. Johan had made a reservation at a restaurant for a romantic Valentine’s Day celebration but I told him to cancel it. He thought I would be able to go out with him on the weekend. He was wrong.

I haven’t been outside the building since Friday. On Saturday and Sunday I was not able to keep my food down. I was coughing so hard that it caused me to vomit several times (5 on Saturday and 3 on Sunday). Trying to sleep at night has been difficult because the coughing kept waking me up. It was purse misery and there is no good enough medicine to make it any better. I’ve been getting plenty of rest though and drinking lots of fluid, taking my vitamins and eating lots of fruits and veggies.

Perhaps I need to eat better for breakfast and lunch. Since school started again I have been eating fruits and drinking soy milk for breakfast. Lunch is pretty simple as you can see from the photos. I haven’t been eating my spinach for two weeks now and this is what I get. Then again the weather has been crazy lately with rain on and off and the sun coming and going. I just want to be back in Laos where it is nice and warm and lots of people to take care of me at a time like this.

Ready or not I have to go to school on Friday. I missed three days of school already and can’t miss anymore.