Trip to Lao

The next order of business was to get an extended Visa, by leaving Thailand and re-entering.

And since I had heard wonderful things about Lao silk, that seemed like a good place to go.

You can see a young girl spinning the silk that has been dyed using all natural plant color.

The skirts, blouses and shawls were exquisite...
but since I am traveling light, I only bought a small shawl.... but there were so many other beautiful items that they were hard to resist... a true test of my new frugality.

One of the most well known sight in Vientiane, the capital of Lao is "Xaysettha, That Luang Stuppa"  or as the tourists call it, the gold building. It is huge and almost unbelievable.

The grounds surrounding had many Spirit Houses, Buddhas and Temples as well as a museum of ancient statuary.

The most amazing thing that happened was while I was standing in line at the border; I met a young woman who is on a Fulbright Scholarship from Fordum University in NY, but she grew up in Stoughton, Wisconsin... the same little town that I came from... Who would think we would meet in Lao?

From there I went to BUDDHA PARK, about an hour drive from the capitol, but well worth the trip.  As you can see a tiny "me" in one of the photos you may get an idea of the magnitude of the statues in the park. Truly magnificent works of art.

Week Four- Certification

A bit sleep deprived, yet energized from 120 classroom hours and at least that many more in homework and class preparation, I now have TEFL = Teaching English as a Foreign Language, and TESOL = Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, Certification! I  am not sure it would be called a typical graduation... no cap and gown, but a real final exam, a completed portfolio and tons of executed lesson plans later, I was given the class title of Las Vegas Mama!

Pre-Avatar!

Week Three - Design for Change

Volunteering even in Thailand! 
                                                     
Design for Change is a worldwide project started by a teacher in India and has quickly spread to schools around the globe.

www.designforchangecontest.com

On a bright Saturday (6am) early morning we met at a high school with over 700 young volunteers who had participated in a contest to to come up with a winning idea to make a positive change in their community. For "Beach Clean-up" we were armed with a colorful banner (see me behind it).  In addition we had hundreds of trash bags that we used for trash. Filled with the energy of youth, we began to comb the beach and pick up all sorts of plastic, bottles and various debris left by locals and tourists alike. The reward of a job well done was a big BBQ on the beach... and we carefully picked up all our water bottles and trash!   

The sunset on a clean beach in Thailand... thanks students 

Week Three in Thailand

Its still raining this week, some flooding near the school, but not in my room! We are teaching at a school run by the monks for orphan children.

The school just added a new library and the entrance has a waterfall where there is a beautiful statue of the Mother of Buddha.

The Monks took us on a tour of the new buildings that will soon house a business school as well. All the buildings have intricate detail and are really works of art. Imagine our delight to come upon  a magnificent carved wooden sleeping Buddha.