My Life in Pictures

At four years old, Isaac, my host brother is every bit as mischievous as he appears. He is also the second best English speaker in the house and we've bonded over the fact that we miss our dad's who are far away in North America.
My host sister Goong is an excellent cook. Here she is with dinner for the two of us. When the whole family is home we eat at the table, but when there are just a few, we eat on the ground as is traditonal for the Lao people.

The other side of my bedroom, as well as a look at my very high quality, if not so stylish by Lao standards, helmet. I received some concerned comments the first time I posted a picture of myself riding a motorcycle with no helmet! Don't worry, I never got out of the parking lot that day.
Though I live in a well off family, some food just tastes better when cooked in the back yard!
This is Joshua, my 1 year old host brother. Don't be deceived by his relaxed pose here, he's always on the go! It's been a really interesting learning experience to observe the differences between North American and Lao parenting techniques. For my first month living with the host family, caring for Joshua and doing my own laundry were my only chores. As it turns out, neither one is considered to be a "real" chore here in Laos. This week I will start cooking "foreigner food" for dinner at least once a week, as well as learning the Lao ways of cooking and cleaning. I'm actually really excited to have more household chores to do as this will help me to feel more like a real member of the family, and less like a spoiled foreign guest.
*My apologies for the sideways photos! If anyone knows how to rotate pictures on blogspot, your help would be much appreciated.