Odawan

I have a new name; Odawan. Last night the extended family gathered on a straw mat in the living room around steaming pots of fish, noodles and greens. After the usual discussion about the food, and laughter at my broken Lao, the elder of the group decided that it was high time to give me a Lao name. "Jessie is just too hard for us to say!" it was explained to me. After some questioning as to the meaning of the name Jessica, I was given the name Odawan. In Lao it means "wealthy and honoured one". I have never connected much meaning to my English name before, nor did I find it particularly fitting in my North American context, but here in Laos I certainly do feel both wealthy and honoured. I think often of a favourite reminder of my grandpa's: "to whom much has been given, much is required". I wonder now, in the early stages of my stay here in Laos, what will be required of me this year? As I wait, I laugh at myself for the myriads of cultural mistakes I make each day, I learn to speak a few syllables at a time and I grow to love my host family. There is beauty in this waiting too.

I was asked in an email just now whether we get any rain here these days. I couldn't help but laugh out loud! Each morning I wake up early to the study pounding of rain on the roof, the lashing f wind against my window. This morning it rained harder than I have ever seen it rain before. Riding to school this morning on the back of Goong's motorcycle, we came across a road that was completely washed out! We stopped to push the motorcycle back the way we came, but it was no use, there was just to much water in that engine. And so the two of us pushed that bike through thigh deep water all the way to a little repair shop a few kilometres away. When I finally got to language school, I was very late and very wet. Yes, we do get a little rain here!

One last thought. I recently got an email from my sister asking me why I didn't update my blog more often. I responded that nothing very interesting was happening these days, and no one wanted to hear what I had for breakfast for goodness sakes! I'm not so sure about that anymore. On Friday I woke up to a lovely bowl of rice soup abounding in shrimp, squid and two personal sized octopus. "Saep baw?" (Delicious, no?).