Busy Week!

It really has been a busy week. I am sad time is flying by so quickly, but really enjoying my days here. Last Sunday, Emily and I ran into one of the Fulbright ETAs (English Teaching Assistants) in the city. The new ETAs did a month-long language and culture class before attending an orientation on Monday and Tuesday. I went out to lunch with them on Monday at Lao Kitchen, a well-known Lao restaurant here.

Monday night I went to a Happy Hour with Colin Cotterill, who writes the Dr. Siri mystery books that take place in Laos (follow the link to a great NPR article).  The Happy Hour was at a hotel with an amazing river view of the Mekong, and Mr. Cotterill was an interesting guy who now lives in Thailand, but spent quite a bit of time living in Laos in the early 90s. I got to go to dinner with the author, his wife, and a small group of us from the Embassy, which was lovely.

Tuesday was the reception for my new boss, who arrived about a week after I did. It was at the Ambassador's residence, and allowed him to meet contacts important for his public affairs work. It was fun, especially since I helped a little bit to organize it.

This week, my other boss Ken had to leave to go to Burma, where John Kerry will be for a conference this weekend. I have been taking over some of his duties, which also kept me busy. Check out the Facebook page for our Embassy, which I've been posting on: https://www.facebook.com/pages/US-Embassy-Vientiane/82124194915?ref=br_tf.

I've also been going out to lunch with my Lao co-workers a lot, which has been a lot of fun. They are really great people and I've gotten to try a variety of food: pho, Luang Prabang noodles, Vietnamese spring rolls, and more.

Thursday I had to go to Thailand to do a visa run. I actually didn't really go into any cities, and we turned around right at the border so it only took a couple of hours. I did drive by the new Embassy, which is under construction. It is huge and really modern with glass and metal. Very different from the current Embassy which is currently right in the city.

Friday morning was the debate which I've been planning since I arrived. It went very well! I was so impressed with the students' abilities to debate in English, which is hard enough for American students to do! I will post pictures and a video soon on the Embassy Facebook.

Today I went to the Buddha Park. It is about 20 minutes outside of the city. Luckily my coworker and friend Christina drove, which made the trip nicer than it would have been on a public bus/tuk-tuk. It is not huge but we took some fun pics which will be online soon.

Tonight, I hung out with Melia, the new Fulbright scholar who was also an intern last year. We attempted to go to the night market but it got rained out. We may try again tomorrow, and I will probably do some kind of massage or spa treatment.