John-Coming back for the 3rd time.

The Beginning of the beginning...well something like that...
August 22, 2011 and I'm 10 days into the beginning of my Fulbright experience as an English Teaching Assistant in Laos.  I don't know how I feel really...so many mix feelings...excited because I'm back for the 3rd time...this time for 10 months...it hasn't hit me that I'm back here in LAOS...for the time being though I'm really feeling relaxed (sa-bai-sa-bai)...comfortable to the point that I feel that I've been living in Laos forever and on vacation...maybe this is a sign that I need to start challenging and pushing myself to step out of my comfort zone.  A lot has happen...crossing the Friendship Bridge for the 3rd time and my feeling in my heart always amazes me and reminds me holy crap...my parents swam across that river (the Mekong River) and trust me its not a little river either...a feeling where tears started to come out of my eyes...
Then later the US Embassy had an all you can eat BBQ celebration for departing and arriving new staff and this involved so much food, drinks, and to top it off KARAOKE...oh we Asians like the karaoke and party...well especially Lao people that is, but it was great...I met with many awesome people working at the US Embassy...what I mean by awesome is like meeting US Ambassador Karen Stewart to the Lao PDR...I mean come on..to a minority kid coming from Oklahoma who only seen cowboys and cows...just kidding...that's not certainly the case nor true...there's not just cowboys and cows. in Oklahoma..there are cool peeps like city-councilors, mayors, etc.  LOL..anyways..the Lao language is very similar to Thai...well same same, but different different = phrase often used with foreigners...there are similar vocabs between the 2 languages given my knowledge of speaking 4th grade level Thai, but Laos has a much different sound when spekaing not to be mistaken with tones which I have no problem with.

Slacking with the journal...
So today is August 24th...day 12 in Laos...I'm slacking with writing in my journal..so what do I write now...my mind is all over the place...thinking about my family, how I can't wait to start teaching, continue to learn the Lao language...hopefully read and write, wrote on my wall of a steady schedule/routine I'm trying to get myself to do daily...let's see if I can keep myself motivated to follow through with it...this morning I was an hour late into the routine (smile)...well today I'm going to give myself the time to really reflect and write about a lot of my feelings and thoughts...trying to understand who I am.

My journey...
What it means to me to be in Laos this 3rd time..well several reasons...A.) for professional/career development as an educator because I'm planning to get a doctoral degree and teach @ the university level...B.) use my experience living in Thailand for a year as an English trainer/teacher/facilitator since that will provide me the foundation and confidence to teach effectively and learn from this journey as an ETA (the practitioner side)...C.) being a cultural ambassador between USA and Laos...this is a once in a life time opportunity to exchange my life's experience living in the states as an American-born-citizen and specifically as a minority person...hoping to spark and ignite confidence and encouragement to Laos students especially Lao minority students (students coming from different hill tribes) on how education is one of the best way to open doors of opportunities and how it can change one's life for the best like how it has done for me thus far and I really would like to understand more about the Lao minorities' lives in general specifically their goals and hardships/challenges in life and education...not only that...I want to break a lot of barriers or perceived assumptions I have and been told about Laos and its people...lastly to really reconnect with my family's roots...finding/visiting both my parents' birthplaces, visiting relatives and finding others...this is my continuation of soul searching of who I am and why I am the person I am...this is my spiritual journey that I am embarking for the next 10-11 months...so let's roll..sa-bai-dee Laos...my home.  =)

Click here to see photos I've taken thus far...enjoy!-->Photos.

Our Journey, Our Stories

Sa-bai-dee & Hello

Welcome everyone to our blog!

We are a group of four diverse people serving as Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) at the National University of Laos in Vientiane for the 2011-2012 school year.  This is the first year they are offering the ETA program in Laos, so we are the pioneers! We all come from unique backgrounds and experiences, which you will see when you read our blog. Thanks for visiting us, and we hope you enjoy our stories!