We leave this afternoon for our big trip. I am feeling slightly-less-overwhelmed about all of the things I have to do. Some of them I can check off the list: prepare students grades, make power point presentation for "Laos session" at conference, go through a bagillion photos in order to make power point officially "awesome", finish team video to prove that team is officially awesome and perhaps lure others into working in Laos...
But I still have to PACK for Jonas and myself, go to school for a class party at 1pm, and email alot of people to tell them to not be mad at me for not emailing for the next month.
I can do this.
Yesterday I went to the herbal steam room to try to ease my stuffy head feeling (Jonas and I both have some kind of sickness). I don't know what herbs are in the steam...it Lao it is called something like "smelly medicine". I can't really directly translate that. I just know that the first word is one they use for a good smell. Maybe "fragrant medicine" is more accurate. But anyway that was fun and relaxing. It was just me and two Lao women in there. We would steam for 15 minutes and them come out and drink hot tea and then go back in and repeat the process. They were putting milk on each other with the belief that it would make them more white. I am pretty white already, which I actually see as UNDESIRABLE, especially when it comes to what I can only describe as "neon white" thighs.
I was going to post a special farewell picture to tide you over while I am gone, but Jonas has a runny nose and I need a haircut, so neither one of us is in good form at present.
Catch you later!

Friday, Jan. 13, 2006 at 8:14 AM