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Published: August 13th 2009
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Novice Kan's mom, brother and sister
Note the kids watching from the doorway in the background. Continued from Part One:
Novice Kan's village was nothing more than a dozen houses, scattered in clearings on either side of the main road, and surrounded by mountainous jungle. Kan's home had two parts. A small bamboo hut with a metal roof was the kitchen and dining room. A larger bamboo house on stilts, with a ladder to reach the front door, held a large living room and a bedroom, separated by a sheet. Mats covered the thatched bamboo floor. There was a decent-sized television but no books.
As soon as we had ascended the stairs into Novice Kan's living room, fifteen neighborhood children followed us, sitting ten feet away and staring, posed to flee if necessary. Novice Kan's dad seemed happy we had come; we was friendly and welcoming though he did not ask us any questions. We had Novice Kan translate that we were happy to have come to visit and meet him, and that we thought his son was smart and successful. Our translator seemed very reluctant, barely translating that much, so we didn't make him do too much more. As a result, there was a famusingly long amount of time spent between the two falang
Eating lunch in Novice Kan's house
Lunch lao-style- awesome. Note the huge basket of sticky rice on the right. A staple of Lao cuisine. and the locals just staring at each other. Novice Kan's father excused himself shortly to do some work, but the kids weren't busy, and seemed not to get bored with examining us from across the room. Novice Kan's mother returned from work in the jungle and greeted us warmly, but also was not inclined to chatting.
We were taken on a tour of the village, which was well-groomed, quiet and organized. Nong Toek, like many Lao towns, was reminiscent of a zoo, but without cages. Chickens, goats, water buffalo, cats, dogs, ducks and pigs all stroll the streets, enjoying their freedom. Kids roll tires down the street for fun, paddling them along with sticks (it IS fun, I tried it). The town has a one-room school, a police station (unmanned and locked up during our visit), and a bamboo temple on stilts with a few small wooden Buddhas at the altar, (very basic compared to the fancy arched and painted wooden temples in the big city of Luang Prabang). The villagers were all friendly and curious; openly staring and asking Novice Kan questions about his visitors. Some children were afraid of us and ran away when we approached.
Novice Kan's sister served us a delicious lunch prepared by their father. Gabe, Novice Kan and I ate alone in the living room while the rest of the family ate in the kitchen. We were surprised that we didn't all eat together but Novice Kan said this was the normal way of eating with guests in Nong Toek. And we weren't really alone, as about ten kids came inside to watch us eat from the doorway. I believe Novice Kan's parents are farmers and foragers; they find wild vegetables in the forest and have a plot of land up on the mountain nearby that they farm with other villagers. There is a bit of gray area in understanding, as my Lao is terrible and Novice Kan's English is far from perfect, so some of my explanations are unfortunately just possible truths.
Lunch was delightful; a big basket of sticky rice, as always (the staple food in Laos, eaten with your hands, and used as a mop for the other dishes) , a dish of wild mushrooms, a soup of wild greens and a dish of bamboo sticks in spicy green moss. I'd never had a meal made completely from ingredients grown and picked right outside, and I was wowed by the cook's creativity and capability with just a few simple ingredients. After lunch, Novice Kan's mom came joined us in the living room to eat oranges and salted broad beans we'd brought as gifts.
We hung out in Nong Toek from 10 AM - 6 PM and had a surprisingly wonderful time considering we did almost nothing, and couldn't speak to anyone but Novice Kan. It was a peaceful, fascinating place, further teaching me the wonder of living in a foreign country. The key is enjoying all the unexpected surprises, the actions of daily life, that make perfect sense to the people doing them, while seeming so unusual and exotic to you. Being forced to move out of your comfort zone and accept that their are all sorts of ways of living is very healthy, not to mention exciting.
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