Dreamily, I fell in to my new job, working at a Belgian Beer Bar in Luang Prabang, Laos. After spending the morning at Big Brother Mouse, the children's book publisher, teaching English to high school boys, and the afternoon speaking with novice monks, visiting temples, swimming, learning and exploring, I would arrive at work around 3:30. I was expected to dress up a little bit, which in this town meant putting on a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt. This was my initiation in the Laos tradition of wearing long-sleeves and long-pants despite hot, hot weather. (Many Lao people I've asked actually believe doing so keeps them cooler, besides from protecting them from the sun.) Often, I'd pick some flowers from a tree or bush on my way to work, and place the blooms in
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