Laos
Well, once again I've landed in an awesome place and have stuck around for a bit. I'm in Vang Vienne, about 4 hours north of Vientienne, Laos. I had intended to just do a day tour then head south. But when I arrived for my tour they had canncelled so off I went to find something else to do. I ran into some people I met on the boat into Laos and they were staying at this organic farm. Everything on the menu at this place is grown on the farm, all organic and the farm provides jobs for the locals. Tourists can sign up for volunteer farm work (not the season now) or teaching, so I am staying here for a few days to hang out with kids in the evenings and teach them English.
The older class is amazing. There are no organizers or permanent teachers, just people passing through who are willing to share there time. This makes it really difficult both to teach and learn. But somehow they manage to speak rather well with us. The older kids are 14-25, most of them in high school. They all want to go to university but as the cost is $600/year plus the cost of food and a guest house. it is not feasible for most families to pay for it.
This morning we met up with some of the highschoolers and set up email accounts for them and one of the other volunteers has arranged for one of the internet cafes to have a cash account so they can use it. They were really excited about it and emailed each other as soon as their accounts were set up.
I am going to head south to Vientienne in a few days via kyak, then see if I have time to head south to 4000 Islands before I have to get back into VN and on to China for Wanancii's wedding. At this point I am still thinking that I should be back in Korea around the first week of Sept. and in Canada...shortly thereafter...maybe :P
The older class is amazing. There are no organizers or permanent teachers, just people passing through who are willing to share there time. This makes it really difficult both to teach and learn. But somehow they manage to speak rather well with us. The older kids are 14-25, most of them in high school. They all want to go to university but as the cost is $600/year plus the cost of food and a guest house. it is not feasible for most families to pay for it.
This morning we met up with some of the highschoolers and set up email accounts for them and one of the other volunteers has arranged for one of the internet cafes to have a cash account so they can use it. They were really excited about it and emailed each other as soon as their accounts were set up.
I am going to head south to Vientienne in a few days via kyak, then see if I have time to head south to 4000 Islands before I have to get back into VN and on to China for Wanancii's wedding. At this point I am still thinking that I should be back in Korea around the first week of Sept. and in Canada...shortly thereafter...maybe :P