Pakse part 2

English teaching in action! I'm wearing a Lao skirt ("sin") teaching this beginner class, where the guys always sit at one table, and the girls insist on sitting at another!

Pakse is situated right by the Bolaven Plateau which is famous for its cool climate, waterfalls, fertile soil (coffee, fruit, cardamom and gorgeous flowers are grown here) and native ethnic groups. I purchased some cloth from this woman who weaves using a hand held loom.

My new favorite color is "rice green". If I didn't take this picture on an overcast day, I think the color green would be too bright for my little blog here to handle. This shot is taken just outside of Pakse, where each family group grows their food for the year. I went on a bike ride through this area, and literally couldn't stop laughing. Not only was it beautiful, and cool (to the point of needing a long sleeve!) but people would just stare at me until I smiled or waved or said "sabaidee!" and then they would go nuts greeting me back! Because for so long the only foreigners these people knew were French, many times I hear "bonjour madame!". Due to the different international influences throughout the generations, it seems as though most Lao people aged 35-50 speak French, most grandparents know some Russian, and young people are learning either English or Chinese.

Known in antiquity as the Land of a Million Elephants, I felt it only appropriate that I take a ride on one of these giants while in Lao.