Wednesday
It's a good thing that Monday was so cool cause Tuesday was not cool. I changed guesthouses, immediately fell asleep and then woke up 6 hours later very ill. I'm not going to get into the specifics but it was not pretty. Not pretty at all.
Since I couldn't sleep and I was up at 5:30 anyway I decided I should try to go see the monks collect alms. What this means is that they walk around town and people stand on the streets with little buckets of rice and give a little bit to each monk that passes. I was under the impression that the whole town would be out and the streets would be packed with people and monks and it would last for hours. It wasn't anything like that. There were some people out giving food and stuff but most people that were out and about were selling their stuff at the morning market. I watched pretty much a full pig get chopped into all the different pieces. That was a first. The monks came in groups of no more than 10 and walked on the streets next to tuk tuks and motorbikes. It lasted 20 minutes at most and I only saw maybe 4 groups. Maybe I wasn't standing in the right place.
I went back to sleep after that and pretty much slept until 2pm. My stomach was feeling a little better so I ventured out. I found the temple Amy (the girl from Wisconsin) told me to find. It was really easy. I walked passed a bunch of temples, none of them the right name, and then in front of one were a group of 5 boys hanging out. They looked at me and said, "Hello, where are you from?" Teenage monk novices wanting to practice their English! Awesome! I said, "Does Tong live here?" and they said that he moved to Thailand two years ago. This was confusing cause I thought Amy had met him a couple weeks ago.
I figured it didn't really matter cause they wanted to talk to me anyway. There was a 15 year old, a 17 year old, a 19 year old and a 22 year old. None of them want to become monks. They all plan on leaving and going to a regular university, not a monk university where you'd have to learn Sanskrit. Also, as a novice you have 10 rules (including no dancing and no killing) and as a monk you have 227 rules. I talked with them for a while (teaching them the word "pregnant" while talking about Erica). Then the 17 year old asked if I had been to Mount Phou Si yet which is this temple on top of a hill that overlooks Luang Prabang and is really nice at sunset. I said no and he asked if I wanted to go with him and the 15 year old. I said yes.
I walked through town with them, which was interesting. People are constantly taking pictures of them. Some try to be discreet and are, some try to be discreet but aren't, and some just jump right in front of them like creepy paparazzi. I asked if it bothered them but they said no because they kind of feel like celebrities. I think that would have been my answer too.
When we got to the bottom of the 300 something stairs they said that I had to go first because they might not be allowed up if it looked like we were all coming together. Woah, monk novice drama! So we met up at the top. It was packed up there but they were the only monks. It was really pretty but hard to get a good picture because it was so packed. The two boys sat on a bench on the other side of the temple while people kept walking by taking pictures of them watching the sunset. One girl saw that I saw her take a picture of them so she put her finger over her mouth and said, "sshhh" and smiled. I wish there was a "how to interact with monk and monk novices" handbook. I know I would really appreciate one and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Also when we were at the top of the mountain the 17 year old asked me my name again. I said Beth and then asked his again and he said Tong. Which makes complete sense, Amy had said Tong was 17. I wonder what they thought I was saying when I asked if Tong lived there. I guess I don't speak Lao well.
When I had been at their temple we had started talking about music and they were telling me all of the cheesy 80's songs that they really like. The 22 year old even started singing. I wish I could remember what song it was. Anyway, they asked if I had CDs and I said I had my iPod and I would bring it tomorrow. They're really excited. I asked the 22 year old if I could take video of him singing and he said tomorrow.
Oh yeah! And they all know Lao and Thai (sometimes very similar) and a good amount of English and a little French. So I can attempt to speak Thai with them. They'll even speak Thai to see if I can understand it. That's really fun. When we were on the mountain Tong looked at me and said "Mee yung yai" and I knew it meant "I have a big mosquito (on me)." I'm fluent!
My stomach hurts again so I think I'm going to call it a night and go to sleep.
Since I couldn't sleep and I was up at 5:30 anyway I decided I should try to go see the monks collect alms. What this means is that they walk around town and people stand on the streets with little buckets of rice and give a little bit to each monk that passes. I was under the impression that the whole town would be out and the streets would be packed with people and monks and it would last for hours. It wasn't anything like that. There were some people out giving food and stuff but most people that were out and about were selling their stuff at the morning market. I watched pretty much a full pig get chopped into all the different pieces. That was a first. The monks came in groups of no more than 10 and walked on the streets next to tuk tuks and motorbikes. It lasted 20 minutes at most and I only saw maybe 4 groups. Maybe I wasn't standing in the right place.
I went back to sleep after that and pretty much slept until 2pm. My stomach was feeling a little better so I ventured out. I found the temple Amy (the girl from Wisconsin) told me to find. It was really easy. I walked passed a bunch of temples, none of them the right name, and then in front of one were a group of 5 boys hanging out. They looked at me and said, "Hello, where are you from?" Teenage monk novices wanting to practice their English! Awesome! I said, "Does Tong live here?" and they said that he moved to Thailand two years ago. This was confusing cause I thought Amy had met him a couple weeks ago.
I figured it didn't really matter cause they wanted to talk to me anyway. There was a 15 year old, a 17 year old, a 19 year old and a 22 year old. None of them want to become monks. They all plan on leaving and going to a regular university, not a monk university where you'd have to learn Sanskrit. Also, as a novice you have 10 rules (including no dancing and no killing) and as a monk you have 227 rules. I talked with them for a while (teaching them the word "pregnant" while talking about Erica). Then the 17 year old asked if I had been to Mount Phou Si yet which is this temple on top of a hill that overlooks Luang Prabang and is really nice at sunset. I said no and he asked if I wanted to go with him and the 15 year old. I said yes.
I walked through town with them, which was interesting. People are constantly taking pictures of them. Some try to be discreet and are, some try to be discreet but aren't, and some just jump right in front of them like creepy paparazzi. I asked if it bothered them but they said no because they kind of feel like celebrities. I think that would have been my answer too.
When we got to the bottom of the 300 something stairs they said that I had to go first because they might not be allowed up if it looked like we were all coming together. Woah, monk novice drama! So we met up at the top. It was packed up there but they were the only monks. It was really pretty but hard to get a good picture because it was so packed. The two boys sat on a bench on the other side of the temple while people kept walking by taking pictures of them watching the sunset. One girl saw that I saw her take a picture of them so she put her finger over her mouth and said, "sshhh" and smiled. I wish there was a "how to interact with monk and monk novices" handbook. I know I would really appreciate one and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Also when we were at the top of the mountain the 17 year old asked me my name again. I said Beth and then asked his again and he said Tong. Which makes complete sense, Amy had said Tong was 17. I wonder what they thought I was saying when I asked if Tong lived there. I guess I don't speak Lao well.
When I had been at their temple we had started talking about music and they were telling me all of the cheesy 80's songs that they really like. The 22 year old even started singing. I wish I could remember what song it was. Anyway, they asked if I had CDs and I said I had my iPod and I would bring it tomorrow. They're really excited. I asked the 22 year old if I could take video of him singing and he said tomorrow.
Oh yeah! And they all know Lao and Thai (sometimes very similar) and a good amount of English and a little French. So I can attempt to speak Thai with them. They'll even speak Thai to see if I can understand it. That's really fun. When we were on the mountain Tong looked at me and said "Mee yung yai" and I knew it meant "I have a big mosquito (on me)." I'm fluent!
My stomach hurts again so I think I'm going to call it a night and go to sleep.
posted by beth at 9:37 PM
2 Comments:
i'm the written equivilant of speechless.
Hi Beth,
I hope you're feeling better by the time you read this. Did any of the 1,000 preventive medications that were sent with you help at all?
The monk tales are really intersting. I can't wait to see the pictures.I'm wondering what the other rules are for the novices..between no killing and no dancing.
Quite impressed with you knowing what " I have a mosquito on me." You wouldn't think that would be in the important phrases to learn book.
Looking forward to the next chapter of the Laotian visit.
Stay well, happy, and safe,
Love,
Barbara
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