Everyone here showers outside - which is awesome - except they don't like to show their bodies. Women wear these long full sarongs (to shower in!) and the men wear shorts. They're very modest people.
Toilets are another thing-to-get-used-to here. It's definitely no Singapore Airport that's for sure. It's all squatting and what-not - and the family who's house that we're staying in is pretty wealthy so they have a really nice ceramic toilet and all. But we went to visit the high school yesterday and there are about 450 students who attend and there are no toilets for them. They just find a spot in the forest/bush/lake around the perimeter of the grounds.
It's dark right now and as I write this (in my journal) there are 3 little Lao children watching me intensely. They are so intrigued by my writing.
There are about 40 children here. We're sitting outside and there's a bonfire going. I can hear giggles, laughing, shouting, screaming - all the sounds of kids having a generally delightful time. 23 of the children are around 12 or 13 years old. They are from the Dubai American Academy (DAA) and are the school group that Graham is taking around as part of the Seuang River Project for 6 days.
The rest of the kids are between 4 and 10 and are from the local village that we are staying in.
One of the DAA kids just spotted a huge insect on the wall of one of the buildings. I know this because the scream she let out was not the scream of a child playing games, it was the scream of a child who had just spotted a bug that looked as though it could potentially endanger the lives of small children and animals. It is the size of my hand. It has grasshopper legs. It has...wings.
So naturally, screams spread pretty quickly and before long there are about 23 children yelling, screaming, running, pointing and generally just creating a big scene. And in the middle of this chaos, the smallest of the Lao children - a little 4 year old boy - walks through the screaming crowd right towards the bug on the wall. He carefully climbs onto a wooden bench, stands on his tiptoes and takes the bug into his hands.
All madness breaks loose. The DAA kids are in shock. They are screaming for their lives as though this child has just pulled the pin on a hand grenade.
The kid is so confused and I can't help but feel sorry for him. He looks around at the screaming faces and pointing fingers. Then he looks down at the bug that he is clutching in his hands. Slowly and deliberately, he clenches the bug in his right hand and then with his left - he pulls off one of the huge giant grasshopper legs and lets it fall to the ground. Then he does the same with it's other leg.
The DAA kids are still screaming. Their faces must be red and their lungs must be aching. I think my jaw drops a little with slight disbelief at what I'm seeing.
Maybe the kid thought he was saving the day by slowly murdering the insect in front of their eyes. Not so much.... so he resorts to what must be plan B.
As he walks, the crowds of children part for him. He walks to the bonfire and throws the insect in. Then he gets back to his playing as though nothing has happened.
Incredible.
I chuckle as the DAA kids continue to scream and I get back to my journal writing and entertaining my own audience with cartoon pictures and English words.
Some of the gorgeous children playing by the fire :)
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