My favourite colour is...

Today I am in Oudoxomy (I think that's what its called...) in the North of Laos and we are volunteering at a school created to support Lao minorities. There are 22 different minority groups that attend the school. This allows children from very tiny villages to come together and get an education. Considering the fact that most of the minority groups speak their own language, this is quite an accomplishment. Y'all, I don't mean to brag, but I'm a wonderful teacher!!! There was one high school class to be taught and the rest of us were to paint the gate at the entrance to the school. There were no questions asked, our guide just said I would teach and that was that. The students loved me. Perhaps a little too much. During one of our breaks, the English teacher (who does NOT speak English) told me that the students wanted to stay and ask me questions. The first question was whether or not I was single! The students all volunteered to come to my class because it is a Saturday and they do not have school on the weekends, they were all around the age of 17 and 18--the oldest students I have had thus far and they were so eager to learn that it was a joy to teach them. I was immediately corrected by my students when I started my color lesson because I had mispelled the word color and the word favorite on the board. The students learn the English version of these words and spell them 'colour' and 'favourite'. After lunch, the number of students had doubled and there were a few timid students lingering outside the door that I invited into the classroom. Because I have been working with adults for the last year and a half, it has taken some adjusting to get used to working with kids, but I am actually much better with the kids than I was with the adults. I don't have to worry about insulting the kids if they do not understand something. At the end of the day, the students asked if I would start the class earlier tomorrow so that they will have more time with me. Hurrah! It is very sad how little English the English teachers speak and it is quite amazing that the students are able to speak at all. I think some of the students speak better English than the teacher. Perhaps after I have had my fill of Greece I will venture back to Asia to teach. This is what is wonderful about getting my international teaching license--travelling around the world will become justified! Yesterday we left Luang Prabang by boat and travelled down the river to a cave where there are literally hundreds of Buddhas tucked into every nook and cranny. It was quite an amazing sight! It was also the first time that I saw children being exploited though... Apparently, it is good luck to release birds into the wild as a Buddhist and there were a dozen or so children outside the caves trying to sell little captured birds. This seems a bit ironic to me, because wouldn't it be bad luck to catch the birds in the first place? I will admit that I stopped and took many photos of the children and gave them a few kips, despite the fact that I do not agree with sending the children out to do the begging. I have actually not run into many beggers at all on this trip. In Luang Prabang there was one old man who did rounds up and down the one main street all day long, but that's about it. After our boat ride to the Buddha caves (I'm sure the caves have a different name, but I'm not sure what it is) we got out of the boat in a small village famouse for the rice wine production. We watched them cook the rice wine and then had a sample--tastes like rubbing alchohol! Then we were off up the mountains to the Oudoxomy. The first part of the ride was quite beautiful. We stopped at a small Hmong village to take photographs and I gave toys to all the children that I ran into on the street. However, the trip stopped being fun soon after this stop. I became incredibly carsick as we travelled up the bumpy, twisty, turny, horrible roads. Fortunately, I did not feel nauseous, my head just felt like it was going to explode. I had to lean forward with my head in my lap and press my temples with my hands as hard as I possibly could. I am listening to The Dark Materials trilogy on cd (I miss my little daemon Daphne!) so I tried my hardest to concentrate on the story and ignore the intense pain in my head. I have not suffered from motion sickness since I was a wee one, and I forgot just how horrible it is--at one point I was even crying it was so bad. When we finally got to the village, I got out of the car and it felt like I had been twirling in circles for hours and hours and I had to go to bed immediately. Even this morning, I had a bit of a headache... I am DREADING the ride back down the mountain tomorrow. Thank goodness I am having such a wonderful time with these children because otherwise I would have completely regretted the venture up the mountain--three hours of pure hell. Tomorrow we teach in the morning and then head back to Luang Prabang. We leave Laos early the next morning and I part ways with my travel companions, which I will not complain about. I have heard from Helene and she will join me for my homestay in the Andamens, but she must head north in Thailand after this to attend a course that she wants to take. I honestly can't believe what an amazing time I am having and I don't ever want to stop travelling. Loves to all of you!