Fun with Saffron Staff

 We've really been enjoying spending time with all the employees at Saffron. We see them often since we've been working at the shop. I've been going to the bakery early in the mornings twice a week and getting to know the girls out there as we bake kanom (sweets/junk food).
 Michael has been working hard teaching some new menu items at the shop, so he's been getting better acquainted with the staff at the shop. He's excited to get them trained and begin serving the new menu.
 Last weekend our friend who is the owner of Saffron had the staff out to some of his land. We ate hot dogs:) and sang songs together...some English, some Lao. It was a lot of fun just kicking back with them and enjoying one another's company.
 We threw the football, the girls prepared papaya salad and fruit, my friend braided some of our hair:) It was a lot of fun! We're looking forward to building stronger relationships with these guys.

Lao appetizer...it was too spicy for us "falang"

the guys throwing the football

this land is surrounded by mountains...gorgeous

this is our friend from the bakery

Cooking in Laos

Since we've moved to Laos, it has been a little more time consuming for us to cook because there's no Walmart or Kroger to run and get something that you're used to having pre-prepped. Beth has been very helpful to us since she's been doing this for two years.

Some of the things that Michael often makes from scratch are bread, granola, tortillas, pizza, and cookies.

There is an endless supply of fruits and vegetables here, but finding a good piece of meat is tricky.

I wanted to share some pictures so that you can see some of the delicious things that Michael is making.  I'm also including a couple of pics of the markets so that you can get an idea of what kinds of things are available.

We are definitely not going without here! I am so blessed to have such a talented husband:) 

Salsa with green mangoes

Pizza

Shrimp stuffed Chicken breast and fried mushrooms

Chicken breast, veggies, and sticky rice

Meat in a local market

Granola

Some vegetables at a local market

Visiting a Village

As Michael and I celebrated our four years of marriage, we had the opportunity to spend our first night in a village. It made quite a memorable anniversary.

It all started when I suggested that we offer to take a friend to his village in order for him to take care of some paperwork. Michael was shocked because I actually had a spontaneous idea:) I guess after four years, he's rubbing off on me a little!
Anyway, he accepted  and  invited us to stay with his family.

On the way out we stopped at a market and bought some fresh fish. Michael and our friend began preparing it to cook when we arrived at his home. While waiting on dinner, his mom asked if we were going to bathe. When we responded negatively, we read by her body language and facial expression,  that she was appalled, and quickly corrected ourselves with the appropriate response.

For those of you who do not know about the village bathrooms, they are usually outside, have a "spatty potty", and a barrel of water for scooping water out to flush the potty, wash your hands, and take a dip bath. If you're not familiar with the term "spatty potty", see the picture on the side of the blog. The ones in the village usually aren't porcelain, though:)

This was not my first time for a dip bath, but it was the first one outside. Their particular bathroom was an enclosed cement square area outside. It was actually quite nice, with a porcelain spatty potty. It was rather chilly in that village since it is a little further in the mountains than where we live, which added an extra challenge. Surprisingly, it was a nice experience. When else do you get a chance to bathe under the starry night?

After bathing and dinner, we sang a couple songs. Then for bed time, our hosts brought down our bedding from upstairs. We had two comfy mats, blankets, pillows, and a mosquito net. We slept very comfortably and got great rest. Michael did, however, wake up with a cold because like I mentioned before, it was considerably colder in this village than in our city.

The Month of Weddings

    This was our first wedding. The lady next to me is our neighbor. This was her son's wedding.

   We have been to four weddings in the past four weeks! This is obviously a very popular season for weddings. Weddings are a very big occasion in Lao, maybe even more so than in the States. Every wedding we've been to has been much bigger than most I have attended back home.

This was a wedding out in a village.

    For Buddhist weddings, usually only the family attends the ceremony, which is a time of string tying and giving of blessings for the couple. Afterwards, there is a big dinner party, which is where the invited guests attend. There are hundreds of tables set up with either food set out on the tables or a buffet. At the entrance of the party, you're greeted with a shot of liquor. There is a place to put your envelop with your enclosed wedding offering, which is hand delivered to your house with your invitation to the wedding. It also has your name printed on it, so it's best to be generous with your gift!

The bride and groom of our first wedding to attend. Their wedding attire is beautiful.

    There is either a band playing live music or a dj playing songs and lots of dancing. The Lao have there own style of dancing called fawn, which I've tried once and don't plan on doing again in public until I've practiced in private:)

This is Beth doing a Lao line dance.

   The Christian weddings we've attended have ceremonies that many guests attend, not just family. The bride walks the aisle, they have a pastor perform the ceremony, and they light a unity candle. At the end, they give gifts to the pastors and some of the family members. The after party is the same, but they usually don't serve alcohol.

I know this is hard to look at sideways, but I couldn't get it to rotate:( I just wanted everyone to see the fancy skirts we get to wear to weddings. It's so fun because most of the women go get their nails and hair done. Beth and I have gone together twice already to get our hair done for weddings.

New Year, New Friends

Over the New Year holiday, Michael and I went down to the river near our house. We saw a man washing clothes and began talking with him. Naturally, he spoke very little English, but we were able to learn some things about him. We learned that his wife had just had a baby the day before. We also found out that he was staying on our street. We took a gift over and met some of his family. We practiced language with them and I taught them to play Spades. We were so excited to have some new friends in our neighborhood! Then we found out that he and his wife do not live here, but in Vientiane. They left a couple days after we met them.  We did, however, meet some of his extended family that live near us. We've been able to spend a lot of time with them. We have had a couple meals with them, one of them including rat!!

When I went over for a visit, I noticed some young men playing cards. I asked them what they were doing and they invited me to play. We all sat down and they handed me the cards and looked at me. I quickly thought of a game I knew how to play...Spades! I had the best time teaching them with the little Lao that I was able to speak.

This is the sweet baby that was only one day old when we met him. They hadn't even named him yet. The dad asked Michael for suggestions! We hope to see this sweet family again. We're visiting Vientiane soon, so maybe we'll catch up with them. Michael has kept in touch with the husband over the phone, which is hilarious to listen to since the man speaks virtually no English and Michael speaks little Lao.