Ron and Sally Jo Blog

ready for the temple

Friday (31 July) is the beginning of Buddhist Lent—a religious holiday for most of the MCC staff. We were interested in learning more about the day and the activities surrounding it.

The day before Lent (Thursday) is also important. It falls on the full moon of the eighth lunar month (July). It was on this day that Buddha preached his sermon to followers after attaining enlightenment. The day is usually celebrated by merit-making, listening to a monk’s sermon, and joining a candle lit procession during the night.

Preparations for these two days began already Tuesday afternoon at the office. Banana leaves were cut from the resident banana plants, cut into squares and soaked in water. Rice also began soaking.

making khao tom

On Wednesday morning young coconuts were shredded. Rice was cooked with the coconut and taro bits and coconut water. At noon, and until completed, staff filled the banana leaf squares with a layer of rice mixture topped with either a mung bean paste or a slice of banana. The leaves were folded and closed in special way. Sally Jo tried making the squares. She was told she did well on the folding and closing of one end but they had to keep redoing the second end! These “khao tom” (steamed sweet sticky rice packets) were then steamed for about an hour.

Kesone, our house helper, fixed baskets for us to take. In these baskets were little plastic packets of crackers/biscuits/candy. Some had 1000 kip bills (about 15 cents) also enclosed. There were “khao tom” packets, flowers, incense, and small bottles of water. She also ordered small baskets of sticky rice to be delivered to the house Thursday morning. Sally Jo was told to wear her “sinh” (Lao skirt) and both of us to wear a “sbai” (a long sash worn across the one shoulder).

At 7:00 Thursday morning one of the groundskeepers from the office came to take us to the temple and show us what to do. Four of us from MCC went. Our neighborhood temple is very near and many people were arriving—on foot and by car. It was the first time we had actually visited this temple. Under a large pavilion were two long tables with 20 or so pots on each table. These are the pots used by the monks when they come around in the morning collecting food. (We had photos of this when we were in Luang Prabang in February .)

giving food

We removed our shoes and then walked along one table putting a small ball of sticky rice in each pot and placing one of our packets of crackers/money in a basket in front of the pot. We placed our flowers and incense packets in a large basket. Afterwards we poured our small bottle of water on the plants as blessing to our loved ones.

Buddhist Lent is sometimes referred to as Buddhist Rain Retreat. It happens at the beginning of the rainy season and monks and novices are required to stay in their temple for 3 months. Buddha assigned Lent to all of his disciples because Buddhist monks used to travel in every season and, especially in the rainy season, they might accidentally step on young plants and insects. This is a time for serious contemplation and meditation for both monks and laymen alike.

Saturday we were able to travel outside the city. We went with three other MCCers to Nam Ngum Dam in Thalat district—about 100 km from Vientiane. The dam, first hydropower dam in Laos, was built 1968-1984 and subsequently formed the largest lake in Laos. It generates most of the electric power for Laos and creates enough to sell to Thailand also.

We first stopped at a roadside market to pick up a picnic lunch—grilled chicken, grilled fish, sticky rice, and papaya salad. Papaya salad is a spicy salad made from unripe shredded papaya and is extremely popular. Emily had also brought fruit—rambutan, bananas, and (ripe) papaya.

We rented a long narrow boat with driver. He slowly drove around a small part of the lake and stopped at two islands. At one island we climbed a steep “ladder” to see basketry displayed by hopeful sellers. At another island there was an unusual concrete structure with three levels. We climbed steep scary steps to the top to look out over the lake.

Most of the time we just enjoyed a quiet peaceful ride.

map

We were able to take a long weekend and make a trip to Vang Vieng. This is the first time we have been able to travel in the countryside of Lao. We travelled four hours by minibus north of Vientiane.

Vang Vieng is an old town from the 1300’s but it expanded during the Vietnam War, 1964-1973, when the US constructed an air force base and runway. The runway is still highly visible. It is known as a tourist town with many outdoor activities—tubing and kayaking on the river, trekking, rock climbing, and caving. We were not the typical tourist!

Since tourism is such a big thing here we had heard that it can get very noisy with partying; however, we stayed in a guest house on the quiet side of the Nam Song River. We had to cross the river by a wooden bridge every time we went to town. Our bungalow looked out over rice patties to the karst hills. (“Karst is a landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks…. It is characterized by sinkholes, caves, and underground drainage systems.”[web]) They reminded us of the hills we saw in Halong Bay, Vietnam and are of the same geological formation.

One morning we hiked to a cave. This required walking along a very rough road, along and through a river to the cave. The first two times we had to cross the river, we took off our shoes; by the third time we left them on and just trudged through the water. It was very hot and humid and the water felt good. When we finally got there, it was difficult to locate the opening; besides, we had been told we would need to crawl through the cave. We weren’t interested in doing that so just enjoyed the hike.

Another morning we rented mountain bikes and biked for about two hours. The first half hour we had to ride along the same very rough road which also had a fair amount of traffic—motorbikes, cars, ATVs, cows, people. We then were able to turn off to a quieter and smoother road. We saw more rice fields and small villages. It was a very pleasant morning—except for one thing. It was very hot and humid! (While we were in Vang Vieng, the weather reminded us of our visit to the Amazon, only there was no breeze off the river.)

We returned to our guest house just as the rain arrived. It then rained most of the time until we left. It was nice to sit on our verandah and watch the rain. We also watched the rice being planted—in the rain. The rains have been very late this year so everyone was rejoicing that they had finally arrived.

While it rained, we played a number of games of Canasta. However, the weather was so damp that the cards stuck together. When we returned to Vientiane, we spread the cards over our bed in the air-conditioned room to help dry them.

MCC has three young adult programs—IVEP, SALT, and YAMEN. IVEP participants are young people traveling TO North America and SALT participants are young people traveling FROM North America. YAMEN are young people, mainly from southern hemisphere countries, traveling to other southern hemisphere countries. YAMEN program is in conjunction with Mennonite World Conference. (We think this has been described before, but this is just to remind you!)

Laos has three IVEP and two YAMEN young people leaving Laos in a couple of weeks—two going to Canada, one going to U.S., one going to Indonesia, and one going to India. This means that we are working on four different visa applications with four different procedures! In addition we have never been involved this way before so the applications and procedures are new to us!

completing forms

Last week we worked closely with these young people. (They are dubbed YIVEP in order to make the term shorter.) Four of them were able to come to the office and we spent a morning working through many MCC forms that must be completed. Bee was there to help translate English words to Lao when the YIVEPers didn’t understand. Sally Jo was there to explain the English words when Bee didn’t understand. For example, one “legal” MCC document that needed to be signed, had this phrase: “In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.” What do you mean “set your hand?” And they looked at their hands.

After completing the forms, they came to our house for lunch which was Lao food served American style. They need to learn that most North Americans pass food around the table and usually eat with a fork only—not spoon and chopsticks.

taxi to train

Sunday evening we, Bee, and the two YIVEP going to Canada went by train to Bangkok. Canada does not have an embassy/consulate yet in Laos and so they needed to do their medical checks with Canadian-approved doctors in Bangkok. Bee went because she is learning the procedures and we both went along to give support and because we needed to renew our own Laos visas.

Bangkok is about 10-11 hour train ride. We reserved 2nd class seats which are made into beds for the night. The coaches were air-conditioned and quite comfortable and some of us were able to sleep. In Bangkok we stayed at the Bangkok Christian Guest House which was clean, comfortable and convenient to transportation and to the hospital to which we needed to go. (We met missionaries there from several places who knew Mennonites via their own work in various countries.)

hospital lobby

All of us were awed by the hospital. The YIVEPers said it was like a 5-star hotel, and we agreed. The medical exams didn’t take long and we had time to do some exploring of the area. However, it was hot, so we were also happy to stay in our air-conditioned room most of the time! The next morning we went to the Canadian Visa Center so that the YIVEPers will know where it is. They will go there when they get permission from the embassy to have their biometrics (finger prints, photos, etc.) done.

All of this takes time! One day last week we spent nearly an entire day completing the U.S. visa application with the YIVEPer going to the U.S. The web site was slow and we weren’t familiar with it; so it took a lot of time. (It was also not particularly intuitive as to how to return to the application when we stopped to go for lunch and came back again.) This young person will be placed in Elkhart, Indiana, with the Seed-to-Feed program.

Today we spent all afternoon completing the India online application. For the most part, it went O.K. However, at one point we needed the “EFOP id number” of MCC in India! They had sent us a lot of papers but none of them had given this number. What to do? On a previous e-mail we found the telephone number of the India representatives. Ron called via Skype and got the rep travelling in a taxi on the streets of Kolkata! She was able to call her husband who then called us via Skype and provided the number! Fascinating world!

We hoped to go to the Indonesian embassy today to fill out their paper forms. However, they are closed because it is the end of Ramadan, and therefore, a holiday in Indonesia!

Such is life!

kami berdua

Buddha Park is located on the outskirts of Vientiane near the Mekong River. It is full of Buddhist and Hindu sculptures—the vision of an eccentric man. Luang Pu Bunlea Sulit was a yogi-priest-shaaman who merged Buddhist and Hindu philosophy, mythology, and iconography into one bizarre park. The concrete structures were built in 1958 all cast by supposedly untrained artists under the direction of Lung Pu. There are statues of Vishnu, Shiva, Buddha, and many other deities.

The large pumpkin-shaped structure has three levels, joined by interior stairways. It is supposed to represent hell, earth, and heaven. We climbed the stairways which lead to the roof and had a panoramic view of the park.

(Since we are not very familiar with the various deities, we have not labelled them.)

Within ten days of our arrival in Laos we experienced two “baci.” (bai-si)  Baci is an important ceremony practiced in Lao culture. It is a phi (spirit) ritual used to celebrate important events and occasions, like births and marriages, and also departing, beginning a new year, and welcoming. The baci is important to the Lao people as it emphasizes the importance of life and the bonds between family and friends.

Another term commonly used is su kwan. “Su” means togetherness or unity and “Kwan” means soul or guardian spirit. Ancient Lao believes that the human body has 32 organs and it is the Kwan that watches over these parts and protects them. Sometimes the Kwan may wander away from the body, causing the body to be out of balance. If the body is out of balance then a person may have illness or bad luck. The baci is performed to call the Kwan back to the body.

The two baci were celebrated by the MCC staff. The first one was to honor an MCC service worker who was returning home and also as a welcome to us. The second one was to honor three young people who have been here for a year and are returning to their respective countries—U.S. and Indonesia.

gathering

The ceremony is performed seated around a conical shaped arrangement (pha kwan) of banana leaves, flowers, and fruit from which hang white threads. (White is the color of peace, good fortune, honesty and warmth.) There are two lengths of white strings. Long strings are used for people to hold on to during the ceremony and the smaller ones are used later to tie around people’s wrists. These white cotton threads symbolize continuity and a brotherhood in the community and through tying the strings on to each others wrists it is a way to keep this community together.

Pha Kwan with chicken and fruit

Around the base of this is the food for the kwan. The food consists usually of hard boiled eggs (symbol of the fetus), fruits and sweets symbolizing the coming together of several parts to create a community, a bottle of rice whiskey for purification, and boiled whole chicken with head and feet with claws for divination purposes.

The pha kwan is usually placed on a white cloth (though you will see a different color in our photos) in the center of the room, with the leader sitting facing the it. The person(s) for whom the baci is being held sits directly opposite of him, on the other side of the pha kwan.

tying string on wrist

An elder/leader (ideally an ex-monk) says a long Buddhist mantra while he and guests lean in and touch the arrangement. The elder calls upon the wandering Kwan to return and inhabit the body of the person who the ceremony is intended for and to bring well-being and happiness. The elder will place an item of food into the upturned hand of the honored person. When the chanting is finished, he and others take the threads and tie them around the wrists of the honored guest(s). The strings are a symbol of binding the guardian spirits to the guests.

food!

Afterwards, everyone shares a meal which includes the meat of the boiled chicken of the Pha Kwan. One is supposed to keep the strings on their wrists for three days and then untie them, not cut, them. We know there is much symbolism in the ceremony which we do not understand. However, the overall, ceremony can be meaningful.

The Buddhist Lao see the baci as a part of their identity. Community is very important to Lao people and is reflected in this ceremony.

We have returned to Laos as interim country reps for MCC for two months. In February we were here ”record-sorting” for MCC. You can see our blog from that time at MCC Laos  and Sites in Vientiane. It was nice to have had that experience so that we knew some of the staff when we arrived and we at least knew the physical surroundings of our house and office.

During our first three weeks we have been welcomed and been involved in saying good-by to a number of people. (Later there will be a blog specifically on one type of ceremony.) One of our responsibilities is to assist a local staff member in all the details of the IVEP/SALT/YAMEN program here. There are three young people who have been here a year and will leave this weekend. There have been parties with lots of good food and debriefing sessions. There have been financial reports to approve. We are usually given seats of honor and there have been speeches to make.

There are five young Laos people who will leave in a few weeks to spend a year in Canada/U.S./Indonesia/India. There are forms to complete. There are visas to apply for. There is an orientation to plan before they leave. And then there are two young people coming to Laos for a year from U.S. and Indonesia. There are again forms to complete, host families to locate, and questions to answer. AND there are two young people who have been in Canada and the U.S. this past year who will be returning home in a few weeks.

In the meantime we will be welcoming a new service worker in two weeks. Again plans need to be made for orientation, host family, and language study. And we want to continue to inform churches and young people of the opportunity for them in MCC’s young adult programs for the following year through informative sessions in the next several weeks.

However, we do not do this all by ourselves. We are assisting a young Lao woman who is trying to learn all the procedures/processes and is able to do much of the leading. However, she needs our support in the various tasks.