Post Archives

I've spent a lot of time writing posts and so I'm putting together a list of pasts post with links to the post that I'll update occassionally. For people interested in Laos subjects, you might find something worthwhile to check out!

 

Hmong Storycloths Zoomified

http://blog.gotlaos.com/2005/11/hmong_storyclot.html

 

Zoomify is a small program that allows anyone to click on the photo and zoom in for a close-up view. In this post I use the program to let viewers zoom in on details on several Hmong storycloths.

 

Bombies

http://blog.gotlaos.com/2005/12/bombies.html

 

Bombies is a great video. Anyone interested in Laos, especially its history and the Secret War will find this video extremely informative and interesting. I can’t recommend this highly enough.

 

Assembly Bill 78

http://blog.gotlaos.com/2005/12/assembly_bill_7.html

 

I was so excited when this bill came out over six years ago because I thought finally teachers would take responsibility for teaching and/or talking about the Secret War and why that led to the influx of our Hmong, Mien and Lao students and their families beginning in 1976. But the sad truth is this bill didn’t change a thing. Nothing.

 

Walking in Peace

http://blog.gotlaos.com/2007/08/walking-togethe.html

 

One of my favorite photos is of a group of monks walking in Luang Prabang and the University of San Diego paid for the rights to use the photo in a media campaign to promote a Social Issues Conference.

 

The Lao are People of the Heart

http://blog.gotlaos.com/2007/08/the-lao-are-peo.html

 

I think it is really fascinating how the Lao word for heart, “jhai” is used in hundreds of words and in this post we provide more information about Lao language and how the word “jhai” is used.

 

Teacher Pay in Laos

http://blog.gotlaos.com/2007/08/teacher-pay-in-.html

 

Teachers are horribly paid in Laos and in this post I include an article from the Vientiane Times on “Provincial Teachers Wait to be Paid.” Progress in Laos will continue to move forward at a snail’s pace if they really can’t seriously upgrade their educational program.

 

YouTube video of a Principal Planting Rice

http://blog.gotlaos.com/2007/08/youtube-video-o.html

 

This post is connected with the previous post because the pay for educators is so poor they need to have a second job, or in this case plant their own little rice field so they have enough food to eat…

 

The Dynamic Women of Muang Sing

http://blog.gotlaos.com/2007/08/the-dynamic-wom.html

 

Muang Sing used to be one of my favorite places to visit in Laos and now it’s been over four years since we’ve visited… I guess Sam Neua has replaced Muang Sing, but I know we will return and I will be sure to visit the villages of all these amazing women. I miss them.

 

Rice is Life

http://blog.gotlaos.com/2007/08/rice-is-life.html

 

One of my favorite childrens’ books and I’ve included several of the passages which I encourage your to read outloud. Marvelous language that really captures what it’s like growing rice in a paddy, whether it’s in Bali (where the setting of the story takes place), or in Laos, Vietnam, etc.

 

Reporting on Laos in Time Magazine: 1949 – 1959

http://blog.gotlaos.com/2007/08/reporting-on-la.html

 

If anyone is interested in the history of Laos and how it was reported on in Time Magazine in this ten year period, you should check out this very long post with excerpts from a number of articles. They really portray Laos as this simplistic, backwards country. For example: Time Magazine, Jan. 21, 1957   “Conquest by Negotiation” Life in Shangri-La was never quite so dreamlike as life in Laos since that country became an independent nation 2½ years ago. With the French no longer directing its political life, the unwarlike people of this Buddhist kingdom in the interior of the Indochinese peninsula relapsed into their old hedonist ways.

 

 

Northern Laos Textile Research Tour – December

http://blog.gotlaos.com/2007/08/northern-laos-t.html

 

A very long post about our first trip guiding Elli. If you want to know what it’s like to travel through Laos you might enjoy this post, especially if you’re thinking about joining one of our tours.

 

Why Laos?

http://blog.gotlaos.com/2007/09/why-laos.html

 

I wrote this post in trying to explain why I think Laos is important to include in the curriculum. In one paragraph I wrote, “Laos and Southeast Asia are important because they include geologically and ecologically diverse areas of study, are the starting place of many new immigrants to the U.S., offer an opportunity to introduce students to the issues of developing nations in a concrete way, and are politically diverse and culturally and religiously rich.”

 

Now that Obama gathered the “courage” to meet with the leaders of all 10 countries in ASEAN, maybe things will begin to change…

 

Hmong girl washing clothes in Xieng Khouang

http://blog.gotlaos.com/2007/09/washing-clothes.html

 

I uploaded a bunch of videos on YouTube about four years ago and this one has drawn a lot of comments from YouTube viewers. It’s about a 3-year old Hmong girl dutifully washing clothes along side her mother in a rural Hmong village. Quite amazing how good she is. I have it now posted on our Vimeo website that’s better to watch since it’s easier to post high resolution videos on their site.

 

Reporting on Laos in Time Magazine: 1960 – 1976

http://blog.gotlaos.com/2007/09/publish---repor.html

 

I’ve done all the hard research and someone can learn a lot by reading the articles I’ve included that feature Laos. Here’s one typical sentence, “That left Laos about where it has been since 1954—a wobbly stake in the free world's fence against world Communism.” Hmm, a “wobbly stake.” This was the US view of Laos during this time.

 

This is the second part of my research as the first part for the years 1949 – 1959 was included in this post: http://blog.gotlaos.com/2007/08/reporting-on-la.html