Vientiane - Laos Peoples’ Democratic Republic During World War II, on small islands in the South Pacific, indigenous villagers were jolted from a stone-age existence and propelled into the twentieth century by the arrival of modern machines: the most advanced technology produced by the mid-century, industrialized world. Villagers could only explain the functioning of ships,...
Read more »
Day 42 I saw it coming and couldn’t do a thing about it except hold my breath and wait. A stoop-shouldered, white-haired man surrounded by a gaggle of children limped on stiff joints out of the woods behind our camp and headed straight for me. I could read the situation like a book: a...
Read more »
Day 41 Sop Houn sits along the Nuea River which, in addition to being the best communication link with other settlements east and west of here, provides the villagers with water for drinking, cooking, bathing, and is a dependable source of food. The fact that I don’t see many people drying fish in the...
Read more »
Day 40 A few days ago, in one of my postings, I characterized the guys on our team as fun-loving, hard playing. I wrote that with the arrival of the full team, I now had to assume the role of fraternity housemother in an effort to keep the guys on the straight and narrow....
Read more »
Day 39 There is a wedding in the village today, and since today is also Women’s Day, a national holiday, few people are holding to their usual work schedule. Women are supposed to have a light day. I’ve heard it said that husbands are supposed to cook and clean, but take my word for...
Read more »
Day 38 I knew it would happen. As word spread that there was a humanitarian aid group in the village, people with a variety of problems started traveling to Sop Houn from even more remote areas to see what kind of help might be available. Yai and I always tell people that we do...
Read more »
Day 37 The head teacher at the village school has helped us in many ways. She was one of the first villagers to take us to see ordnance. She was a bit sheepish about her role in excavating one particular site. A few years back she and her husband found an entire canister of...
Read more »
Day 36 Yai and our teenage, hang-around, self-appointed assistant, Dwee, completed their walk and have identified 58 old bomb craters within the village, an area that might cover four acres. That gives me a good picture of what went on here during the war. I don’t think we have any good reason to start...
Read more »
Days 34 and 35 Well, we got this one right. What a flawless demolition! As much a credit to the villagers as to us! And, only the second time in village history that they’ve been made to walk through the routine. Once upon a time, some guy brought a rocket and a mortar into...
Read more »
Day 33 We needed to hire one person to do three jobs: guard, maid, and cook for the camp. Oratai and Yai were to walk the village and find candidates to choose from. I told them that, for sure, I wanted a married woman. The older the better. If not ugly, then at least...
Read more »