I was more excited about the Lao duck blood dish (larb leut bhet) served at my cousins house during halftime then the Super Bowl game.
Don’t let the appearance of the dish and the fact that it’s duck blood deter you from trying this dish when you get a chance. I had a taste many, many years ago and it has become one of my favorite Lao dishes ever since. It’s so good I need to learn how to make this, maybe a future blog post!
liveLAO’d,
CubicleJOT
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If we all didn’t have filters at work would this video clip accurately portray your office?
liveLAO’d,
CubicleJOT
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Guess what! I’m getting married! I was trying to keep my wedding plans out of liveLAO’d, but the first thing on my mind this morning is the wedding. It’s getting close to the big day and I’m feeling nervous and excited at the same time. A lot of things are running through my mind right now, so why not share what I’m going through with all 1 million liveLAOD.com readers. As much as I am gangsta about showing my Lao Pride and incorporating Lao traditions in my life, this wedding of mine may not have any Lao wedding traditions incorporated, except for maybe having plenty of Hennesey.
My fiancé is a Filipina who grew up in Guam. Her idea of a dream wedding is a tropical island wedding, with palm trees and waves crashing around in the background. On the other hand my idea of a wedding,( I’m not going to say dream wedding because that would include elephants, contortionists, unicorns and hobbits) is to carry a sword wearing my traditional Lao wedding attire including the MC Hammer pants. As silly as it sounds I wanted to look like the King of Laos for the day. I secretly wanted my family and friends parading me down the neighborhood towards the brides house while they danced and sang the lyrics “Here comes the son in law”. I did envision my best man holding an umbrella over me while I carried my suitcase (not sure what goes in the suitcase but I figure a pair of clean underwear) walking towards the brides house. I pictured my dad negotiating at the front door of the brides house with excitement and flare, the back and forth banter with the designated brides family, following would be numerous shots of alcohol. The brides family would invite the entourage and the groom into the house and if the invitation to enter was to slow the entourage would bully their way through the door. This tradition has always been what I had envisioned for myself.
Now as the wedding day gets closer I continue to think about the traditions that I am missing out on, including the big, really big Lao wedding, probably with 400 people or more in attendance. After many long conversations between the two of us and our parents we opted out of the big Lao Wedding “for now.” We decided our wedding is going to be in Maui with a guest list of about 50 people, our closest friends and family. We figure what is more important, celebrating with 400 people in which 70% of the folks we barely know, or go somewhere tropical for rest and relaxation and have a nice intimate wedding in the process. Some of you are probably thinking, “boy, you are so Amelican.” and its true I am definitely straying from our traditions and this wedding will be very much a western wedding. There is still hope though, my dad hasn’t completely ruled out the big wedding and still has grand ideas. The Lao wedding may still happen,but if it didn’t what will I be missing out on? I decided to lookup Lao wedding traditions and found these really interesting facts, photos and history which I got from www.laos-guide-999.com/a>
*The ceremony starts with the Grooms Entourage parading him over to the brides house. Where back and forth banter takes place to get into the home. Drinking usually ensues.
*A traditional Lao wedding is usually held at the bride’s family home. The wedding ceremony can take place either in the morning or afternoon. In the past it was always in the morning which was believed to be best time for a joyful celebration such as wedding ceremony to take place, whereas the afternoon is considered the time for sad ceremonies like cremations.
*The wedding preparations start with the sou khor (bride-price negotiation) procession. The bride-price is usually money and gold, but it can be anything valuable. These days the practice is usually done for show and if there is gold or diamonds the valuables are for the bride herself and not for the brides family.
*The wedding date has to be on a good day in lunar calendar, so parents of either or both sides usually consult elders or senior ex-monks, who have good knowledge of Lao custom and tradition, before the wedding date is set. A wedding should not take place during the three months khao phansa (Buddhist Lent, late July – late October). (My dad and I went through this and you need to pick a day that has a full moon. The fuller the moon the better.)
*The night before the Lao wedding takes place, an informal ceremony is held at the bride-to-be’s home, and sometimes the groom holds the same ceremony at his place as well. This is call an oun dong (wedding or marriage warming) and it only involves close friends and relatives who come to help with wedding preparations as well as to eat and drink. The things to prepare include pha khoun (handmade marigold pyramid made of banana leaves), food for the big day and the new couple’s bedroom. In this room tradition demands the bed must be made by the mother of the bride or an older female who has a good family (with a good husband and good children and who is not divorced, or a widow).
*On the big day, the bride is dressed with a traditional Lao silk sinh (Lao skirt), and silk blouse, and has her hair tied up in a special way with gold decoration. This ensemble is finished off with a gold necklace, bracelets, earrings and a bell.
*The groom also gets dressed up usually with white or cream coloured silk shirt and a traditional silk salong (a pair of baggy pants). Sometimes grooms wear normal pants and suits as some find salongs uncomfortable.
*On the wedding day a Baci(also spelt basi) or sou khuan (a spirit enhancing) ceremony is held. After everyone is settled in, the baci or sou khuan ceremony begins. This involves the chanting by the master of ceremony (mor phon), the egg feeding (the bride and the groom feed each other an egg) and the tying of white strings on wrists to unite the couple. At the end of the baci, the elder relatives lead the couple to somma (a customary asking for forgiveness and thanking of parents and elder relatives of both parties). This process involves the giving of small money gifts (wrapped inside banana leaves, together with flowers and a pair of candles). During this ceremony, the elders, including the parents and relatives of both parties, give the couple good wishes.The bride and the groom somma their parents.
*The Lao wedding ceremony ends with the sending of the couple to their room. The elder female relative will lead the groom to the room and the bride follows behind. Traditionally, the couple is supposed to stay in their room until the next morning, however these days after the traditional ceremony the big Lao wedding reception begins.
Live LAO’d,
CubicleJOT
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The best Christmas present ever. Love my Aunt’s homemade pineapple infused padek (Lao fish sauce). It’s awesome in papaya salad!
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These days anything wrong in the USA seems to always have China associated with it. The media appears to be keeping constant with the theme, “China is the Villain”. Economy bad, “blame it on China.” Jobs lost, “blame it on China.” Pollution, “blame it on China.” Products in the USA is failing, “blame it on China.” Your girl left you, “blame it on China.” Food Poisoning, “Blame it on China.” Okay you guys get the point. With all this finger pointing at China I decided to take a trip to China to see for myself if there is any truth to this blame game. I also had some business and friends to visit.
The trip started out with a few hurdles. Thanks to Delta we sat on the tar mat of SeaTac airport for over two hours because they had over packed the plane with mail. I still don’t fully understand but apparently the mail was too heavy and they had to re-adjust the load to balance out the plane. Besides the delay the plane was such a dump. We found a bugar on our pillow; our neighbors armrest was held up by scotch tape, the TV console was malfunctioning for half of our 12-hour flight. One of the bathrooms was out of order so there was a constant line of people by our seats. Worst of all the couple in front of us were trying to get it on in the plane. With all these negatives something good did come out of it. The delay in taking off resulted in missing our connecting flight and the layover meant we got to stay in a town near Tokyo. Although a short stay we got to sample some nice Japanese Whiskey.
The next day we flew into Hong Kong and what an amazing view from the air. The City skyline seemed to go on forever, a very impressive city. Hong Kong is big, very expensive and more westernized then I had expected. Noticeably in the city you can see a mixture of old and new, wealth and poverty. Old rundown apartments with clothing hang dried on the balcony is mixed in with the luxury hotels, high-end boutiques and swanky nightclubs. We spent only two days in Hong Kong and after the consumption of a $30 dollar drink called the Zombie, the rest of my experience is a blur. I believe I had a good time; Hong Kong I admit kicked my ass.
Following Hong Kong we made our way to Mainland China. We went to ShenZhen, and then to Dongguan and here is where I got a more full experience of life in China and my critique of China can begin.
When you step out from the train and walk out of the tunnel and up into the city your senses are bombarded. The first thing I noticed the smell, which can be describe as a burnt smell, much like the smell of a burnt sticky rice cooker if you all have ever burnt the pot. The street is full of people soliciting you for entertainment and taxi rides. The noise is a mixture of construction noise and honking. Everyone honks their horn whether necessary or not. Bicycles, motorcycles and cars are zipping around in every direction. Nowhere else is it more necessary to look both ways when you cross the street. We witnessed two accidents where a car crashed into a bicyclist and another where a car crashed into a motorcycle. In every corner you see people hustling, small street vendors cooking up delicious noodles or barbecued meats, small shops selling widgets, gadgets, trinkets. Everywhere buildings are being built, remodeled or torn down.
Nowhere on this China trip did I see any villains, instead what I saw was hard working people trying to make a living, working hard to survive and provide for their family. My friend gave the best description about China. He said, “It almost seems as if a village woke up one day only to be surrounded by a big modern city and everyone is trying to adjust.” Village life of old is being integrated with the hustle and bustle of new city life.
Now going back to my original statement what should we blame on China?
*Economy and Job Lost: Yes our economy is in a decline, we do borrow from China and Jobs have been lost to China. Making products in China is cheaper so it makes good business sense to go abroad, but is this China’s fault or is it our policy makers and businessman who allow this to happen? If we want the made in China tags to change to made in USA this will mean higher costs for all of us.
*Pollution – Definitely pollution is a problem in China, you can tell just by breathing in the air and not being able to see the sun on a sunny day is a problem. China is having growing pains and going through an industrial revolution similar to what the US went through during the 18th – early 19th century. Pollution will be a symptom, however China has history to learn from and hopefully they can utilize current technology to reduce their pollution output.
*Products failure – Products in China have been viewed as poorly made. I disagree with this because products are made to the design specifications and to the standards of the folks who payed for their production. If a product is being sold in the US by a US company who outsourced the production then I believe it is the US companies responsibility to assure that it is safe and meets US standards. The blame here should not be on China but on the US companies.
*Your girl left you – Not sure if you can blame China or not on this one. Maybe you are just ugly.
*Food Poisoning – I put this last one in because I went through the trip noxious and spent a whole day paying tribute to the porcelain god. I’m still not sure if I am completely over being sick but I can only blame my own stupidity on this one. I made the mistake of drinking the tap water. I thought the Lao Padek (fish sauce) had turned my stomach into steel and I could handle anything. I was apparently wrong.
liveLAO’d,
CubicleJOT
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Thanks for sharing Tommy. Can’t stop laughing! Fits perfectly.
Summary translation for those that don’t speak. Starts out with the two just getting done eating Papaya Salad that was a little too spicy. They get in the car and want to listen to Lao Mor Lum Music – “country music”. The driver only has Sting so they begin arguing.
liveLAO’d,
CubicleJOT
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Work required me to travel to Washington D.C. this week. I like to tell folks that I was summoned by the President and this is partially true, indirectly. This was my very first visit to the nations capitol so I decided to tour the city once my work obligations were completed.
My back and feet are complaining now, but I had the pleasure of walking through the monuments and memorials in Washington D.C. and wow, what a renewed sense of pride in our country I have. So many sacrifices by great men and women made this country what it is today.
A tour of the monuments and memorials in Washington D.C. should be made mandatory for all Americans, especially our congressmen and congresswomen seeing how they are behaving today. Can you picture President Obama leading a field trip of congressmen and congresswomen through the different monuments and memorials and lecturing them on Abraham Linclons’ Gettysburg Address, especially the part that states, “and that government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
Here are some pictures of me in Washington. I can’t believe they let this crazy Lao kid enter the west wing of the White House.
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Waking up to a nice Saturday morning, sipping on a cup of Lao Coffee. Last week my cousin found a bag of coffee at Marshalls labeled “Lao Whole Bean Coffee”. She thought of me and bought me a few bags.
The bag of coffee is produced by Breyting (Icelandic definition: Change) a privately owned company. I got curious about what they were all about so found their website, Breyting.com. It turns out this company is doing pretty cool things. The company focuses on profit but at the same time on helping the farmers that they work with. Breyting products contributes to raising support to remove millions of unexploded bombs left over from the Vietnam War. They support community development and providing anti-venom for snake bites. They also realize that Women’s work still remains undervalued, underpaid, and unrecognized within the countries their coffee beans are grown. Breyting® is seeking to improve this situation by directly investing with Women farmers.
LiveLAOd,
CubicleJOT
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Typing away on my Mac while my IPhone is ringing. My life revolves around the products created due to this mans genius.
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