Meet Dave, our new friend and laundry help!

DAVE!

While hanging laundry to dry on our balcony I felt something brush against my hand. I thought it was one of Craig's socks that was blown by the wind. As I hung another piece of laundry I saw something move towards me on the drying rack. It was a humongous beetle we have named Dave, like other animals Craig names 😁 

The amazing pictures are at the end of this post 😲

This is when we first met 💗

I don't know what his thought was, but he didn't seem afraid and moved towards me on the metal rod.

He worked hard to turn himself right side up. 

And he made it! I was impressed that he was able to do this on such a slippery surface. He must have super abs!

Here he is walking carefully on the slippery metal rod.

And up another one!

Dave is a Hemadius Oenochrous, a type of longhorn beetle that lives in China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Laos. He is also known as the cherry tree longhorned beetle and Wushe blood-spotted longhorned beetle. Calling him blood-spotted makes a lot of sense since he has bright, almost jewel like red spots on his back. He is a handsome little guy. The body of an adult beetle is between 4.5 to 6.5 cm (1.8 to 2.6 inches) long, and the antennae longer than that, which more than doubles his length. Dave is huge and clearly one of the larger ones. He eats leaves, barks, flowers, plant sap, and fruit, so he is a good friend to have.

Later as I was hanging up a pair of slacks in our closet I felt something on the slacks scratch my hand and shook the pants. Unfortunately it was our new friend Dave, and he fell on the floor in our closet 😬 He fell right onto the hard tiles and did not move 😭 I felt so bad. Because he had some serious looking mandibles, and having read that some beetles can pinch you so hard it will give you blisters, I fetched a tissue to pick him up with. He did not move, but held on to the tissue really hard with his legs. I was happy that he seemed to be okay. Before I let him go I needed pictures of Dave, so Craig took some amazing photos for me. It's great living with a fantastic photographer 💗 

We checked the balcony for him when we were getting ready for bed, and he was gone. I hope he found a better place where he is safer.

Enjoy these pictures that Craig took of our new friend Dave, who unfortunately did not trust us enough to stay 💔 - 

Kisses 💋

Breakfast and Children's Day!

We are fortunate to work with a couple of wonderful Lao English teachers. They teach right after us, so they explain what was not clear to the students from our classes. Teamwork!

It is sad that we will only teach our students until September, because we are enjoying spending our mornings with them. Their great attitude and happy faces make for a great beginning to our days.

Children's Day is a fun day for all children as they get to perform for their parents and teachers, eat treats, and play games with prizes. Some of our students are teachers and were helping make a fun day for the children, so were not able to join us for breakfast.

With one of the Lao teachers and her supervisor. The other teacher was helping at the Children's Day celebrations and was unfortunately not able to come.

Craig's pictures and commentary (children's photos taken and posted with permission):

This week was highlighted by two events:
National Children's Day (what a great idea, we should have this back home too!)
Sharing breakfast with our English student friends - they are a very enjoyable group of characters! 
We also visited the Golden Stupa: a national monument that was first constructed almost 1,800 years ago. It's been damaged several times in its history, but always rebuilt!

Cute Hmong (an ethnic group living mainly in China and Southeast Asia) children in their beautiful traditional clothing. We have wonderful Hmong friends who live in California and Utah, as well as here in Laos.

The Deseret International Charities' (DIC) English students who were able to come to breakfast. If we had known it coincided with Children's Day we would have chosen a different day.

One of the student's beautiful plate.

The Golden Stupa, The Great Stupa, or Pha That Luang. It is believed to contain a breast bone of the Buddha, so is a sacred structure. This is not the original stupa as that one was heavily damaged by the Siamese. What we see was rebuilt after WWII. The gold color on the main tower is from being covered with 500 kg (1,100 lbs) of gold leaf and other precious metals.

Saturday In Vientiane

We LOVE sightseeing! Saturday is usually our free day and so we find something fun to do or see, either by ourselves or with someone, most likely the other senior missionary couple, the Bairds. This particular Saturday we were on our own. We visited the Lao Textile Museum, had lunch at a fabulous restaurant next to That Dam stupa that our English students suggested, and climbed to the top of the Patuxay, or Victory, Monument. There were a lot of stairs 😰 but we made it.

That Dam stupa (yes, that is the name 😆 It means black stupa). It is old and beautiful. 

It is very time consuming to make these beautiful fabrics.

This is a different design.

A simpler design for a men's sarong.

Getting the thread ready for the weavers.

The indigo colored thread is drying.

Butterfly Pea Tea, an herbal drink. It has a beautiful color.

The color changed slightly after I added the lemon juice. Cool!

Craig's pictures with commentary:

These are from our walk about Vientiane on Saturday morning and afternoon. So much to see and learn here! Wonderful place!!!

This is at the Lao Textile Museum. Here they take the silk and turn it into thread, then dye for color, and last they weave beautiful fabrics. Their hands move quickly between the threads as they create their designs.

Here is a better overview.

This is the dyeing process. Suzanne spoke with him, and he said it takes two days for the colors to leave his skin, and one month for his fingernails to return to normal.

A view of their showroom with examples of clothing from their silk fabrics.

This is a French colonial home built over 100 years ago. Instead of renovating or restoring, its decay was arrested, or stopped. A coffee shop operates nearby with the house providing space to sit, talk, and take in the surroundings. 

The villa's main entrance.

Entry way and staircase to a floor that is closed off. It might not be safe.

Interior wall.

Breakfast table by the window to catch the morning light.

The house from behind.

City overlook from about 500 feet.

The main park plaza and cityscape of Vientiane.

Our First Roadtrip!

We went on our first roadtrip! Ventured out to Vang Vieng, Feuang, Meun, and Kasi, north of Vientiane.

Had a most delicious lunch in Feuang - bought much more than the five of us could eat, BBQ chicken, turkey larb (a delicious spicy and sour meat salad), grilled fish . . . 

Forgot to take pictures before we started eating 😒

All this for less than $45, and this is a nicer restaurant, 

meaning it is fully enclosed with air-conditioning. Love the prices here!

The clay ovens where the chicken was grilled.

Inside one of the beautiful toilets that was built last year. 

Yes, we squat here, it is better for your system. Our apartment has a western toilet, and most public toilets have at least one that is meant for handicapped people and those who cannot squat. Many western people are unfortunately not built for squatting. It is how people here rest when they get tired, but our bones are not built the same way, so it is more difficult.

I love that they warn their children about these things. You can never be too safe.

A tiny jackfruit tree that already has a fruit on it! 

This was on a school's property.

Driving to our hotel after working. Torrential rains are almost a daily occurrence here, 

usually in the evenings and at night.

A big beautiful buzzing butterfly.

I love these plants that close up when you touch them.

The biggest iced hot chocolate I have ever seen! Coke can for size. The fruit smoothies were the same size 😲

Sister Baird showing the humongous cookie she bought 😳

Craig's pictures and commentary:

This was our first trip away from the capital of Vientiane. We drove about 2 hours and into the more rural areas of Laos where most of the church's (DIC: Deseret International Charities) humanitarian projects are located. Wells and water systems are being provided, new restrooms built for schools, and classrooms  upgraded, some with new computers. Laos is itself making lots of improvements throughout the country and it's great for DIC to help support their efforts. 

Lao children are happy, beautiful, and love to engage with us; especially with Suzanne for selfies. These pictures are not included (we would love to!) but in consideration of their parents, they are not posted here. 

Vang Vieng - a resort town on the Mekong River located in a valley surrounded by limestone mountains and cliffs.

An example of the church donated wells being supplied to the schools and villages. The water storage tank is on a tower to provide pressure for distribution to the toilets and wash stations. This is for a grammar school. To the left of the tower is a new building with toilets that the church built last year. We are there making sure everything is functioning the way they are supposed to.

A closer look -- it's a nice upgrade for them.

Another restroom with a great view!

Some of the farmlands being prepared for planting.

Lunch break! BBQ chicken -- very good! It is roasted within large ceramic vessels, similar to tandoori ovens.

The classrooms before renovations.

Example of recently renovated classes. the Lao teachers are really great and enjoy their renewed facilities.

Classroom before renovation.

Classroom after renovation. This class was also supplied with up-to-date computers. Mr. Ki is the deputy director of this school district. 

He is doing a fantastic job for the children.

Cattle around here are very mellow. They are released in the morning so they can feed in the nearby village fields, and then they, on their own, return home at night to be corralled and to sleep.