It’s two days after Christmas and the remnants of this Christian holiday are still apparent in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos.

Despite very few being Christians, the commercialism still lingers onward with Christmas carols being played throughout malls or grocery stores, cutesy Santa and elf apparel lined up in night markets or hanging up along street apparel shops and decorated food gift baskets with “Merry Christmas!” labels being sold here and there. 

I’m not sure when this will disappear from the consumer market but it might be awhile. We shall see!

Let me catch you up on all the activities for my Christmas weekend.

The Center’s Christmas Party for Students and Staff

Last Friday evening, 5 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., had the students of our Vocational and Language Center arrive for a very nicely organized event.  Those attending were:  The “village”, or rather city district,  chief’s English Class (all ladies, learning English to better communicate with foreigners who live in their city areas), the primary school English class kids, the high school and college students taking courses to improve their language skills and a few other guests.  The Center staff were also present:   a mixture of Laos and us foreigners (Modester, Afijul, Angie, myself).

We had our opening warm-up of “We wish you a Merry Christmas” with dance moves, an explanation of the religious significance of the day, party games, a gift exchange (we all brought a wrapped gift and then had a drawing to determine who received which one) and a meal served afterwards.

See below all the photos  of this fun event, which was held in the Center’s larger room with stage and power point ability.

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A Christmas Vientiane Night Market Venture

On Saturday evening, Modester invited me and her Liberian friend, Beatrice, to the Vientiane Night Market, located along the Mekong River, for a shopping spree. This was my first experience in the city’s night market. I’d seen the quiet, abandoned goods and food stalls during the daytime but never experienced it in full swing.

My goodness! Anything and everything could be found here:  watches, hair dryers, cosmetics, clothes, shoes, kitchen supplies, . . . .

I was in need of warmer clothes as these chilly 50-degree evening temperatures really surprised me. I had researched Laos seasons and was told in the north, it could get quite cold (40s-50s) but central and southern Laos had temps running year-round from 70s to 90’s. No mention of drastic dips at night so I bought myself a hoodie sweat jacket and warm slippers. Cost was 90,0000 Kip ($4)

I was a little disappointed that local Laos handicraft items were not that popular. Only 2 stalls among hundreds sold what I was eager to buy. 

Here are my purchases below, and displayed in my home:  310,000 Kip ($14)

Christmas Day: Attending Church

The church I attended was a 30-minute motorcycle ride from Vientiane. As mentioned before, the main mode of transportation is by motorcycle (motor scooter), which most locals throughout Laos have. Larger vehicles, quite nice, are purchased by those who have a bit more money. Public transportation or long-distance bus service (much like in America) is still very sparse thus the need to have your own means of transportation.

I am not yet adept at driving a motorbike, although I am practicing and will be purchasing my own soon, on my dime.  I’ve been debating between a new one or a used one. I think you can guess which I’ll be choosing! (Brand new, with Laos models being untrustworthy so most people buy the imported versions coming from Japan, Vietnam or the US.)

Afijul was gracious enough to take me on his bike. Modester took Beatrice. Angie’s son, Amos, brought her.

A pre-service praise singing time took place from 9:30 to 10. Service began at 10, with opening prayer, introduction of officials present (yes, non-Christian local gov. officials were invited to receive gift baskets and thanks for their continued service to the country), message by the pastor and then performances by children, church leaders and (yes) us few foreigners present. Afijul accompanied us on the keyboard while Modester, Angie and I sang Away in a Manger (with motions and parts) and lastly, Go Tell it On The Mountain with audience participation of clapping. Although no one understood English, the feeling of our shared faith that we exuded was apparent and appreciated. A substantial meal was served afterwards for all present, over 100. 

Christmas Day Evening in My Apartment Complex

Yet another surprise was a gathering arranged by two of our long-term residents in this apartment complex: Paul, from Britain/New Zealand, and his wife June, from Thailand.

Paul has been here a year as a consultant for WHO (World Health Organization) in his field, epidemiology. He’s consulted over 30 countries at different lengths of time with Laos being one of his longer stints. The greatest threat to human life here is Dengue Fever, a mosquito-carrying disease which doesn’t get the needed research or concern that malaria has been given over the years.

There is no vaccine for Dengue Fever. It is the only mosquito-carrying viral infection that targets humans, not animals. In 80% of initial infections, it is not fatal but results in high fever, rash, muscle aches and pains. It can last from 2-7 days. There is no specific treatment. Stay hydrated as the fever can deplete hydration and death can result from that. Do NOT take aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), aspirin-containing drugs, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen) because of their anticoagulant properties. 

In other words, you can bleed out.

Instead, take paracetamol, which is a drug easily found in Laos. Below you will find the lovely gift packet of medication for this, as well as a small container of vix-like Monkey balm, to soothe sore muscles.  I did wonder why the church had put together this lovely packet of medication, which the ladies distributed to us as we came to worship. 

After my conversations with Paul, I knew why such a gift had been selected by church organizers: Definitely this was a showering of Christian love and concern for the well-being of all who received it.

Another nastiness of this infection is that if you have had it before, the next time can be even more severe with a greater risk of death. So if all goes well your first infection, it may not go so well the second, third or even fourth time. This is why there is such a high death rate here in Laos due to Dengue Fever: No ability to build up an immune system response, like malaria.

Our potluck gathering outside had not only apartment residents invited but our Laos staff present as well. These are the ones who clean, do laundry, take care of apartment problems, bring us our bottled water and help in any way possible. I learned their pay per month is quite low, only $45 per month. Our rental is $500 – $600 a month. We have quite a few apartments in this complex. The owner, Mee, is doing quite well, obviously, with her various properties about town. It is a shame that their pay is not higher as they work very hard to maintain this place, plus two are present 24-7, living in the tiny office space and taking turns sleeping on a small cot.

Although we spoke different languages, with very limited lingual commonality among ourselves, we managed just fine: Good food, good fellowship, with much appreciation given by those of us who live here to our local Laos caretakers and friends. Now that is the way to end a Christmas weekend!