I attended a conference last week, thus the long silence.

The promised picture of my birthday sihn is below. I chose the golden one for my golden 60th. What do you think?

And would you believe it’s time for classes to start again!

Monday begins our next 3-month term, January 20 – April 9, right before the most famous celebrations of the country take place, Boun Pi Mai.

“Boun Pi Mai : Pi Mai means “new year” and it is the time when the Lao people cerebrate the start of their Lunar calendar year. Practically the entire country grinds to a halt for the festivities. Houses are cleaned, people wear new clothes and Buddha images are washed with holy water, This festival makes one of the best times to visit Laos.”

Of course, that’s a long ways away yet but it does give us all something to look forward to for our end-of-term celebrations.In the meantime, teachers Santi (beginner level), Shaloom (elementary level 2 and junior high) and myself (elementary level 1 and junior high) have prepared our classrooms already. We now have 5 fully equipped teaching rooms ready to go, thanks to the incredible donations of so many of my overseas’ supporters.

How many students will we have this term? Latecomers to register might very well send us over the 35 mark. One year ago today, I had only 4 full-time elementary students enrolled.

And now? The numbers are growing! I’ll let you know by the end of the week the final count.

Winnie a Happy Camper as Well

The conference was amazing and uplifting, but I did wonder about my dog while away.

I placed Winnie for the first time in a kennel. I was fortunate enough to find one with a very good reputation, located only a short motorbike ride from the Center, in a countryside area.

Along with packing my suitcase for the conference with plenty of sihn and necessities, I also prepared Winnie’s for her boarding.

After dropping her off, I was told that daily updates would be given of her time there.

“May I ask where you are going?” the Laos owner, a young woman whose English name was Anna, asked me. “Will it be out of the country?”

“Oh, no,” I replied. “Within the city district. I’m attending a conference so if there’s an emergency, just let me know and I can come ASAP.”

There was a pause.

“A conference?”

She had an interesting facial expression I couldn’t quite read.

She then added, “If that’s the case, you had better silence your phone. We send a lot of pictures as an update.”

“That’s good. I’ll appreciate that,” I remarked while heading out the door.

In China, I had also received updates about my dogs kenneled there. Lucy, Beanie and Sister all received the best of care while I was stuck in America during Covid. Those pictures were precious to me as they showed just how well-cared for they were.

So I wasn’t surprised that I’d be getting pictures of Winnie every day.

What I didn’t realize was what was meant by daily photo updates.

52 on Day 1, 43 on Day 2, 37 on Day 3 and a very generous 46 with videos on Day 4.

Goodness!

As you can see below, Winnie probably had as good a time at her “conference” as I had at mine.

But next time she goes for kenneling, which most likely will be longer than a few days, I’m calling it quits to so many updates. Yes, I love my dog but, honestly, folks, a couple photos a week is enough!

Here’s Connie in Laos, signing off yet again until the next report.