break on through..

he is a sixteen year old who dreams of becoming an actor (or a physics teacher), only if his acne go away, which he (and his friends) believe are there because he doesn't get his beauty sleep. he asks me if i know how to get rid of them, while solemnly spelling acne on the blank piece of paper ( i correct the spellings)

another sixteen year old (som peng) dreams of becoming a doctor, and wants to open his clinic or pharmacy, he's not quite sure of the difference between the two. he uses the word "success" as much as he can because he can. he is in third grade, because he didn't study when he was younger. he wants a laos to english dictionary which would increase his vocabulary and the $10 lonely planet phrasebook is too expensive to be bought. he also wants a thai to english dictionary. when asked how he knows thai, he smiles and says, 'thai television. we used to watch it back home.'
his elder brother, who lives with him, goes to college. he is in his first year and wants to work in a bank, he has many subjects in college, he says.

the nineteen year old (som pan) is quieter. he wants me to talk slowly, so he can understand. his sister, who was about thirty passed away in a house fire. he, then, left home. he wants to be a doctor and work in china hospital in luang prabang. it takes five years and a lot of hard work, he emphasizes.

in the afternoons, they practise english with foreigners such as me. sometimes, they practise their vocabulary with friends.

these days, they are learning about the different body parts- so there i am teaching them elbow, nails, eyes and correcting their grammar and spellings and solving math and chemistry equations, their homework, they say.
most everything is in laos, or so it seems, some pages are photocopies from a thai book, but all i see is chemistry equations. in any language, the symbols are the same and so is the periodic table.

they ask me to write the alphabets of hindi and then the basic questions - hello, how are you, i am fine, goodbye. i ask them if they have been to india- 'not yet'. a perfect reply- hopeful.

they ask me to explain what lonely planet says about the bqaasi ceremony - and then one runs to his room to give me three threads- white, yellow and red- the colors signify something important, he doesn't know what.
novice monks aren't allowed to do the bqaasi ceremony, he says but i give them to you

they aren't allowed to touch me, so no handshakes. even pencils are handed to me carefully

i can visit their room and their school

they aren't allowed to drive/ride bicycles. they can take a tuk-tuk, if they have the money. but they don't. so everyday, they walk to school - its a half an hour walk one-way- its tiring, they complain.

they have three terms of computer classes, the first teaches them MS word, XP, the second- excel etc and the third, photoshop. they ask if i will teach them photoshop on a laptop?

they don't do dinner- only lunch and breakfast.

they used to get books from the library, but now that the library has moved, they don't have access to them. they don't know where the new library location is.

they are learning the "part of speech", world history- the thais and the english, the vietnamese and the french.

to the world and to me, until a few hours ago, they are novice monks in a temple in luang prabang. but really, they are only teenagers, who because of circumstances and ambitions had the wisdom to put on an orange robe and lead a life of chastity and penance for sometime, to pursue their dreams, to give themselves their only chance to fly, to get out of a farmland into banks and hospitals

their ambition makes me humble, their passion for knowledge makes me proud, their age makes me envious- i want to be sixteen again.


every day, i continue to meet a variety of people, i have discussions on anything and everything from hair conditioners to relationships. i leave every good conversation with a feeling of satisfaction for having learnt something new or for having seen a different perspective to something

but its when i am down to some very basic topics that i realize, sometimes, how little i truly understand.

how do I explain "equilibrium" to someone who thinks 500000 kip(about $70) is too expensive for a year's education. that's the "discounted" hourly massage rate in san francisco.
how do i explain what divorced is?
how do i explain what a software engineer really does?

just when you think you are able to answer some pretty tough questions in life, some seemingly simple questions leave you wondering.