One of my favorite moments in movie history is the scene in Space Balls where Lord Helmet's main commander attempts to explain how they can be watching Space Balls the Movie at the exact moment it is being made. As those of you who have seen the movie know (the cool ones), they've put in the VHS version of the movie to see what happens in the future.
Eventually, Lord Helmet, Rick Moranis's character, becomes very confused, and the two engage in a sort of who's on first back and forth. Eventually Lord Helmet gives up on trying to understand the process and just asks, "When will then be now?"
"Soon," his commander replies.
Well, I'm sort of wondering, "When will then be Lao?"
[Roni's friends back home produce an audible groan. Some wince. A few even recoil, shake their heads and think, "Shit, Krouzman's lost his touch. That parasite must have gotten into his brain."]
OK I swear to you 15 minutes ago, while I was downing stir fried chicken and veggies over rice, the kind that would make my bretheren in Fair Lawn, NJ, proud, this whole little Space Balls intro not only sounded clever, it sounded funny and profound. I swear.
The point is, I am (somehow) writing to you from Lao, the small, improverished, landlocked country sandwhiched between Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma I think - and despite some sweet adventures (more to come), I have yet to really settle in, find the groove here.
Is there a groove here? I'm not sure, at least in the town I'm in.
I'm in Luang Prabang, which is sort of like Sausalito meets colonial France meets South East Asia. Yikes on a few levels, including the preponderance of:
* High end boutiques
* Snooty 50-something French tourists dressed in shirts and slacks
* People asking you for money all the fucking time
Oh, also, for some reason, word must have gotten out to the town's drug dealers that the farang with the nice arms, hairy chest and bad ass Burning Main cowboy hat, well he really likes all sorts of drugs - heroin, opium, marijuana - so please make it a point to offer him some incessantly. He will greatly appreciate this. Not only will it add to his trip, it will make his blog so much more interesting.
My confused head space aside, Luang Prapang is a beautiful town. French colonial architecture, narrow alleys, beautiful restaurants, silks and other crafts for sale everywhere...and it sits perched along the Mekong River.
I'm just not feelin' it so much, yet at least. But this sometimes happens when I get to a new place, and I have all the time in the world, really. So I'm just going to float around like a leaf in an eddy for a bit, and see if a little current eventually grabs hold of me here, or if one takes me elsewhere, perhaps into the Lao countryside, or to Vientam.
I've been learning this way more and more in life, and traveling pretty much open-endly is a great place to practice. I mean really, there is no place I need to be for the forseeable future.
Honestly, what is most pressing on my mind in terms of going home is being there for the beautiful seasons, which I miss. I love the rain and Spring and Summer and all of it. But thankfully these do come by every year.
And yet, despite a few passing thoughts about home, I've been in Asia for almost a month, and it has flown by, and I know I'm not coming back anytime soon. All right!
This has been a pleasant surprise. I've really not felt any terrible homesickness, though I do miss friends and things about home of course. Despite the little waves here and there though, I'm feeling quite in it here and ready for a lot more.
Right now I'm ready for a little nap.
Much love,
Roni
ps - I love learning languages. I taught myself some Thai in Thailand, including how to say hello, goodbye, thanks, how much, yes, no, what's you're name, I'm Roni, chicken, fish, rice, pork, water, little bit, gentle, stronger, and also to count to 999,999 (God it took DAYS to get all the way up to 999,999! It's what I did in the hospital to pass the time). These are pretty much all you need to know, minus "You're super cute" and "Get me out of here" maybe.
In any case, now I'm learning Lao. I can count to 999,999 (same as Thai), and say hello, thank you, water, fish, chicken, pork and rice. It's quite easy because all these words are mostly really close to Thai or exactly the same. This afternoon I will ask the nice young man 'Pan' at my guesthouse how to say, "No I don't want any fucking heroin, thank you." I think I might print up a t-shirt.
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