Dirty Americans

Today in one of my classes we were learning about "You should . . ." "You're supposed to . . ." "You shouldn't . . ." ect. and our unit is about different cultures or customs around the world. I made a little paper for my students to write true or false if the sentence was true or false for them / Lao people in general.

For example:
1. You shouldn't put your feet on the table.
2. You should shower two or three times every day.

For both of these, almost everyone said true. I then told them to write what they thought I / an American would answer.

For number one, they said true. I told them false, it is OK to put your feet on the table (coffee table).

For number two, they said false. I said yes, we do not shower two or three times every day. One student asked me how many times we do shower. I asked him what he thought.

He said, "I think Americans only shower one time a week. The weather is very cold. It is too cold to shower a lot."

I laughed and told him we all shower every morning. He continued by saying that in some parts of America it really is too cold to shower every day. Again, I assured him that every American (at least almost everyone) showers every morning.

It is warmer to shower in -20 degree weather in Iowa than it is in 60 degree weather in Laos. There is no insulation and our shower is in a big room in our kitchen with walls that don't reach the ceiling. So all of the steam and warmness from our hot water scatters away into the kitchen. In Iowa we have nice hot water and heat and even little heaters to make the bathroom extra warm. Also, the warmer you want your water here, the less water pressure you get. So, if I want a hot shower, I only get a little trickle of water. Just ask Danae, she hasn't been loving her showers here too much.

But I've been loving having her here! We've just had lots of time to chat and catch up. I've heard lots about her boyfriend and life in general. It's been great! :)

What Time is It?

For every hour in America, there are 60 different times:

8:00
8:08
8:23
8:45
8:53
. . .

There are only four times for each hour in Laos.

Before 8:00
8:00
After 8:00
8:30

The other day I was eating lunch with some students. I had to go to class at 1:00. I asked one of them what time it was. She said before 1:00. So I thought I had to go to class. It was only 12:37. I had plenty before I had to go to class.

Danae comes in 3 days!! :-) :-) :-)

Surprise Visit

Our bathroom consists of a room with a toilet and a sink and a tiled room with a shower and our washing machine. There's no enclosure, just a biggish room with a shower and our washing machine. The walls of our bathroom don't go up to the ceiling and the bathroom is right in the kitchen. So every morning and evening (Lao people and now I shower two or three times a day) I can have a little chat with my roomies while I'm showering and they're cooking breakfast or dinner.

Tonight, one of my boy students gave me a surprise visit. I was in the shower and heard Julia say something from the living room, so I couldn't really understand. Then a few seconds later, I heard my student say, "Hello, Teacher." It was a little weird talking to him while I was showering. :-S Thankfully he went and waited in the living room.