i’ve been learning and un-learning this lesson for a very long time now..
that anything you plan for the future, may change in just a second.
being partially ‘scientific’, i am a little OCD, i like things in order, and if possible know every surprise and prepare for any ‘off road bumps’ i may encounter along the way..
however, also being more ‘creative’, i’ve got a massively jumbled up brain, constantly dreaming up new ideas, spontaneous in decision making and always taking things as it comes..
see my dilemma?!
ya, so i thought i’d be heading to Lao to teach IT English at a college, but it turns out i was placed at a farm under Lao International Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (LIFPA), to teach and learn agricultural skills, which meant watering and planting a whole load of plants i’ve never seen or knew existed, feeding and washing pigs, feeding a whole load of feathery birds, growing ducklings and chicks, shovel soil, dig holes, mix cement, plant pillars, board, repair etc etc
and then i found out i was to teach english to kids, which i did not mind as i love kids and the initial aim of coming to Lao was to work with kids.. but i then transferred to teaching the new farm boys english from scratch, which meant i had to buck up on my Lao and learn to write in Lao or i’ll drown in lack of communicating abilities (we would either act or draw things out followed by heaps of laughter)
in the first month, i was asked by one of the graduates to head to Luang Prabang to teach english to the people in his village.
i agreed to do so as i wanted to experience anything and everything i could and also to meet and learn new cultures.
after visiting Luang Prabang a couple of weeks back, i decided i was going to make my way there early in november to teach for a month before having to return to Vientiane for a charity fund raiser and awareness concert.
it would also give me a chance to visit the Hmong people as they celebrate their new year from mid november to mid december..
alas….
plans failed always within 48 hours of my making them..
its getting a bit tiresome by the way lol!
am now the event organizer for the charity concert which i was suppose to only be spectator of.
dont get me wrong, i aint complaining. its always good to take things as they come. i believe that this is the best way, for people doing what i am doing, to experience everything to the fullest.
nothing ever goes according to plan. something somewhere always changes.
the ‘scientific’ me gets frustrated but the ‘creative’ me goes WOOHOO!
i am actually going to miss the farm as i’ll be moving into town for the coming month to help plan for the concert.
no more riding on motorbikes carrying ridiculously heavy and big objects, holding on to dear life while the kids maneuver the motorbike over potholes and mud, getting wet washing pigs, being surprised pecked by ducks when i get pig’s food on my legs, writing Lao on the whiteboard and listening to my students pronounce certain words so hilariously, swinging on the hammock with a cool breeze in the air, having the satisfaction of hearing the boys start to converse in english, the kids’ laughter and smiles….
oh well.. life’s like a box of chocolates, you never know what you get 
