|
|
Sabaydii,
Here is the continuation of a series ‘Coming home’ entitled ‘With the villagers’
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
At another school we went to
Built by the Japanese
And finished for a change
This brand new school
Made of concrete
And white painted
Stood in sharp contrast
With the shabby looking huts
And thatched houses of the village
Even from a distance
I was marveled
At the grand structure
With high and long roof
Shaped down almost to the ground
Once getting close
I could see
The many windows
Lining up the almost invisible walls
Inside
Shiny desks
Real blackboard
And outrageously clean classrooms
Warmly welcome us
Not a few kids
With new white shirts
New blue shorts or Sinh[1]
A courtesy of the Japanese donors
The teachers in Kaki uniform[2]
Smiled at us
Proud of their state-of-the-art school
The whole country was talking of
At the far end of the building
One room was used as a meeting place
Where villagers proudly crowded it
Excitedly waiting for the meeting to begin
Outside
On the corner of the room
Coconuts mangoes
Bananas and all kinds of fruits
Brought by the appreciative villagers
Grinned at us
The city folks
When it was my turn to speak
I just added
I was glad to be here
Though living abroad
Muang Lao was still very much
A big part of me
That was why I was home
And that was it
No promise give whatsoever
Knowing full well
Nothing in my power
Sadder still
I myself was not even legally Lao
Just called for when needed
And would be right discarded
When of no use
Anymore
When I left Mahaxay
Sending off with the traditional Baci[3]
And a community lunch
With LaotTho[4] on the side
And a broken Khene[5] accompanied it
I knew deep down in my heart
These people and this land
Needed me
Needed all Lao
Will I
Will we
Leave them in the dark?
Won’t the innocent eyes of the young Lao
Move us a bit?
Won’t the sunken faces of the old
Staring aimlessly into the distance
Shaken us at all?
Only we ourselves can tell
8.20.03
[1]Traditional Lao female dress – kind of a long skirt.
[2]The dry yellow leaves color – almost like grey.
[3] The welcome home blessing. In this ceremony, we use a bundle of white strings to wrap around the wrist of the person and, at the same time, they recite some words blessing you.
[4] The drinking of sweet alcohol from a big jar prepared from sweet rice. This drinking is like a communal act for you sip the alcohol with the communities.
[5] A Lao musical instrument made of pipes. It is also the symbol of Laoness for virtually no ethnic group play this kind of instrument besides the ethnic Lao.