To be or not to be

So this language stuff has been really difficult for me and I feel like I am always lost and without even some of the basic necessities sometimes but it is good. I learn to trust him more and more.

A funny story from the other night. Our language school teaches both English and Lao so the other night they had a coffee house where the two groups mingled to work on their skills. It was great fun. I got to talk to so many students and some of them will even be potential students and Dong Dok where I will be teaching and I see them every day b/c they are in the class across the hall we were just too shy to talk to one another.

Anyways an English student comes up to me after we have been taking picture and points to my stomach and goes what is that? Then she tries to make a little pouch with her pants. Now Lao people joke a lot so I am not sure if she was serious or not but her nickname is innocent so she then goes on and says I eat and eat and nothing happens. By this time I am just dying laughing and she goes on and on. THey are a hoot. They have no problem with asking certain things. I am boggled by so many things but hey life is all about learning.

Then they proceed to tell me they are shy. I mean come on? What do they mean by shy? I guess I understand b/c I am the same way it is just so funny to me.

Laos

So I have been here almost three weeks and a lot has happened but one thing I have learned is no matter how slowly you want to move or where you are there will always be westerners trying to rush things.
I am currently in language school and since coming to Lao I have managed to buy a bike, lose the tire on the second day, fall down the stairs, bruise my legs and bottom, hit my head on the cupboard, run into a nail sticking out of my bed, been asked if I eat too much and passed a test with a satisfactory score in Lao and still not been completely shocked. That is a summary. I am currently learning basic conversation and have really nice teachers and pronounciation which I stink at. I really want to be able to talk to people in their heart language but I get so nervous. One on one if I know them I can do it but otherwise I just get so nervous. If I just was not so worried or nervous about messing up i would do fine. I am glad I remember to laugh a lot as dad said or else I wouldn't have made it this far.