I was invited to two weddings last weekend. It's wedding season at the moment so they are happening all over the place. The first one was for a friend. You are sent the invitation and put some money in the envelope as a gift to the bride and groom. How much you give depends on how well you know the couple but also where the wedding is being held - if it's at a hotel you give more because it has cost more. The day before the wedding the bride was panicking because she hadn't been able to find a photographer, so someone had suggested me. So I became their photographer - so just a bit of pressure there then!!!!!
It gave me some wonderful photo opps but I was so worried that there would be some dust on the lens or something dire would happen that I couldn't relax. They came out alright though so I'll post them up soon.
The bride is at home, serene and waiting for her future husband, the grooms party maraudes it's way alcoholically and noisily towards the house, where they are greeted by girls holding silver and gold chains. They are supposed to pay their way through but at each of the weddings I've attended, they pay their way through the first couple then barge through the rest.
A baasi is then held where people wish one another good luck and yet more alcohol is consumed. Then the bride and groom head for the bedroom, together with the photographers!!!!!!! They have a heap of pictures on the bed, blessing the bed, kissing one another, standing on the bed - holding his sword! and then the family come in for the parents of the bride, parents of the groom, etc. pics! Most surreal. When I asked the bride how she was enjoying married life she blushed profusely and became really coy. Of course for them the major thing about married life to start with is the consumation of the marriage - so broadly I had inadvertantly asked her whether she was enjoying sex!!!!!
I had a call from my landlady earlier this week. She wanted to know whether I was home as someone wanted to view the house as she was selling it - and they were outside at that moment! I was a touch surprised to find out that the house was being sold. So I'm househunting again. I've been offered some land (for free!) on which I could build a very small house, but this doesn't appeal. We'll see how things pan out. I'm sure something will work out somehow.
Anyway, just heading for a wedding and then a festival. I'll post the latest pics soon.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Valentines day and how to upset senior monks
Valentine's day here is celebrated with an explosion of flowers. Everywhere you walked there were stalls selling red roses - about every 20 yards it seemed. I started the day with a text message from a married man with a picture of a rose and the message that he was missing me. I was a touch surprised, but turns out this is fine - probably just a friendship thing! Many phone calls, and texts followed during the day wishing me a happy valentine's day - including from novice monks! And then my students gave me loads of heart shaped sweets. Some came early to class to give me the sweets, others left after class, then came back to the classroom to hand me beautifully wrapped chocolates and sweeties. Most of the male teachers received roses from their students.
Then the following day I went to a novices inordination as a monk. He had been getting so excited about this and wanted lots of photos to give to his family. I turned up early and checked with him where I could walk, where I could stand, where I could sit and whether there were any other potential problems. Basically as long as I didn't go on the platform where the monks sit, there were no restrictions and he wanted as many photos as possible.
His alms bowl was wrapped up in white cloth that was twisted into a weird shape - it looked like a bad attempt at making a chicken shape. It transpired it was to represent the Nagar, which watches over us all. We walked three times around the temple, following the three novices who were being ordained. A gong was 'played' and the women whooped as they threw rice wrapped in 5,000 kip notes. Everyone scrambled to get the note as it landed in the procession.
Then into the temple. The ceremony lasted around an hour. It was swelteringly hot - the weather has changed dramatically over the last few days, and none of the fans were switched on so everyone sweated profusely. I took heaps of photos, but suddenly started getting really bad looks from the monks and hand signals to indicate I should go and sit down and stop taking photos immediately. I had no idea what the problem was and assumed I'd just taken too many for the Abbot's taste. So I put my camera down and sat down to watch the rest of the ceremony. It was amazing - lots of chanting, bowing to the Buddha, and general Buddhist stuff. (Whatever that may be). Afterwards I apologised for whatever I'd done wrong. It transpired that standing up during chanting so that your head is above a monks head is a major no no! Just a pity I didn't know that - still, I will next time!
One of the senior guys at the school I work for has tentitively suggested holding an exhibition of my photos - it might not happen but if it does - wow - I'm very excited. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jolidbetter/)
I'm off to two weddings and a party this weekend - that should be good for photo opps - I'll update my flickr account soon.
The Laos classes are going well. I'm really loving the reading - I'm really slow, but getting faster. Hopeless at remembering the conversation part of it though - strange one - I would have thought that I would have been better at that bit than at reading. I get confused from time to time and keep accidently using the word for penis instead of buffalo or other such faux pas (and you'd be amazed how often the word buffalo comes up in conversation!
Anyway, better go now, more soon.
x
Then the following day I went to a novices inordination as a monk. He had been getting so excited about this and wanted lots of photos to give to his family. I turned up early and checked with him where I could walk, where I could stand, where I could sit and whether there were any other potential problems. Basically as long as I didn't go on the platform where the monks sit, there were no restrictions and he wanted as many photos as possible.
His alms bowl was wrapped up in white cloth that was twisted into a weird shape - it looked like a bad attempt at making a chicken shape. It transpired it was to represent the Nagar, which watches over us all. We walked three times around the temple, following the three novices who were being ordained. A gong was 'played' and the women whooped as they threw rice wrapped in 5,000 kip notes. Everyone scrambled to get the note as it landed in the procession.
Then into the temple. The ceremony lasted around an hour. It was swelteringly hot - the weather has changed dramatically over the last few days, and none of the fans were switched on so everyone sweated profusely. I took heaps of photos, but suddenly started getting really bad looks from the monks and hand signals to indicate I should go and sit down and stop taking photos immediately. I had no idea what the problem was and assumed I'd just taken too many for the Abbot's taste. So I put my camera down and sat down to watch the rest of the ceremony. It was amazing - lots of chanting, bowing to the Buddha, and general Buddhist stuff. (Whatever that may be). Afterwards I apologised for whatever I'd done wrong. It transpired that standing up during chanting so that your head is above a monks head is a major no no! Just a pity I didn't know that - still, I will next time!
One of the senior guys at the school I work for has tentitively suggested holding an exhibition of my photos - it might not happen but if it does - wow - I'm very excited. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jolidbetter/)
I'm off to two weddings and a party this weekend - that should be good for photo opps - I'll update my flickr account soon.
The Laos classes are going well. I'm really loving the reading - I'm really slow, but getting faster. Hopeless at remembering the conversation part of it though - strange one - I would have thought that I would have been better at that bit than at reading. I get confused from time to time and keep accidently using the word for penis instead of buffalo or other such faux pas (and you'd be amazed how often the word buffalo comes up in conversation!
Anyway, better go now, more soon.
x
Thursday, February 08, 2007
photo opps
I was reading a letter in the newspaper a few days ago. It was from some Lao students. They had written to the paper because they are too young to get driving licences. They had applied several times and always been told that they were too young. This, they felt was ridiculous and causing them loads of problems as they drove themselves to school every day and by refusing them a licence, the authorities were causing them no end of problems as they kept getting stopped by the police. They really felt that this was outrageous and something should be done about it as it was costing them too much money.
I loved that article.
It’s been too cold to go swimming in the morning lately, but the temperature seems to be rising now. I can’t believe how cold it’s been. It drops to around 9°c overnight, so people are wrapped up well, monks are wearing their football socks, and I have a queue of people wanting to use my hot shower, rather than throw bowls of cold water over themselves. Can’t say I blame them.
More fabulous photo opportunities seem to be coming my way – I’ve been asked to provide the photographs for a calendar for 2008 by a business, that intends to send it out to all the major businesses in the city – so my name and contact details should make there way around the city, and also I’ve been asked to take some photos for the school I work for to be used on their marketing and to update their website. I’ve got some wonderful experiences coming up which should give me some more pictures – Chinese New year, two weddings and a friend becoming a monk all happening next week. I’m off shortly to get some ‘Sinhs’ (Lao skirts) made for these occasions. Then the following week That Luang is having a festival – I’m trying to find out what the occasion is – but haven’t managed to ascertain exactly what the purpose of the festival is yet. Hopefully I’ll know before it’s happening.
The country’s main English language newspaper has been advertising for people to help with the editing. I’ve sent in my CV and I’m waiting to hear from them. I think it’d be a really interesting way to learn more about the culture here, and hopefully get some interesting photo opportunities, as well as getting to know some more interesting people here. I’m just waiting to hear back now.
I’ve been learning Laos. I’m a hopeless language student so it’s a slow process, but I’ve almost learnt to read – as in I can read a syllable at a time if I have a list of the vowels next to me (there are 26 consonants – one of which effectively makes a vowel sound, half a dozen compound consonants, and hundreds (literally – unfortunately) of vowels. If I can see the order I learnt them in, I can read, but I often can’t remember all the letters alone. To complicate matters slightly more, the vowels are written before, above, below and after the consonant that they follow (and sometimes all four), and there are also tones to contend with which are added afterwards. But hey – slowly getting there. Hopefully in just another couple of weeks I’ll feel I’ve cracked it – more to follow! The conversation is coming along too. A few things have just clicked into place recently and I am understanding more and more of what is going on around me. A hugely long way to go still, but I’m slowly sussing it.
I was taken to visit the art school last week. It’s a wonderful place that does pottery, sculpture, painting, carving, etc. and I might enroll once my Laos is up to it. I bought a couple of pots and some nightlight holders, but plan to go back when there are more students around as there were a couple of pottery items I’d love to buy. It feels great to get the house feeling more and more like my own place by filling it with my taste, rather than the hand painted fans and wall hangings that filled the rooms originally.
I’m teaching in the evenings, Monday to Friday and I also teach a seven year old Korean girl. She’s from a well off family and is so happy when the lesson is two hours, not just one, or when there will be classes every day. The classes fit around her piano classes and she is non stop. I left the folder of exercises at her house overnight by accident and the following day she’d sorted all the papers and had completed about 10 exercises. Her English is superb but.......
I’m going to Vang Vieng again next week. Just for a day. Seng is becoming a monk. He has been a novice for around 6 years and is really excited about becoming a monk. The ceremony takes place next Thursday in Vang Vieng, near his home and he has asked me along. After being a novice and before becoming a monk the temples encourage them to spend a few days or weeks as a layman so that they can get some of the experiences that have been denied to them for such a long time (generally they become novices at around 12 and become monks at around 20 or 21) and both get some stuff out of their systems, and be sure that they want to continue with these constraints on their lives before they become monks. Generally they get drunk, eat in the evening, play sport, play cards, and spend a few days having a bit of fun and being treated normally. Seng was looking forward most to playing some sport with his friends and I’d promised to take him out to a Korean restaurant one evening, as he’d love it but as it’s a very communal way of eating and only available in the evening, he can’t do it as a novice or a monk. His father’s refused him permission to be a layman though. I am still astounded at how much people will do what their relatives tell them, even to their own detriment, when it’s really nothing to do with them. It just seems such a shame that he can’t have a week of normality. The ceremony should be interesting though. He’s being honoured at the start of a festival in Vang Vieng and is really excited.
I’ll put some pictures of the ceremony on flickr when I get a chance.
I loved that article.
It’s been too cold to go swimming in the morning lately, but the temperature seems to be rising now. I can’t believe how cold it’s been. It drops to around 9°c overnight, so people are wrapped up well, monks are wearing their football socks, and I have a queue of people wanting to use my hot shower, rather than throw bowls of cold water over themselves. Can’t say I blame them.
More fabulous photo opportunities seem to be coming my way – I’ve been asked to provide the photographs for a calendar for 2008 by a business, that intends to send it out to all the major businesses in the city – so my name and contact details should make there way around the city, and also I’ve been asked to take some photos for the school I work for to be used on their marketing and to update their website. I’ve got some wonderful experiences coming up which should give me some more pictures – Chinese New year, two weddings and a friend becoming a monk all happening next week. I’m off shortly to get some ‘Sinhs’ (Lao skirts) made for these occasions. Then the following week That Luang is having a festival – I’m trying to find out what the occasion is – but haven’t managed to ascertain exactly what the purpose of the festival is yet. Hopefully I’ll know before it’s happening.
The country’s main English language newspaper has been advertising for people to help with the editing. I’ve sent in my CV and I’m waiting to hear from them. I think it’d be a really interesting way to learn more about the culture here, and hopefully get some interesting photo opportunities, as well as getting to know some more interesting people here. I’m just waiting to hear back now.
I’ve been learning Laos. I’m a hopeless language student so it’s a slow process, but I’ve almost learnt to read – as in I can read a syllable at a time if I have a list of the vowels next to me (there are 26 consonants – one of which effectively makes a vowel sound, half a dozen compound consonants, and hundreds (literally – unfortunately) of vowels. If I can see the order I learnt them in, I can read, but I often can’t remember all the letters alone. To complicate matters slightly more, the vowels are written before, above, below and after the consonant that they follow (and sometimes all four), and there are also tones to contend with which are added afterwards. But hey – slowly getting there. Hopefully in just another couple of weeks I’ll feel I’ve cracked it – more to follow! The conversation is coming along too. A few things have just clicked into place recently and I am understanding more and more of what is going on around me. A hugely long way to go still, but I’m slowly sussing it.
I was taken to visit the art school last week. It’s a wonderful place that does pottery, sculpture, painting, carving, etc. and I might enroll once my Laos is up to it. I bought a couple of pots and some nightlight holders, but plan to go back when there are more students around as there were a couple of pottery items I’d love to buy. It feels great to get the house feeling more and more like my own place by filling it with my taste, rather than the hand painted fans and wall hangings that filled the rooms originally.
I’m teaching in the evenings, Monday to Friday and I also teach a seven year old Korean girl. She’s from a well off family and is so happy when the lesson is two hours, not just one, or when there will be classes every day. The classes fit around her piano classes and she is non stop. I left the folder of exercises at her house overnight by accident and the following day she’d sorted all the papers and had completed about 10 exercises. Her English is superb but.......
I’m going to Vang Vieng again next week. Just for a day. Seng is becoming a monk. He has been a novice for around 6 years and is really excited about becoming a monk. The ceremony takes place next Thursday in Vang Vieng, near his home and he has asked me along. After being a novice and before becoming a monk the temples encourage them to spend a few days or weeks as a layman so that they can get some of the experiences that have been denied to them for such a long time (generally they become novices at around 12 and become monks at around 20 or 21) and both get some stuff out of their systems, and be sure that they want to continue with these constraints on their lives before they become monks. Generally they get drunk, eat in the evening, play sport, play cards, and spend a few days having a bit of fun and being treated normally. Seng was looking forward most to playing some sport with his friends and I’d promised to take him out to a Korean restaurant one evening, as he’d love it but as it’s a very communal way of eating and only available in the evening, he can’t do it as a novice or a monk. His father’s refused him permission to be a layman though. I am still astounded at how much people will do what their relatives tell them, even to their own detriment, when it’s really nothing to do with them. It just seems such a shame that he can’t have a week of normality. The ceremony should be interesting though. He’s being honoured at the start of a festival in Vang Vieng and is really excited.
I’ll put some pictures of the ceremony on flickr when I get a chance.
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