1) To prove that we really did survive “Youth in Asia”, even if we can’t remember it any more
Ahh, but we did remember...whether it was our homes, the field in front of ASV, the site of our proms or the awards banquet....
2) To listen to the “oldies” like “Paint it Black”, “Proud Mary”, “Yellow River”, “American Pie” and “Black Magic Woman” where we heard them for the first time
Lloyd and I sang "Me and Julio down by the School Yard" on the That Luang field
3) We can have an “adult beverage” in front of our teachers and not get in trouble!
Not only did we have "adult beverages" with our teachers but Mr. J bought me a drink!!
4) To hang out at Le Spot and see what that was all about, because some of us were too young to go when we lived there
Many of us went off to the Settha Palace Hotel to see the site!
5) To raise a toast to those who didn’t make it out of Laos, and to remember those who we have lost in the years since
We remembered those we've lost at the grand dinner!
6) The Royal Air Lao ticket said “Let it happen to you in Laos”. Let's see if we can find where “it” happened
Even Frank Manley had a copy of one of the ticket jackets.....we all had our "let it happen to you in Laos" memories
7) To revisit the wats and That Luang because we didn’t appreciate their significance when we were young
We visited Wat Sisaket and Wat That Luang! And received blessings at Wat Simuang
8) We can say “Bo Peng Yang” all we want and people won’t look at us funny!
LOL!!
9) To see if we can find our old homes, however, mine's been torn down....8-(
But Lloyd and Kenny and Marilyn and Susan were able to visit their houses! In fact, Marilyn had the Lao PDR Premier sleep in her bedroom!!
10) There’s nothing like drinking a beer and watching the sun set over the Mekong River (especially from our riverside hotel)
Lao Beer #1
11) We can climb up to the top of the Monument and peer into the “den of spies”, aka the USAID compound
They've built a very large building in front - and you can't see in anymore! But Howard Turner wandered into the compound and took some photos.
12) To give back to the Lao people, in a small way, for the wonderful experience we had living there
We made a donation to the Lanterns Projects, to provide medical support and food for students.
13) We miss drinking sodas in plastic bags
Still there but worried, now, about Hep B
14) Do the Lao women still sit under the street lights at night and catch bugs for snacks?
Didn't see this but would assume so.....but there were lot's of other interesting critters for sale in the food stalls
15) We lived history here – 1973 Peace Accords, the Kong Le coup, Lam Song 719, the 1975 evacuation
and we told the stories at the Vientiane International School about these events....
16) Because we need new baci strings to ward away evil spirits!
Great baci at the Kua Lao restaurant with all of us in Lao attire! Will fly home with baci strings to keep me safe.
17) No one else would believe the aircraft we flew, what we flew with, and that we flew with the ramps down
well, the hangers at the airport are still there, even if the planes aren't. And the domestic terminal still has some of the old signage from the 1970's.
18) To get into KM-6 and see our old alma mater (singing the school song is optional)
We got into KM-6 and saw the school site through the trees...but the Lao PDR was formed in our gym with the delegates sitting at our school desks! Picture in the Kaysone Museum!!
19) Get up the nerve to ask that cute guy/gal to dance or at least have a conversation with them
At least one person admitted to telling an old crush about that fact....
20) To visit Luang Prabang or Pakse or Angkor Wat, with old friends
I went off to Angkor Wat with 11 others! Another group went off to LP!
21) Do they still burn the rice fields and does it still smell the same?
The smells still smelled pretty authentic!
22) We know that the Air America pilots were nothing like the movie with Mel Gibson! (But the scenery was pretty authentic)
To all the dads who served! Thank you!!
23) Can we raise the GDP of the Lao PDR by buying all those wonderful fabrics we just took for granted?
We all bought extra suitcases to take home our purchases!!!
24) Because no one else would believe that we really ate at a restaurant called Phu Ky’s and that they had really great noodles.
We had really great food even if Phu Ky's wasn't there...
25) We have to make it back to Laos before the first fast food restaurant does
Still no fast food!!!! But there's another super highway going in!!
26) To find out what happened to our fellow Lao students
We had one who came back!
27) We have to enjoy a cup of Lao coffee, now enjoying a resurgence
Bought several pounds to bring back!I
28) Did the “Most Likely to Succeed” folks really succeed??
Some of the group have done quite well for themselves!
29) To reminisce about our horse, our motorcycle, our swim in the Mekong, the jungle camping experience or the night train to Bangkok
Yes, Indeed!
30) To remember being 12 or 15 or 17 and the wonderful adventures we had in the “Land of a Million Elephants”
Ditto!
31) Compare notes between the floods of 1966 and 1971
And look at the new levees being built now....
32) To relive those days in May 1975 when the KM-6 compound was held hostage and we walked out of our houses with a single suitcase
And to tell the VIS and the US Ambassador what that was like
33) Because we have been to a previous reunion and we know how great it was!
Hear, hear!!
34) Or perhaps you haven’t made it to a reunion yet and you want to know what all the fuss is about!
Lots of newbies on this trip!
35) For those of you who can't make it, you will be there in spirit, or perhaps virtually, and those of us who get to Laos will miss you!
And we did!!!
LOL Good stuff Marcia! Sounds like a great exprience!
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