Day 311 - Mount Phu Si - English Lessons at Big Brother Mouse
Tuesday May 14, 2019
Today we spent all morning in our hotel. We normally like to do this after a travel day, even if it was only a two-hour flight. After lunch, we wanted to walk into town then teach English at a center called Big Brother Mouse, but we came to Mount Phu Si stairs first. We were hesitant to climb the numerous stairs because of the heat but we were right there so we went for it.
Mount Phu Si is a 100m high hill in the center of the old town of Luang Prabang. It lies in the heart of the old town peninsula and is bordered on one side by the Mekong River and on the other side by the Nam Khan River. Wikipedia
We climbed many stairs and saw many Buddha statues along the way. We made it to a point where you had to pay to continue. Only Sunshine and I went all the way up. It was worth all the sweat because the view was just stunning. We took some cute photos of the view and then we sat down to enjoy the silence which didn't last long because a swarm of Chinese tourists arrived. What got me upset was their lack of respect for the temple. There were signs saying to be quiet but they were loud and some of them were even smoking! I took a picture so I could tell a guard or someone at the entrance but we took different stairs down so I completely forgot about telling anyone.
I texted Gregory to come and meet us because we had no clue where we were. [Gregory's note: she does that a lot: I'm lost, come get me!] He told me to meet them at Big Brother Mouse. Luckily it wasn't that far away and easy to find thanks to Google Maps.
We made it to Big Brother Mouse after 5:00pm. I saw Gregory and Daniel already talking to some young people at a long table. Big Brother Mouse welcomes volunteers to have conversations in English with Lao students. It is a really neat program where everyone benefits from the classes. The students get to learn and practice English while foreigners learn about Lao culture and people.
Big Brother Mouse has another school in the countryside and we thought about volunteering there, but it's a whole day and it was only our second day in Laos. But the whole project is amazing!
I got a group of high school kids that were very interested in improving their English skills because there were in their last year of high school. I had a really good time asking them questions about their culture, their villages, and what they wanted to be when they were older. Many of these kids come from very poor families and small villages and they came to Luang Prabang for education. A sweet boy that wanted to become a teacher told me that he had come along time ago after his mom's death and his father remarried. Two others were living with aunts or uncles to finish their studies. What dedication!
The school closed at 7:00pm. We said our goodbyes and walked to a restaurant for a drink. The kids were excited to share their experiences with us. It was great for them to talk to teenagers and see how different their lifestyle is from ours in the US. I think the lesson here was more for the kids. After our drinks, we decided to stop for Nutella and fruit crepes. That's right, you heard me right, they have crepe carts all over and you just can not resist the smell. That was our dinner.
Overall, it was a great day!
For pictures please click here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BDKckJwkRoMk2jfv9
Today we spent all morning in our hotel. We normally like to do this after a travel day, even if it was only a two-hour flight. After lunch, we wanted to walk into town then teach English at a center called Big Brother Mouse, but we came to Mount Phu Si stairs first. We were hesitant to climb the numerous stairs because of the heat but we were right there so we went for it.
Mount Phu Si is a 100m high hill in the center of the old town of Luang Prabang. It lies in the heart of the old town peninsula and is bordered on one side by the Mekong River and on the other side by the Nam Khan River. Wikipedia
We climbed many stairs and saw many Buddha statues along the way. We made it to a point where you had to pay to continue. Only Sunshine and I went all the way up. It was worth all the sweat because the view was just stunning. We took some cute photos of the view and then we sat down to enjoy the silence which didn't last long because a swarm of Chinese tourists arrived. What got me upset was their lack of respect for the temple. There were signs saying to be quiet but they were loud and some of them were even smoking! I took a picture so I could tell a guard or someone at the entrance but we took different stairs down so I completely forgot about telling anyone.
I texted Gregory to come and meet us because we had no clue where we were. [Gregory's note: she does that a lot: I'm lost, come get me!] He told me to meet them at Big Brother Mouse. Luckily it wasn't that far away and easy to find thanks to Google Maps.
We made it to Big Brother Mouse after 5:00pm. I saw Gregory and Daniel already talking to some young people at a long table. Big Brother Mouse welcomes volunteers to have conversations in English with Lao students. It is a really neat program where everyone benefits from the classes. The students get to learn and practice English while foreigners learn about Lao culture and people.
Big Brother Mouse has another school in the countryside and we thought about volunteering there, but it's a whole day and it was only our second day in Laos. But the whole project is amazing!
I got a group of high school kids that were very interested in improving their English skills because there were in their last year of high school. I had a really good time asking them questions about their culture, their villages, and what they wanted to be when they were older. Many of these kids come from very poor families and small villages and they came to Luang Prabang for education. A sweet boy that wanted to become a teacher told me that he had come along time ago after his mom's death and his father remarried. Two others were living with aunts or uncles to finish their studies. What dedication!
The school closed at 7:00pm. We said our goodbyes and walked to a restaurant for a drink. The kids were excited to share their experiences with us. It was great for them to talk to teenagers and see how different their lifestyle is from ours in the US. I think the lesson here was more for the kids. After our drinks, we decided to stop for Nutella and fruit crepes. That's right, you heard me right, they have crepe carts all over and you just can not resist the smell. That was our dinner.
Overall, it was a great day!
For pictures please click here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BDKckJwkRoMk2jfv9
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