THE HONEYMOONERS

As Bradley and I were thinking of what we could do on our weekend with two days off from teaching, we realized that directly across the river is a whole other country, Laos. The thought of seeing a new country was exciting, as well as a hotel with AIR CONDITIONING and a HOT shower. So that was that, it would be our first break from our itinerary. To get there was kind of a process. You have to take a tuk-tuk to the border, stand in the immigration line, stand in another line to give in your paperwork, then wait for a bus. We were so happy to somehow find a car service that does everything for you in a nice air conditioned car! Instead of it being 10 baht (50 cents) it cost us 50 baht ($1.50) I don't know why more people don't do that, there were lines everywhere! It was crazy - when we passed through the border there were people in masks spraying the car b/c of bird flu!
So we got to Laos unsure of where to stay, and found the perfect hotel. It was pretty expensive for the run down city of Vietiene ($60) but we loved it! The room was great, no hard beds, and T.V.! Right across the street was a great place to get grilled cheese or a veggie sandwhich. (b/c we have become vegetarians for this leg of the trip) Next to that, there was the most amazing spa that we have been to! We both tried Laos massages, and the next day got scrubs. They really were amazing and only cost about $5 per treatment.
We did sight see and go to the famous morning market, but mostly relaxed and got pampered after our week of teaching. Laos is a lot like Thailand, a lot of poverty, unpaved roads, and friendly locals.
On Sunday when we arrived "home" we realized how much we were beginning to love the small town we are now living in, Nong Khai. We ride bikes everywhere here (provided by the organization) and you can't go too far without knowing someone. There is a great small town homey feel here and we love it.
Teaching is still great, today we taught a lesson on colors and had each class make their own color book. I am seriously thinking that Bradley and I should go into the team teaching buisness beacuase I think we're doing a great job. We are too funny and can't stop buying the kids things here and there, box of crayons, books ect. They really don't have anything and we just feel so blessed. That's all the news for now, Mr. and Mrs. Shapiro are doing great!