The kids have started school at the Lycee Josue Hoffet de Vientiane. The campus is just amazing. It sits next to the Mekong. The lunchroom is actually outdoors on a terrace from which one can watch the Mekong flow by. Needless to say being the new kids has NOT been easy for them, particularly for Eliana. It seems like 60-70 percent of the kids are Lao or mixed Lao and therefore Lao is spoken between them. The rest is pretty much French. The school is very strict and likes to follow the French system to the T. Eliana has to stand up everytime a teacher walks in the room and can only sit down when told to do so. I guess "la mission civilatrice" is still in full force here in Indochine. Hopefully, things will get better. Actually, tomorrow Miranda is having a friend over in the afternoon so that is great news. Overall, Miranda is enjoying it here much more than Eliana. A main reason is the sheer number of bugs and insects and geckoe etc... she can pursue, torture, really, and capture. The butterflies are amazing. We went to the jungle two weekends ago and Miranda was in total heaven. Eliana and I didn't sleep the whole weekend we were so scared. A post with pics will come soon...

We have been extremely fortunate to have another couple and their son also camping out long term at the Manoly. Michele, David and William have been in Laos for six years and the Villa Manoly here for over a year. William attends the International School. Both David and Michele work in education for respective NGOs. It has been wonderful to have them around as not only are they great fun to be with but it has helped Eliana and Miranda realize they are not the only ones going through this process. Unlike us, they have made Manoly their permanent "home" away from home. And one can understand why: swimming pool, choice rooms with a beautiful terrace pretty much to themselves, a built in maid service,Tuk tuk drivers outside to take William to school. The owner has even provided a stove for them.

We are camping out at the Villa Manoly, a lovely old mansion. Not quite the french colonial era type, more like a 1970's tropical dacha built for Soviet embassadors and "advisers". The whole place has that bygone era feel. The rooms are decorated with what can only be described as salvaged furnishings. The light fixtures are bare bones and the electrical outlets seem to be left deliberately "raw" so as to enable each renter the possibility of creating their own connections or adding new fixtures. After the initial shock I am glad to say the kids are starting to enjoy the benefits of living at the Manoly. And benefits there are plenty; for one, it has volumes of charm. It has one of the most beautiful, and large, garden of any other guesthouse in the city. And it has a pool, a true rarity in Vientiane. The staff is not only extremely friendly and flexible but is also trustworthy. In the evenings they pull out the ping pong table and the kids and tuk tuk drivers from the street in front all congregate and play.

After 5 days in  Hong Kong, we arrived to find Vientiane in a  state of emergency. The week before the Mekong overflowed and flooded parts of the city. The  river front was sandbagged  as protection against more flooding. Vientiane feels like a small provincial town that is slowly waking up. It is the last remaining capital in Asia that hasn't benefited from the regional economic boom. Perhaps that's why it still has some charm. More soon.