Hitting the wall

There's a thing that happens when you move to a new place- in my case I'm talking about moving to a new country, but, I'm sure this might also happen just moving to a new city in your same country.  My guess though, is that you would at least have to move to a new region, a place that has a new/different culture.  

When you first arrive, you're excited, and everything is new and interesting.  You find things you like right away, and things that maybe you don't, but you find appreciation for almost everything (whether you like it or not).  Like in a new relationship, you find the little quirks of your new home endearing.

After about a month, or three, or six (generally) however, something happens.  All these little things start to wear on you a bit.  Again, like in a relationship, suddenly, that quirky little habit you used to find so endearing starts to make you absolutely crazy.  You hit the wall.

I've hit the wall.

I really like living in Lao.  I love our house.  I like our little neighborhood.  I love living down the street from family.  I enjoy Vientiane as a city.  I'm still quite happy with the shopping and food situation.

But the dogs, the driving and the "falang" have pushed me not over the edge, but into the wall.  Hard.

The dog situation is just out of control here.  The stupid beasts are everywhere.  And they are fricking stupid. They lay in the middle of the road, and watch your car approaching as though you were driving straight through the living room into their dog bed.  They bark at you and chase you for no reason.  They are just stupid dogs.  And they are stupid looking.  There are so many dogs here that have a normal sized body, and a normal sized head, but have like 2 in legs.  My SIL told me that apparently the locals don't believe in spaying and neutering because they believe it takes away the dog's spirit- and everything here revolves around pleasing the spirits.  We had a poisonous snake in our yard, and our guard didn't kill it, he threw it into the empty lot across the street.  Sigh.  So anyway...the locals don't believe in fixing dogs, or leashes or fences, so the stupid inbred dogs are everywhere being stupid, looking stupid and acting stupid.

I know I wrote about the driving already, but honestly it's like people set out to drive with the littlest amount of common sense possible.  I mean, they're not just driving fast or being assholes on the road just for fun or personal gain....they are just being STUPID.  I almost got in a car accident the other day because of a car that sat watching me approach for hours (ok, seconds), and then pulled out in front of me just as I was near enough to hit her.  I had to slam on my brakes and because it was raining, I screeched and skidded along, but thankfully stopped in time.  Driving here can be fun in that video game kind of way, but, right now, it's just pushed me to the wall.

Falang means foreigner.  When Beni and I go for walks, we hear falang being called out by pretty much every child old enough to speak, and at least every fifth adult as well.  I really want to go for walks because I want to be healthy and get out of the house and not just sit on my butt all day... but I'm getting kind of tired of feeling like a freak show.  And it stinks because, in town, there are loads of foreigners, and no one says anything, besides to offer you a tuk-tuk.  But out here, in our neighborhood, we're three of only a few foreigners, and therefore we attract attention.  And people are not mean about it.  They yell out "falang" to let everyone know that there is something to look at- and then they all stare.  And most of the time they will also smile and say hi, so they are being friendly.  But there is something about the being watched part of it all that has just pushed me straight into the wall.

The good news is, tomorrow we go on a road trip.  We're headed north about 3-4 hours to a town called Vang Vieng.  We'll spend three days and nights at a resort outside the city on a lake that offers water sports (yay for my husband getting to do something he loves!), and then we'll head into Vang Vieng itself for a few days there as well.

Usually when one hits the wall, it's a good idea to get out of the country, and to some place that feels more like home, although it doesn't have to be home.  We are not choosing that route this time, but hopefully just the change of pace, the fact that we'll be together all week, and relaxing will be enough to get me past this wall.  Because that is the other good news- the wall just has to be gotten over or around, and things move forward and ones gets to go back to loving their new home.  I know I'll be feeling fully happy about being here again soon, especially since I mostly really am still happy.  But hopefully the dogs and the driving and the falang will start rolling off my back again soon.

We'll be back in a week, hopefully with a few pictures of a different part of Lao to share!