Laos

Remember the holidays I invented? Well, January started things out right with "Celebrate a Country day" (I really need a better title...) Last year we remembered last minute and threw together a night featuring Italy, because, well, pasta was easy and quick to make. This year was much better though!

We celebrated Laos. For dinner we had some Laotian shish-ka-bobs, lemon grass soup, coconut milk, and for dessert- mangoes and sticky rice (more a Thai dish but close enough) and a rice and banana type sushi. It was great!

Scott gave us a brief history lesson and Buck gave a language thought. I shared some photos and fun facts. Then Alyse, who has been to Laos, shared her photos, facts, experiences, AND southeast Asian outfit. Oh and I got to use my Thai table cloth my friend Leah got me!
(don't mind the poor point and shoot camera photos.)

Don't know anything about Laos? Go look it up! It deserves to be known about.

Oh. You thought this post was over? Well, it was but I just decided to keep writing. I was thinking back to why I love cultures and countries so much. Felt like sharing. See, one day when I was, I don't know, maybe 14 years old or something (?) I was looking at a map. I looked closely- looked past China and Brazil. Past Russia and France and North America. You know, the regulars. And then I saw them.

Kazakhstan.

Turkmenistan.

Tajikistan.

Uzbekistan.

Kyrgyzstan.

What.

The.

Random?!

Had those countries always been there? Why hadn't I ever heard of them?! Who lived there?! What were they doing?! How could there be countries that existed that I didn't know about- that nobody seems to know about? I became obsessed. I wanted (and still do) to go meet these people. I needed to see them, to know them. It became unacceptable to me to not know about these other children of God. 

And thus was born my love of culture and people of the world. This love has grown and morphed over the years and has somehow landed me in my home, knowing that I'm not going to meet anyone outside of American Fork Utah for a while. And that's okay. But still. I dream of going to these places. And until then, I'll continue to learn about them ALL and have a day to celebrate the random places of this earth. I was thinking that next year we should celebrate Belarus. You know what I'm saying? And if I had more money and energy I would celebrate a different country every month. But either way. 

Here's to Laos.