Did I mention that it is hot here? It is really really hot! It must be getting up into the 100s on some days. When I walk in the sun I feel like I am in a sauna. Luckily my work is in the forest where there is shade. However, in any of the developed areas there are no large trees and no shade. It seems to be a habit of some Communist countries to cut down all the large trees when they do any major development (at least that is the case in Laos and much of Vietnam). I guess it is just easier that way (?) but it is very uncomfortable. In the shade it is 10-20 degrees cooler. At night it cools down a bit and in the morning it is generally cool until around 10 am. From 11 to 4 pm it is stifling! Okay so you get it is hot here.. moving on..
As my work here nears its end, every day seems longer than the one before. Being apart from family and maintaining a long distance relationship has been very hard. It is not something I will be signing up to do again and would not recommend it! It doesn’t help that the Naiban’s wife every time I see her asks me “Where is your husband?” and “Where is your baby?” (In Lao). It is simply unheard of for a woman who is almost 30 to be single in a foreign land walking around in the forest. The villagers are always worried about me. They think it is too dangerous for a woman to be out in the forest. They tell me they are worried about me a lot. It is quite touching actually but I don’t know why they are so worried when they are in and out of the forest all the time. The Naiban’s wife kindly invited me, my husband, and babies to come back and stay with them anytime. Once the road is finished, that is actually a possibility in the future.
I know being far from home is SO hard! We love you and appreciate the great work you’re doing to save the gibbons!
I felt a little like that too when I was traveling there, I guess its unusual for women to travel alone in many parts of the world. We are very brave and strong women! Maybe one day your babies will be playing with baby gibbons. 🙂