Water, water everywhere...

Lao New Year is next week, but the Embassy had a new year party yesterday afternoon. Pictures soon (as soon as our chord arrives in the mail). But, a little insight into Lao New Year for you. Tradition has it that you can give good luck to someone at new year's by sprinkling them with water.

This tradition has morphed over the years to become a 3 to 5-day city-wide (and country wide actually) water fight. So the embassy party included plenty of buckets of water, hoses, water guns, etc. I think that the local staff especially likes to give good luck (read "soak with water") to the American staff. We're told that this year was tamer than years past, as the Ambassador requested that people don't get too crazy.

Crazy as in, using food coloring and water filled balloons, putting shampoo in with the water, putting peppers in with the water, throwing staff on a table and repeatedly dousing them with buckets and hoses.

Anyway, even without those types of tomfoolery, I must say I still left the party quite drenched, and, I suppose, filled with plenty of good luck for the new year. But the city does not have such impositions on craziness, so next Wednesday the city will turn into a dangerous gauntlet of water balloons, buckets of water and so forth for about 5 days. And as Falangs, we pretty much have big targets on our backs wherever we go.

We plan to stay indoors, or behind secure walls at least, much of the time. HAPPY NEW YEAR!