Our long goodbye

It started out a very civil affair.



Our Baci. All told we had about 80 people or so file through our house or garden for the Baci or the afterparty. A collection of Lao friends and coworkers and various international friends. The finality of some of the goodbyes finally made our impending departure real for me.

But before that, there was the ceremony.

Jack received another hat (his first from Vone is packed away to Kiev) and was a very well-behaved, hat-wearing boy. Plenty of good luck and good wishes to him, although we took off most of the strings before he went to bed last night. We were told that babies don't need to keep the strings on 3 days for the luck to continue. Rather, you take them off and touch them 3 times to the baby's head and the effect is the same. Sadly, adults don't have the same out.

Somehow, the night devolved into schoolboy contests, led primarily by Tim and John. The things you stack chairs on became vehicles for races down our driveway. I'm happy to report no serious injuries.

Then it devolved further.

More later, once the fog clears from my head. For now, we are headed over to the embassy field for our last sunday morning kids gathering.