My first day of classes was today! I can’t help but just feel so grateful that I get to be a part of the SAIL program and immerse myself in Lao language and culture before I transition to my teaching position. I will spend the next month learning Lao and Lao history at the Lao American College (LAC) here in Vientiane. Today my peers and I got to meet the founder of the college, Ms. Virginia Ostrand who is the first foreigner in Laos to ever start a school. Over lunch Ms. Ostrand shared with us some insights which I found to be very, very impactful. She said:
There are always criticism about Laos. ‘Laos is a communist country.’ ‘Laos is poor.’ ‘Lao is land-locked.’ But no, these criticism are not true. If you come to know Laos, you come to know that she is quiet about her pain and resources. She does not say she is rich because she doesn’t want to share her natural resources. Yes. Laos is a communist country but she has a free market. She just did not announce it. How about that? Have you heard of a communist country with a free market? And yes, it’s true. Laos is a one party state but within that one party there are many people running for office. Laos is not a land locked country. It is a land LINK country. Did you know that Laos connects all the Southeast Asian countries together? |
As she said these words, she stood tall and pounded her fist on the table. Ms. Ostrand may look a fragile because of her elderly-ness but do not mistake this woman for her size or looks. From the way she delivered her speech I could tell she is wise, resourceful, clever, and someone you cannot say no too. You kind of have to be someone who can get yourself out of sticky situations if you are going to start a school in Laos and Ms. Ostrand is just that. She spoke more about the college and the philosophy of the college.
Lao American college is a school that prides itself on its service to students from multiple nationalities. It has students from Laos, Thailand, South Africa, U.S., Cambodia, etc… While some Lao schools tend to discriminate against ethnic minorities, LAC does not. Ms. Ostrand said that the Lao government sometimes asks her to report the ethnic groups of her students but she refuses to. She doesn’t track this and instead emphasized that she only tracks the students’ nationalities. Another thing that makes LAC stand out from other Lao schools is its low tolerance level for cheating. Cheating is quite common here but Ms. Ostrand doesn’t tolerate it. She doesn’t accept bribes from parents to pass students and strictly disciplines the students who don’t do well. Many of the Fulbrighters from Laos have come from LAC in the past couple of years. Several of the students attending LAC have to do well academically as well because they are on scholarship. Many can’t afford tuition so someone sponsors them and they have to do well or they lose their funding.
I could go one and on about what I learned about LAC today but I won’t. From what I have seen and heard today, LAC seems to be a welcoming school that is trying to influence its students to think about the bigger picture for Laos. It’s globally minded, progressive, and attempting to change some of the negative things that are a part of the Lao education system like cheating and favoritism towards certain students of a background. I’m really happy I’ll be spending this month here.
Lao American college is a school that prides itself on its service to students from multiple nationalities. It has students from Laos, Thailand, South Africa, U.S., Cambodia, etc… While some Lao schools tend to discriminate against ethnic minorities, LAC does not. Ms. Ostrand said that the Lao government sometimes asks her to report the ethnic groups of her students but she refuses to. She doesn’t track this and instead emphasized that she only tracks the students’ nationalities. Another thing that makes LAC stand out from other Lao schools is its low tolerance level for cheating. Cheating is quite common here but Ms. Ostrand doesn’t tolerate it. She doesn’t accept bribes from parents to pass students and strictly disciplines the students who don’t do well. Many of the Fulbrighters from Laos have come from LAC in the past couple of years. Several of the students attending LAC have to do well academically as well because they are on scholarship. Many can’t afford tuition so someone sponsors them and they have to do well or they lose their funding.
I could go one and on about what I learned about LAC today but I won’t. From what I have seen and heard today, LAC seems to be a welcoming school that is trying to influence its students to think about the bigger picture for Laos. It’s globally minded, progressive, and attempting to change some of the negative things that are a part of the Lao education system like cheating and favoritism towards certain students of a background. I’m really happy I’ll be spending this month here.