At the first International Lao New Year, I had the pleasure of meeting Ai Thavi, the co-director and star of the well-known refugee documentary, “The Betrayal”. I remember the first time I met him was when Dara, my sister and I picked him up at the airport in San Francisco. We were thanking him for taking the time out of his busy schedule to come down to support the festival. He was so humble and gracious. He told us he would do anything for the Lao community and that it was time for all of us to come together to do something great. I was blown away by his kindness and genuine desire to unite the Lao community. As a result of his motivation to support the Lao organizations in the U.S., he travels to many events throughout the country.
If you have not seen the documentary like me (I’m waiting for my copy) please do so. Everyone has told me it is life-changing and heartbreaking. This documentary covers over 23 years of his life. Here is a trailer so you can see:
Last night I watched the movie, “The Time Traveler’s Wife”. I had read the book several months ago, but just got around to watching the movie. As with any book that is made into a movie, there is always some part ir elements of the story that is left out. One element that is well translated is the love the main characters have for each other. The movie centers around their relationship and the effects his time traveling has on their relationship. The main character would instantaneously disappear at odd hours or time of the day. Sometimes, his disappearance (even though it is not voluntarily) upsets her because she needs him and he is not around. For many people, they can totally relate to this and they do not have to have a time traveler spouse… it could be because of a job especially those who has military wives or husband. These individuals have to fend for themselves quite often. This constant disapperance due to the responsibilty of a job… interrrupts the relationship and puts a strain on it. Just like the main character, he tells her that he does not want her to wait for him but she says she that she has always been waiting for him and will continue to do so. How many of us can actually wait for that perfect love, the kind where you feel totally content when you are with that person and no longer feel like you are still searching? How many of us, can say that the person we are with is “it” the “one” … our soul mate? How many of us are settling for the next best thing because we think we will not find the “perfect love?” How many of us if given the choice or chance to briefly be with someone that we feel intensely about , instead of being with someone that we feel content with for the rest of our lives? I ask this question because of the quote from the movie: “Is it better to be extremely happy for a short time, even if you lose it, than to be just ok for your whole life?”
— Audrey Niffenegger (The Time Traveler’s Wife)
I love listening to all types of Lao music, including the more traditional mor lam which means expert singer or expert song. According to Google mor lam , “Typically features a theme of unrequited love, mor lamalso reflects the difficulties of life in rural Isan and Laos, leavened with wry humour. In its heartland performances are an essential part of festivals and ceremonies”. The more traditional mor lam is accompanied by a khene.
One interesting type of mor lam is mor lam glawn (หมอลำกลอน) which is a vocal battle between the sexes and it has two main parts. According to Swisspedia, the two main parts are:
* lam tang san (ลำทางสั้น) — (“short form”) took up the bulk of the time, with the singers delivering glawn poems a few minutes in length, performing alternately for about half an hour each from evening until about an hour before dawn. They would pretend gradually to fall in love, sometimes with rather explicit sexual banter.
* lam tang yao (ลำทางยาว) — (“long form”), a representation of the lovers’ parting performed slowly and in a speech rhythm for about a quarter of an hour.
If you really think about it, this back an forth takes an accomplished musician to master breath control because the mor lam has a very specific rhythm and flow. Also, the person who plays the khene must also have breath control to be able to continuously play for hours. I wonder if these musician have a six pack because of this? Just a wild thought!
Another type or version of the lam glam is the lam jot. According to Swisspedia, “lam jotgae or lam jot (ลำโจทย์แก้ or ลำโจทย์) is a variant of lam glawnformerly popular in the Khon Kaen area, in which the singers (often both male) asked one another questions on general knowledge topics — religion, geography, history etc. — trying to catch out their opponent”. I find this vocal battle between the sexes interesting because it reminds me of the MC battles in the hip/hop world where one rapper verbally “attacks” the other MC to make him/her look bad. The objective of the MC battle is very similar to the mor lam because both “singer” is trying to outdo the other and in a way make the other musician look unskilled. If you really want to see a good example of an MC battle just watch the movie 8 miles starring Eminem.
Now that am more educated about mor lam, I can actually say it is one of the oldest form of Lao “rap”. Also, now that I know more about the different types of mor lam, I can see why my parents and their friends were laughing and snickering when they were listening and singing it. I’m almost positive now that their lam contain some “adult” issues. I guess I was too naive back then to understand!
The next time I go home, I am going to ask my mom’s friend if she can lam for me. She was pretty good singing mor lam especially when she was drunk. I have to give her some credits now looking back at all those gatherings at my parents.
Overall, mor lam singers are prolific story tellers who are able to entertain us for hours!
Most people will claim that their mother is the best role model for every woman because she is understanding, patient,and sweet. My mother’s best traits are polar opposites of those fine qualities. She is renown for her abruptness, temper, impatience. She believes in being honest at all times even if it offends someone. She detests laziness and has no patience for people who make excuses for their lack of drive or determination. She is very opinionated and will tell people exactly what she thinks of them or their behavior. She hates gossips and if she hears anybody talking bad about her or our family, she will confront them. My mother can sometimes be overbearing because she will tell me what to do or what she thinks even if I do not solicit her opinions.
My mother is my role model because she is amazingly strong, determined, and resilient. She has taught me the importance of being a woman with high morals and values. She has shown me to stand on my own feet and not be dependent on anyone for the success or failure in my life. My mother is extraordinary because she is a woman of substance, faith, and loyalty. I am proud to say that I am my mother’s daughter.
"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break." –An ancient Chinese belief" Author: Unknown
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