We made some very close friends in Laos.

Jo, the director of the COPE exhibition, store and cafe, became our trusted social director. Without a doubt, she was one of the funnest (and most competent) people we've ever worked with. Jo's housemate at the time, Maz, provided hours of laughs and gallons of entertainment. One weekend we went to Ban Keum, a little village about an hour outside of Vientiane. They are in the first picture with Helen and a woman that chased us down the street to give us beer. On our way back we went to a restaurant on a tributary of the Mekong where we rented a boat where they served us lunch while floating down the river. The last picture is the legendary Lurve Starr. She crashed Jo and Maz' Christmas party. Evidently, Lurve Starr is only allowed out of her room on very special occasion. Also, Helen and I want to wish a warm and fuzzy congratulations to Jo and her new son Mio for finding each other.

We also became close with Justin (a doctor for the World Health Organization) and Paula (a teacher at the International Baccalaureate school). As a matter of fact, they were kind enough to let us stay in their beautiful house when they went out of town. No, the cat in the photo is not taxidermic, it's just Tiger having a deep sleep. And with them. we also got into some pretty heated badminton matches; if you ever find yourself across the net from them, be careful of Paula's little dinks, they will destroy you. Our eagle-eyed referees scrutinized us very closely to make sure there were no shenanigans.

The guy referenced in the"joke" at the beginning of this section is John, who heads up UXO disposal in Laos for the United Nations. His lovely wife is Katrina and we want to congratulate them both on Casper, the newest addition to their lives. We had several dinners at their incredible house that sits on the banks of the Mekong. The sunsets on the Mekong were unforgettable, divine evening meals, and the company was extrordinary... so much so that we forgot to take pictures. Unfortunatley, we fell victim to the "we'll take pictures next time" syndrome until, unfortunately, there was no next time.