============================================================== To reach ALL SJD members, please send to sjd@satjadham.net ... Do NOT include any other addresses when sending to the list... Include as LITTLE of the original messages as possible........ Message sent by: LanXang Siengkhene *** Announcement: *** Please send your member fee to Victor if you haven't done so. ============================================================== While in Vientiane, we stayed at Dr Koukeo's house. Dr Koukeo Saycocie was the head of the Red Cross. One of his daughters married to Mr Pattana Choulamany who became the head of the protocol department in the ministry of foreign affairs. I guess, maybe of this connection, when I graduated from Lycee de Vientiane, I became an employee of that ministry. My dad told me about his early stay at this house when I came to Vientiane to finish high school. At that time, the only high school in the country was in Vientiane and it was called Lycee de Pavie. Later, it was called Lycee de Vientiane. The story went: my dad liked to get up very early in the morning. Because everyone was still asleep, he had to tiptoe to the kitchen. As I knew, Dr Koukeo's floor was made of wood. Walking ungracefully would sure cause a disturbed noise. He was too polite for that. Also, he was too conscientious as a guest not to waste the host's money. As I learnt, he wouldn't use the light if he could go by using the flame from the stove while cooking rice. Maybe, because of his inherent goodness and intelligence, he was later sent to further his study in Hanoi and Paris right after high school. His exemplar behavior became a guiding light for me to follow right to this very moment. By the way, did anyone know that a majority of students who attending the prestigious Lycee de Pavie was Vietnamese or half Vietnamese? Too bad, even in their own country, the Lao didn't have access to a higher education where power and prestige resided. My dad, a full Lao blood from the provincial capital apart from the royal family and the influential clans in the big cities, was a rare phenomenon in the highly hierarchical educational system. In a way, his success was partly of himself and partly of his family connection. As I found out, the Saycocie clan was powerful in Thakek. Since Mahaxay, a birthplace of the Saycocie was under the Pathet Lao, they were numerous in this provincial town. Some of their members even held a minor position in the government. My great grandfather was the first Chao Muang of Mahaxay and his son, my grandfather was Chao Muang of KhamKeuth. No wonder that my dad was more lucky than any of the young men who had no connection at all. Laos of 50 years ago was more or less the same than Laos of today. The difference only lies in who is in poweer now. (to be continued) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com _ ***************************************************************** Visit SatJaDham Homepage at: http://www.satjadham.org (or .net) *****************************************************************