Halloween Abroad/COPEing

Have you heard of the bigbad Secret War the US waged on Laos for 9 years? It turned Laos into the most bombed country on earth (to this day). We dropped more bombs on Laos than we dropped during all of WWII. 30% of the bombs didn't explode, which meant that they still go off today - especially as the poverty-stricken Laotians resort to the calculated risk of scrapmetal collecting.

We learned a lot at COPE, a rehab center doing hella to help those hurt by the bombies and the residual effects - the US has given very little aid. http://www.copelaos.org/. also, sign here to help petition banning cluster bombs - they become civilian land mines after they are dropped because of their high failure rate. http://www.handicap-international.org.uk/page_249.php

Celebrations erupted in Vientiane too, as we had to scare away some evil spirits. Pictured: The Pirate, The Universe, The Toothfairy. We rocked a Laos wedding party (the folks wanted to set us up with a goldminer?), a bar full of bugs and beer, and an odd dance party. Vientiane proved to be a calm capital, flat, on our way north!