After the French and Before the War

All letters exist in the present. Reading letters written a long time ago often feels like traveling back through time. When I read my sister's letters, I am there with her, walking through the marketplaces, smelling the rich fragrant smells, watching the Mekong River flow through Vientiane. I am with her as she watches the country move from a French colony to a newly forming democratic republic. Elaine writes that in this place she often feels that she is moving back through time to...
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All letters exist in the present. Reading letters written a long time ago often feels like traveling back through time. When I read my sister's letters, I am there with her, walking through the marketplaces, smelling the rich fragrant smells, watching the Mekong River flow through Vientiane. I am with her as she watches the country move from a French colony to a newly forming democratic republic. Elaine writes that in this place she often feels that she is moving back through time to the colonial past. So much of it is there around her - the architecture, the cuisine, the language, the menus, the street signs, and much of the style.At that time, she was in her present. Her growing interest in Laos and Vietnam, the mixed cultures, the varied geography, the people and their open generosity, quick laughter, complex history, and intriguing customs made her want to study and immerse herself in this part of the world. She explored the coastal towns and traveled up into the mountains among the Montagnard people. She observed the excitement and optimism of people working to form a new way of governing and being governed. This focused interest sometimes put her a bit out of step with Embassy life, but she managed to balance both during her time in Laos and Vietnam.