Culture is a really hard thing to understand. You don’t realize how much it controls how you think until you get out of it and start living in another culture. Then, when your whole life is flipped upside down, you start realizing how much control it has over how you think. I used to always think I did things the “right way” only to find it out it was just the American way. Craziness. Talk about a humbling thing to realize. I’ve discovered that listening to parables and stories from Lao culture is one of the easiest ways to see just how differently Lao people think from me. I want to share one of those parables with you and how it was explained to me along with my thoughts while it was being explained.
Side note: This parable was told and explained to me in English by one of my students so chances are it’s not a direct translation.
Here you go:
A man has 3,000 kip. 1,000 kip will fall into the river and wash away. 1,000 kip will be lost to his enemies. Finally, the last 1,000 kip will be buried in the ground for later.
For your reference, 3,000 kip is not quite 50 cents. After he told me this story I asked him to explain what each part meant.
1,000 kip will fall into the river: This represents all the money that you will use on other people like buying food for group meals (because Lao people never eat alone) and lending money to each other. I wasn’t totally surprised with this interpretation because it’s such a communal culture here. Few things in Laos are ever “just yours” and so it kind of makes sense that you’ll have to spend some of your money on others. I did make note that this is the first part of the parable showing you just how important it is for you to “share” your wealth with those around you.
1,000 kip will be lost to your enemies: These were the exact words my student spoke about this one: “This is the money that you spend on your wife and children.” I thought for sure he just misspoke when he said “enemy” so I asked him if he knew what “enemy” meant. The family is immensely important in Lao culture so there’s no way, I thought, they would view them as the enemy. Sure enough, he knew exactly what he was saying. I asked why exactly the family is the enemy and he told me that an enemy is someone you hate. He asked me, “Do you always feel like loving your family?”. Ok, good point…maybe…I get you don’t always “love” your family but I’m still trying to process why they would use such a strong word for something they hold so dear. Anyway, once again, you’re using your money for other people but it makes sense that you use your money on your family. My American mind can grasp that fairly easily.
Finally, the last 1,000 kip will be buried in the ground for later: I thought for sure I knew what this one was about and I was excited because finally it was something that would fit into my western culture. Everyone loves saving money for their future, right? And then I got the explanation. He said you should bury the last 1,000 kip because you don’t know when someone in the village will need help. When they need help you go and dig it back up and help them. If you ever have a need, it will be done for you so you have to do it for others. Yep. Talk about feeling super selfish. Once again, the focus is on others and not yourself.
By this point I was asking myself, “Where’s the money for you?”
“How am I going to live?”
That’s when I remembered the very last part of his explanation. Your community will come alongside you and help you whenever you need it. There is such a strong trust in the “group” around you that you are not supposed to worry about saving for yourself. You’re always going to be taken care of.
Written by Noah, ELIC teacher in Laos.
