Laos - U.S. Relations Report

Me in a Laotian tree

 Laos is gradually moving away from its war-torn impoverished state and increasingly becoming involved in the international community, including engagement with the United States. In July 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Laos, marking the first visit by a Secretary of State since 1955.  Laos was accepted into the World Trade Organization in 2013 albeit it applied for membership in 1997. President Obama became the first U.S. President to visit Laos in September 2016, when he and Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit committed to a Comprehensive Partnership [1]. On a relative note, especially in the midst of the US change of administration, Dr. Jill Biden, wife of President Biden, visited Laos in 2015 becoming the first representative from the White House to ever visit Laos [2]. A relatively unique feature of the country is that 70 percent of Laos’ population is under 30 years old [3].  It stands to reason that “a large part of U.S. bilateral assistance to Laos is devoted to improving health and child nutrition” [1].

Airport Security in Kyrgyzstan thought my GoPro was a Bomb.

 

Don`t leave Central Asia without trying fermented horse milk

I am honored to have had the privilege of watching a horse get milked. 

Buying a Donkey was a Bad Idea

Soviet Stuff

                           Swag for boys, Slav for men.

Astana's Awesome Architecture

I absolutely adored the aesthetic of Astana! 

The Aral Sea: a Lovely Lake turned into a Depressing Desert

Why does Cyprus sell so many phallic shaped objects?!

              
This Post Contains no Actual nudity but Is slightly NSFW, Click at one's own discretion. 

Why does this Symbol appear all over Catania, Sicily?

Catania gave me the impression that this oddly peculiar graffiti symbol is its distinct trademark. 

Why are the bottoms of the trees in Uzbekistan painted white?

I chose to type this post with a Browner font-color cause it's about trees. 

Uzbekistan's Stunning Historical Architecture

Getting Loaded In Uzbekistan

I'm rich!

Let North Korea Keep Its Nukes

This is an academic paper I wrote about a year and a half ago in college. It may seem random and very different from the type of stuff I normally write on this site, but I figured I might as well post it cause global politics is sorta related to the theme of this blog,  and why not? DPRK is probably a hot topic right now since people are speculating if Kim Jong Un is alive.

Japan is in a "State of Emergency", Obviously:

Behold the Corona Crisis!

What It's Like Flying During The Coronavirus Crisis

Tokyo's normally crowded Haneda Airport was creepily not. 

Myanmar's Magnificent Buddhist Structures

An interesting designed temple