oh my.

I just put a sweater on.

This made me check weather.com, where I saw that the temperature is 78 degrees, feels like 84. 

I'd probably die in Boston right now.

Coming to terms.

New picture self explanatory. 

I have two new roommates from Thailand. Not sure if I mentioned that yet. Their English is enough for us to communicate, and although I feel like I'm living with my students, it's nice to have people around. I still spend a majority of my time next door watching friends and eating and doing work there, but it's nice to not come home to an empty house. They are the sweetest girls, too. They keep feeding me and cleaning up after me, which is slightly annoying but also the nicest thing. They are here until February, and I won't be here in December, but at least we'll have a little time to get to know each other, and hopefully they'll give me some tips for traveling around Thailand.

I'm trying to write an essay for Teachers for Vietnam about my experience so far and it is the hardest paper to write. I have so much to say and at the same time, there is nothing I can say that will really explain how I've felt. Luckily I'm just sitting around all weekend with a bum foot so I have a lot of time to finish it up. The foot is doing better, i don't think my toe is broken anymore because the swelling has gone down quite a bit. My ankle hurts the most now, so I think it was just all swollen and bruised. I've been staying off of it and I cancelled all my plans for today (football, volleyball, and a get together with my students) Actually, my students cancelled it all for me because they said it would be better for my health to rest. They are very concerned about what is good for your health. If there is a match in the afternoon they often tell me I should stay home because they are afraid it will be too hot and I will get ill. If I sneeze, they immediately ask me if I'm sick, and if I say no they say that it is probably just because of the weather changing constantly. I've never been taken such good care of. I've also never been respected as much. I realize this more and more every day, this is something I will miss when I leave. Not so much the being pampered, but just being respected and valued at a completely different level. 

I have finally come to terms with being here. Is three months long enough to be over culture shock? I've realized, and confirmed it after talking to numerous friends who are now or have been abroad, that you can't completely settle until you've felt that homesickness. Getting over it has made me confident that I I will be able to get through anything. Not that it won't be hard again, I know that it will, but now I know that I can get through it. Thank god for the support system I have (I literally hit the bottom and didn't want anything else but to go home, and Whitney and Michelle told me I wasn't welcome and they didn't want to see me. In a weird way, that was the best advice I've received :) I'm still not sure if the internet is a blessing or a curse, but it is definitely nice to keep in touch with what everyone is doing. I hope you get a chance to check up some blogs I've posted the links to - I am lucky to know some really amazing people who are out doing incredible things with their lives. But anyway, this is where I live for now and this is my life - some days suck, but some days are incredibly rewarding, and those days more then make up for the bad ones. And it's suppose to be hard- otherwise it wouldn't be worth it. 

Some things you all probably know about but I'm just catching wind of-

-Phish is playing a reunion tour this summer? Can someone clarify this and buy us tickets? 

-Backstreet Boys are back in the recording studio? Doesn't anyone learn?

-Whitney from the Hills is going to have a spin of show about being single in Manhattan called The City? Am I crazy, or does something like this already exist? They couldn't even come up with a clever title!

-Tim Burton is making Alice in Wonderland. I can't decide if I'm really excited about this, or if it will be too terrifying for me...

-Sarah Palin rapped on Saturday Night Live? I'm currently trying to download the video.

I currently can't stop listening to Blinded by Third Eye Blind. 

"Time passes and it tells us what we're left with. We become the things we do."

Today you are a Vietnamese woman.

Yesterday was Woman's Day. I compared it as a mix of Mother's Day and Valentines Day. In class, on of my male students presented me with flowers, which was really cute and nice, and invited me to a "party" that night. I ended up inviting Alice because it was a lot of her students too, and it was really funny and just great. They put balloons up all over the room and basically put on a show. There was karaoke, dancing, skits, and games. Most of it was in English but for the parts that wasn't one of my students explained the games to me. It was a really nice few hours. My student told me on the way there that today, I was a Vietnamese woman, and I thought that was really nice. The nice thing that was the guys gave flowers to all of the girls. It was so cute. As i was sitting there I (inappropriately) said to Alice, wow college in Vietnam is so different than college in America.  Yes, that is slightly obvious in many ways, but sometimes I can't grasp the fact that these are college freshman putting on this "party." And giving all of the girls flowers and telling them they appreciated them. It was just a very different experience. Can you imagine that happening in America? It was like a version of Valentine's Day but the boys were excited about it and everyone was happy.

.

Dance performance.

 

Being presented flowers. All of the guys (there are only seven in this class) left the room, turned off the lights, lit candles, and came back in with roses for every girl in the room. So sweet!

I'm continuously amazed at how nice my students are. They are genuinely really sweet people. I'm also getting use to being waited on. Everywhere I go, my students always do things for me. Pull out the chair, order me a second drink, pour it for me, refill my plate, etc. This must be what being a princess is like...

As for my accident.. things are generally okay. I am actually in a lot more pain now then I was/have been. (I'm seriously questioning my English skills these days. ) My knee kills and my toe hurts even more.. I'm thinking in might be broken. But I really don't think that there is much I can do and I hope this doesn't impair my badminton/football/volleyball playing because I have a very busy week lined up. They guy that took care of the situation made the boys who hit me pay 2/3rds of the cost to get my bike fixed, so I was pretty happy about that. He was so nice! I want to buy him some sort of gift.. maybe bean cake, we'll see. Anyway, so lucky the whole thing worked out, but just in pain now. And also pretty shaken up in general, very nervous out on the road, but taking it easy. Overall, I'm still alive!

I would like to formally thank Sarah for not only all of her letters of encouragement (they really do help, and they always seem to come at the perfect time..) But for saying that yes, things do come in threes. But I had the flu and was incredibly homesick, & I forgot to mention that as number one. So now, I'm ready for all good things to come my way...

It is pouring rain and even though I am in my living room I am getting wet. This makes me laugh. But for the sake of my computer, I must be off! Until next time.. think good thoughts about my toe :/

Food Appreciation 101.

It has been a pretty great week, post homesickness. I had a lot of meetings with students.. a lot of coffee, food, and chit chat. I have found my favorite thing to do. Riding on a motorbike at night. The weather is cool, and since I'm not driving it's so relaxing. Just driving around the city is my favorite thing to do and it always clears my mind. I love it!

Today we won our soccer game! I didn't do anything spectacular, but I definitely played better than I did last time, and I almost scored a goal! I know almost doesn't count in this situation, but I was pretty excited about it. All of my students noticed my improvement, although now they expect me to be even better next week, which is a of of pressure! Either way, it was a lot of fun, and followed by my team going out for sugar cane juice (delicious) and lunch (some sort of chicken/rice/catfish/veggies meal.. also delicious). This all happened during game six, so I'm sad to say I missed it, but it does not matter because we've forced a game seven! And I don't have anything to do tomorrow morning! FANTASTIC. 

Friday night Julia, Alice, Ben and I spent the night in and invited over two Belgians we met the night before. It was overall a really good time. Fun, relaxing night, dance party included. Towards the end of the night I got into a pretty heated discussion with one of them Belgians about Vietnam. I found myself defending the country as if it were my home. I had been having small problem with people I have met who are "set in their ways." Not to say that I'm not stubborn, but I am absolutely open to others thoughts and opinions. Nothing frustrates me more then someone who just willing to consider that maybe their might be another way to look at things. This guy brought all my frustration back when he started knocking on Vietnam and how poor they are, and how sad things are, and a lot of other things I've chosen to forget. I just kept saying how Vietnam was growing and how it wasn't the same Vietnam as it was two years ago and it's not going to be the same in two years and that the people here are unbelievable and so friendly and learning English, and how much they love and are grateful to spend time with foreigners. It was like he wasn't even listening and just continuing with his thoughts. I don't really understand how someone like that can embark on a trip to Vietnam, of all places, if he isn't willing to open his mind up to the possibilities of this country, especially this city. Frustration. Luckily the night proved to be a success as I just walked away and did not spark conversation with him for the rest of the evening. 

Then yesterday Julia, Alice, and I spent the entire day at one of my students houses. Her name is Thao, (English name, Michelle) and it was a really great day. The three of us were in a pretty silly mood, but we basically sat around and helped prepare food, and were fed all day. Her mother was so nice and helping to teach us how to cook. I am gaining such an appreciation for food that I never had before. Being a ballerina and everything that comes with it never really made me like food very much, and I definitely always took food for granted, mostly because I really didn't like it but you just have to eat you know? And i love junk food more then anything. Plus it was always so much easier to go buy something terrible for you than to get food and spend the time preparing it. In college I started to cook a little bit, at least a few staple meals that I perfected over the last two years. But here.. it's so different. The markets with fresh EVERYTHING is definitely the most exciting thing. I loved going to Haymarket on Saturday mornings in Boston, but this is so much better, and it's all day, every day, everywhere. You can literally find anything you need at a very reasonable price. Spending the day preparing food and then having a feast was so great. It is so nice to eat the food after putting so much work into it. And to see that everyone else enjoys it too. We have been spending a lot more time cooking and I can't wait to perfect some recipes and cook actual good food for myself and not have to eat out all the time when I go home (wherever that may be..) So to summarize: all I do is eat, and while everyone was worried I would come back too skinny, well I think we'll have the opposite problem. But I don't even care! Well not today at least..

So we all know that positives some with negatives right? Well...

1- Friday I locked myself out of my house. Because I had a lot of things to do I didn't get home and realize it until around dinner time, by which time the cleaning lady had gone home. I found someone to translate Vietnamese for me and we walked around trying to find a spare key to my house and I was told she wouldn't be back until Monday. I was so tired that I didn't even fight it and I slept next door. So when I got back from Thao's house on Saturday it was after five and I was so worried that everyone had gone home again. After walking around and trying to speak Vietnamese (and finally, calling An and giving someone my phone) I got into my house, finally.

2- As a prerequisite to this story - I AM FINE. Mom, Dad, everything is perfectly fine. However, while riding my bike home from class today, I got hit by a kid riding a motorbike. A few things to mention - A) he was literally a kid, couldn't have been more then ten years old, and I know there aren't a ton of laws around here, but I am pretty sure that's illegal. B) It was both of our faults. I was starting to turn left and he wasn't looking, so we kept going and hit my front tire and I sort of flew off of the bike. It all happened pretty fast. I'm sure I should have looked before I started to go, and I'm sure he should have been looking in front of him and also not driving his motorbike in the bike lane, but I also don't know how much of a "law" that is. Luckily there were about ten guys watching me who helped me get up and shake it off. One of them drove me to a doctor and I got cleaned up. I really only fell on my left leg and my knee and ankle are a little cut up, but I'm superrrrr lucky that that was all that happened. Oh and my bike was smashed up pretty good, but they said they would fix it for me. (I again had to call An and hand over my phone) C) You could say that I "got it out of the way." I sort of figured it was inevitable that something would happen sometime. So it happened. And nothing bad happened besides a few scrapes and bruises. I lived. So besides having to pay to get my bike fixed, there was nothing else terrible about this situation. 

What i am worried about is... do things happen in three's even if you're in Asia? 

Balance.

New picture in Sapa during sunset..

I've officially made it through my first terrible bout of homesickness. I knew that I would get a little homesick while being sick, but this was truly a terrible experience. I literally wanted to go home. Luckily everyone took good care of me, and although the homesickness lasted longer then being sick, i finally made it over that hurdle. Not an easy feat. I'm thankful for having the internet to keep in touch with people, but I can't decide if it's a blessing or a curse. It's nice to reminisce but now I'm onto the next chapter and living in the past will get me anywhere. Trying to find a balance between keeping in touch and living vicariously through Michelle. 

I've done a fairly good job of catching up with all of my classes, even though being sick put me a lot further back then just vacation. I've really enjoyed spending more time with my students outside of the classroom. Last week I played football (soccer). It is sort of like intramurals from what I can tell. I realized that soccer is the only sport I've never actually played. And although I didn't suck, I did not really contribute to the team. But we did win, and I was invited to play again this week. It was a lot fun. A student I didn't know kept shouting "pass it to Samantha, pass it to Samantha!" and sometimes it wasn't even our ball. Other times he was shouting "make a goal Samantha, make a goal!" when I didn't even have the ball! I'd have to say the best moment was when the ball came flying at my head and I ducked, and everyone giggled. One of my students said (and in the nicest way possible) "You know, you should hit the ball with your head when that happens." To which I replied, "I'm scared!" Which was then followed by more giggles. Whether I was good or bad, I know they enjoyed laughing at me, which is all I can ask for. I did have a great time though, and it looks like I'll be playing again this Sunday. I've also gotten together multiple times to play badminton with my students. Sometimes we'll just play in front of my house for fun. But on Thursday my students took me to an actual court and it turns out I'm not too bad. I had a throwback of Mrs. Gross (WHS anyone?) and silently thanked her for being a terrifying teacher. Anyway, I had a lot of fun. Besides playing in what felt like a sauna, I had a great time and might be doing that once a week also. Later in the night the "professionals" came to practice and I was literally scared. They were all older men and they were good. I've never seen badminton played so seriously before. I said to one of my students "I think I'm going to start practicing, I could be that good." and she responded with (very bluntly) "Maybe in three years." So maybe I won't be the best badminton or football player, but at least I'm doing something active, it definitely makes me feel better to get out and do something. Other daily activities include coffee or food with students (or An.) That pretty much sums up my life here. Coffee, food, and now sports. Oh and teaching. Lets not forget that I'm a teacher! I was talking to Alice today about how we sometimes find ourselves giving tests, or grading, or giving instructions and we think "Wow listen to me, I'm actually a teacher." I've definitely had a lot of those moments recently. But the semester is over in four weeks! I can't believe how quickly everything is happening. Time flies when you're having fun huh? Or when you are on you're death bed for a week. I feel like I was gone forever, and all of the sudden the semester is over. Somehow I'm keeping up with everything though, so there's generally nothing to complain about. 

I think I have taken a hiatus from teaching at the private school. At first it was great because I was making really good money, but then I was teaching 14 classes a week and starting to have nervous breakdowns. Then I got sick, then went on vacation, then got really sick. When I got back to teaching again I realized that it really stresses me out teaching there. I told them that I am making CTU and my students my priority and teaching four extra classes a week is not a good idea for me. I'm here to volunteer, and while I know that being a foreigner looks good for their school, I felt like I was only doing it for the money, and thats not what I want to do. Someone once told me never to work for money. It was more longwinded and in depth then I can explain, but it meant a lot to me. I don't want to live from paycheck to paycheck you know? And I know I'm in a special situation, but I don't want to get in that mindset. Maybe next semester I'll be able to look at it in a different light and can teach a few classes there again. But I need to find a balance between making people happy and making myself happy. I feel guilty, but I feel like I was tricked into teaching four/five extra classes a week and only said yes because I felt like I had to. No more of that.

I've also decided to not worry about being a "foreigner." There are a lot of things I do, wear, say, etc., on a daily basis that are not natural, but it is what is expected. Then I realized, I get stared at ALL the time, and no matter what I do or how long I live here, I will still be one of the only white people and still be stared at. So what's the harm of doing something that makes me happy or comfortable. They are going to stare anyway. The other day my student picked me up for class and I was wearing a skirt (covering my knees, of course, I don't mean doing something disrespectful.) And I hopped on the back of her motorbike, as usual. When we started to drive she said (very politely) "You know, when most women wear skirts the sit with their legs on the side of the bike." (IE - they do not straddle the bike) I have seen this, but it looks scary to sit like that, and my response was "Oh well, I thought it would be okay because my skirt is long and it's still covering my knees, right?" And she said "Yeah, it's fine because you're a foreigner." Point and case. 

So besides the sick/homesickness fall back I'm generally still doing really well. I get up at 7am to watch the red sox win, and to tell the truth, I snuck out of class a little early to see game 5, and I don't feel bad about it at all. I caught the last two innings, which was apparently all I needed to see. So keep your fingers crossed!! (I can't do that here, it means something different, and not nice.)

I'm looking forward to a day off tomorrow, hopefully I will keep myself busy because otherwise my head goes straight to Boston and all of the other places I could be. I don't really have anything good to leave you with, which is strange. But I do have an e-mail from one of my students at the private school. I wanted to share it with you all so you have a better idea of what I deal with/ how the students are. I taught this girl for the first time this week, and I'm having coffee with her tomorrow.

Hello Samantha. You teach my class. Do you remember? I impress you very much. You are beautyful and smile very nice. Hiii. I like to look your smile. That's the truth. Do you have free in Saturday night in this weekend? I want to invite you go to coffee shop with me and my friend. Are you okay? If you okay, we will pick you up. I hope you okay. Bye. See you on Saturday night. Goodnight Sam.

So sweet, I really do love them .

Hmm..

I've also just decided to add a picture to the top. I'll change in randomly depending on how I feel. This picture is from the OG Crew Ball this summer. All of the best. <3

Inside my head..

Sorry I haven't written in a while! When I got back from vacation I got very sick. I never went to the doctor (I know, I'm sorry!) I think I had the flu.. but everything is better now. The three others here took verryy good care of me, and although I couldn't leave my house for five days, everything is slowly getting back to normal. I haven't done much but I'm just taking it easy. The heat really wears me out in the middle of the day, I just really can't do anything. I don't know why I have such a hard time but I definitely have to figure out how to stay more hydrated. It is also amazing how homesick you can get while sick. Very, very homesick. I kept talking to some friends, and that helped, but I just really want the comfort of people you know? It's definitely just not even close to the same here. Anyways, everything is good now!

Good news: on one of the days I was really sick I turned on my TV for the first time (its been broken until now) and ESPN Live was playing the red sox game! Watching them win made me feel better, if that makes any sense. So now I can watch the whole ACLS Series! And (hopefully!!) the world series!!! It starts pretty early in the morning, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices for things that matter! 

My vacation was amazing. I don't even really know where to start because I came down from my vacation high pretty quickly after I got home, getting sick immediately. But it was such a great trip. An & I went to Hanoi for an orientation for TfV. It was really nice to spend time with the other TfV girls. There are just some people you can just connect with and not because you have to. I miss that feeling being here. Anyway, we had a lot of fun and Hanoi was beautiful. I am definitely a city girl. It was amazing how Westernized the city was. Coffee shops and restaurants, huge tourist destination. It was nice to meet other tourists though. So many people just taking off time, and just traveling everywhere. Amazing. I had some really great conversations about a lot of different things, it was just a nice change of pace. In Hanoi we went to see the Water Puppet Show which is very popular in Vietnam, but it originated in the North so I'm glad we saw it in Hanoi. It was pretty cool, but I enjoyed listening to the music. It was the first live performance I've heard and it was really amazing! I love the different instruments and the way the music fits together in a way that would never be accepted in Western culture. It was really beautiful and tells the story. Sort of like how music use to be. 

Then we took the overnight train to Sapa. We figured that since we were already in the North we should see something else, and I could afford to take a few days off so we did! I've already put up all of my pictures so I'm sure you've seen how beautiful it is (links on the left!) But I just can't really explain that feeling... literally at some points the view took my breath away. On the first day An & I rented a motorbike and drove up the mountain my ourselves to a waterfall. The waterfall was less than exciting, but the ride was amazing. First of all it was terrifying, riding a motorbike on the side of a mountain. I literally said "An, I trust you with my life right now." and she said "Well, you don't have any other choice!" Which was totally true haha. But it was just one beautiful spot after another all the way up the mountain. Then we drove back and walked down Cat Cat Village. Basically all of the surrounding villages are inhabited by different ethnic minorities, the biggest one being the H'Mong. It was really nice we walked all the way down the mountain, and we were by ourselves, and we went through the village and saw some of the children and their houses and where they all lived and worked and then we found this scary bridge & beautiful waterfall. It was really nice because for some reason we were the only two people there. THe walk back up through the village was VERY uphill, so we took a motorbike back the rest of the way, which I do not regret at all. The next day we went on a guided tour because I wanted to hear about the H'Mong and other minorities that lived in the villages. The children are beautiful, and some of the stories were really interesting. Anyway on that tour we went through three or four other villages, the whole time trekking through (up & down) the mountain, through streams, a bamboo forrest, waterfalls, and more scary bridges. It was amazing. I've never hiked a mountain like that before. (In flip-flops nonetheless!!) After we were done (it was about a 5 hour trek) An was having a hard time, and yeah I was exhausted but I was like wow I could go running right now! I couldn't have, obviously, and I didn't try.. but what an exhilarating feeling! An adrenaline rush, at the very least. I felt like I could do anything. To get home we took motorbikes back to the other side of the mountain. This was terrifying. The guy that was driving me was going way to fast and not slowing down for the turns. But I was in another world and I was so happy and grateful to be there at that moment I didn't even care. The moment I realized I officially was "rolling with the punches" My crazy motorbike driver drove really fast through a huge puddle and my legs and feet got soaked. The first thing that went through my mind was "Well, I needed to wash my feet anyway!" 

Besides climbing a mountain, other important things I did were: eating duck & pigeon and liking them both. Throwing my camera half way down a mountain and screaming as I watched my life disappear and my heart stop beating. My trusty little Vietnamese tour guide hopped right down the mountain and found that it had stopped just where he could reach it. I was SO thankful. Did I say my camera? I meant Rob's camera. I have to worst luck! I think I'm going to sew it to me when I go backpacking. Anyway.. Learning how to ignore cute cute children begging you to buy something from them. Sometimes giving in and buying something from them. Taking the overnight bus home in the "hard seats" section to save some money. I don't completely regret this decision, as it wasn't mine and I didn't have a choice, but it was a great experience. It was like those trains you see with a lot of guys drinking and playing cards and being really loud while the two foreigners try to sleep. (ok An isn't technically a foreigner, but that's another story). Overall it was really a great experience. We then went back to Hanoi and spent time with some different people An knew and some people we met at an Irish Bar, and then went out dancing with. It was just a nice time overall, not something I was ready to come home after. Hope you enjoy the pictures!!

The one thing I hate about going away is that it gave me the travel bug. I need to see more, I need to keep having exciting experiences. Hopefully I adjust myself to this heat before I am stuck in my house forever. It has also been making me think A LOT about next year and I am driving myself crazy. I think that is what started my headache that started the rest of the downfall that was my health. I made a vow with myself to not think about the future for the next few months. Just for once to be here, now. I'm always thinking of the next step, sometimes satisfied, but still always once step ahead. A good quote from Whitney:

"I need reminders of why I think anything is possible, and why I think convenient and okay just isn't enough." 

I heard a song the other day that had a really good line. You know how everyone always uses the phrase "When in Rome!" Well I was definitely saying it a lot on vacation, and I say it here in Can Tho sometimes also. And I was just reading my friends blog who is studying abroad in Barcelona and she said "When in Barca!" and then I heard this song and it made me think:

"But I'm gonna bet they never really feel at home, If they spend a lifetime learning how to live in Rome."

In interesting way to look at things, I think. Then last night Julia, Alice and I had a long conversation about where we wanted to live when we get back (and when that might be) and how scary that is. Such a crazy decision. Can't say I see myself staying in the next place very long, but ever since all of this has been going through my head I can't imagine not just picking a place to stay. What's so wrong with wanting to stay somewhere? I convinced myself once that it wasn't, and now I can't remember why. 

I don't mean to be so deep but this is what I can't stop thinking about and this is what drives me crazy sometimes. Always has, nothing new. I do miss my friends though. It's a hard time for a lot of people and it sucks not being there for them, thats probably the bottom line of what all of this is about. Anyway, it's about time for me to go to bed. Tomorrow morning I am playing football with my students! They invited me on their team and I have NO idea what to expect. It should be fun though! I'll let you know how it goes!! xoxo-

back to real life?

I got home from vacation last night!! It was the best couple of days I ever remember having. After planes, trains, buses, taxis, and many, many motorbikes, I visited Hanoi & Sapa, as well as spending time with a few of the other people with Teachers for Vietnam, and meeting some great foreigners who were just passing through. It was a completely different world. I said multiple times that I didn't even feel like I was in Vietnam. I feel like Can Tho was Vietnam, the rest is a tourist trap. I was slightly turned off by all of the locals who were speaking to me in English. Isn't that ridiculous? I was mad because I wanted to order my food in Vietnamese and they didn't even try to understand me and just kept speaking English. Regardless, I had the best vacation ever and have been contemplating a way to get back there for some work. I love Can Tho, and it felt great to come home, but my head is going crazy with all of the different possibilities there are for me. Every time I experience something I think, 'Wow it doesn't get better then this.' And then it does.

Anyway, now I'm back to real life and I'm completely overwhelmed with the amount of this I have to catch up on. I guess thats normal after any vacation. It's also so hot, and I've been spoiled by the slightly cooler weather in the North. Does everyone feel like they need a vacation after vacation? Also, I have no money because I think I forgot my pin # and apparently bank of america does not like my dad and is not willing to help out.

I will write a detailed account of my trip, it really was the most amazing thing I've experienced in a while and now I have the travel bug, which is making it hard to focus on my classes. I'm going to take a few days to pull myself together and then I'll tell you all about it. I also took about 500 pictures!

On a positive note, my pictures randomly decided to upload, so you can look at the link on the left. Its everything up until Vacation. I'll let you know when I've put those up!

Here is an article the director of TfV sent me about the motorbikes here. It's very funny, and completely true.
http://features.csmonitor.com/backstory/2008/10/01/vietnam-eats-sleeps-and-dreams-on-motorbikes/

Also found this video, and I think it's really clever. Not to mention that they are all some of my favorite famous people and they all look exceptionally good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olpCyDA4kYA

And for laughs, take a loot at this. Gotta love her.
http://thegreatschlep.com/site/index.html