Scratch that. No Hue, after all.

Despite all the packing, portable-dinner making, and planning, I'm still in Nha Trang and will not make it to Hue this weekend. I'm disappointed, of course, but I think this situation worked out for the best.

When I booked my bus ticket to leave Nha Trang at 7pm, Tu and Duan told me that I would arrive in Hue at 7am the next morning. The 12-hour bus ride seemed tolerable since I had booked a sleeper seat, and since it would allow me to have all of Friday in Hue. But, last night, when Tu and Duan were walking me to the bus pick-up, Duan informed me that I wouldn't arrive until noon. I was pretty frustrated. First, 17 hours on the bus sounded miserable. Second, I was losing almost half a day in Hue, and I didn't have much time to begin with. Third, the fact that the bus ride was 17 hours meant that I would have to leave Hue early Sunday morning--not Sunday afternoon/evening--to get back in time for my 7am class. I was therefore losing another half-day in Hue. I would now only have a day and a half in Hue. If I had know all this before booking the ticket, I wouldn't have booked it. I suddenly found myself more frustrated than I've ever been sincing arriving in Viet Nam. And, to make it worse, I didn't even really want to go anymore, given the new conditions of the trip.

Deciding to just suck it up and be happy about seeing my friends in Hue, I tried to revert into easy-going Viet Nam attitude. I sat down on the side walk and managed to calm myself down while I waited for the bus to arrive. It was about 6:45. I was calm until 7. I was calm until 7:05, 7:10, and even until 7:15. Duan had talked to the driver to confirm the pick-up spot, so I knew the bus was coming. And it was a beautiful night, so sitting outside with three friends didn't seem too bad. But as 7:20, and then 7:30 rolled around, I realized that my arrival time in Hue was being pushed later and later, and at this point, every minute in Hue was precious. I felt myself getting frustrated again. 7:40, 7:45 came and passed. Duan called the driver again. He was "coming". But he'd been coming for the last 45 minutes, and I my frustration level was rising. At five 'til 8, I decided that if the bus didn't come by 8:05, I wasn't going, especially if I could get my money back. By this time I wouldn't arrive in Hue until at least 1pm. The whole trip suddenly seemed so impractical--the amount of time and money I was spending, for the amount of time I would have in Hue.

At 8:20, the bus finally pulled up. We had been waiting for almost an hour and a half. I insisted to Tu that I wanted my money back, because the bus company had messed up. Tu talked to the driver and attendant to figure out how, and if, I could get my money back (although at that point I was ready to forfeit the 17 dollars just to save the other hundred dollars I would spending on the trip). The driver was a total asshole to Tu, yelling at him, impatiently trying to get the bus attendant, who had gotten off the bus to talk to Tu and help me, back on the bus so they could get back on the road. My frustration level increased. The exchanges between the driver and Tu were clearly tense, and clearly about me, but I couldn't understand a word. After a few minutes of chaotic exchanges between Tu, the driver, and the attendant, the bus pulled off without me.

I'm disappointed about not seeing Becca and Jahmila this weekend--I was really looking forward to catching up with them. But they both live really close to Hue, and Becca especially will make several trips to the city. It seemed to me, then, that this weekend was not a "now or never" situation. And, on another long weekend, perhaps when I just have one more day, I can make the trip happen.

Becca and I also talked last night about spending several weeks traveling through central Vietnam during Tet holiday. We have our midyear meeting in Danang in early December, at which point I'll already be in central Vietnam and traveling around the area will be easier. Plus, Fulbright will pay for my transportation to Danang, which reduces some of my expense.

And, I'm 98% sure I'll be able to get my money back. Tu and Duan are taking me today to the ticket counter to work it out. I really dont know what I would do without those boys! I am so thankful for them. They're graduating in December, and I will be so sad to see them go.

I have a nice weekend planned in Nha Trang, as well. Last night Katherine and I, after realizing that our favorite vegetarian sandwich stall was closed, picked up some of that corn/coconut/mung bean concoction that we have for breakfast sometimes, and ate it for dinner over glasses of che at the coffee shop across the street from our building. It was a gorgeous evening, and a relaxing "dinner" after the whole debaucle with the bus to Hue.

Today I have Vietnamese lessons, and tonight Katherine and I are getting together with Inyaki, the Spanish(Galician)-born prof who now lives in Norway with his significant other but is teaching a masters class at Nha Trang University. That, my friends, is the kind of life I want. Maybe he can give me some pointers.

Other plans for the weekend include lots of reading, beaching, and class preparing.

I'm also starting to think about some other things I want to be doing while I'm here. I'm trying to find some volunteer opportunities, especially with women and children's issues. I'd like to plan some research, as well, but I have no idea how to go about doing it when I don't speak the language, don't have a translater, and dont know the appropriate avenues for investigating reproductive rights in Viet Nam. The issue could be touchy here, and I don't want to step on toes or (worse) get deported or anything.

My biggest issue these days is figuring out how I can be most useful during my time here, especially in any kind of sustainable way. Since I'll only be here for 9 months, I dont think I can start-up a new non-profit or anything. But I can help in small ways, and I think that's what I should focus on.