Dong Hoi

I'm writing from a comfy chair, in my room at a four-star beach resort, overlooking the sea, on an island off the coast of Dong Hoi. And, through a strange twist of events, I'm staying here for free. Jahmila and I are in Dong Hoi, visiting Becca and helping her pack all of her stuff since she's being relocated to Hue University. Last night we went to a small, basic hotel in the city, since Becca's room is too small for the three of us, and is furthermore so mold invested that I'm actually a little sick now. After dropping off our stuff at the hotel, we went to a little cafe down the street. There, we met "Alex" (aka Hoang Anh), a young man who studied in the US and whose family owns the Sun Spa Resort. He invited us for a complimentary stay at the resort, and after some hesitation, we accepted the offer. We piled into his BMW, picked up our stuff from the other hotel, and drove across the bridge to the island and its Sun Spa Resort. We have two great rooms that overlook the sea, yummy breakfast, access to the gym and suana.... How is this my life?


This resort is the first of its kind in Dong Hoi, a quaint coastal town that, for the most part, remains in its natural state. In other words, it has yet to become an overexploited, unsustainable tourist destination. The beach is pristine, unscarred my tacky hotels and water sport kiosks. In ten years, though, this place will be another Nha Trang, for better or worse.

Becca, however, has had quite a challenging time at her uni here, and Fulbright is thus relocating her. She's spending the weekend packing, tying up loose ends, spending time with students. Yesterday some of her students took the three of us to the Outdoor War Museum, which is run by the aunt and uncle of one of her students. The musuem is several kilometers outside of the city, and is actually a well-preserved system of undergound houses, schools, tunnels, and even a "hospital" and nursery that were used by the Vietnamese during the war. The land is pocked with bomb craters, some evolved into ponds, others morphed into small valleys, overgrown with shrubs and wildflowers. While the grounds are well-kept by the aunt and uncle of the student, nothing is marked in Vietnamese or English, so having the students with us to explain everything made the experience especially memorable. Other students have cooked meals for us, taken us to the beach....They've all been so hospitable, which isn't surprising.

I'll be in Dong Hoi for another day or so. We might go to Phong Nha Caves, near Dong Hoi tomorrow. When I leave Dong Hoi, the first stop will be the DMZ in Dong Ha. We're having a good time in Dong Hoi, though, especially now that we're vegging at this luxuuuurious hotel. I'm anxious to travel more, but a little relaxation can't hurt....

Hue

I'm currently in Hue, Vietnam, the city that was most destroyed during the Tet Offensive. Apart from that trivia, this town also houses the ancient capital city, which I visited today. It was eerie. The citadel, the old city, and the "forbidden city" (the ancient imperial city) were heavily destroyed during the war and Tet Offensive. Although it was named a World Heritage Site fifteen years ago, the ancient city is still largely in ruins. Some of the buildings have been well restored, but other remain mere heaps of crumbled stone and rotting wood, overtaken by foliage. And on a misty, overcast day like today, when no one seemed to be around, wandering around the old imperial capital felt like discovering an ancient civilization for the first time, or wandering into a Asian "secret garden". I kept getting lost, and I even got a bit scared at times, walking alone in ancient temples or wandering among the bombed out remains of once royal edifices. Occasionally I'd catch a glimpse of another human being, maybe a lone tourist or a guard or repair man, but for the most part it was just me in the labrynth of the citadel. I saw most of the landmark, but after a few hours I had to get out of there. Just too eerie. And it had started raining.

With my poncho draped over me, I wandered down to the market, haggled for some mandarin oranges, which are my new favorite food. Not the canned kind, of course. The real, fresh kind. Mmmh! And today I got them down to 15,000 vnd/kilo. That's about 80 cents for 2 lbs. I'm finally getting better about this bargaining business.

I also found a great little restaurant, where I had the best roll-you-own spring rolls I've had in Vietnam. And they were only 15,000. At the restaurant I met a British man who's traveling in Asia. He has two daughters about my age and, as it turned out, is actually staying in my hotel. It was nice to have some conversation. The best and worst part of traveling alone is the silence that it often entails.

Tonight I'm having dinner with Toni, an American woman I met at the Fulbright Seminars who's working at Hue University as an English Language Fellow. She's taking me to a veg place she knows. Tomorrow I'm hoping to hire a motorbike and driver to take me to some of the imperial tombs around the city.

Hue is lovely but it's hard to beat Hoi An, which has become my favorite city in Vietnam. If I stay another year, I'd really like to live there, but there seem to be even fewer work opportunities there than in Nha Trang. I'm actually thinking about going back to Hoi An in a couple days, since plans to visit Becca in Dong Hoi might be canceled due to some probs with her uni.

Becoming a tourist in this country is a bit of adjustment for me, as I've started to consider myself a resident of Nha Trang. People's attitudes change, though, as soon as they learn that I live in Nha Trang and work there. They stop heckling me, they smile more, they lower the price.

Being a tourist does have its funny moments, though. Like this one from Hoi An. Becca, Jahmila, Keith and I shared one room with two big beds. Keith and I shared. One night, I woke up to find him propped up on one elbow, staring at me. I took out my earplugs--it was a noisy hotel--and had the following exchange:

Me: Are you trying to say something to me?
Keith: No, but I think the ghost of christmas past is outside.

I heard chains rattling indeed, and laughed at Keith's nocturnal wit before passing out again. At least that's how I remember it. Apparently, though, I woke Keith up because I was making a lot of noise. I think I was having a nightmare. Oops! The next morning, though, "the ghost of christmas past" comment seemed even funnier, especially when I realized my memory of the night's events were a bit skewed. I apologized for waking him, but assured him it could have been worse. It could have been one of those nightmares from which I wake up screaming and in tears. After hearing that, I'm surprised he didn't ask for his own room.

I'm still trying to think of a way to set up camp in Hoi An for a while. If anyone would like to finance the opening of a bar or restaurant or hostel, please contact me . :)

Hoi An

After a few days in Danang with the Fulbright gang, I came to Hoi An with Keith, Becca and Jahmila. I've been here for two and a half days, and I'm feeling like I could stay forever. This town is magical, with clear Chinese, Japanese and French influences. A river runs through the city, and old men and women in conical hats attempt to hawk boat rides to passing tourists. At night, the water is dotted with the glow of romantic street lights. The "Old Town" area is mainly pedestrian, offering a welcomed break from motorcycles and their attendant honking. Somehow, Hoi An has struck a balance between preservation and tourism, the latter of which has no doubt funded some of the preservation. The town is a UN World Heritage Site. Old villas along the river house patisseries, restaurants, quaint bars and modern ones. The outlying beach has yet to be overcome with resorts. But they're on their way. In a few years, this city will most likely be another sprawling tourist metropolis. I guess that means I should move here before that happens? :)

Our three days here have been some of my best in this country. Wandering around the Old Town, eating delicious food (western and vietnamese), and yesterday renting bikes and riding a few miles out the beach, exploring the countryside, hopping over to an island off the coast....

I think I can get here from Nha Trang on an overnight bus for just a few dollars, so I'm already planning my next visit.

In the mean time, I'm heading back to Danang with everyone. Keith is catching a flight to HCMC, Jahmila lives in Danang, and Becca and I will take a train northbound. I'll hop off at Hue, and she'll go home to Dong Hoi, where I'll meet her in a few days.

So far my trip has been better than expected, and judging by the rest of of my time here, I bet that trend will continue.

Another update from the next city.


Currently listening: the sounds of Hoi An at 6am.

Furama Resort, Danang

I'm currently sitting at a candle-lit table in a cozy cafe at the five-star Furama resort, beside a lovely christmas tree, listening to a jazz piano player and sipping a decaf cappuccino. How is this my life?

The sea is treacherous but beautiful here. The weather is nearly cold. The hotel is incredible, and tactfully decorated for the holidays. So cozy! And all the Christmas trimmings are making me so happy.....Seeing the Fulbrighters has been so much fun. The conference is going spendidly as well.

I'll be here at the hotel for two more nights, and then I'm not sure what my plan is...and I like it that way.

More soon....

Leaving

I've finished grading all the students' tests, I've cleaned my room, packed my bag, checked and rechecked my to-do list. In the morning my taxi will arrive at 5:45 am to drive me to the airport, and I won't be back to Nha Trang until the end of December at the earliest. Leaving this place, even for a few weeks, feels strange.

I'm prepared, though, in part because I'm a chronic overpacker. I dont pack obviously extraneous stuff, but I just like to be overly prepared. And it often comes in handy. I overpacked for my and Sam's tirp to Da Lat, which turned out to be a good thing as ended up taking a 3 day trek through the mountains.

I've also stocked up on some new music, from a place called "Groove Shack" in the tourist area. You can buy digital versions of albums for 20,000 dong, a little over 1 dollar, and they'll put the music on your iPod or flash drive. I opted for the former, so that I could the actual files on my computer. Here's what I bought:

• Thomas Dybdal, "One Day You'll Dance for Me New York City"
• The Ting Tings, "We Started Nothing:
• The Radio Dept, "Pet Grief"
• Stars, "In Our Bedroom After the War"
• Sigur Ros, "Agaetis Byrjun"
• Portishead, "Third"
• Patsy Cline, "20 Golden Hits"
• Chet Baker, "Let's Get Lost--The Best Of" (which, due to a misprint in the shop's listings, I didn't realize I already had. Huge bummer.)
• Chet Baker, "A Jazz Hour with Chet Baker"
• Ane Brun, "A Temporary Dive"

I'm disappointed about only ending up with one new Chet Baker album--he's almost all I'm listening to these days. Oh well. I'll have to drop another 20 Grand for a replacement...And I was happy to see that they had the full catalog of Ben Folds, including this last album that came out a few months ago.

Today I also...got my hair cut again! I wasn't totally satisfied with the last cut--it was awkwardly long in the back. They have this thing against cutting off too my length here. So I texted Lien today to see if she wanted to go to the nail shop with me, which turned into me and Katherine going over to her house for lunch with family and then going to the nailshop. I was a bit stressed about time--I had a lot to do today--but it ended up being fabulous. Both the company and the food.

Finally at the nail shop, I enjoyed a relaxing hair wash/massage before getting my haircut. The girl that cut my hair last time wasn't there. Instead, a young man (I've never seen a guy working there before) had overtaken her role. Lien informed me that he was a "famous" hair dresser in Nha Trang, which was a comforting fact. At least before I noticed his terrible mullet and too-short bangs. It was worse than Spanish mullets. "He might be a great hair dresser, but he's clearly not doing his own hair," I thought.

He started cutting my hair, finished, and proceeded to dry it....straight. In a fifty-year-old-woman stye. It looked awful. And it was still too long in the back. I hated to have him do it again, but I did. In fact, it took about 4 tries to get it close to being right. He seemed good-natured about it. In any case, now I have certifiably short hair. I'm missing my long hair--apparently I look older with short hair. In fact, someone thought I was 28 the other day. A fine number in itself, but I dont want to already look six years older than I am! But I'll enjoy the short hair while it lasts....



I also got little snowflakes painted on my toes. 'Tis the season!!!

I'm feeling more sore today from the accident last night but still just relieved that no one was seriously hurt....Unfortunately, though, my student (who was with me) had another accident on her way home. She was hit by a drunk driver. She's more or less fine but pretty banged up. I feel terrible for causing one of her two accidents in one evening. Again, though, just happy everyone is alive.

Alright, I have to be up in less than five hours. Yikes. The off to Danang, then who knows what until Christmas in Dalat! And I'm sooo excited to see all the Fulbrighters!!!!!!!!!!! Blogs will be few and far between I'm afraid but I'll try to at least update about my whereabouts.

Just for fun, a pic from last night, before the accident and second haircut, but after I bought my crazy new Che Guevara shirt!




Currently listening: "In Our Bedroom After the War," by Stars.

End of Semester and other activities

Let me say first that I just noticed a little lizard on my mosquito net. I tried to catch him with a cup--I'm running my own lizard relocation program over here--but I just scared him into my bed and now I can't find him. Hopefully he'll relocate himself from my bed, but either way, the little guy is probably doomed: Every lizard that has come into my room (at least that I know about) I've later found dead. One in my doorway, one in my bathroom, I even found one in my fridge once (frozen to death), and all the way in Da Lat there was another dead lizard in my hotel room. Maybe lizards are to this journey what ants were to my time in Europe.

Not that I don't have my fair share of ants, too. I've been finding a surprising number of ants on my computer lately. I'm starting to wonder if they're living inside of it.

Soon, though, I wont care about ants and lizards in my room, as I'm leaving at 5:45 Monday morning for Conference in Danang, followed by several weeks of travel. I'll go up to Dong Hoi with Becca for a few days, then we'll work our way back down to Da Lat for christmas with the group. We had plans to all meet in HCMC for New Year, but I just got an email from my boss informing me that oral examinations will be held from 31 December to 4 January. Blah. I didn't even know about these oral exams. I told her I had made plans to travel and already had a hotel room (which is true)--since I was told when I arrived in Nha Trang that I would be free during that time--but I have a feeling I'll just have to come back for the exams. It's my job. And even though my boss excused me from the responsibility since I'd already made travel plans, I'm not sure I can really justify skirting this responsibility. It's why I'm here, after all. And I want to be useful here. I'm just a little disappointed that I wont be able to spend New Year with friends. New Year is a big holiday for me and Sam, and it would be easier to be away if I were celebrating in HCM with the Fulbright gang.

Even though exams aren't for several more weeks, my last class of the semester was yesterday. Classes here don't all run on the same schedule, which takes a bit of getting used to. In any case, the term FLEW by!

The week has been pretty busy, though. Last classes, giving exams, marking exams, preparing a report and presentation for conference, getting ready to leave for a month or so (or less if I come back for exams). Aaaand...I learned to drive a MOTORBIKE! One of my students took me on Thursday to talk to the private English schools here, and then to show me how fish sauce is made (let me tell you--very smelly process). As we were driving she asked if I wanted to learn to drive. I said yes, of course, expecting that after I came back from traveling she'd take me to an empty parking lot one day and walk alongside the motorbike as I wobbled along. You know, something between learning to ride a bike and learning to drive a car. Oh, no no. As usual, my expectations were wrong. She stopped right on the street, got off the bike, explained the gas, the breaks, how to shift gears (it wasn't automatic)...and then she hopped back on the bike, behind me. And off we went! I was shocked by how easy it is to drive a motorbike. It really feels just like riding a bicycle. I drove the rest of the way out to the port and to the fish sauce "factory"-- a shed behind someone's home--and then all the way home. I wish I'd learned sooner how to drive a bike. And in a surprising turn of events, one of the english teachers that I'm closest to has offered to let me use her husband's motorbike while he's doing his post-doc in France for the next year. It looks like I'll have a moto to use when I want to!

Of course, I'll still keep my trusty bicycle. It's perfect for nights like Thursday, when the weather is gorgeous and I've had too much to drink. Katherine and I befriended the American who owns the Texas restaurant in the city (he's actually from Buffalo and lived in CA, not TX). On Thursday I stopped in to Texas to say hello (Katherine was sick), and Charles opened up a bottle of wine, which we finished with ease. We then migrated down the street to the Sailing Club, a bar/beach joint, where I had a few (weak) vodka tonics and enjoyed the music and watched tourists dance. Suddenly it was 2am and I decided to go home. But the weather was sooo nice....so I biked around the city a bit before heading back towards the university. At one point I passed this backpacker bar and heard one of my favorite albums, Oracular Spectacular by MGMT, blasting. I immediately turned my bike around with the intention to go into this bar. Luckily I realized that walking alone into a bar at 2am just screams "Take me home with you!", and decided that I could just listen to the album at home. Plus, it had started raining.

As I started to make my way home, a guy on a motorbike pulled up beside my bike. I think he was a xe om driver, but clearly I didn't need a ride--I was on my own bike! We started chatting, though; I was shaking his hand while we were both driving along (the joys of Vietnam's traffic!). He was super friendly, 25 years old, and seemed well-intentioned. Suddenly, though, I felt my body accelerate, compelled forward at an unnatural speed. "Am I drunk enough to be imagining this?" I thought at first. No, no, I hadn't had that much to drink. I maintained the sudden increase in velocity for a few moments before I realized the source of the magic. My new friend had put his foot on my bike rack and was pushing me home! There I was, a little drunk, biking home in the rain (sounds familiar), in the middle of the night, being pushed along by a mysterious and benevolent xe om driver. I was overjoyed, having really one of the most incredible and unexpected experiences of my life. The warm night air, the light rain, the crash of waves, the speed....I wanted to throw my arms out and yell "I'm king of the world!", but alas I had to hold on to the handle bars. So I just laughed the whole way home, instead. No, I squealed the whole way home, as the xe om driver alternatively gave me a boost and then let me pedal. He escorted me all the way back to the donkey path, where he bid me goodnight and drove off into the darkness. The next morning I half wondered if he was an angel or something--I dont even believe in angels, but he came out of no where, disappeared back into nowhere, and gave me one of the most thrilling experiences I've had in the country.

Back at my building though, found myself locked out. Damn the 11pm curfew. I still hold that they should just give everyone a key to the building. Wouldn't that make more sense? And then I wouldn't have to wake up someone to let me in. This time it wasn't the house manager, but some other unfortunate soul who heard me rattling the door and graciously pulled himself out of bed.

------
I wrote the previous information this evening before my students took me out to karaoke, to celebrate the end of the semester and to say goodbye to me (for a few weeks at least). I drove Chau's motorbike to pick up some food, and then on to the karaoke place. I even....gulp...I even SANG! Katherine and I suffered through a few songs together--YMCA, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, something else I cant remember. And then I drove Carrot's bike home, with her on the back of course.....And I wrecked it. I had my first motorbike accident. It really was just a tiny little accident, but I kind of hit a garbage man, and the bike fell over with me under it (and kind of in a pile of trash)....poor Carrot and the garbage man lifted it off me. Luckily everyone is 100% fine. The garbage man is fine, Carrot is fine, I'm fine apart from some minor scratches on my hands and stomach. The bike is fine. After we made sure everyone was ok, we just laughed about it, but it was a bit frightening! I had slowed down to change gears, but had come to a near stop as we were on a hill and my foot was slow in finding the gear pedal. I put the bike back into second, which is a bit stronger than third, and gave it some gas but I lost control--it was raining, and we were on a hill, and the bike was heavier than the one I learned to drive on....Ah, I'm just thankful everyone is OK. Especially Carrot and that poor man (I really barely hit him and I was going very slow). I can just hear it now..."How did that one Fulbright lose her grant?" "Well, she wrecked a student's motorbike and injured the student and a garbage man." Eek. Jesus, I can't believe I had an accident while driving my STUDENT! At least we were wearing helmets. I almost didn't wear a helmet because they students were short one, but I'm very glad now that I insisted we find a helmet for me. Otherwise this story could have ended quite differently. Phew. Maybe this motorbike business isn't as easy as I thought.

It's funny--This afternoon I went to the pharmacy to get a de-worming tablet--as a precautionary measure, and because I've been having some strange stomach pain lately. Clearly I should have gone to buy a helmet instead!!

Another reason to eat less meat.

True, when I stopped eating meat about 11 years ago, I wasn't thinking about the environment. I was thinking that meat was pretty gross. Who wants to eat dead animal? Ew. Furthermore, I didn't want to think about animal slaughtering. Blegh.

Now, though, environmental concerns constitute the heart of my vegetarianism. It seems that as years pass I've become a bit more militant about my vegetarianism, as well, and as soon as I can ween myself off cheese I'll become a vegan. In the mean time, it's increasingly clear that one of the biggest ways that individuals can reduce their carbon footprint is to eat less meat (and in my case, less dairy). Meat production generates 18% of greenhouse gasses--more than cars, buses and airplanes.

The head of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has suggested that people eat less meat in an effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. This is a call, then, to skip that hamburger, steak, pork chop or chicken salad a couple times a week. I promise--it's easy!

Read more here. I could go on and on about this but I'll let the New York Times do it for me. :)


Currently listening: Chet Baker

Stop that thief!

Katherine and I spent several hours biking around the city today, stopping intermittently to browse in a store, get bubble tea, buy a bootleg Mariah Carey Christmas Cd. We stopped in a dress shop at one point, having noticed some cute items in the window, but left when we realized that the prices were quite high. We had parked our bikes outside of the shop, locked together, and wandered across the street to another shop. Finding nothing in the second shop, either, we started to leave, at which point Katherine started screaming "HEY! HEY! STOP!" I looked across the street to see a man lifting both our bikes. She and I did our best to sprint across the street--one of the bigger ones in the city--but it was damn game of Frogger, with all the the motorbikes. And we were both, by now, yelling at the man (who clearly didn't speak English) to STOP!. Finally, and still screaming, we made it to the other side of the street, where I was confused to find a shop attendant calmly watching the man struggle to lift both our bikes. And that's when we realized it. The man was not a thief. He was the security guard of the shop. And he was just trying to move our bikes so that he could sit in his chair, which our bikes were blocking.

I was mortified. I apologized over and over in Vietnamese, making little bows, holding my hands up in guilt. This, of course, was in between bouts of gut-wrenching laughter and burying my embarrassed face in my hands. The poor man, who we'd nearly attacked, seemed unaffected by the whole debacle, sat down in his newly liberated chair and lit a cigarette.

First of December

It doesn't feel like December. In absolutely no way does it feel like December. It's warm. I'm wearing t-shirts. I make sure I have a poncho, not mittens, when I leave the house. And didn't I just leave the States, like, last week? Actually, it was July when I left America. July. I remember very clearly watching my mom and Sam disappear as I went up the escalator at the airport...and then falling apart and crying while waiting at the gate. Yes, I remember that clearly, but in a way it seems like another lifetime altogether. I've been here for over fourth months now, which I can barely believe.

The installment of Christmas decorations around town helps to remind me that this is the last month of 2008. Maximark is donning tinsel and wreathes. The Yasaka, in its ever tackiness, is glitzed out with flashing lights and giant santas. Next door, the posh Sunrise Resort displays more sophistication in its use of lights and garlands, which are hung tastefully in the arched doorways behind a classic christmas tree. And "Asianized" Christmas carols provide a musical backdrop in many stores already. 'Tis the season, even in Vietnam.

I'm really loving all the Christmas stuff, though. I used to hate Christmas, but in the past few years I come to love the holiday season. And even though I'm bummed about being away for Christmas, and even though Christmas in Vietnam will never be the same, I'm finding comfort and excitement in all the lights and tinsel and jingle bells.

I'm also excited about finding THREE new vegetarian places this week! One was decent, and not exactly new, as we had stumbled upon it in my first week here but had never been able to find it again. The second place was incredible--maybe the best "plate of rice and stuff" I've had! And by far the cheapest, at 7000 dong (about 41 cents). The place was full of locals, which is always a good sign. Katherine found a third place today that we'll hopefully try sometime this week.

Our favorite, more up-scale veg place is also offering new appeal, as it's moved from it's tiny, 8-table location to a three-room joint further down the same street. Hopefully it's upgrade won't bring a jump in prices!

In other news, last night Katherine and I ventured into a "fair" we'd heard about in the city. It was a bit outside of town, towards the airport, but it was a lovely night for a long bike ride. We paid 8000 dong to get in and thus witness what, exactly, constitutes a Vietnamese "fair". Apparently it's a two dinky kid rides, a handfull of "games", free samples of wine and tea, clothes vendors and lots of mops for sale. Yes, mops. A disproportionate number of mops. It was all a bit strange and underwhelming, apart for the earsplitting volume of the music blasting through the place. Some guy gave us free bottles of tea, which we decided compensated for the 8000 we paid for ticekts, and we shelled over a few thousand for real ice cream cones. We were, after all, at a fair, and it was the only "fair'' food that appealed to me. (No funnel cakes in sight. Only fried meat on sticks. Ew.

This morning I got another sweet treat. I finally managed to get some office hours set up, since I was sick last week and re-scheduled them. One student, one of the girls who had come to visit me while I was sick, showed up. She took a few years off before starting uni so she's actually only a year younger than me, and she speaks great English. I helped her with a few sounds she was having trouble with, and then we just chatted for nearly an hour. Before we left she handed me a plastic bag with a metal container inside--she had brought me home-made che!!! Her mother had made it--creamy tapioca with stewed plantain bananas. One of my favorites!

And if that gesture weren't enough, she offered to take me on Thursday to check out the private English school in the city. And then to take me to see how fish sauce is made. I'm kind of dreading the olfactory experience involved, but I'm sure it will be interesting!

Due to a killer headache I took a long nap today. I feel great otherwise, no stomach pain, but I'm still just so tired.

I also got my first piece of unopened mail today! Granted, it took nearly a month to get here, but I can't complain about that when the mail had clearly maintainted its integrity through the Vietnamese postal system. A true feat! It was a mailer from Judi, Sam's mother, decorate with autumn leaves on the outside. On the inside I found 9 cartoonish illustrations of some of my experiences here--getting my jade bracelet, singing and biking in the rain, performing "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" for my students (really one of my brightest moments in life...), watching Obama win the presidency with Sam, from a cozy bed in Asia Paradise Hotel. It was really just so "Judi", the whole concept and aesthetic, which I miss. The package made my day, and luckily I have another mailer to look forward to as I hear she sent a Christmas one too!

I have only a week left in Nha Trang before I head to Da Nang for conference, where we will be staying at a five-star beach resort. American tax dollars hard at work, I tell ya! I'll travel for at least a month, I think, before coming back to Nha Trang. I'm feeling a bit sad about being gone that long. For being such a nomad I sure get attached to places quickly. It's a bad quality for a wandering soul to have! At any rate, I'm looking forward to it, though, and luckily I found a (knock off) North Face backpacking pack at Maximark for $24 dollars.

In the mean time I still have a splitting headache (vomit). Time for bed. :) I've been having crazy dreams lately--last night I met George Clooney on a bench here in Vietnam--so I'm looking forward to some unconscious, nocturnal adventures....