Assimilation and other new things

Lately I've found myself participating in a number of typical, if at times risky, Vietnamese behaviors: drinking tap water (the night after the snake alcohol, when I was out of bottled water); drinking sketchy home-made rice alochol, in the first place; swimming in fresh water (apparently you can catch a variety of parasites in fresh water); biking the wrong way down one-way streets or down the wrong side of the road; texting while biking; forgetting my bike helmet; waking up at 6am every day and napping at noon; developing a morning dependency on sticky rice and fresh soy milk; using the communal water cups at restaurants. I'm feeling a bit more assimilated these days. Well, as assimilated as an American girl can feel after two months in Viet Nam--it's a nice feeling nonetheless. The rhythm of life here has yet to take up residence in me, but I'm starting to catch a beat here and there.

At the same time, I've discarded the taboo against shorts. After two months of sweating in pants and skirts, I broke down and finally wore a pair of shorts out of my room. The Vietnamese girls might be able to tolerate scarves, hats, socks, and gloves up to their armpits, but that's just not how I choose to deal with the heat. I imagine some people chatting as I walked by, white legs switching back and forth, and I imagine someone saying "There goes that foreign teacher in her trashy shorts!", and another responds "Yes, those Americans...." The pretend dialogue that I give to onlookers amuses me--it's become a common source of internal entertainment.

I've also acquired a few new things that I'm quite excited about. Lately I've been going out of my way to avoid buy things--I just want simplicity. I've been vacillating for weeks about buying a hot water maker, for example, usually coming to the conclusion that even this simple appliance will just complicate my life and take up space. The main qualifying question for a purchase is this: Will this greatly improve the quality of my life? I also consider whether or not the purchase will enhance my experience here in some way. And, of course, art and travel expenses have their own criteria.... Anyway, my biggest purchase was a jade bracelet, very typical here--remember the "vietnamese bracelet torture" story from an earlier blog? I decided to give it another go, this time with a bigger bracelet. My friend Ha, who I teach with, called me randomly on Saturday evening and offered to take me to get one. I was especially appreciative, as I was kind of dragging that night and needed the company and the outting. She took me on her motorbike--it helped to ride a motorbike, wind in my hair, blah blah :) --to a vendor she knows in a big market in the city. I chose my jade bracelet, and paid 200,000 dong for it. It was quite an expensive purchase for me, as I'm trying to live on about $6 USD, or about 100,000 dong, a day. I think of everything lately in terms of that budget, so the bracelet cost me about 2 days worth of living expenses. I'm justifying the purchase by reminding myself that a) it's a very typical Vietnamese thing and thus enhances my "authentic" experience here, and b) it's a good jade bracelet that should last forever (literally), and, furthermore, should remain quite some time on my wrist as getting off will be painful! Anyway I'm quite pleased with the purchase--I was swimming in the sea today and color of the jade in the clear, green water was so lovely and satisfying...

the woman (who was wearing one of the bracelets herself!) trying to force the thing over my hand

finally, success!

I also bought a new drinking glass today. I only had one, a small plastic one, and I really missed pouring myself a tall glass of water in a sturdy, solid glass. The purchase met my "must improve quality of life" criteria, and it was only 13,000 dong--a reasonable investment, I thought, as I'm going to be here for at least a year. The glass has clean lines and it feels very civilized to me to have this one nice drinking glass. It's funny to me to think that three months ago I had a whole cabinet full of drinking glasses, even when I lived alone, and now I contemplate for days before I buy a single glass for less than a dollar. I'm quite enjoying the drastic decrease in my consumption habits.

A new, heavy-duty poncho was my final purchase. Even beyond the "improving my life" classification, this poncho falls into the "absolutely necessary" category. I think monsoon season is nearly upon us; every afternoon the skies have been darkening and grumbling, as if forewarning me...

My other two new items were inherited from Inaki upon his return to Norway: a novel, Girl Meets Boy, by Ali Smith (which he gave me to because he didn't like). I'm always excited to get a new book here, as reading materials are a bit limited for me and I don't love reading books online. (As a side note, I also bought The Pilgrimage, by Paulo Coelho, from a street vendor recently. It's about Coelho's experience walking the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrimage in Spain which will probably be my next adventure. I also learned that Inaki's father is affiliated with overseeing part of the pilgrimage!)

A small Norwegian coin, worth one krone, was the second half of my inheritance from my new friend. I loved the coin--it has a beautiful bird on one side--so he let me have it. I've since turned it into a necklace, as the coin has a hole in the center. It was perfect timing, really. The chain of my locket just broke and I was hoping to come across a new, simple necklace.

Even with my new possessions, my life seems to be drifting back to normal, slowing down like a swing after a child leaves it in mid-motion, losing its fervent momentum. English club, waterfalls, alcohol, university ceremonies and meetings, lessons, Katherine's birthday, Inaki's farewell dinner--the past two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity and very little sleep. But, yes, it seems that I'm back on the way to normal. And recuperation, to some degree: last night I fell asleep at 10pm (while watching Volver) and slept until 8:20 this morning. And then almost fell asleep while I was reading on the beach this afternoon. I'm missing some of the things that filled up my time recently, but I have a list of other things to occupy myself with: lots of Vietnamese studying, starting a Movie Night at the university, finding some volunteer work, spending time with some new female Vietnamese friends including Miss Ha (I only had male friends until recently!), attempting to improve my French and maintain my Spanish (the other day I realized I couldn't remember the word for "cesspool), and trying to do some research on reproductive rights. If I can do nothing else well in this world, I can keep myself busy--and I'm setting myself to it.


Currently listening: Joanna Newsom, "The Milk-Eyed Mender"

Set your DVRs!

Sam will be on Conan tonight!

He's also now in stores everywhere, including the Virgin Megastore in New York. That's him holding the umbrella :) And I guess the deluxe edition beside the normal one? I'm not sure, since the last time I saw the album it was an industry promo copy only...how time flies!

Wired

After exactly one month of spotty wireless internet, I'm happy to announce that I now have a fully-wired internet connection that will (hopefully) be more reliable. The downside of the arrangement is that there's a new hole over my door, and an ugly cable lying tangled across my floor. Further proof that everything is give-and-take. At least now I'll be able to work at my desk--I was having to sit in the far corner of my bed, because it was the only place I got a decent wifi signal!

I'm also glad to report that everything is still marvelous for me. Absolutely wonderful, as always. I'm happier now than I have been in my entire life. Maybe because I live more simply? Have less stuff? Or maybe because I am choosing to be happier, or because I have somewhat of a clean slate here in Vietnam? It's hard to say, I guess, other than to acknowledge that the true cause of my happiness is probably a combination of these and other factors. The most important thing is that I soak up this happiness, allow it expand exponentially, nurture it and help it grow, make it a permanent fixture of myself, like my eyes or hair. Because I don't want to lose it--and that's what scares me most about leaving this place. No, it's what scares me about going back to my old life and old patterns....

But enough waxing philosophic. Back to the gritty details of my life! It's Wednesday here, and today is Katherine's birthday! We're going out to dinner with Steve, Inaki, Maryanne and another volunteer, and then we're all going to the beach with some friends in our building. Vegetarian food, fruit, beach, stars, friends--should be a lovely evening.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was the release of Sam's album with Ben Folds, WAY TO NORMAL. Exciting day for him, and I was a bit sad to miss all the action in NYC, but that's his adventure, and I have mine. The album is doing well, I think. It's currently at number 6 on iTunes. (Although that ranking isn't exactly accurante because there are two versions of the album; one is at 6 and the other is at 18, so the combined ranking would be a bit higher I imagine.)

Further in the past, this weekend was amazing, even if a little to heavy on the alcohol. Friday evening found me out for drinks with Inaki and Katherine, and I made my debut appearance at some of the city's various bars. It felt strange to me, to be around so many westerners, hardly a Vietnamese in sight, music blasting, spending money on alcohol. That hasn't been my life for a while, and returning to it felt like having deja vu from an old dream or something.

Of course, it was still a fun night though. I drank a little too much, stayed up until 2 or so, and then I had to be in a van at 6:30 am to go to Yang Bay with some masters students in my building. Yang Bay is rural park about 40 km from the city, with beautiful waterfalls surround by jungles and mountains. Not surprisingly, the place was beautiful. After hiking off the remains of my hangover in the Vietnamese jungle (we hiked aimlessly for a couple of hours!), I went swimming in the pool at the base of one of the waterfalls. It started raining after a bit, which made the experience even more magical. There I was, sitting in a waterfall, in the rain, in a jungle in Vietnam, surrounded by mountains..... Again, how is this my life? (More pictures at my picasa!)

lounging on a sandbar

climbing up to a waterfall

falling in the strong current

swimming in the waterfall

Recently recovered from Friday evening's activities, I decided that a little more alchohol couldn't hurt. I shared in the beer that everyone was drinking while swimming at the waterfall in the rain. Harmless enough, I guess, especially since I hate beer and only finished half. But then our friend Mr. Tum brought out the home-made snake wine, which, it turns out, I don't hate at all. A few hours and god knows how many shots later, I was speaking Spanish and chiding my friend Habib about why he didn't have a girlfriend since he was such a handsome guy. Then I conked out in the van. Then I fell asleep for a few hours on the bathroom floor of Inaki's hotel room. Not one of my shining moments in life, but I'm putting some of the blame on peer pressure :) And besides--it was a damn good day, no one died, and I was sober by 6:00am the next morning for English Club.

so begin the shots of snake wine

at the house of a friend's sister for dinneractually, it was this guy's sister. and he was nice enough to let me pass out on his shoulder on the way home.

Oh, English Club. Given the total (but tame) debauchery of the rest of my weekend, I'm quite proud of myself for getting up at 6am Sunday morning for English Club. (Not that I had a choice--technically I'm running the whole thing). But here are a couple images for you, my dear readers: Me, with a headache, at 8am on a Sunday morning, wearing a yellow ribbon tied around my head, singing Yankee Doodle in front of 150 Vietnamese students. Me, three hours later, still wearing said ribbon, doing the electric slide in front of said students outside of G6 classroom building. If I had any unhealthy pride before this event, it's gone now. The singing and dancing were bad enough, but did they have to tie that damn yellow ribbon around my head? They said it was to distinguish me as an "English Club Organizer". But I don't there was any risk of mistaking my role--I was the only white girl holding a microphone, singing Yankee Doodle, doing the electric slide, and/or running around frantically trying to make sure the event went smoothly. I think my role was pretty clear without the ribbon!

Not even these slightly humiliating moments can get me down, though. Life is better than ever for me. I've been getting up early, around 6 or so everyday, and one more I even woke up for the sunrise. Absolutely breathtaking. And I'm having so many ideas of things I want to research--but again there's the problem of me having no idea how to do original research in a country where I don't speak the language, don't have a good interpreter, and dont have access to many of my prefereds subject which are considered taboo here--sexuality, reproductive rights, domestic violence. I'm even having some ideas for screenplays. Unfortunately not many ideas for books or poetry--but maybe those will come in time.

Meanwhile, I have go with Tu and Duan to pick out a birthday cake for Katherine! The festivities begin....

It's Electric!

I just taught the electric slide to 20 Vietnamese students in the lobby of a classroom building. I'm wondering where, exactly, were "dance lessons" included in my contract? I'm assuming somewhere in the small print, under the heading "Boogie Woogie Woogie Woogie". And right beside "Singing for Large Groups of People".

While my students are learning the Electric Slide (did I mention I hate that dance?), I'm learning a few more practical things. For example, how to wake up the house manager to let you in the building at midnight or later. They lock my building with a padlock from the inside at around 11pm, so there's no other choice but to knock on the window or rattle the door until the poor guy drags himself out of bed. It would be more logical, I feel, to put a regular lock on the door and give a key to all the residents, but I dont think I have a say in the matter.

I've also learned that the Yasaka hotel, a little 4-star joint in the city, has poor security and the following amenities: free bike parking, two beautiful swimming pools (including one on a roof that overlooks the sea), a bar on the roof of the 11th floor (also overlooking the sea), and nice Western-style toilets in the lobby.

I've learned that this city changes after midnight. The other evening, I was on my way home and passed a large group of men in camoflauge emerging from the brush along the shore; they were carrying big clubs and seemed to be looking for something or someone. I biked more quickly and hoped they wouldn't stop to ask why, exactly, I was coming home so late by myself. Then, last night, I'm pretty sure I passed several groups of people doing drugs. One guy yelled "Lady, I love you!" as I peddled by....

And I've learned that lying on the beach at night, looking up at the stars, with no other company than a cup of bubble tea and my bike, is about as close to bliss as you can get.

Guess who made the front page of the US Embassy website?

We did! Scroll down to "Vietnamese Students Get Glimpse of American College Life".

http://vietnam.usembassy.gov/

Mark your calendars!

Sam's new album, WAY TO NORMAL, will be in a store near you next Tuesday, 30 September! Then, on Thursday, 2 October, he'll be performing on Conan O'Brien. Tune in, because I can't!

And, I just went to log in to Myspace and found that the Folds album premiere was featured on the main page.

Things like the Myspace page feature make me feel closer to the excitement of the album release, but nevertheless I'm a bit sad to be missing the Conan performance and such.

I can't believe that the album will be out next week. On one hand, it feels like they were just recording yesterday. But on the other hand, that part of my life feels so far and distant from my life now....

How far is that from Smallville?

Business is picking up! I'm getting a lot busier now that all of my classes are meeting (my Mon/Tue classes have been canceled for the past two weeks). This week I'm also busy with preparations for English Club, which will meet at 7:30 am this coming Sunday. Yep. Bright and early Sunday morning. Because every weeknight and every Saturday is occupied with classes. (Katherine, in fact, was asked to teach a class on Saturday nights from 6pm until 9pm. She said no.)

Putting on the English Club, which normally draws some 200 students, is a lot of work. The English department and 4th year English majors are helping, though. My primary responsibility is organizing an activity about American Independence Day. I also have to help teach a song to the club goers. Just go ahead and imagine me teaching "Yankee Doodle" to 200 Vietnamese students at 7:30 on a Sunday morning. I can't decided if this is a step up or down from doing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes".

My Monday and Tuesday classes going well, not surprisingly. (I say not surprisingly because everything in my life seems to be going well.) They're both classes with English major students, which means the classes are smaller, much more advanced, and mainly girls. Quite a big jump from my classes of 50 to 60 boys who catch about 30% of everything I say. Another difference from my non-major classes is that neither of my English major classes asked me to sing, nor did they ask personal questions about my romantic status. Instead, they asked me to give tips on reducing the stress of university life. And one boy, after hearing that I live in Nashville (I went with that because I thought it might sound more interesting than Lawrenceburg), asked me how far it was from Smallville. "As in, Smallville the TV show?", I asked. Yes, Smallville the TV show, he meant. The poor boy seemed really disappointed to learn that the town was fictional. I wonder if he thinks the events in "Smallville" are real, too? Surely not...

I'm starting to feel excited about having more work to do. It's really easy here for me to stay in a semi-vacation mode, and although that's been nice for the past few weeks, it's feeling good to be productive and helpful. I'm in a position to be quite helpful here--not that I'm smarter, or more knowledgeable, or here to "save" their English program. They're just short-staffed in the English department, which is, furthermore, only a year old. And in learning a language, it's always helpful to have a native speaker on hand. Finding a good line between work and play, though, is proving a bit difficult. I could work all day, every day, and still find more to do. Or I could just skimp on my work and go to the beach every day. Ms. Hong, my boss, always reminds me that I will face "many challenges" in Viet Nam because it's a developing country. Until now, I've assured her that I'm not really having any challenges. But today, as she was telling me for 100th time about "challenges", I wanted to say, "Yes, there is one big challenge--it's that beach right over there!!" I want to enjoy living in Vietnam, and I also want to contribute and be useful in the way that university needs me. I'm sure that after another week or two I'll strike a good balance, though.

I think part of the balance will involve soaking up every ounce of weekend, especially when they're as wonderful as mine was this last weekend. I had such a great time that I hardly remembered I'd planned to go to Hue. Saturday found me up and out at 6:30 am to get coffee with friends and go to Duan's tae kwon do competition, which was supposed to be at 8am. We waited until 10 before learning that his match had been rescheduled for 2. Katherine and I used the free time to scout out a new vegetarian restaurant, which was delicious, and a new bubble tea place, which we've confirmed is the best in the city.

Duan in his uniform

Duan kicking butt!

Duan getting pointers from his coach in between rounds

A tiny kitten in the vegetarian restaurant. I shouldn't really be touching animals, but I couldn't resist this one!

I also found my way (quite by accident) into what I call "Vietnamese Bracelet Torture": There are these little green jade bracelets that are really popular here. They're solid--they dont have a clasp or anything, so you just have to slide them over your hand. But the style/tradition is to wear the smallest ones possible, which means that putting them on involves scrunching your hand up to a painful degree while someone forces the bracelet over your hand. A teacher here was wearing one of the bracelets and told me about the process, but I didn't fully realize how painful it is until I stumbled upon the bracelets in a littler store and impulsively decided to go for it. It's a bit of a commitment because once the bracelet is on, you have to break it to get it off. But the bracelets are only about 3 dollars and very Vietnamese, so I decided it was worth it. The woman in the shop, a tiny Vietnamese lady in her 60s probably (and who was wearing one of the said bracelets), went and got a bowl of soapy water and her husband to help. She squatted down on the floor, and I did the same. After splashing soap water on my hand, she folded my hand in half and started pulling the bracelet down over my hand while her husband held my fingers and pulled them the other way. It was like they were playing tug of war. But it hurt like HELL. This went on for several minutes and finally I couldn't take it anymore. The pain was excruciating, between my hand being folded in half and the bracelet scraping against my bones. I was almost crying, squeezing Katherine's hand so much that she was probably in as much pain as I was.... I was yelling at the woman to stop, and trying to pull my hand away, but she REFUSED to let my hand go. There I was, writhing in agony as my torturer tried to fit the tiny jade bracelet over my hand. Finally, after much screaming on my part and Katherine's, I escaped. The woman went to get more soap, but I politely declined and walked away. My hand was sore and bruised, but it's getting better now. I'd still really like to have one of the bracelets, but I think I just need one a tiny bit bigger. Once my hand heals I'll give it another shot. In the mean time, this was (after the fact, at least) one of the strangest and most hilarious experiences I've had here...

all fun and games...

...until it really starts to hurt.....

...and despite my physical efforts, the old woman won't let go of my hand...

victory in escaping, failure in putting on the bracelet

Sunday, Katherine and I met Inaki at Louisiane beach. There, we also ran into Maryanne and her husband, Chris. I love running into people here--in the market, in the city, at the beach. It makes me feel like such a resident! It was a gorgeous day, maybe the best since I've been here. And I managed to avoid another full-body sunburn! (I'm still peeling from the last one, actually).

On Sunday evening we went for ice cream with Tu and Duan to celebrate the latter's second-place win at the tae kwon do competition. Katherine and I insisted on paying, since we were celebrating Duan's victory. After sternly forbidding him to pay, we learned that in Vietnamese culture, it's traditional for the "winner" to pay, not the other way around, like in America. If we weren't such good friends, I would have been worried about offending him. Oh, the triumphs and tragedies of cultural exchange!


During our celebratory ice cream outing, I also had my first experience with durian. It's a foul-smelling and tasting fruit that Vietnamese people seem to love. In fact, they love it so much, they make durian ice cream. If anyone can explain to me the appeal of ice cream made from a fruit that tastes like rotten eggs, I would be eternally grateful. Durian is one of two things here that I actively dislike; the other is an herb with a strong fish flavor. Eew!

I'm trying to soak up what could be the last sunny days for a while. It seems to be hotter than ever, though, so I've been trying to get up earlier (by 7am) to take advantage of the "cool" mornings. Evening bike rides into the city are becoming a favorite activity for me, as well. It's just too hot to be out and about and midday--unless you're at the beach!

I've also just discovered the beauty of Project Gutenberg. I just finished reading "The Metamorphosis", which I somehow missed in high school and was able to download from Gutenberg. Next up is "Through the Looking Glass", and I'm still working my way through "A Room of One's Own." Vietnam is as good a place as any to catch up on American classics, right?

In closing, I can't remember the last time I had a bad day. And I really, really like that feeling.

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.

Weekend in Hue

I'm off for the weekend! Looking forward to spending time with old friends, and visiting some old (ancient!) imperial sites....

There's a bird nest on my moquito net!

Fortunately, the past week has been 95% sunny. Unfortunately, the pleasant weather (along with increased work responsibilities) has pushed blogging further down my list of priorities. At any moment, monsoon rains could start again, and I've been trying to take advantage of the freedom and mobility that sunny days allow.

A bit of an update, though. The Full Moon Celebration was a huge success. (All the photos are at picasaweb.google.com/malloryimlervn). I bought lots of food, Katherine helped me prepare everything, Tu and Duan took care of lanterns, kites, and sparklers. I invited the entire building, and nearly everyone came--even the family with three small children that lives down the hall! We therefore had people from America, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Ecuador. We ate some fruit and cakes in my room before heading to the beach, where we celebrated by singing, dancing, playing games, lighting sparklers and lanterns, and attempting (ie, failing) to release some large, flying lanterns into the sky. The beach was full of people gathered in circles around candles and bonfires. Luckily the night was clear, warm with a breeze. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, and I can't remember the last time I went to the beach at night.... As I stood on the shore with my new friends, toes in the sand and watching flying lanterns being released to the full moon (by more successful beach-goers), I again found myself thinking, "How is this my life???"

Classes are going really well. My two English major classes have been canceled the past two weeks because the students are working with a visiting professor, so I've just been meeting with my three non-major English classes. Two of the classes are all boys (about 50 of them), and one class has nearly 50 boys and 5 or 6 girls. A skewed ratio, but I guess that's what I should have expected with naval architecture and IT students. After singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" in the first class, I thought things couldn't get any more embarrassing. But then, in my third class, the students were asking me questions in English to get to know me (and practice their english!), and one boy stood up and asked me out in front of the entire class. The fact that I had a boyfriend (he'd already covered that question) didn't seem to matter. In fact, when I turned him down, he proceeded to ask a series of questions about Sam. There was no stopping the guy!

I've managed to avoid giving out my mobile number to many students, thankfully (and despite persistent requests from the boy who asked me out). Other Fulbrighters have been bombarded with texts and calls from students, many of whom they don't know or don't even have in class. Apparently their phone numbers have just been circulated through the student body. When asked for my number in class, I just smile and say "It's a secret!" ( a great tip I got from Katherine).

Katherine and I have been doing some more exploring, as well. We visited the Po Nagar Cham Towers (pics also on picasa), which were stunning. The site is actually about 4 minutes from where I live, and I walk by it several times a week, but only got around to visiting this weekend. I can't believe I live so close to such a place. We also made it to Long Son Pagoda (a bit by accident, and only after first stumbling into a different/wrong pagoda and interrupting some monks' lunch). At Long Son, we found a great vegetarian restaurant. I was wearing a sleeveless top, though, and felt uncomfortable going into the actual pagoda, so that activity was postponed.

We've also been doing some biking, which has been nice exercise for me. Katherine gets up everymorning and goes running and swimming at 5:30 am. Not surprisingly, I don't join her.

I've befriended a visiting professor from Ho Chi Minh City, who's here for the week. He joined our Moon Celebration, and the next day, invited me to go swimming at the "sea beach" with him. I accepted, insisting that Katherine tag along. At the designated hour, we met to go to the beach, but it had started raining a bit. Intending to get wet anyway, we ignored the rain and carried on with our plan. The rain made me hesitant, but had I backed out of the plan, I would have missed another "How is this my life?" moment: We got to the beach at dusk. It had stopped raining, but the clouds--always epic here--continued to swirl above us in shades of gray, a combination of rainclouds and the impending nightfall. Hardly anyone was at the beach. I swam out, a little aways from my friends, and I lied floating on my back, arms outstretched, staring up at the sky. The water around my face eliminated my peripheral vision, so that all I could see was a patch of sky above me, the gray clouds catching the last flashes of sunlight and shifting further into darkness. And all I could hear, with my ears submerged in the sea, was the muffled sounds of the tide coming ad going, lapping against my face. My senses detected nothing but sky and water as I floated at dusk in the Pacific Ocean, and I wondered how I could have possibly come to be there, in that perfect moment. When I finally pulled myself out of the water--it was dark--I sat on the beach and enjoyed some bubble tea that we'd brought to the "sea beach" with us. The sense of awe continued.

On a lighter note, I had less perfect, but more comical, "How is this my life?" moment this morning. Last week I realized that a bird was building a nest in the fan of my AC. The fan is in the wall above my bed, and opens to the outside without a screen or anything to keep out creatures. Not wanting a bird's nest in my AC fan (for lots of reasons, bird flu and noise being two), I checked to make sure there were no eggs or babies, and when the bird was gone, I turned the fan on to prevent it from coming back. I felt bad for evicting the poor bird from its otherwise well-selected home (it was shielded from the rain and elements, as it was half-way in my room), but I'm just not that hospitable. I thought the problem was solved. But the past few days, the fan has been hitting the twigs of the half-built nest and making lots of noise. In an effort to stop the noise, last night I climbed up on my bed and began to tap the face of the fan with Katherine's mosquito zapping racket. After a few taps, the face of the fan fell off. I managed to catch it right as it started to fall, but the nest started to fall out as well. There I was, alone, stranded, standing on the headboard of my bed, using both hands to hold up the face of the fan and prevent the nest from falling entirely into my room. Finally I got the face of the fan back into place somewhat, but I could tell it was a temporary fix that I'd have to deal with again in the morning.

Morning comes. I open my eyes and see that the top of my mosquito net is littered with twigs, leaves, and bird feathers. I roll over and see that the face of the fan has fallen and is virtually in my bed, right next to my head. (Luckily, the mosquito net kept it from falling entirely into my bed.) Then, I look up to find that the rest of the nest, of course, is dangling precariously from the fan, in my room. And this is what I think, while chuckling at my unique predicament and carefully climbing out from under by mosquito net: "There's a bird's next in my room (half on my mosquito net!) and fan on my pillow. How is this my life?"

I decided that I would wait to deal with the problem for 20 minutes until Tu and Duan came to meet me and 9am, and could talk to the house manager for me. When the boys arrived, though, and I pointed out my problem, they jumped into action themselves. Duan climed up on my headboard and pulled down the remains of the bird's nest himself, using a chopstick (not just for eating and repairing sinks!) to scrape out the littlest pieces. Tu swept up the mess on the floor. Then Duan, seeing how dirty (ie, almost furry) the fan was, picked it up from my bed, took it into the bathroom and washed it 'til it shined. Afterwards, he put it back up, and moved by bed back into its proper location. What friends. (Photos of all of this will be on picasa soon :)

The reason that the boys were coming at 9 was to help me book a bus ticket to Hue. After ridding my AC fan and room of bird's nest, they walked me to a little kiosk near campus and did all the necessary talking for me to reserve a seat on the bus. I really dont' know what I would do without them. But do know that I might still have a a bird's nest on my mosquito net, and I might not have a bus ticket! They're even walking me to the bus stop tomorrow night, since I dont' know where it is.

The bus ticket, furthermore, is for my first weekend trip!! I'm going to Hue after class on Thursday, on the bus to meet some Fulbright friends. The trip is 12 hours, but I'm going on an overnight bus and I reserved a sleeper. I'm hoping it will be just like sleeping on a tour bus again. :) I'm excited to do some traveling, and I'm sooo excited to see Becca and Jahmila again!! Fulbright reunion, part one!

In literary news, I just finished a book called THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE, by Denise Chong, about the famous photo of the little girl running after being burned by napalm. The book chronicles the life of the girl, Kim Phuc, including information about her family, the political/war events, and even the photographers and journalists who were responsible for the photo, its fame, and, ultimately, Kim's survival. Incredible book, and an incredible story. I strongly recommend! Now I'm reading A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN, by Virgina Woolf. It's about time I read this one!

Apart from reading, planning weekend trips, nightswimming and teaching, I've been thinking a lot about two things. First is how I can be most useful and helpful here, not only to the university for this academic year, but in more sustainable ways. Second is what the hell I'm going to do with myself when I come home next July, and for the rest of my life in general. I'm focusing much more on the former, clearly, but the latter is getting some time, as well. Can't I just stay a Fulbright ETA forever?

Normal People Do It Too

Trailer for the new album and DVD....I love the kitschy flames!

You Don't Know Me

Sammy's music video debut! Official video for the single "You Don't Know Me (feat. Regina Spektor)", from the boys' upcoming album Way To Normal, which will be released on 30 September. Directed by the infamous Tim and Eric, and with a surprise celeb cameo... :)

Dry spell, sink repairs, first classes and a bike ride

The rain gods have shown some mercy! Yesterday morning and afternoon brought only light rain, although the evening was pretty soaked. And today it hasn’t rained at all! There might be hope, after all.

The lack of rain has made for a couple of busy days. Katherine (who, by the way, brought me breakfast for the second time yesterday morning—see below!) and I took advantage of the mild weather on Tuesday to take the 5 into town, go to a favorite bakery, stop at the “super”market, and get bubble tea. It started pouring at one point, but by that time we were waiting at a covered bus stop and we didn’t mind the rain. In our evening venture for dinner, at which point the rains were heavy, I began to realize that the expensive “waterproof” Northface slicker I bought back home isn’t really that waterproof. I’m considering trading it in for a full-length, heavy duty poncho.

Breakfast! Wrapped up in a banana leaf....

...with corn, peanuts, some myserterious white grain, and shredded coconut. Delicious! and only 2000 d, or 12 cents.

I did invest (about $7!) in a pair of knock-off Chaco sandals to help me survive the rainy season. They’re waterproof and have a top and back strap to make sure I don’t lose a sandal in a rush of rainwater (a real possibility, my frieds). Flip flops just slide around in the mud and flip water and dirt onto the backs of my legs. Somehow, though, the locals manage to wear them in the rains and stay squeaky clean. It’s beyond me.

This morning I had planned to sleep in, but I woke up suddenly at 7:30 and remembered that I had an 8am meeting. Lucky for me! I had totally forgotten about the meeting otherwise. While I was walking to the meeting, a teacher on a motorbike who I’d never met, but who knew my name nonetheless, stopped me. She started talking to me about books for the pronunciation class that I was team-teaching with her. But, like I said, I’d never met her, and furthermore I’d never heard a thing about this pronunciation class. She finally realized I was confused. I explained the class wasn’t on my schedule and I didn’t know anything about it, and she, now confused herself, got my email and mobile number and said she’d get back to me.

I went on to my meeting, with Ms. Lan Anh, one of the teachers I’m team-teaching with. We reviewed the lesson plan for tomorrow’s class, which was strangely exciting for me. She’s young—only 24—but just from the meeting today it seems that’s she’s a very good teacher. And, luckily for me, she gets the concept of “team teaching”. She’s giving me responsibilities but isn’t abandoning me to teach the course. As a Fulbright ETA, I’m not allowed to teach classes by myself but only work as a TA. Despite this rule, several other Fulbrighters have been thrown into a full course of load of classes that they’re expected to teach alone. I’m feeling fortunate that everyone at my university understands what my role is. I thus avoid the awkward situation of having to contact Fulbright, have them remedy the situation, and in doing so probably step on the toes of several of my university higher-ups.

As I was leaving the rather successful meeting with Lan Anh, Ms. Hong, my boss, flagged me down. I’m team teaching a listening class with her, and we talked about that for a while. I also asked her about this mysterious pronunciation class I’d just heard about. “Oh! Yes, I forgot!” was her primary response. Such is life here, and I’m totally fine with it so far. She wasn’t sure if there would be enough students for the class, which is why she didn’t talk to me about it before. Now, though, it’s looking like this class will happen after all. I was happy to take on another class-that’s what I’m here for—but I was a little disappointed that it met Mondays and the last two periods on Friday afternoons. I was looking forward to having Friday afternoons off to travel, and, after October 18th when my Friday class ends, taking long weekends to travel. Feeling bad for increasing my work load, and at the last minute, Ms. Hong said it was ok if I missed some Friday classes as long as I went to the Monday sessions. Plus, the new class stops meeting on October 29th, which would still leave all of November for long weekends. Sounds just fine to me! And I think Ms. Hong was really pleased that I agreed to take on another class. It’s just not a big deal to me—I’m here to help.

Given the “dry spell”, I decided to go out to find lunch (as opposed to eating whatever fruit, carrots, and crackers I had lying around). While I was walking, the French-speaking, banana treat-selling man intercepted me. Warmly greeting me in French and shaking my hand as usual, he decided that I needed to sit down and talk to him for a while. He grabbed my wrist, pulled me over to a little plastic stool, sat me down, and gave me a banana treat on the house, and quizzed me in French about all my biographical information that I’d told him multiple times before. This man continues to be a highlight in my days here. He’s missing most of this teeth, hard to understand in all of the three languages we use (English, French, and Vietnamese), but he’s so genuine and generous. He’s always sincerely happy to see Katherine and me—we patronize him nearly every evening—and he’s taken to giving us free bananas. The things cost 6 cents, so they’re pratically free anyway, but to him that 6 cents is a big deal.

After lunch, our friend Tu stopped by. I realized that I should have him help me with the sink problem I’m having—my sink was falling out of the wall, and I was terrified that it was going to fall and crush my feet one morning while I was sleepily brushing my teeth. There was no way I could communicate this to the house manager, so I got Tu translate for me. I figured getting the sink fixed would take days, or weeks—especially since I’ve mentioned the problem to International Relations director, and even pointed out the dangling sink to the house manager once before. To my astonishment, though, the house manager was actually doing repairs in another room on the floor and had the tools—and several guys to help—on hand.

The method of repair, though, was not what I expected. First, Tu and the house manager took the sink of the wall and pulled out the flimsy brackets. I assumed that they would just drill new holes and rehang the brackets, but I was hoping they’d fill the old holes to prevent ants coming in. Then, when Tu indicated that the house manager needed to break up some chopsticks of mine, I thought he was using them to just fill the holes. He rammed the chopsticks into the holes, hammered them firmly, and then broke off the remaining wood. To my surprise, though, he then re-fastened the brackets into the old holes, which were now stuffed with wood. He had merely used the chopsticks to create more firm braces for the sink brackets. I questioned the structural integrity of this plan at first, but now the sink seems steady. Pretty damned creative and resourceful, if you ask me. The only problem now is that the sink sticks out too far and the bathroom door gets stuck when I try to shut it. So goes life in Vietnam. :)

Tu and the house manager fixing my sink....

The house manager using chopsticks to re-hang my sink.

The sink was fixed just in time for me to leave for my first class this afternoon! Miss Ha, also at the ripe age of 24, picked me up on her motorbike to take me to the classroom building, the location of which I didn’t know. She had warned me that the class was all boys who were “very excited” to meet me, and she was right. I walked into a room with 51 boys—some a bit older than me—who were giddy at my arrival. I even caught some of them taking pictures of me with their mobiles. Miss Ha, who seems to pride herself on her laid-back classroom atmosphere, stood me in front of the 51 young men and opened up the floor for questions. She didn’t introduce me but forced the students to generate questions for me in English. A great idea, in theory. The questions, though, quickly degenerated into whether or not I was married—this is a standard question here in Vietnam, but it took on an especially awkward feeling in this setting. The very worst though—and I should have expected this—was a request from one student for me to sing a song. Also a standard question in this country. I quickly flashed back to Dien Bien Phu, where all the Fulbrighters were asked to sing a song on the spot for an audience of students, teachers, administrators, and even a comrade who had basically been sent to “police” us. We had pulled off a rendition of “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, and, today, while standing in front of a room of my male peers/pupils, it was this children’s song that I fell back on. I sang it once, entirely mortified, and then made them sing along. I seemed to make up for my musical (in)ability, though, by spitting out a couple sentences in Vietnamese, which earned me an uproarious applause. All said, the class went really well, I think. Miss Lan Anh dismissed my boss’s suggestion that I just observe for the first day, and we kind of winged my participation in the day’s lesson.

While we had a break during the class, Lan Anh took me to the teacher’s room. From the window of the room, I saw a beautiful, old, stone building, draped in ivy and vines and nestled into a lush hillside. I asked Lan Anh what it was, and she told me it was the teacher dormitory, and that she, in fact, lived there. I then noticed a cross on the top of the building, and it all made sense—the building was part of the old French convent that was later converted into the university (back in the 70s when the government confiscated all church property). The building is absolutely beautiful—it looks like something from the 18th century. I hear it lacks basic amenities like running water, so I think the comparison actually extends further than the exterior appearance. The locals don’t seem to appreciate the aesthetics of the building, though: It’s made of stone and, traditionally, the only Vietnamese buildings made of stone are prisons.
Satifisfied with my first class, I embarked on my next adventure for the day—a bike ride into town with Katherine to have dinner at a vegetarian restaurant. Yes, a bike ride! Today was overcast, but it didn’t rain all day and the clouds hovered in dramatic hues over the tips the surrounding mountains. Absolutely stunning. And it was such a beautiful evening, not hot at all with the clouds and a light breeze. Additionally, the ride into town is really quite pleasant—the road runs right along the beach. I was so happy to finally get some use out of my bike (other than as a drying rack)!

the view from the bridge while biking into town...

the lit-up structure in the middle there is the Po Nagar Cham tower

on the main street in in the city

We easily found the vegetarian place, and for under 2 dollars combined, we enjoyed a small feast. We each had a large plate of rice, vegetables, varieties of tofu and spring rolls, a small bowl of vegetable soup for each of us, and we split a larger bowl of vermicelli soup. Cold green tea was included. Impressive, right? The food was incredible—Sam, I can’t wait to take you here!—and the ride down there was equally amazing.

inside Au Lac vegetarian restaurant

a feast for two!

After dinner we decided to stop at pharmacy. Katherine has developed a strange rash on her face and she wanted to have it looked at. We rode our bikes down the street to a pharmacy we knew, and I watched the bikes as she went to the counter to get medicine. Here’s how it went down:

(We pull up to the pharmacy. Katherine gets off her bike.)
K: So, do you know how to say “itchy rash” in Vietnamese?
M: Hm…no, sorry.
(She goes to the counter anyway. 5 minutes later, she comes back to the bikes, having purchased some cream.)
M: Did you get some medicine for it?
K: Yeah. They gave me a cream for eczema or skin lesions or something.
M: Great!
K: Yeah, I thought this would be better than the genital herpes medicine they offered me.
(We both laugh so hard that we can’t pedal our bikes and have to stop.)

We’ll see how the cream works, I guess!

We also stopped at Maximark so that I could buy an extension cord. When I came home from my class today, I’d found that Steve had bought a lamp for me. It was hanging on my door knob in plastic bag (just like my breakfast was yesterday!). He and I were both looking for a non-florescent lamp for our rooms, and I guess he found them. He is really so generous—I’m currently using his bike helmet, as well, since I don’t have one yet and he generally rides his motorbike.


After a quick stop at the bakery, Katherine and I mounted our bikes for the trip home. While I was pedaling down the street, a man drove by on his motorbike and yelled to me in stunningly good English, “Hello! Welcome to my city!”. He smiled, and the two little girls on the back of the back waved. He slowed down so that I caught up with him, and proceeded to start a conversation with me. There I was, riding a bike in traffic for the first time, dodging vans, cars, and motorbikes, and trying to maintain a conversation with this guy. Only in Vietnam! Luckily his English was nearly perfect, and he understood everything I said despite the traffic noise around us. It turns out he’s a tour guide in the city, and that he lives right by the university. When it came time to part ways, he said that he hoped he’d meet me again. And, knowing the magic of Vietnam, he probably will.

Back home, Katherine and I took our bikes back up to our rooms and headed out for a banana treat. I decided to take a present for the man, and opted for one of the several hats I got from the owner of the bike shop. Just passing along the generosity. That's one thing I'm really noticing changing in myself--an increased impulse to be generous. Everyone here is just sooo disproportionately generous, considering what they have, and I dont see how anyone could be here for long without feeling themselves more compelled to give, as well. So I gave the hat. And I'm doing other things, as well, that I'm keeping as my own little secrets.

I like how I am here. Happy, rested, informed, multilingual, flexible, patient, open, calmer, more tolerant of insects, reading more, increasingly generous and decreasingly dependent on the excess energy I consume as an American. What scares me about returning to my "American life" is the possibility of losing all this....

The Stopping Power of Water

Monsoon season is here, and it's not fucking around. It has literally rained for two nights and days without stop, and will continue to do so for the next three months or so. Maybe a day of sun here and there. I can't exactly get my head around it. And I definitely didn't bring proper shoes for it.

I stayed in for most of the day, but I finally mustered the courage to leave the building when Katherine invited me to get che across the street. I walked down the road, but ultimately refused to go into the cafe because there was a river of several inches of standing water in front of it and I didn't want to completely ruin my shoes. This, John Mearsheimer, is the stopping power of water, a phenomenon that applies to more than just great power politics.

Luckily Katherine got the che to go. Che is a pretty broad term for a variety of drink-like treats. In Hanoi I had one with lots of fruit and grass jelly in a sweet juice of some sort. Today, it had black beans, white beans, tapioca, plantain bananas and coconut milk with ice. So tasty, and healthy too! It was worth trudging out in the rain, and definitely worth the 4000 dong (about 25 cents).

Other than trekking out for dinner in the pouring rain--Katherine and I were starving, and Steve needed dinner too--I've been inside all day. I guess I'm just going to have to get used to being damp for the next few months.

I did manage to do some laundry today (there's a washer downstairs) and discovered that while I won't be riding my new bike much during the rainy season, it will still get some use as a drying rack.


I finally met some of the other residents of the building, too! I ran into a few today while I was taking out the trash. There are some Vietnamese, some Chinese, a couple guys from Bangladesh. Then, tonight, night there was a knock on my door. I answered to find a guy that I'd never met before. Without introducing himself or anything, he asked me if I was free and if I could come upstairs to talk with him and his friends. He said that the atmosphere of the building was "boring" because everyone was just in their rooms closed doors. And without further information, Katherine and I were swept upstairs and suddenly found ourselves sitting in some girls' room, eating sesame candy and chum chum, and chatting with two Vietnamese girls, a few vietnamese guys and the two guys from Bangladesh. A little strange at first, but ultimately fun and informative. I'm excited about new friends, and I like this multiculturalism! At one point we were comparing the status of unwed mothers in our respective countries. In America, it's not a big deal. In Vietnam, it's still kind of shameful but much less so than in the past. In Bangladesh, the woman is beaten by her family.

The best news of the day is that I will be hosting a Full Moon Celebration in my room on Sunday! My friend Duan asked me tonight if he could organize the celebration in my room, and although I was hesitant at first, I came to senses and agreed. OF COURSE I will host a Full Moon Celebration! Apparently it will be Sunday night, and it will involve flying lanterns, games, and lots of new friends. Horray for full moons in Viet Nam!


Currently listening: Nick Drake, Pink Moon

To market, to market

This morning, Katherine, Tu, Duan and I met for coffee at 8:30, and then we all walked down to the market near campus . Katherine and I needed supplies to make fresh spring rolls, and the boys tagged along and took these photos. Thanks, boys! (For more photos, see Tu's picasa here.)

drinking coffee at a little shop nearby (katherine, tu, and me)

Duan reading my palm and drawing flowers on my fingertips (long story)

Walking to the market, we found this little ceramic dog for sale at a flower shop.

at the market.....

buying veggies (so inexpensive here!!!!)

and buying fresh tofu...

and fresh vermicelli...

finishing up by buying fruit...

...and finally back at home!

In the afternoon, Katherine and I went for a walk to explore a part of the neighborhood we'd never visited. We found another market, where I bought this little rug for 7000 dong, or about 45 cents. Hopefully it will prevent the floor outside my bathroom from getting completely wet when I shower.

Finally, Katherine and I attempted to make fresh spring rolls from the rice paper, veggies, and tofu we bought at the market. We checked out the kitchen in the building, but it was....terrifying. We opted to borrow Steve's hot water maker to make water to soften the rice paper. All said, the spring rolls proved to be quite tasty: tofu, cucumber, lettuce, basil, mint, bean sprouts, soy sauce and vegetarian fish sauce. Given that we had no kitchen and only 2 bowls and a plate, I think we did pretty damn well! (Note: We clean all of our fruits and veggies with special baby bottle/veggie/fruit cleanser!)

ingredients

Aaaand....here's my new bike!! Steve has loaned me a great bicycle helmet (he has a spare, and he drives a motorbike anyway) until I buy my own.


In other news, I was supposed to start classes tomorrow, but my Monday classes have been canceled. I'm a little disappointed but it's moderated by the fact that now I don't have to get up at 6am (my first class on Mondays is at 7!).

Also, it has started raining. I was right. Last night and tonight have brought torrential rains. It seems to be only be raining at night and in the morning right now, and the days are still sunny. I can handle this, but I assume monsoon season only gets more intense. And just as my sunburn is starting to go away!

Back in the real world, Sam is having an exciting day. He's playing a Folds show with the Nashville Symphony tonight! (Read more here.) At this moment, in fact, he's probably heading to rehearsal. I'm so proud of him. As happy as I am here, and as little as I want to go back, there are a few things I'm sad to miss. This is one of them. Hopefully I'll be able to do some youtube stalking tomorrow...