WiFi Hallelujah

It's even closer than I thought to the hotel we are staying in!  And only for the price of coffee - guaranteed to be the most delicious in the world, per usual.  Like anywhere else, you take your coffee black, if you're a man that is, but it tastes so chocolatey, bitter sweet, that there's really no need to even consider diluting it with milk.

I've been MIA recently, but I that's kind of the norm here in Vietnam, you drop off the grid for a few days until society tugs at you hard enough to rope you right back in.  But, I wouldn't have it any other way - kind of like how I am back at home anyways.  Anyhow, I am currently in the province of Quang Tri, as to the specifics, I probably can't tell you/ don't really know/ you wouldn't know,so we'll just move past the trivialities.  For those of you who don't know the history of Quang Tri, it was essentially the most devastated part of Vietnam during the war.  It was where the country was split between North and South and where America decided to say 'F*in A,' and then bombed away.

My roommate's name is Anh (which means brother) and he is the man.  In the roommate letter I received from him before we met up, he began describing his appearance and then frankly and truthfully wrote "Imagine an Asian boy, and that is what I look like."  Humor is quite humorous in Vietnam.  In one conversation about music with our Vietnamese counterparts, I was told "I like Flamenco music, do you know it?!" "I like pop music, have you heard this song?" (they all know it, but it is nothing any of the Americans have heard) "I like Celine Dion" "Who are the Beatles?" ... = GLORIOUS

Last night we had an opening ceremony (your boy made the opening speech - on behalf of the Dookies and myself) , which consisted of us, several people we are working with, and government officials.  Not only did we botch singing the YMCA reading it off a computer nonetheless - to the confused faces of Vietnamese people who could not quite understand how we knew our own pop culture so poorly - but we did it to some stoic looking faces.  However, these same stoic faces were also the must exuberant when it came their time to sing Karaoke, and they all sang Karaoke.

The days are as follows: breakfast is at 5 AM and you can get one of many soupy options, although Pho (which I highly recommend) is a staple here, or you can stick to the worldwide classic - an egg and cheese sandwich.  Breakfast aside, we eat rice, a lot of rice, and then we sit and eat more rice.  The food is delectable and served family style.  Today, we split into two teams and started our construction projects.  My team is building a restroom for an elementary school.  It is quite a bit further away than where the other team is building a parking structure, but the bike ride there is so beautiful that it's definitely worth the 15 lost minutes of sleep.  Then we have a 3 hour Siesta when I get to kick back in the hammock I set up on the patio outside our room, before it's off to teaching high school kids English.  This too is quite amusing.

See ya when you come visit, because I ain't leaving!  Hey! I do have tar on my heels after all, y'all!