Where Does the Time Go?

I can't believe it has been more than 10 days since my last blog, but that doesn't mean that nothing has happened.  Either I have been too busy to get somewhere with internet access, or as of late, the township I am staying in as a whole, has lacked internet access.
Last Friday was our last day of teaching the high school kids in Quang Tri :(( so we let them design the class (all games all day, plus karoake - standard).  It was very sad to leave them, and there was no shortage in paparazzi to document this moment.
Saturday brought an unusual start to our morning as instead of leaving for the caves, we were forced to pack our belongings and head to another hotel (security breach).  The trip to the caves was almost put on hold a day due to lengthy police questioning of my peers (the police here are very judicious and thorough).  This was not enough to hold us back however and all (minus 3 of our Vietnamese counterparts) made the late morning 3 hour trek to the caves.  To say the least they were extraordinary and I believe there is talk about including them in the 7 wonders of the world (not having been to all of the others, this statement is unfair but, I think it definitely should be awarded this standing).  There are water caves and there are dry caves (which you climb 356 stairs to get to - I counted on the way down, because I was ludicrously told it was 1,000 stairs).  In the water caves, Juan Pablo and I jumped into the water, much to the amusement of the other tourists and boat captains, and much to the bewilderment of our Vietnamese counterparts (many of whom cannot swim and were scared for us).
On Sunday, our last day at the worksite, I videod our bikeride to work which was slightly abbreviated due to the hotel switch, but I was very satisfied with the documentary.  Granted, there is no such thing as a normal bike ride to work in Vietnam, I was not surprised when my chain came off midway through the trip.  We finished the bathroom, mural and all, and it looks amazing, except for the fact that there is a 'CET - Duke Engage' plaque on the front.  They at least could have included UNC!
Monday brought one of the busiest days on our trip.  It started with a full team bikeride to the elementary school where we all took pictures in front of the newly constructed and operational restroom (which I ceremoniosuly christened the day before).  Next we rode to the Youth Center where we took pictures underneath the parking (bike) shelter that the other team had built.  After the final midday meal at our lunch spot, it was back to the Youth Center to rehearse for the nighttime closing ceremony.  After rehearsals and a team of collegiate students were soaked in sweat, we headed to a farewell banquet with everyone that we had worked with in Quang Tri.  The food was aplenny and there were hotpots abound.  The montage I made seemed to be a hit and it put a smile on the faces of the construction workers that we worked with, which made me feel relieved.  The closing ceremony collered shirts that we were given  had me feeling like a park ranger in Disney World and thus sufficiently signaled that we were ready to perform in one last hurrah.  The closing ceremony was quite humbling: the gymnasium was overflooding with people, there were TV cameras and photographers, all of the students showed up and many performed, and your boy was given the honor of accepting the gift that Quang Tri bestowed upon CET (a framed poster of a sunset with a Vietnamese poem, at whose meaning I cannot even venture a guess).  It was going all too perfectly until I was informed that Tuan and I would be the first performers of the night.  We sang 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' - Tuan had learned it earlier that day so that I wouldn't have to go at it alone (I half tipsilly decided to throw my hat in the ring in the first place), he's a trooper like that.  Anyways, let's just say that the future performances had nowhere to go but up from that point; at least that much I can be proud of.  The students were adorable, they presented us with gifts, most notably a framed picture of all of us together with "We Are Unity" inscribed on it (the song we had sang together earlier in the ceremony).  They totally one upped us - we gave them the same picture, except smaller and unframed, but  our signatures and a "We loved learning with you and will cherish these times forever" message on the back saved our grace.  The night ended amid waves of tears and it was quite wrenching to be departing the Youth Center for the last time.
To my students: Don't worry, I will be back, and the first place I go will be to the Youth Center, but when that day is, only time will tell, I can only hope that it is sooner rather than later.
Tuesday began quite early and without fail, our students showed up at the busstop so we could have one final exchange.  When we got to the train station, the tears started flowing once again as we said our final goodbyes to our Vietnamese roommates.  Even Qua (our worksite contractor) showed up to say goodbye, which I thought was totally out of his unemotional character.  I am going to miss that guy the same as I will everyone else, even though I could not verbally communicate with him.  The 20 hour train ride began with a meager 2 hour delay, and, as chance would have it, the 6 people with the most luggage (Juan Pablo, Bao, Kathy, Logan, Devyn, and myself) were put in the same cabin.  The size of this reaffirmed my content in neglecting my original childhood dream of becoming an astronaut.  It took more than an hour for us to figure out the best way to situate the suitcases, but after that and 4 episodes of 'Friends' it was snooze time for the rest of the journey (with intermittent deboardings to grab candies from trainside vendors).
As quickly as Tuesday went, so too did Wednesday.  After hearing there was a waiting list - yes I had to do a double take on that as well - on the spot we had wanted to eat dinner, the 4 guys on the trip (JP, Bao, Joey, and myself) along with Kathy, went to a truly local eating joint.  We were drawn in by the crowded and raucous atmosphere where beer was flowing abundantly.  It was the type of place were they bring out your meat and then you grill it yourself, on a coal grill.  The first thing on the menu was deep-fried scorpion and being that I had come into this trip resolved to eat one, and that I was sitting next to JP who I knew would be down for the adventure, I suggested we ought to try it.  I tried not to think about it, but when I saw it on my plate, I couldn't help but realize THERE IS A SCORPION SITTING ON MY PLATE!  My nerves were calmed when JP offered to eat the bigger one, so I bit in and then I got bit back.  The tail pricked the inside of my lip, but beyond that it was very good.  The outside was crunchy and there was not a lot of meat, but of what there was, it was tasty.  Next time I am determined to eat the alligator they feature on the menu.
After dinner we went to a club (minus JP), which was an experience in and of itself, particularly because the sounds are of songs you would hear in America, but the sights are totally different (imagine Asian funk dancing to club music).
Thursday was all about the meals, I grabbed lunch with a new friend at a spot frequented by locals and in the know tourists - the baby clams were my favorite. Before dinner and after meeting our roommates (Bac is an interestingly cool cat and ironically from Quang Tri, so I get to be weaned away from that town slowly) we went to a cool coffee spot which ironically had the same name (Kool Coffee). I'm not sure what I had expected, but it certainly was not what happened, which was a ~60 person English speaking cultural meeting - met some cool people.  Dinner was a 6 course meal in which each course was tastier than the one before it,starting with a coconut or maybe bamboo based salad.
Friday meant shopping for supplies we would need in Ben Tre where I have chosen to teach PE for the elementary schoolchildren and Tre (our new on-site assistant) took us to a market with Asian goods and Asian prices - finally.  Why I had not been informed of this market or others nearby, I am not quite sure, but it will certainly be seeing my face and probably a Benjamin's too upon my return to Saigon.
Saturday we left for Ben Tre which was a breeze because I slept the entirety of the way.  We had a reception from local government officials and this meant a hearty hot pot meal. This was lovely, except it was 3PM and we had eaten a huge lunch merely hours later.  The food down here is very sweet, especially in contrast to the food in Quang Tri and Hue which is known for its spiciness.
Sunday was pretty much a rest day although we took a tour of a coconut candy factory which was something I could only previously imagine - probably my 2nd time in a factory (Ahava in Israel).
As for today, we started our construction project, which consisted of moving sand and rocks from a boat to the land and then about 100 meters to the work site.  It was interesting to see that in the time we worked (8-11AM) the water level dropped a meter.  Lunch was delicious, my favorite dish being the pork that was boiled in coconut water rather than regular water, giving it an extra sweet, delicious taste.
Something new I am going to start: I will try and post the wildest thing I see each day, because I realize that I see a lot of them and that I might be getting jaded.
Yesterday, I witnessed a firetruck pull up to the market while people flooded the streets.  The firemen used steel cutters to free a large lock and then people started pouring inside the building.  About 30 seconds later, they all turned around and came running out as smoke started billowing out of the building - the crowd quickly dispersed.  The man I presumed to be the chief was wearing a shirt that said "School of Hard Knocks" (I have witnessed that the man in charge is often the most nonchalant and casually dressed).
Today I saw a fully grown hog (I think it cannot have weighed anything less than 300 lbs) inside a cage attached to the back of a motorbike.
#SomeoneinIndiaHasReadMyBlog Google told me so.