P.S.

Several people have asked me how to access the photos I took so here's a reminder.

1) Go to http://www.inbox.com

2) Click on email

3) Put in Username: my-photos

4) Put in Password: thailand

5) When it opens, click on Photos

I haven't "culled" through them to take out duplicate shots or out of focus shots but I'll get to that soon.

Number Last

I'm home safely. It was a 27 hour trip but the flights were good and the sitting all night in the Bangkok airport wasn't as bad as I expected. It seemed as the miles "flew" by I became less and less in the Thai mode and more and more in the US mode. Having been home now for a few hours I've totally crossed over.

I wish I had something profound or amusing to say to end this blog but I don't. It was a great trip. I learned a lot, I had a lot of fun, I met a lot of really good people, I saw a lot of interesting places, I helped some people and I watched a monk burn up in a blaze of glory. I think that qualifies as a pretty good trip...

Number 46

Yesterday I gathered all my things together and tried to figure out how to get them all home. I think I'm taking back about the same bulk and weight that I came with but somehow it seems like more. The Thai's are off for a few days but they all stopped by at different times to say goodbye and actually most of them are coming back today to say goodbye again.

I'm trying hard to "live within the moment" and squeeze every last drop out of this adventure, but I've crossed over from coming here, to being here, to leaving here. It's been a lot of fun, a truly great adventure and in many ways a life affirming journey. When all is said and done, it's been a good run and now the curtain is coming down. And it feels like it's time to come home.

One last Thailand bizarreness to report on. As many of you may have heard there was a terrible fire in an upscale nightclub in Bangkok on New Year's Eve. Fifty-nine people died and over 130 were hospitalized. A lot of the dead and injured were unidentified. On the news yesterday they showed the families of the victims trying to find if their loved ones had died or were in the hospital. The way the police did it was to take the morgue photos of everyone who was unidentified and post them on a board outside the police station so people would come by and try to identify photos of badly charred faces. I suppose it's practical but all of us Westerners who were watching the news couldn't imagine it happening back home.

Last night we had my going away party. We called Chai, of Chai's Blues House to see if the band was actually going to play and we were assured they would. We decided to also eat dinner there. Even though it's a small menu, the food is really good. It's Thai-American fusion food. Chai spent 10 years in the US and his "chef" is an ex-pat who knows what he's doing. When we walked in Chai gave me his big smile, big handshake and took care of us like we were his family. He personally served us and brought things we didn't order just to see if we would like them. There were 12 of us. Some old, some new (2 women from Argentina who are staying for a few days and a woman from Cambodia/Montana who is also passing through), some of the Thai's (even though they're off), Ronnie and the rest of my housemates. We ate and drank and Chai played two killer sets. Most of the people in our group had never heard blues before and they loved it. Chai is really a top notch blues guitarist and seeing him in his little club just tearing it up was really a nice send off for me. He came over after the last set and walked us out. There were too many of us to go in the car (several had come in a red truck) so he offered to drive half the people home. I can't imagine that happening anywhere in the US. The owner and band leader of a club offering to drive people home. I'm going to miss that part of this journey.

The "new" people and a few of the "old" wanted to go dancing so they went to a club called Spicy. It was almost 1 and I wasn't up for pounding dance music so I dropped a carload off at the club and headed back to the house with Thip and Ei Ei. We had some tea and talked and laughed awhile and then around 2 everyone came back from Spicy and the party fired up again. After a lot of laughing and stories everyone was tired and we all went to sleep around 3:30.

I leave here for Bangkok tonight at 9, arriving around 10. I have to sit in the airport in Bangkok until 6 am. Then a 6 hour flight to Tokyo, a 2 hour layover and an 11 hour flight home. I know it's not quite over but to quote the Grateful Dead; "what a long strange trip it's been...."

I'll have one more entry when I get back. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you in Minnesota when I get back and communicating with the rest of you by phone or email. I hope you've enjoyed reading this blog as much as I've enjoyed sitting down and sharing with all of you. When I get home I'll go through all the photos (over 800 now) and fine tune them.

"See" you all on the other side of my flights home.

Number 45

This is going to be a short one. I traveled most of the day from Vientiane to Chiang Mai. The flights were good and the inevitable layover in Bangkok was only 4 hours. I walked into the house to find we have no water which will make doing laundry before I leave a bit of a challenge. My computer won't hook up to the BABSEA wireless so I'm hoping tomorrow someone will be able to help me with that. Vientiane was a really good trip. I'm glad I went.

I realized today that I'm tired. Not tired today because I haven't slept or stayed up late, but tired like the trip has been long and the adventure has been profound. It's time to go home. Not like it's bad or I've had enough here, but more like all the reasons I came, the ones I knew going in and the ones that have come to me since I've been here, have been taken care of. There's a lot more to do and see and experience, but for this trip, the curtain is coming down and it was a great run.

It's a beautiful night and I'm going to sit outside and look at the stars while I still can. Once again, Happy new Year to all!

Number 44

Written late Wdnesday night and posted Thursday morning.



Happy New Year! Although the Lao celebrate their New Year in April, they don't seem to pass up many opportunities for a party. Drinking is part of the Lao culture and DUI is pretty much accepted as a way of life. The Lao answer to drunk driving is to slow down or call a friend or stay overnight with a friend, but drinking and driving is pretty commonplace.

*A correction. The Versailles which turned out to be the DuSoi is actually the Patuxay. But it still sounds to me like they're saying Versailles.

Today I rode with Mr. Subine on a scenic route along the Mekong River. I mentioned at dinner last night that I had only seen it at night so this morning he insisted on taking me. It's the dry season and the river is really low but it was a nice ride and we stopped a few times to take photos and to eat or drink something. We hooked up with Vaat and Thip and went to a large Temple that was the oldest and most popular Temple in Vientiane. There were a lot of tourists and a small market on the grounds. Unlike Chiang Mai where the temples have lots and lots of monks, here in Vientiane they generally only have a couple dozen per Temple. Interestingly, here in Vientiane, the homeless and the orphans generally live in the Temple. After the Temple it was lunch. I've been wary of the food here and ordered a "safe" large flat noodle dish. it was pretty good and was followed by a couple of scoops of ice cream.

After lunch we went to the Vietnam National University Faculty of Law party. I wasn't all that fired up about it but my hosts all had to attend for office politics reasons. It was actually fun. I saw all the Laos guys I spent the afternoon sight seeing with at the GAJE conference and we reminisced about how we all hated Manila. There were about 100 people there, an amazing amount of food and lots of Tiger Beer. There were two women serving the beer dressed in blue and yellow outfits that looked like they were flight attendants. Mr. Kahm (Dave) told me they were the new teachers. Kahm and the other Professors were in their uniforms which looked like policemen. I'm not sure how it works because some Professors wore them and some didn't. The women, who wore them, wore the policeman shirt and the traditional Lao skirt called a Singh. There was a large PA setup, with a DJ and they did traditional Lao dancing. To me it looked like traditional Lao walking while moving your hands but when I was coaxed into joining I was glad it was more like walking then dancing. They then did a version which seemed like a line dance and I just watched. Kahm got liquored up and danced up a storm. They had roasted a water buffalo which is something you don't see everyday. I was seated between the Dean and the Vice Dean. I has met the Vice Dean at GAJE and he acted as the interpreter. We had a pleasant talk as there was no pressure on me to convince the Dean of anything. That was followed by a parade of Professors who wanted to try out their English on me. I'm not sure how they speak when they're sober but it was a challenge trying to understand them as the party wore on. Near the end the men started to play Bataan which I think is Bocce ball. I was invited to play and did my best which resulted in a lot of laughter and pats on the back. When the party broke up I was motorbiked back to the hotel to rest up. shower and change for the evening activities.

I thought I was going to one or more New Year's Eve parties at friends of the Lao Professors but instead we went to the Central part of town and ate at a large outdoor buffet that had been set up. There was a stage, a lot of colored lights, a colored fountain and a lot of foreigners. It turns out we had come to Vientiane's big time New Year's Eve bash. The food was good and since it was sponsored by Tiger Beer, the beer flowed plentifully. I noticed more women dressed like the new teachers at the Faculty and was told they work for Tiger Beer. They go to parties and serve the beer. Kahm definitely got me on that one. The part that made me believe they really were teachers is that, at the faculty party, when the dancing started, they both danced and one danced with the Dean.

The people watching was first rate and I was really having a good time. At 9, the first band came out. It was the Backstreet Boys meet Laos. The crowd was an odd mix of foreigners and Lao, old and young, couples and families. No one rushed the stage or got rowdy and, to some extent, the Lao were more curious then anything else. The next band was hard core rock and roll. Long hair, torn jeans and all the flashing lights and smoke. The Lao asked me what the words meant but, like any self respecting rock band, you couldn't understand the words. None of them had ever seen a rock show so I convinced them to leave our safe little table and venture into the "crowd" to get closer and not only hear the music but feel it. We got really close because the crowd wasn't that big and most of the non-foreigners didn't want to be so close to the noise. The Lao loved it. Smiling and laughing and yelling things into each other's ears. The part they found the funniest was that the reason I couldn't tell them what the singer was saying was because he was singing in Lao. People in the crowd did weird things like one guy who did cartwheels in front of the stage and three "ladyboys" who walked right up to the stage and sprayed the band with pink silly string. I watched the Security guys but they were laughing. The next band was an all girl band with a male bass player. the lead singer sang off key and it was getting late and the Lao asked me if I minded leaving. They had a very real desire to get home before the drunks hit the road.

It was a surprisingly fun night. Not a surprise that it was fun because everyone has gone out of their way to make sure I'm having a good time, but surprising that we ended up at a loud rock and roll concert in the middle of quiet Vientiane. I head back tomorrow for my last few days in Chiang Mia. Today was a very good day in Vientiane. Once again I wish all of you a Happy Healthy New Year!

P.S. After finishing this post I heard loud explosions outside the hotel and went out to see what it was. Turns out there was a large fireworks show someplace very close and by walking down to the corner I had a really good view. About 10 minutes into the show a motorbike with a Mother and her three sons came around the corner and hit a large dog that was crossing the street. The motorbike went down and everyone went flying. I ran up to try to help. The Mother was Ok, the oldest son was holding his stomach and the two youngest were wailing. I checked everyone for bleeding and fortunately no one was. The Mother let me check the two youngest while she looked after the oldest. The we traded and she comforted the younger two while I tried to check out the oldest. After resisting, he finally let me look at his stomach under his shirt and he had no obvious trauma. A few people came over to help and the police showed up on motorbikes. Everyone seemed more or less OK. The topper to the whole thing was the police put the oldest boy on the back of one motorbike and the Mother and the other two on the back of the second and they all rode off, presumably to the hospital and not one of them was wearing a helmet...

Number 43

I just got back from what was probably the worst tasting meal I've ever had. Several of us went out to another restaurant on the Mekong River. Outdoor dining under the stars, on the river with the sliver of the moon and some planet all shining. Dinner was hosted by Thip's, (one of the Lao Professors) parents. They picked me up at the hotel in their long bed truck because the Government is building a new road by their house and is it's the only vehicle that they can get out of their driveway. Thip rode with Vaat on his motorbike and I rode with her folks. We got lost and it ended up being a whole lot more amusing them uncomfortable. Mr. Inthavong speaks English pretty well and Mrs. Inthavong understands but doesn't speak it much. He kept apologizing for not knowing where the restaurant was and she kept needling him. It was a beautiful night and I got to see a lot of Vientiane lit up. When we got there everyone else was already there and a lot of good natured teasing ensued. I used the word kidnapped a few times and everyone laughed.

So the usual one menu was brought to the table and was, not surprisingly, in Lao. The waitress brought one that was also in English and was about 20 pages long. Included in the choices were crocodile, ostrich, frog, pig tongue, snake but no monkey. I was really hankering for some monkey but had to settle. The first course was fried chicken pieces in a batter. Seemed harmless enough but was all gristle. Next was a fish soup that they ordered not spicy in deference to me. I took a sip and my mouth was on fire. The pot was filled with little red chilis. Even Mrs. Inthavong thought it was too spicy so they told the waitress and she brought one that was only too spicy and not WAY too spicy. Mr. Inthavong went to town on the spicy one and never broke a sweat. Once I could taste the soup I realized it was awful. All kinds of flavors that just didn't taste good to me. No one ate a lot of it except for Mr. I. Then came a fish dish which appeared to be diced pieces of fish in vegetables. Bad. Lastly there was some kind of vegetable and (I have no idea what kind of ) meat dish that, by now, I had learned to take a very small portion and hide it under the rice. Mrs. I kept clucking her tongue and saying in Lao that I wasn't eating enough. I tried really hard to not insult them and fortunately it was dark so no one saw the pile of food under the table near my chair when we left....

The day started with me having coffee in the hotel. I wasn't being picked up for an hour so I walked to the bank and changed some money, found a bakery and ordered a donut and some more coffee and walked around a little. Mr. Kahm picked me up around 9 and we went down the street to the Versailles. Well, that's what I thought it was called. It's a large monument built by the French to match something that I thought was in Versailles and everyone seemd to refer to it as Versailles. Later I found out that it's called DuSoi. It's a 7 story monument and when you climb to the top you can see a full 360 degree panorama of Vientiane. They also, for some reason, have killer rum raisin ice cream cones. It was pretty nice. We then hooked up with several of the others and had lunch at a nice place where the food was good.

After lunch we went to a Temple which was visually a treat. After wandering the grounds, we went in and the Laos all prayed and offered flowers and lit candles and then we all got good luck string bracelets from a monk who sprinkled water on our heads, removed our bad luck and infused us with good luck. This was followed by me taking a lot of pictures and then we stopped at a fruit stand that's on the Temple grounds and ate 3 kinds of fruit I've never seen and they couldn't name in English.

Next we went to the Thai Consulate so the Professors could get their Visas. It was odd to me because we had to pay an admission fee to get in. Once inside I realized they had changed their plans and we were at the Laos National Museum and the entrance fee made sense. It's small but has some really old statues and bowls and the like.

After the museum we split up and a few of us went to the Morning Market. It was mid afternoon but that didn't seem to matter. There were a lot of interesting things and more food. I decided to walk back to the hotel and check email, get a little rest and then it was dinner.

The weather was beautiful, the city is quiet and friendly and the people are amazingly generous and hospitable. I'm really glad I came here. All and all a pretty good day in Vientiane.

Number 42

I'm sitting in my hotel room in Vientiane, Laos. Now there's something I had no idea I'd be writing when I left for Thailand. I flew from Chaing Mai to Luang Prabang, Laos. I had heard it was a pretty town in the mountains and very popular with the tourists. When I got to the airport in Chiang Mai, went through security, checked in at Laos Airline and got to the gate I saw that the plane was a smallish prop plane and not a jet. We had to walk outside, ride a bus over and walk up the stairs. It wasn't real small and held about 60 people. The one hour flight was very nice.

I had a three hour layover in Luang Prabang so I went into town. The surroundings are beautiful but the town is one long tourist trap. Stall after stall of basically 5-6 different items. Some were nice but why do you need 35 stalls all selling the same bags or t-shirts or fabric? There is a second perpendicular stretch of streets that sells food. I walked around for about 1 1/2 hours and headed back to the airport.

The second flight, which was on the same plane, was 40 minutes and equally smooth and pleasant. When we landed in Vientiane we went to the luggage carousel. I say "the" luggage carousel because there was only one and it was really old. It was so old it didn't go around it simply went about 100 feet and ended. One straight line. My friends were there to pick me up and I was surprised to see one of the Lao men I met at GAJE and one of the Lao students I also met there. Again the level of hospitality continues to surprise me. They came to the airport to meet me as a gesture of respect and friendship. I spoke with each of them at GAJE but didn't really spend a lot of time with them. We went to a restaurant on the Mekong River across from Thailand. There were 8 of us so we sat on pillows on the floor on a platform over the river and had a really nice dinner. And once again they wouldn't let me pay for anything. The seven of them combined probably don't make what I make but they would not listen to my insistence on paying. It's really a humbling experience to be constantly treated so well.

I'm at my hotel and the Internet seems to be working now. Tomorrow we have a full day of sight seeing and I'm going to get to see Sam and Dave's wives and kids. They didn't burn any monks here but it was a pretty nice evening in Vientiane.

Number 41

If you EVER have the opportunity to see a major Buddhist temple burn their head monk you MUST go. It may not be the most amazing thing I've ever seen, but it is definitely top 5. Wow. I truly do not have the words to describe it, but I'll try. You really need to check out the photos to get the flavor of this posting. I posted some photos of it on the inbox.com site but they are nothing. Andrew, Wendy's husband took some amazing shots and I'll post them as soon as I get them. I have NEVER seen anything quite like this.

Wendy, Andrew, Ei Ei and I ended up at the ceremony this afternoon. We heard from some monks that it was going to be at 1pm. The ceremony lasted for over 3 hours. It was hot and when the clouds weren't covering the sun it was sunny. You're supposed to wear black but the only black shirt I have with me is my long sleeve Gopher Hockey shirt. (I was going to go to hockey night in Hanoi though I never made it) So if you see me in a few photos, I'm the guy at the funeral wearing the Gopher shirt.

We had pretty good seats and kids were going around handing out free water to drink and flowers to throw on the pyre. The "pyre" was large, ornate, colorful and what had appeared to be an elephant with a moving trunk and ears. We were told it wasn't and elephant but it sure looked like one to me. You have to see the photos. Anyway, way too many city officials and other Government types dressed in white army type uniforms all spoke. No monks spoke at all. The Wat (Temple) has some connection with the King so this was no ordinary service and burning. After all the speeches, everyone went up and threw flowers on the pyre so Wendy and I did too.

Then everyone left. No fire. Turns out the burning would be at 8pm so we sat through 3 hot hours of speeches for nothing. But it was cool to watch and no one was upset. We were all coming back to watch, so I went back to the house and started packing for Laos and for the trip home.

We went back about 7:15 and got good seats near the front. The front was about 100 feet from the "action". There was some excellent classic monk chanting and then there was a band with one of those guys who plays the cobra out of the basket with a weird sounding horn leading it. Then all the monks who had been seated together on the side got up and started moving forward. Everyone else started moving forward and we got to within about 5o feet of the pyre.

And then all hell broke loose. Fireworks went off overhead a ball of fire came from the side and headed for the pyre. It circled the whole thing and looked like someone had shot off a rocket that was going sideways into the crowd. Turns out it was on a wire and hit the elephant setting it on fire. In each corner a tower with about a dozen red, blue, green and orange giant sparklers went off. In front of the whole thing about 6-7 huge pinwheels of fire exploded. It was incredible. People surged forward and the whole thing was ablaze. The band picked up the pace and the flames climbed up the structure. The fire brigade was hosing down different sections to try to contain the fire. The four corner towers caught on fire. The top of the whole thing started to collapse. When it fell there was no holding back the people and the place was mobbed with people taking pictures, climbing on the the parts that weren't burning yet and meanwhile the sky is raining ash and burning embers. And the band played on. Meanwhile, inside the ship the monk was rising to heaven with the smoke and ash. Then the popping started. Bones exploding as the moisture in them was boiled. It lasted a few minutes and was the frosting on the cake.

The pageantry, the fireworks, the music, the people and the monk burning inside came together to totally blow me away. I just kept shaking my head and taking bad pictures. I saw Ronnie and we just looked at each other with huge grins on our faces. This guy standing next to me said, with a heavy British accent, that it was quite interesting and I told him we don't burn people like this where I come from. It was the damnedest thing I'd seen in a long time. When the fire finally started to burn itself out you could see inside the ship and sure enough the monk was gone. I don't know what else to say.

An amazing night in Chiang Mai. One I will never forget.

Number 40

It's Sunday morning and I didn't write last night because we got back late. The day was quiet and beautiful. High 70's with a light breeze and a few big billowy clouds that slowly floated by. I sat outside reading the revisions from the students in Vietnam and listening to my iPod. The students are funny. They've made a few very minor changes to some of the forms but they insist on translating them back into English and sending them to me for my "approval". Moon stopped by to use the computer late in the afternoon and, as is often the case, a plan was made to go find dinner with whoever was around. This time it was Ronnie and Ei Ei and we decided to go to the Night Bazaar. I have a couple of gifts I still want to find and the Night Bazaar has infinite possibilities for food and gifts.

Ei Ei is a bit scared of the car, or maybe my driving, so we walked up to the main street and caught a red truck. Apparently the Xmas effect is over as the Night Bazaar was hopping. We wandered through the shops so I could find just the right gift for my Mother. (the following is rated R) Walking by stall after stall I couldn't find just the right thing and then, as I came around a corner, there it was! A hand carved wooden elephant. So what, you say. There are thousands of hand carved wooded elephants in the Night Bazaar. True, but this one had a pronounced erection! It was standing on it's hind legs and had been positioned right behind another elephant. I was pretty sure my Mother didn't have one but in the final analysis I decided it would be too "hard" to get it home. Kind of gives new meaning to the term "having wood"!! (OK, we now resume the G rated content)

Ronnie and Moon stopped at a jewelry stand and were looking at rings. It's way too early for that but they were having fun. We looked around for about an hour but didn't find anything that really caught my eye, (happy elephant aside) so we decided to eat. Deciding to forgo the McDonalds, the Burger King and the Subway, we walked to the large Thai food court and surveyed the possibilities. I try to eat Thai food wherever we go so I chose a really nice looking falafal from one of the vendors. It was really good. It was here that Moon began her evening eating which became an ongoing situation. She started with a rice and vegetable meal and then decided she wanted french fries. That was followed by fried mango. It was a lot of food. I jokingly asked her if she was still hungry at which point she got up and came back with 4 huge skewers of pork balls. (no, not those kind of balls, but ground up pork in a spicy sauce).

As she was finishing the pork balls we heard the beginning of some kind of performance starting on a stage at the other end of the food court. We moved over and found a table in front so we could watch. It was a dance troupe, dressed in traditional costumes, who did a number of dances from different regions of Thailand. The troupe consisted of two women and four ladyboys. Ladyboys is a descriptive and non-derogatory term for men who dress up like women. There are a fair number of them in Chiang Ma and, in most cases, you have to look really close to tell that they're not women. That was not the case with this group. The narrator would explain the dance in Thai and then in English. The English translation was pretty amusing as at one point the narrator said the people did the dance to try to bring "brains". We think she may have meant "rain". So the lady boys danced badly with full makeup, long fingernails and hairy legs. Ei Ei and Moon loved it and Ronnie and I tried really hard not to laugh. When the show ended we applauded wildly along with everyone else and headed off for more shopping.

Moon hadn't eaten in at least 45 minutes so we stopped for some kind of fried thing involving fish that I passed on. We walked a few feet and she needed to stop for something that looks like ice cream but isn't very sweet. I was done shopping, having found nothing that struck my fancy, so we headed for the street. When we got there we found Moon's favorite Rotee stand so it was to be Rotee for everyone. Rotee is like a crepe. They make it right there in a little rolling stand while you wait. It's really good but the lines are really long because they're all made from scratch. It was really crowded, the Hill women were all over us, and every other non-Thai to buy their trinkets, and the line wasn't moving so we decided to leave. Moon reluctantly agreed and we headed to the street to find a red truck home. We decided to walk a little and ran right into a Rotee stand that wasn't busy. Moon ordered a banana Rotee with no egg and we all had some. Then she ordered a banana and raisin one. Then she ordered a banana and honey one. Then she ordered another banana only. Then she switched to a smaller hand held version and ordered 4 of those. Ronnie called her a "Chazer" and listening to a black man in Chiang Mai call a thin Thai woman a Chazer just kind of set me off. I finally stopped laughing and Ronnie explained the whole thing to Moon and Ei Ei. They both said Chazer several times to try to learn the pronunciation and I had another round of laughing.

We decided to walk some more rather then grab a red truck so that we could walk off some of the food we had eaten. As we got to the Tapeh Gate of the Old City we heard music and saw there was a huge stage set up in the plaza and a band was playing. Between us and the stage was a large collection of little stalls, like at state fair so we stopped to see if there were any interesting souvenirs. As we got closer we realized that all these stalls (about 50) were food vendors. A lot of the food looked really good and Moon started eating again. The rest of us were full but she was unstoppable. After she ate a chicken schwarma, some kind of salad and another ice cream, we headed over to see the music.

I can't adequately describe how bizarre the music was. It was a 7 piece band of rock type instruments. Some adults and some teenagers. They were all dressed in traditional Hill tribe clothes but they were playing pop music. There were 4 kids, also decked out in conservative, traditional Hill tribe clothes, singing and dancing in front of the band. It was like the Osmonds meet Britany Spears, meet the Backstreet Boys, meet Hill tribe people. Standing there watching it the incongruity of it was hilarious. Ronnie and I kept looking at each other and shaking our heads while again trying not to laugh. At the end they brought out another 6 little kids and they all sang We Are The World, in English (complete with heavy accents and getting the words wrong). That was all Ronnie and I could take and we fell out.

It was after 11 so we decided to head back to the house. I had decided to walk. It was a beautiful night and I love walking in Chiang Mai so even though it was a few miles, I was happy to do it. Everyone decided to walk with me to try to work off some of the food we had eaten and off we went. Moon was pretty good and we only stopped at another Rotee stand and one 7-11 on the walk back.

The walk back had two interesting little notes. First there was a sign that seemed to say "No Trumpets". It actually was a trumpet in a circle with the line across it. It was on the street right by a no parking sign. We looked at it for awhile and tried to figure out what else it could mean or represent but it clearly was a trumpet so, reluctantly, we left without playing our trumpets. About 5 minutes later we walked by two policemen who were standing outside their truck and watching as people walked by. Ronnie and I were walking in front and we smiled and gave a little head bow and they returned the smile and the bow. I turned to Ronnie and said I bet that was the first time he walked by the police on a public street after midnight and didn't get stopped. We started laughing and tried to explain to Moon and Ei Ei what we were laughing about but they couldn't understand why American police would stop black people for no reason or why we would think that was funny. Good for them!

We got back to the house after midnight and Ei Ei went right to bed. It had been a big night for her. She's still intimidated by the big city and all that she sees but she is trying her best to experience it all. (although her eyes got huge and her mouth dropped open when we walked the three blocks through the prostitute area) Moon and Ronnie and I sat outside and relaxed for awhile then I figured it was time to leave the two of them alone and went inside.

A slow day but a fun night in Chiang Mai. I won't have too many more and I'll miss this place, but it feels like it's almost time to go home. Tomorrow I go to Vientiane, but today we watch the Monk burning. The head Monk from the Temple in our neighborhhod died and they've been building up to this for a week. They have speakers on the utility poles near the house and have been broadcasting prayers daily. There's been a lot of building and preparation going on at the Wat (temple) and apparently this is a big deal. As you know we don't burn a lot of Monks in Minnesota so I'm looking forward to this experience....

Number 39

In a shocking development today it rained in Chiang Mai. Pretty much all day. The Thai's were surprised as it's the cool season and it doesn't rain. Everyone was dragging and at some point today, each of the Thai's fell asleep for awhile. I'd never seen them do that before.

I needed to go to mail a few packages and letters to Vietnam. Since it was raining I drove. Moon came with to translate for me as the people at the place you send packages from don't speak English. You'll notice I didn't say Post Office or UPS or FEDEX or even DHL. I'm not sure what this place was. It's a little hole in the wall in the basement at the Central market and I didn't see any stamps or Commercial name on anything. Oh well, Moon assured me that they mail packages to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from there all the time and they always get delivered. My favorite part was when I had Moon ask if there was a way I could know that the package had been received. The woman smiled knowingly and told Moon yes there was. She said I should call the people I sent them to and ask them, and they would know.

I worked on a report Bruce wants to submit to some Foundation to get more money for the University in Hanoi and dealt with a problem that Aom was having with some volunteers who are coming in January. Ei Ei had never had American food and I had some pasta I wanted to use up so I made dinner. She had never seen anyone cook American food so she asked if she could watch. I told her of course she could and headed into the kitchen. The kettle I needed to boil the pasta in was soaking in the sink having been used for some rice dish at lunch. I picked it up and started to wash it. She came in and got this strange look of horror on her face and insisted that she wash it. So, for the 9th or 10th time, since I've been in Southeast Asia, I had to have the discussion about how men also can cook and clean and that women shouldn't have to do everything in the kitchen regardless of cultural norms. The irony of my being the spokesman for the Women's Movement is not lost on me. She was really uncomfortable watching me finish washing and then almost horrified to see me cutting onions and chopping garlic. I asked her what she thought I meant when I said I was going to cook dinner and she said she had no idea but it never occurred to her that I would actually be cutting and slicing and dicing. I've seen this a lot in my travels and I still can't get used to it. The men sit and the women wait on them. Oh, wait a minute, maybe I could learn to get used to it....

So Moon and Gary broke up a few weeks ago. She came in this morning and took me aside and told me she had to talk about something. It seems her friend Ronnie, confessed his love for her last night and told her he would wait patiently while she got to know him. He said a bunch more but it all sounded pretty genuine and not tailored to get in her pants. Anyway, I suggested she invite him to come "clubbing" with us tonight and she did. They were to meet at the BABSEA house and we'd all go in the car. He showed up first and he's black. I've only seen a few black people in Chiang Mai, or for that matter in any of my travels on this trip, outside of African people in the Bangkok airport. It never occurred to her to mention that he was black when she was describing him. And we Americans are supposed to be the enlightened society.

He turns out to be a pretty nice guy who was raised by a Jewish woman around the corner from Kanter's Deli in LA. I told him "what a small world, I also was raised by a Jewish woman". After that we got along great. We started at the Blues Club but Chai decided the band wasn't going to play unless enough people showed up. It was 9:15 and the place was empty. So we drove to the Reggae Club which had one of the bands I like but was only about 1/2 full. It seems that these clubs, which are almost exclusively patronized by farang, were having a bad weekend because many of the local farang had gone back to their home countries for Xmas. So we went to the Jazz Club, near the North Gate of the Old City, that I had been to with Don and Bruce. They get a fair amount of Thai's so the place was pretty full and the band was really good. We stayed until the last song and headed back to the house.

A quiet, rainy day in Chiang Mai. Still all and all a pretty decent one.

Number 38

Nothing happened today. Very quiet. Beautiful weather. Walked to the Market to get groceries and had dinner. Did some emailing for the Vietnam project. Helped Aom with a small project.

After all they may all be Buddhists but it was Xmas.

As they say in Thai, it was just a "chillaxing" day.

Please go back and enjoy a previous day that you liked the first time you read it.

Number 37

I think this is the earliest time of day I've written a posting. It's around 7:30 and the Lao professors have just left for the bus station. They're going home for the first time in 2 months. Sam (Mr. Subine) and Dave (Mr. Kahm) each have 2 small children. Thip and Nang both have large families and many friends they talk about often and miss a lot. There's no class for a week at Chiang Mai University so Bruce agreed that when they went to Laos on a visa run they could stay for the week. They invited me to go with them to see their country but I felt uncomfortable for 2 reasons. First, after having been gone for 2 months they don't need to entertain me, they need to spend time with their friends and families. And secondly, Ei Ei would basically be here by herself at night. She comes from a small place in Burma and is afraid of more things then I could list. She's trying really hard to experience new things and everyone, especially the women, have been trying to include her whenever they go somewhere but she's still intimidated by the big city as well as things like ghosts and new people and waiters and the traffic and so much more. She's very sad that Thip and Nang are gone but Moon is going to spend more time here and invited her to spend the nights at her house. She likes me and laughs at my silliness but I think she feels her foundation of security left with Thip and Nang. Sam and Dave have been pushing hard for me to come visit and I found a cheap flight to Vientiane so I agreed to spend a few days with them. I'll go on the 29th (after they've been home for a 5 days) and return by bus with them on the 2nd. We actually leave on the evening of the 1st but it's a 13 hour ride. This includes about 4-5 stops for food. My sense is that it's one of those rides you read about in travel blogs that are either really interesting or really bizarre. Either one works for me.

I have enough work left to keep me busy for awhile and time to shop and see a few places in and around Chiang Mai that I haven't gotten to yet and it just feels right to have one last adventure before I head home. I insisted on staying at a hotel in Vientiane and was told that would be a direct insult to them and their whole families so I'll be staying with somebody and that, in and of itself, should be interesting. They live in "compounds" where all the brothers and sisters and parents and grandparents and nieces and nephews all live on the same piece of land. Apparently it's no big deal to have 20-30 relatives all living together. So it's Hanukkah and Xmas in Chiang Mai and New Year's Eve in Vientiane.

Today Moon and I went to the "other" Western style mall to buy gifts for a few of the Vietnamese students who were really helpful and gave a lot of themselves. After we finished, we stopped for a coffee frappe and some pastry just to make the trip worthwhile, and then back to the house. On the way back we stopped at the Wat (Temple) and I got my luck string bracelet from a very old and wise Monk who took the bad luck out of my hand and replaced it with good luck.

I had a debriefing meeting with Wendy where I basically told her where BABSEA and VNU had let me down and made my work harder then it had to be. She knew it was coming and it was a constructive session rather then a bitching one. The Vietnamese had made a point of writing Bruce and Wendy to express their appreciation for the work I did and to complement me on how much we got done and their perception that the work was done really well. It was nice to hear that they expressed their gratitude to BABSEA, but they had already been very clear and generous in their expressions of appreciation to me. I have reports to prepare for the group that sent me here (ISLP) and I hope to persuade them to send more people to VNU as it seems like a perfect place to "invest" their money in helping people who could use some help. I think it's a natural fit and hopefully I can make them see that. I also have to prepare a report on what I did in Hanoi attaching all the materials we generated and all the materials I brought as resources that the students used. The next person coming in January is apparently going to use it in Laos, though I don't know how, as there already is a clinic up and running there. Wendy suggested they might methodology that I used with the students in Hanoi as a teaching model since the way I taught it apparently hasn't been done before and the Vietnamese have convinced them that it works. I think the system was nothing special (it just seemed logical to me and had no basis in any theory) but the students were. Anyway, I'll do the report and they can do with it what they will.

And now a quick note about last night. Since the Lao's were leaving today it was a good reason to have a party last night. Besides, Bruce has been pushing Aom and Ei Ei really hard, by email, and they both needed a break. I bought a bottle of whiskey at the 7-11 for Sam and Dave. Dave went off on his bike and came back with his basket full of hot food from a nearby neighborhood place and Thip and Nang made desserts. Moon stayed for dinner and the party and later in the evening, Nang's brother, who is in Chiang Mai for awhile, joined us. It was a classic BABSEA night. A lot of eating and laughing. Aom, who decided to stay to drink whiskey after his long frustrating day gave Sam and Dave a run for their money when it came to the whiskey. Moon had a small whiskey and Coke Zero (yuck) and Tip and Nang, who don't drink, each decided to try one too. Thip shared hers with Ei Ei, after tasting it and not liking it and Ei Ei chugged it down not realizing it was spiked. Everyone stared in amazement and then the place went wild when she looked up and said the Thai Coke is better then the Coke in Burma. (she explained to me the difference between Burma and Myanmar but it's too complicated and not important. The short version is all Burmese are Myanmar but not all Myanmar are Burmese) We ate desserts for about an hour while we watched MTV Asia, and 2 Thai music video channels. The TV was really loud and people sang along with the songs when they knew the words. Every time Brittany Spears would come on naked in a bathtub or some "sexy" girl would be in a video Mr. Kahm (who was pretty buzzed) would exclaim; oh, I like!! And it was really funny every time he did it.

Eventually, Kahm and Aom and I went and sat outside. Kahm is hysterical when he's drunk and Aom and I were laughing really hard. Nang cam out and asked Kanm what we were doing. He looked at her and with a complete deadpan expression said in English; oh, we are looking at the beautiful stars! She looked up at the cloudy starless sky and gave him a dirty look. He shrugged and Aom and I fell out as we were laughing so hard. Mr. Kahm is easily one of the funniest people I've ever known when he's drunk. He's a good guy and we, along with Mr. Subine have become really good friends, but when he's drunk he's hysterical. Thip had told me this but I hadn't seen it before. I guess maybe that's why I bought the whiskey...

Anyway, that was last night and tonight it's quiet. It was another blue sky, low 80's kind of day in Chiang Mai. I don't mean to rub it in as I see what the weather is doing back home and in most of the US. It's just a Chiang Mai thing. Another beautiful day in Paradise and a pretty darn good day in general.

Number 36

Written Sunday night and posted Monday night.

It’s late and I’ve just returned to Giao’s house. Today was a really good day. I’m so glad I screwed up my reservations and had this day with my new friends in Hanoi. The day started with the usual Pho. Mrs. Giao has several young girls who work for her. Every morning they smile and giggle and look at me. I make faces or mimic them and they laugh even more. Giao says they’re shy and want to communicate but don’t know English. This morning, after we finished eating, Giao went upstairs to get something and I went into the main dining area for the restaurant. The giggling started and one of the girls picked up a large tray with three heaping bowls of Pho and headed for a table to serve it. Pho is served with fried bread sticks, for dunking, which wouldn’t fit on the tray so I picked up the bowl and followed her to the table. I dramatically offered it to the customer who was surprised but smiled broadly and the girls all broke up. Mrs. Giao laughed the hardest. The Vietnamese get a bad rap. They are every bit as friendly and happy and as hospitable as the Thai’s but they aren’t perceived that way. In fact, I have been treated amazingly well here by everyone I’ve come in contact with.

We drove to the LERES center and I held a final meeting with each group. I praised them for their hard work and excellent results and thanked each and every one for making my job easy. I took a few extra minutes with each group to personalize my expression of appreciation by pointing out something really good that each of them had done. I’m so proud of them. They’ve worked long and hard and come up with so much more then we were asked to produce in less time then we were slated to have. We gathered for one less discussion and they presented me with a gift. A lacquered wooden statue and some cards that each of them had signed with a personal message. I was touched and once again moved by their kindness and generosity.

Giao came by at 11:30 to hold a debriefing session. He assembled the whole group and asked them one by one to tell what they did and give feedback on the process. Interestingly he didn’t know the names of about ½ of them. Each time someone spoke he wrote down their name and a few notes about what they said. He asked Ha to sit next to me and interpret but he was going so fast I only caught about half of it. They all said nice things about me and they way I had chosen to approach the work. At the end he asked me to say a few words. I reiterated my praise and then everyone applauded. He then thanked me and gave me a big hug and everyone applauded again. He said something else and they all smiled and clapped. Ha said he had just told them we were all going out to lunch on him. We packed up our stuff and walked downstairs to assemble the convoy. (Giao’s car and about 15 scooters) I rode with Giao, who laughingly suggested that when Bush had come to Hanoi his motorcade was smaller.

We got to the restaurant first. Giao ordered a bunch of things and the waiters started bring food just as everyone arrived.

A quick side note about something I haven’t mentioned yet. When the Vietnamese speak it always sounds like they’re angry or at least agitated. It takes a while to get used to. When I first got here I would often hear the students discussing something and come over to see what the problem was. It has a very aggressive sound to it but it’s a complete contradiction to how warm and friendly they are.

Back to the lunch. First was the beer and peanuts. A few students didn’t have beer but most did and Giao kept buying until they quit drinking. Then came boiled tofu with greens. Next was a sauteed vegetable in a garlic sauce. This was followed by French fries with three dipping sauces. Then they brought the hot pots to the table along with food to cook in them. The hot pots are large kettles on propane burners with a soup and some vegetables in them. Each one came with a heaping plate of tofu, noodles, more vegetables, beef, mushrooms and some other stuff. One student (a woman) would add things to the hot pot and as they were done they would take them out and put them on a large dish for everyone to take using their chopsticks. This went on for a long time and was really tasty. Phong suggested I take a picture of the sign that said they serve dog so I walked over to take the picture and saw most of a cooked dog on a cart. Voung had come over to take my picture by the sign and took a picture of me and the dog. It was incredibly gross but I took a photo also. I’ll put a warning on the site with the photos…Lunch involved a lot of toasting and clanging of glasses and the 20 or so of us had a great hour and a half together.

Giao took off and we headed for the main museum in Hanoi. Every single student came along. We saw the water puppet show, played on the outdoor interactive exhibits and went inside to see the permanent collection and one that was running for a few months. I don’t care much for most museums but this was fun. When it was time to go, Dot and Ling had to leave us. It was hard saying goodbye and I truly felt sad to see them go. They thanked me and hoped that they would see me again in Hanoi. The rest of us headed for a tea/coffee shop and spent a couple hours talking and laughing and taking pictures. Then it was time to say goodbye to Hoin and Nam and Thau (who is one of my favorites) and Hien. They asked Ha, in Vietnamese if they could hug me. She asked me and I said they’d better. There were expressions of gratitude, both ways, and hugs and more feeling of sadness. There were even some tears from a few of the students. Hoin’s boyfriend came to pick her up. I had never met him but he took the time to express his appreciation for all the things he had heard about me from her. The students took a lot of pictures of me hugging them and said they were afraid my wife would get jealous. They are so genuine and unassuming that to hug or to put their arms around me or each other for a photo is completely natural and refreshing.

From the tea/coffee shop, our dwindling numbers went to the Hanoi Hilton. We got there at 4:20 and it closed at 4:30. They wouldn’t let us in. I took some outside shots and told them not to worry. It wasn’t high on my list and I had seen the outside and taken a few photos so I was happy. We lost the other Dot and Medo after the "Hilton" so there was another handshake and a big hug for our short round little Medo. The rest of us headed for Sword Lake so I could take some daylight photos. It was a really nice ride past imposing government buildings, fancy shops, and block after block of little shops where people sold things. We stopped at a particularly nice place and stood around the lake for awhile so the students could do that thing they do best which is spending an inordinate amount of time determining what to eat next and where to eat it. After a long time it was decided. In the meantime we lost Vuong and Nough. I assumed Vuong (the Monkey Boy) would be hooking up with us again before the night was over but I had to have a hug from my good friend and hard worker Nough. We traveled on to dinner with our numbers depleted but not our spirit.

We ate at a cafeteria type place where they served a beef steak and large meat ball with greens, French fries and tomato. It was served in a cast iron covered skillet steaming hot and smelled great. It was brought to the table sizzling and steaming and you let it sit a few minutes because it was still cooking. It also came with a warm version of my new favorite dipping bread. We ate and it was, as all the meals I’ve had here, really good. There was a small boy with his family at the table next to us and I made faces at him which made his parents laugh. Every time I’ve had fun with small children in restaurants, stores or on the street their parents have encouraged them and laughed along with all of us. Once again we had a really good time just being together, eating and talking.

After dinner we lost a few more, had some more hugs and thank you's and hopes to see each other again some day, and we were down to 5. Phong, Ha, Chum, Ahn and I went to one of Phong’s now famous, completely secret coffee/tea house with mellow Vietnamese folk music. This one was down some stairs, through an alley and into a courtyard. We sat outside under a star fruit tree and ordered the bad tea they drink and a better one for me. We looked at each other’s pictures (on our cameras), told stories, laughed and began to feel kind of sad. They had a few guitars on the wall (common in these places) and Ha asked if I could play. I said not really but Phong and Vuong the Monkey Boy, who had joined us, said I could so she asked and I said OK. I don’t play guitar and sing in front of very many people. My playing and voice aren’t very good, but these were my friends and I felt they had been open and vulnerable with me so I played several songs. They were surprised and recorded me playing on their cameras. Then Vuong sang a folk song from his province in a quiet, emotive voice, followed by Chum singing in French, Ha singing a Vanessa Williams song, Ahn sang something I didn’t know and Phong ended it all with a quiet a capella version of a heavy metal love ballad. It was so beyond anything I’ve done in a social setting for so many years and yet it felt so good to be a part of it.

It was time to go and Ahn and Chum got their hugs. Ahn and Phong kind of have a thing so she had been with us a lot. She gave me a hug and hoped that I would come back to Vietnam soon. Chum and I would speak French together and it made her laugh. Mostly because I don’t really speak French. She was there everyday with a smile and I really appreciated her. She gave me several hugs and rode off on the back of Ahn’s scooter. Voung left but is planning on coming here in the morning to say goodbye. The Monkey Boy is a great kid and I like him a lot. I’ll definitely miss him. I rode back to Giaos’ with Phong, and mother Ha came with to make sure Giao wasn’t too unhappy that we were kind of late. They both will be going to the airport with me to say goodbye. They are my two buds, my absolute favorites and I will miss them both as more then students. They are my friends. They helped me immeasurably. They were selfless and giving and caring. And they are truly good people. (even though Phong, or Bruce Wayne as he calls himself is a self –proclaimed lady killer)

We woke Giao up but he wasn’t mad. I guess the hug and the beer have washed away any problems between us. He was genuinely happy at the lunch and lavished praise on me. I also know that he asked the Dean and Dr. Chi to follow up on their invitation for me to come teach at VNU. So in the end, it all worked out. I found an amazing city that I love. I found a large group of friends who met me as a teacher and accepted me as a friend. Friends who are truly sad that I am leaving and friends that I feel truly sad to leave. I have these crazy thoughts about trying to make a life here but there are so many obstacles in the way. So many impracticalities. But just the fact that I’m thinking about it amazes me.

Don’t know anything about Chiang Mai today except that the Laos and the Thai’s sent me a phone message (SMS) saying they miss me and are looking forward to my return. But I do know that this was a great day in Hanoi and one of the best days I’ve had in a really long time

P. S. I've arrived safely in Chiang Mai after a long day of travel.

Number 35

Well, I never was all that good in math. For reasons previously discussed I had planned on leaving 2 days early, Sunday the 22nd. The problem, which I realized today, is that the 22nd is Monday. My ticket is on Air Asia and they have a policy that you can’t make any changes to your flight within 48 hours of scheduled takeoff. I was prepared to try to plead ignorance (with affidavits to back me up) but the Hanoi office decided to close today and the main reservation number for Vietnam gets you a message that says the number has been changed and the new number is the office that is closed. So, since I don’t believe in coincidence, I guess I’m supposed to be here another day. I can’t say I’m sorry and in fact I’m pleased to be here one more day.

Once again we worked all day and made a lot of progress. Most groups are pretty much done so tomorrow we’re going to role play a client coming into the clinic, have a brainstorming session on general rules and quit at noon so we can have the afternoon and evening to entertain the teacher and take him to the Water Puppet show, some museums, dinner and no doubt a few other surprises. Giao has given his blessing and the students seem very pleased. And I am too. There are over 30 students that have been involved in this project and I like them all. It’ll be nice to “hang out” together for an afternoon and evening before I leave.

This morning, on the way to the LERES center something rather extraordinary happened. Giao drove me to the University and Dot, Chum and Ha were to meet me there. I was to ride with Dot but his bike is smaller so we waited for Ha to show up so they could switch. Just as she got there, Giao came out and said his seminar was starting later so he would drive me. We’re getting along much better and actually had a nice talk at breakfast while we ate steaming bowls of his wife’s Pho. After coffee we headed out with his horn blaring until we got about 6 blocks from the center. The road is all torn up because of construction and the traffic had come to a dead halt. After 5 minutes of sitting without moving Giao agreed to let me get out and walk. He confirmed the directions and off I went, sort of. There are no sidewalks and there was very little room to walk around all the cars, bikes, scooters etc. Ha, who was riding with Chum, saw me walking, got off the scooter and walked with me. She is my guardian, the leader of the students and a real mother hen. There was no way she was going to let me walk through that mess alone. We walked for about a minute and then it happened. We simply couldn’t move. Not only was all the traffic stopped but people couldn’t walk. It was unreal. Standing in a traffic jam on foot. I held my camera above my head and took some photos and they do a pretty fair job of showing how amazing it was. Ha was worried that I would be uncomfortable but I was so amazed by what was happening that I just smiled and told her not to worry. After about 5 minutes we finally could walk a little bit at a time and when we came to the street where we turn off the main road it was completely blocked again. Five more minutes of standing still and we were able to turn the corner. We walked the rest of the way and once again enjoyed walking up 5 flights of stairs.

It was pretty quiet in the office because half the students were still stuck out in traffic. I had given Hoin some money to buy pastries and treats for the students since they had to work on Saturday and she outdid herself. I’m sure some of the students gave her more money. There were delicious little pastries, fruit, bags of crunchy snacks that looked like chips and tasted like shrimp or fire or green beans. They had made coffee and tea. We ate and talked and laughed until everyone showed up and then had our morning briefing and I started my round of meetings. Part way through the morning I realized my above mentioned departure mistake. About ½ hour later I realized it was unresolvable and I announced I would be staying another day. I said I would be at the LERES center all day and anyone who wanted to stop by to work or ask questions about their topics should feel free to do so but that no one should feel obligated to come. Of course, they all said they would be there. I inadvertently found out that Giao had asked each group to give him a report on what I had them do and what their finished product was. I called everyone together and told them I understood why he wanted the information and I encouraged them to be as honest as they could be. I explained that he needs to guide this boat through the rapids and that knowing what I had done and not done was information he needed to protect the Clinic. They seemed to be relieved and my sense is that some of them were reluctant to do anything behind my back but even more reluctant to mess with Giao. Again we have had no faculty involvement in our work and I dealt with the issue as a learning tool and not a criticism or complaint. They asked if I was sad that I couldn’t leave and I told them I don’t believe in coincidences and that I am supposed to be here another day and that was just fine with me. Morale was sky high and a lot of the finishing touches got done before we quit for the day.

I must pause to mention what happened at lunch time. Lunch time had it’s own little bizarreness. Phong and Ha went out to pick up lunch to bring back to the center. While they were gone a card game broke out. Thau. Dot, Chum and Miem played. It’s a game the Thai’s taught me with one subtle difference. When you lose, you get something written on your face in pen. And people lost more then once. Each time someone lost the others went wild laughing gleefully while the one to be written on protested without any sympathy from the winners. I didn’t play but took pictures…

When we left for the night, Phong, Ahn, Tau, Ha and Miem and I headed for an outdoor market to buy Sam a present. I saw it on the street and Giao told Phong to take me to where they sell them. We made a really crazy/fun drive through Hanoi’s rush hour to a place that was about 30 minutes away. It seems that no matter where we go it’s at least 20 or 30 minutes through the video game traffic. I asked Phong why they don’t go to closer places but he just shrugged and said we always need to go to a special place. We got there, made the purchase and headed to Sword Lake. They pronounce it with a hard W so it took me awhile to figure out what they were saying. It’s Lake Of The Isles and it’s near the Night Market. It’s a well lit area with hundreds of shops and restaurants. Ha took off for a few minutes and returned with a gift from them to me. It’s a hanging mobile of Chinese hats in descending sizes. It was really sweet of them. We walked the lake for awhile, crossed over to the Market and looked at some souvenirs. (like other “trades’ the souvenir trade had a series of streets which is the Night Market)

I must stop to tell you how the students take care of me. This area had extremely busy streets to cross from the lake to the Night Market and narrow, dangerous streets in the Night Market. With Ha calling out instructions in Vietnamese I was flanked at all times when crossing the street by no less then 3 students. They would position themselves around me and signal cars to stop as we crossed the busy streets. When I realized it, I laughed and told them to cut it out but Ha was having none of it. I couldn’t remember the last time someone physically protected me (except maybe when Amy stepped in front of that kid in West Yellowstone and told him I was going to kill him if he didn’t step back). It felt really odd at first but I understood they all realized it’s truly dangerous to the neophyte and they really wanted to protect me because they care. It gave me a warm fuzzy and I got into it. Walking like the president with 3-4 people flanking me and stopping cars so I could cross. I really love these kids. I teased them about it but they weren’t backing off. Even Phong. So we walked trough the Market which actually had some fun stuff and the mandatory myriads of people in transport devices. We ate at an outdoor place that had low tables and plastic stools that, in the US, come with backyard sets for grade school kids. Ahn asked me if I was going to be able to get down on the chair. I assured her I could get down but had no confidence that I could get back up. Dinner was good. A beefsteak covered with a tasty brown gravy and topped with a generous portion of French fries. Everyone was given a loaf of hard bread for dipping and a pair of chopsticks. There was a tomato and cucumber salad that was really fresh and tasty and cold green tea for everyone. I sat by a new student, Chuan who asked a lot of questions about Amy and the kids and the weather and my job. Real questions that she was curious about and not simply to fill the emptiness between us. The food was good and the dinner conversation was fun. These are college students after all but discussions of cynicism or drugs or getting drunk or sexual innuendos are just not part of their consciousness and I really am beginning to like that. After dinner we walked a couple hundred yards and had to try a Hanoi cold dessert. It’s hard to describe but it’s served in a tall glass, and has yellow stuff that isn’t lemon. It has white stuff that may be coconut milk, cubes of clear jello like things and crushed ice, Mother Ha insisted I try it. I told her the story of not eating the vegetable soup Noym made and sitting at the table all night but she persisted. I tried it and it was good. (unlike the soup) I ate almost the whole thing. At dinner and at the dessert I had to fight with them to pay my share let alone what I wanted to do which was to pay the whole bill. We talked of the logic of our relative wealth but they don’t care. They do it out of the goodness of their heart and it continues to humble me.

We headed back (in formation) to where we parked the scooters and I bolted away and crossed the street on my own with great drama and joy. Ha even had to laugh. Then it was back to the body guard system. Phong and the four women putting their bodies between me and the crazy drivers without thinking twice. I really don’t know what more to say about that. As we neared the parking area I walked ahead and showed them I could do it alone and they loosened up a bit.

From there Thau headed home, proceeded by many thank you's and have a good sleep and things like that and the rest of us headed to a tea house that played the music of a very famous Vietnamese folk composer and singer. This too was a trip. We drove awhile and then pulled onto a side street, then an alley, then an offshoot of an alley and then down a dark narrow corridor where we parked the scooters. It should have been a drug dealer’s safe haven but it was a tea house dedicated to this guy Trinh. Again we sat at the plastic baby chairs. The walls were covered with really cool prints and posters and wall hangings. It reminded me of the old coffeehouses of the’60s. Like a beat generation coffee house, the people were interesting to look at and I garnered some attention by being the only non Vietnamese in the place. As always, it was friendly stares of curiosity and not mean looks. When I made eye contact, almost always, the response was a smile from the person, which I happily returned. The place was filled and we found the last table. We ordered different coffees and teas and listened to the music played n a sound system, since the composer is dead. We talked and laughed and simply enjoyed being together. It was time to leave and even though they lived in different directions, Ha and Ahn rode with us all the way to Giao’s house. I’ve been told that when I take a taxi to the airport from Giao’s on Monday, several student want to ride with me in the cab to say thank you and goodbye. Their amazing generosity continues to blow me away.

So it’s off to sleep and I’ll post this tomorrow. Giao still hasn’t paid the Internet bill which I find curious….

Today was a great day in Hanoi. A city I could enjoy living in under certain circumstances, but ones that will probably never come to fruition. And as for Chiang Mai, Aom wrote and said be sure to tell your friends and family that it was a good day in Chiang Mai. And hurry back so you can see for yourself. I am a blessed man. The universe has provided me a second chance to see through my own, unjaded eyes, what is out there. Now let’s see what I do with it.

Number 34

Written Friday night and posted Saturday morning.

Today started with a big bowl of Pho, the Giao ride to the University and a scooter ride to the LERES center. All were good. I held a meeting with each group and got them a little more focused. They’re all doing good work and some are really quite excellent at it. Giao called around 10 to say we were having lunch with the Dean of the Law School and the head of the Law department. I still don’t understand the hierarchy, but Bruce had told me about this meeting and how important it is to the Clinic and specifically to the professors who are pushing it. (although I've seen no evidence of any faculty member openly pushing or supporting the Clinic) The Dean is new and the old Dean had refused permission for a Clinic. Somehow, the fate of the Vietnam National University Law School Clinic rested, to some extent, on my ability to persuade the Dean that the Clinic is good for the Law School, the students and the community and that I had the expertise to help get it off the ground. No pressure there…

Giao picked me up, sort of (he had Vuong and Ha walk me a few blocks from the center so he didn’t have to drive down the narrow streets) and we went to the University. We met with Dean Tai in his office. He’s a quiet soft spoken man who doesn’t speak English so Giao interpreted. I did my best to act like an adult and someone who has some kind of expertise in the area of setting up Law School Clinics. It was kind of like when you see on the news where some President or Prime Minister is sitting in his/her office with some foreign dignitary. (except that though I’m foreign, I'm no dignitary) He spoke slowly and softly and weighed his words carefully. I kind of got into it and had some fun acting as if I knew what I was talking about. Nodding knowingly, waxing philosophically and getting him to smile a few times with some self-deprecating humor. We were joined by the head of the Law faculty Dr. Chi and Professor Vann and we went off to lunch. They chose a micro brewery with about a dozen huge metal stills behind a glass wall. It was an upscale place and the food was excellent. There were about 5 courses and at one point they brought some greens with wax paper on top. It turns out it was rice paper and Professor Vann rolled me a big fatty which contained some beef, some vegetables, some fruit and I don’t know what else. It tasted good. Dr. Chi mixed some chili sauce into my dipping bowl and I gave it a whirl. We talked about the American legal system, the Vietnamese legal system, and a lot about the Clinic. Vann helped Giao interpret as Dr. Chi also speaks no English. I guess it went well because at the end the Dean asked me to come back in March when the Clinic will be unveiled as Vietnam’s first Law School Clinic. Giao and Vann beamed so I guess I fooled everyone.

Dr. Chi drove me back to the LERES center with Vann and asked if I would be willing to come back to Hanoi and teach a seminar on the American Legal System. Vann told me later that this was a great honor as it would take a lot of effort and trouble to get approval for me to do that. OK, it did swell my head some but I guess to some extent I earned it a little.

The afternoon was spent working again with the students. They had asked if they could take me for an outing Saturday afternoon and I told them they deserved it and I was all for it. They made some plans but about an hour later Giao called me and told me he had canceled the outing (which was going to be to a museum and a park) because they needed to work. It is clear to me now that Giao knows everything I say and do pretty much within a few minutes of me doing it. It smacks of the Communist paranoia that I haven't really seen but my sense is that Giao has to be very careful about what I'm saying and doing as he and the other faculty members who are supporting the Clinic feel the whole thing could collapse if the Dean isn't happy. As mentioned, the old Dean wouldn't allow the Clinic and the new Dean appears to understand the value in it and they are very carefully bringing him along. So it doesn't piss me off but it's a little disconcerting. It’s the student's day off and they had volunteered to come in but I have strict orders from Bruce to go with the flow so I said fine.

I like Giao but he has done a number of things to make sure I know who is in charge. As mentioned, he has students reporting on pretty much every decision I make and changes things just to let me know that he can. My passive aggressive way of responding was to change my return flight from Tuesday to Sunday without asking or consulting with him and telling him I had something I needed to get back to Chiang Mai to do.

He seemed relieved that I was leaving early and didn't try to play me. In fact, he seemed to relax and warm up to me once I told him I was leaving early. I think this whole thing is hard on him especially having to trust me not to screw up his Clinic. My sense is that he appreciates and respects how well the students are progressing and understands that I understand what is at stake. The odd part is that not one member of the Law faculty is working with us or helping us. I asked Giao who would guide the students when I leave and he said Professor Vann. I asked her who would be guiding the students when I leave and she said Giao....

Frankly, all the work that I can do will be done and any loose ends can easily be tied up with email. I’ve discussed it with the students and there will be no problems. Candidly, between Bruce and Giao I’ve had enough of this game and have no desire to put the students through any more work just to say that we did it. They have done remarkably well and deserve to have a few days off before they start class again. Most of the students are not from Hanoi and won't be able to go home to see thier families for another 4 months if I stay. If we weren't done I'd stay, but I've grown very close to them in a short time and choose to protect them from being pawns in this Clinic political game.

I love Hanoi and I’ve had a great time, but as all of you know I don’t particularly like being dicked around. Despite the exceedingly bad planning and the lack of support, we got the job done. (or will have it done by tomorrow) All the policies and procedures will be done. All the forms will be done. All the students are energized and ready to go and the Dean and Dr. Chi have blessed the Clinic and openly endorsed my work. Neither Bruce nor Giao nor I could ask for, or expect, more. I’m not trying to blow my own horn, I’m just stating the facts. The students did most of the work. I only did what I was sent to do. I just did it faster then we all assumed it would take.

Later in the afternoon I was informed by Ha that on Saturday we would quit at 3 and go on our outing. I don’t know if she called Giao and got him to change his mind or if she sat all the students down and told them we were going to do it and no one was going to tell Giao. Ha is clearly the leader of the group. She took on the hardest topic and helps the others when I'm busy.

When it was time to leave for the day Thau, a shy young woman who has been working really hard on her topic, came up to me and said “thank you for your caring for us and for leaving your family to come help us”. Again, each and every student came up to me on their way out to wish me a good evening, a nice dinner, or to simply say thank you. I’d like to bring them all home with me though I don’t think Muki would be all that thrilled about it. They have asked about my wife and children and I’ve shown them photos. Several of them have told me how young and pretty my wife is, how beautiful my daughter is and a few of the girls have told me my son is very handsome. Since they’re all about Sam’s age I’ve tried to fix him up but when I tell them that they giggle and cover their faces. When I get a chance to post the student’s photos maybe Sam will find one he likes and I’ll see what I can do.

Phong, who had been gone all day taking exams, showed up around 6 and picked me up. We went out to dinner and then to a club where he said there would be rock and roll. It was a few blocks from Vann’s house so she showed up which was amusing seeing her in a small rock bar. She stayed long enough to chat a little and left before it got loud. Phong’s “friend” Mia joined us and we watched one of the more amusing musical acts that I’ve seen in awhile. Phong is into metal and Seattle grunge so when he was excited about seeing a rock and roll band I expected loud metal. Instead it was a Vietnamese band that was a cross between a parody of a lounge act and your basic Holiday Inn bar band. They played Proud Mary and Pride and Joy and songs you usually hear at weddings. They had 5 guys but during the 1 ½ hours that we watched them they had at least another 5-6 other people come up and play or sing something. Mia said one was the bar owner, one was somebody’s wife and like that. The best part, the very best part was that they all sang in English with a heavy Vietnamese accent so it sounded like a Saturday Night Live parody. They mangled the words which only added to the comedy. I tried really hard not to laugh as they were well received and every song ended with loud applause from everyone in the place. It was a hoot! Like being an extra in a comedy sketch. I didn’t want to get back to Giao’s house too late so we left a little after 10 and Phong drove me back.

Giao was up, asked if I had a good time and then mentioned that Wendy had called and wondered why I was coming back early. It was his way of fishing for information so I responded by saying Wendy knew I had to get back to deal with a situation and I can’t imagine why she would have said that. He gave up on his half-hearted attempt to figure out why I was really leaving and let it go. We talked about what time we would leave for the LERES center in the morning and parted amicably. I think he’s a decent guy who is caught up in Departmental and Government bullshit. I don’t think he really likes messing with me but has little choice. As such I choose to continue to think of him as a basically decent guy and blame Bruce for making things worse by sending me here at the worst possible time for the students.

The good news is that I have remained calm, kept my end of the bargain and enjoyed the hell out of Hanoi. I had no idea what to expect before I came here but it was something along the lines of gray block buildings, unhappy people, joyless brainwashed students and your basic Communist oppressive regime. What I found was a vibrant, exciting city, amazingly hospitable people and a little bit more of me. And that is definitely a good thing. I had a really good time today in Hanoi. I truly love this city. Who would have ever believed that I would be writing that?

P.S. Aom informed me that while I am being missed, it was another good day in Chiang Mai. As much as I enjoy this place I’ll be glad to get back to my adopted home and my adopted family. And even more so to soon get back to my real home and my real family.

Number 33

Written Thursday night and posted Friday morning.

Today we worked hard. Giao had a 7 am class so I had to get up around 5:45 to ride with him to the University. Another ride through Hanoi with the amazing Giao. I watched more carefully and I realized that half the time he is honking he doesn’t seem to be honking at anyone in particular. It seems he just likes honking the horn. When we arrived at the University, three students were waiting to take me to the LERES center. The student’s level of dedication and hospitality is second to none. I rode with a student I hadn’t met yet whose name is Dot. Like Phong he negotiated the streets of Hanoi with skill and indifference to the mayhem all around him. We rode over with two of the women students (Ha and Hien) and it’s clear that gender plays no role in the level of courage and skill these people possess. I found myself contemplating selling my bike and buying a scooter as we careened through the streets of Hanoi. We arrived at the LERES center but it was early and there was no one there with a key to the office or the front door. Ha rang the bell and a woman let us in. We headed up the 5 flights of stairs, but everyone stopped on the fourth floor and went into this woman’s apartment. It turns out that the building houses a few offices but mostly it’s apartments. It also turns out that this woman didn’t know any of the students but she invited us in and gave us tea. I was a bit taken aback but it was explained that she was simply being hospitable to the American gentleman. A little while later someone with a key showed up and we went upstairs. I asked Dot to thank the woman and he shrugged and did as I asked. It seemed completely common place to the students that she would let the American in and give him tea.

The students started showing up about 30 minutes early and were all there at least 15 minutes before they were told we would start. Introductions were made with the new students I hadn’t met yet and we got right to it. We worked all morning. The students asked a lot of good questions and made a lot of progress. Giao showed up around 11 and disrupted things but left after only a few minutes and we continued on.

Around noon, Professor Vann showed up. I had met her in the Philippines. She teaches Criminal Law and Procedure and we had spoken several times at the conference about Criminal Law in the US and Vietnam. It was nice to see her. She brought new photos of her two young sons and we all made a fuss over them. The students went off to lunch and Vann and I sat down to lunch with the LERES office manager and a student from another University in Hanoi who is in the VNU CLE program. We had a delicious lunch that the office manager had been cooking in her office all morning. After lunch, Vann left, the students came back early and everyone went back to work.

Wednesday, when we first started, I divided the students into 5 groups and gave each group a couple of topics to work on. I would sit down with each group for 5 minutes or so every hour to see how they were doing. In between I sat in the main office and they would come in one at a time to ask me questions. I really felt like I was finally doing something productive in Hanoi and it felt good. We took an afternoon tea break and discussed the philosophy behind what we were doing and tried to put the whole thing into context. I could see the light going on for most of them and that also felt good. Before we went back to work they decided to sing a few songs and play a game. As I sat there listening to them sing together I tried to imagine 15-20 American law students singing together but couldn’t. The game they played was fun and included a lot of loud, genuine laughter. You take 2 pieces of paper. On one you write If……(a complete sentence like, If I had a million dollars) and on the other you write Then…(a complete sentence like, My hair would catch on fire) Without looking at the writing, the game leader would pick one from each pile and read them together. My favorite one was also there’s. “If Evan was really Santa Claus…He would stand on the table and do a funny dance”. You had to be there to appreciate it. I was, and I did. Around 4, several of the students approached me and invited me to go to the West Lake and then to dinner and see some sights after we were done for the day. I accepted and they seemed quite pleased. These “kids” can’t seem to do enough for me and both Giao and Vann say it’s because they appreciate my coming to help them. It’s quite humbling and is the true antidote to cynicism. When we stopped for the day each and every student came up to say good bye and wish me a pleasant evening.

We walked down to the street level and took the scooters outside. It was then that I realized I would be riding with Vuong. My initial reaction was concern. It was rush hour. Vuong’s scooter is old and slow and Vuong is much smaller then Phong or Dot. He’s a really nice guy and assured me it would be no problem so I mounted up and off we went into the video game which is Hanoi at rush hour. He did really well. He drives slower then Phong and more cautiously and within a few minutes of riding with him, and seeing him negotiate a couple of really difficult turns, I felt completely at ease. The five of us drove to the lake and found a quiet spot to sit and watch the sunset. I took some pictures but they don’t do it justice. We went to a small restaurant on the lake and of course went up to the second floor. We sat at a table by a huge window (no glass just an open set of shutters and enjoyed dinner while looking at the city lights over the lake. The place had one menu. I know this because the woman who ran it had to come get it when another group of people walked in. They ordered spring rolls and a beef and vegetable dish with deep fried things that looked like onion rings but had nothing inside. We ate with chop sticks and everything was delicious. During dinner, we had a nice talk about the history of Vietnam and they had a lot of questions about things they had heard about America. They’re bright and inquisitive and very open-minded. Just like the students at the GAJE conference I felt completely at ease with them and very happy to be sharing their company. They worried that I wasn’t eating enough and tried to keep me from paying.

After dinner, Vuong and Ling and I went to Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and saw some other “sites”. In front of the mausoleum is a large paved plaza. People were walking around and I realized, after a while that it was the Vietnamese version of walking around the lakes. Couples, families and single people came there to walk for exercise. It’s a beautiful building and it was a beautiful night.

After awhile we headed back to Giao’s house. Ling lives near Giao and Vuong didn’t know how to get there so she led the way. I asked him why she didn’t simply give him directions but she didn’t know exactly where the house is and it’s in a newly developed area where they haven’t gotten around to naming the streets yet. She got us close and I started to recognize things so we eventually found it.

So despite my original misgivings about how Bruce and Giao screwed up my part of the Clinic project it was clearly a really good day in Hanoi. So good that I don’t know how it was in Chiang Mai. Except that pretty much every day is a good day there.