• * Note: I wrote this while still in Vietnam and actually forgot that I still hadn’t posted it.

The feelings associated with leaving anywhere are always mixed for me. I am looking forward to getting back to the states in some respects. Back to what is normal, where I can talk to everyone, where the food is recognizable and I know what to expect next. But, there is a part of me that’s sad to be leaving this great country. I have been sad, frustrated, perplexed, lonely, hungry, sick, happy and awed at the same and at different times during this trip. Through it all, I think that I’ve learned a bit about myself and I know that I have learned a lot about the people of Vietnam. I’m certain that there will be numerous reflections on my trip in the future as I re-count it for friends and family at home. I’m sad to be going home, yet excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.

I found out about two days ago that the contract that I had confirmed prior to leaving, has been canceled. It’s been a bit stressful the past two days, dealing with leaving and the end of my vacation but also now the fact that I don’t know what to expect when I do get home. It will be an adventure in its self figuring out where I will end up in the next couple of weeks. Thank goodness for friends. I have multiple places that I can stay if needed during the next couple of weeks while I wait for the perfect job offer.

I want to say thanks to Kim and Mike for putting up with me during the past couple of days. I ended up getting pretty sun-burnt at the beach my first day out and Kim was a champ trying to make sure that I was comfortable. Then I was sick….that’s twice now during my trip. Fortunately, it didn’t last long and I was back to normal quickly.

Mui Ne, although pretty…is a pretty boring place if you aren’t interested in water-sports or if your like me and get too much sun the very first day! I knew I should have used more sun-block!!

Kim, Mike and I went out for a night on the town my last night there and I think Mike snuck in some pictures of Kim and I dancing. Yes….I danced, although I’m certain that most of the time I looked like I was having some sort of seizure! I even played with Kim’s practice poi (don’t know if I spelled that correctly or not but poi are what fire dancers use). It was a lot of fun but if I had been using real poi, I would probably have 3rd degree burns all over my body and be stuck in some Vietnamese ICU at the moment. Thank goodness, they were not real!!

Airport acquaintances can be quite interesting. I was just interrupted by some guy from Seattle that proceeded to tell me his entire life story as well as the life story of several of his friends. I love when people start a conversation and within the first 2 minutes, they are telling you how ‘rich’ they are. Like I care? I don’t base my judgment of people on how much money or possessions that they have but rather what kind of person they are. So I sat and listened to how many houses this guy has and how many cars and that he is soon to be moving to Vietnam where, in his words “material things dont matter” WTF? He just gave me a 20 min dissertation on how much material wealth he has then makes a statement like that? I guess I just don’t understand some people.

So, I managed to get away from him for the moment but he is on the same flight as me and I hope like hell that I can avoid him during the flights and above all else…during my 8 hour layover!!

I’ve drank enough coffee to sink a ship but my Ambien is close at hand so I can get a little sleep on the flight. I am mostly rambling at this point as I am bored and don’t know what else to do with my time.

Airport observations:

There are only 8 non-Asians (other than me) waiting for the flight, all of which are couples.
There is one baby that is currently screaming it’s little head off and two toddlers.
Three people are lying on the seats sleeping
8 of us (yep me included) are sitting on the floor due to no seats available.
two people with I-pods in their ears
one woman with black eyes so big she looks like she had one hell of a fight with someone
Dumb and Dumber is playing on the TV with Vietnamese dubbing. You should really experience this at least once in your life. It’s crazy. There is only one voice for the dubbing and it’s totally monotone sounding. I don’t know how they stand listening to it.

My flight is getting ready to board so I’m going to sign off for now….see you in Seoul!!