-^-for posterity-^-

hanoi, hanoi.

flying over northern vietnam was an experience in itself. the war was not my war. the vietnam i konw is a peaceful vietnam. still, flying over northern vietnam watching brown mud rivers snake and amble mindlessly through jungle and watching small village after village pass below i couldn't help thinking about being a b-52 pilot. the clouds bellow appeared as small puffs of smoke. i could imagine the bombs falling to the ground and impacting, slowly, growing larger and larger and engulfing more and more life. all for what.

so i landed. i recovered from my vietnam flash-back and moved on. i went through customs with out so much as a crooked glance and moved into the throng of people awaiting travelers. i found alan with a sign that said mcc vietnam. i was pretty sure it was him. we boarded a taxi and sped off into the traffic of hanoi towards mcc's home base.

traffic in vietnam is like nothing i've ever seen in my life. cyclos scoot past everything and the whole world is trying to get a couple of inches in front of someone else. there are few cars but there are enough to block large sections of travel. i will have to digest this situation and explain it in more depth later.

i spent the day at the mcc house and ambling around hanoi. this city is incredible. i don't quite know what to make of it all and i will need time to report on everything. right now i'm tired as anything. it's almost 800 at night, friday night, and i'm almost asleep. my eyes are heavy and my fingers are clumsy. i havn't slept well since last tuesday night. it's friday. i already said that.

well, i'm safe and sweating. i'm excited and tired. i also keep trying to speak spanish to these vietnamese people.