-^-for posterity-^-

it’s late, i’m tired and this is “home”. the five hour bus ride went smoothly. i sat next to the driver and listened to some old tapes i brought from home. we drove at dark and the road was chaotic. bicycles were invisible until the last second. trucks wizzed by with horns and lights flashing. there are only two lanes and everyone wants to pass each other. horns, lights and bumps. the drive makes your shoulders tense.

thud, thud. honk, flash. vroooom.

it’s really enough to make you go a bit batty. i listened to larry stephenson. he sings in a bluegrass band and i heard him play when i was in highschool at the tylersport firehouse. songs like, “i see god”, “he was waiting at the alter”, “jesus hears, he cares, he can”, “when the roll is called up yonder”, and “over in glory land”. each song made a reference to heaven. the crisp chop of the mandolin, the soothing strum of the guitar and the ear-piercing voice of mr. stephenson. combine that with chaotic vietnamese traffic and you have quite a bit to think about.

long xuyen was wonderful. i can’t possibly say enough wonderful things about it. it’s such a small little city that hasn’t been tarnished by tourists. everywhere my white face travels i’m stared at. children point and old people smile. it’s all done quite cheerfully and rudely.

traveling from saigon to long xuyen is like visiting another country. it’s like going from philadelphia to wheeling west virginia. the cushy, semi-western culture of saigon is refreshing. it’s almost relaxing compared to the foreign land five hours south. there’s pizza here.

i’m sure you will all hear much more about it.

well, to bed. traveling has a way of sucking energy from you. you see so much and can’t possibly digest it all. your body just shuts down.