-^-for posterity-^-

long bus rides, dirt and dust. not knowing where you're going but finding your way. oh, my.

i'm in long xuyen and the weather is thick but somehow cleaner. it's a much smaller town. only about one hundred and fifty thousand people live here. i'm staying and the new guest house of the university which is incredibly new. the outside looks like a new hotel. it's curved and chrome and thick. me and jack are the only two people staying in this wonderful house. we each have a relativly large living room, a nice sized bedroom and a small but adequate bathroom. the old guest house pales in comparison this this. i havn't seen one cockroach yet. i think i'm really gonna enjoy it here.

i'm going to live in that house for the next two years.

when we stand on the roof we can look into the windows of the teachers dorm rooms. that's when i feel the terrible guilt of privilege the most. the other teachers live three to a room. the light coming from their rooms seems blue. the students live eight to a room. eight to a room abou the size of my living room. i don't quite know how to have it all make sense in my head.

yesterday i attended my first class. jack was teaching some upper-intermediate students listening. the classroom filled and me and jack sat in the front of the room chatting. everyone giggled as they entered and i blushed a number of times. i tried to look as old as i possibly could: these students are my age. jack introduced me and said i was from philadelphia and that i also would be teaching here. the classroom burst out into whispers and chuckles. sounded like snakes. jack asked if i had anything i wanted to say. i stood up and said, "i'm looking forward to meeting all of you and teaching here." i said it in a deep, booming voice. it sounded strange like someone else was in control of my voice. i've never said anything like that before. i've never taught a class before and, here i was sitting infront of 40 students ready and willing to learn vietnamese. the rush of feelings overwhelmed me.

i bit my tounge when the class left. they all walked up to me and said hi and said that they wanted to meet me. they were all smiling and giggling.

the students appear to be very sincere. long xuyen seems like a wonderful little town. this whole adventure finally is turning into something.