-^-for posterity-^-

i left my plush room late this afternoon and mounted my bicycle. the road leading from my apartment to the main campus is rough. it is a dirt path that is covered with small potholes. when it rains it fills with water and, if you walk, you must take off your sandals and lift up your pants. there are rocks and crushed bricks mashed into the dirt and they provide obstacles when driving. you can’t drive much faster than you can walk and you have to avoid all of the walking students. coming up on a group of students fanned out on the makeshift road is a challenge: bicycles make no noise. you have to deftly coast behind them until your shadow gives away your presence. then you bounce past them silently and slowly.

i only went to print out something i had typed and make some photocopies of it but, like usual, i was swarmed by friendly teachers and students.

on my way out of the campus i bought a small sandwich full of peppers and cucumbers. it’s delicious. one of the heads of the foreign language center stopped me and asked if i wanted to have a cup of coffee. i sat with him and his fellow workers for over an hour talking about the similarities between mandarin and vietnamese. what an interesting conversation and what a fascinating man.

i went to make photocopies.

the photocopy shop is set alongside the dirt/rock road. inside there are always a number of teachers to talk to. the old man working there speaks english wonderfully. he wore a pink mask and was working underneath a photocopy machine with his shirt off. he rose to greet me saying, “hello jon. how was your day today?” how many photocopy technicians do you know that are bilingual?

he started introducing people to me in the shop. he pointed to his daughters and told me their names. he pointed to a man fixing an air-conditioned who had one good eye. his other eye was glass blue. he said that he was an engineer. i think he meant air conditioner repairman.

i returned to my apartment down my rocky, dirty road. i felt happy to be here. i didn’t even mind that i was sweating through my shirt.