-^-for posterity-^-

a mass of white pours out of the local elementary school. all traffic stops out of necessity. the students are dressed in their clean, white shirts with small red scarves. they pour out, some ambling across the street laughing and others filling the sidewalks.

the main street here in long xuyen is forced to stop every day around this time. the candy vendors eagerly stand ready to hawk their goods. as i pass, slowly walking beside my bicycle through this eager mass of white shirts and red handkerchiefs, i am greeted with many friends, “hello!”’s.

the students normally play in front of their giant, u-shaped school. they play in circles singing, dancing and generally yelling. they kick small balls and boys run after girls. they kick up large clouds of dust and are completely focused on themselves. their universes revolve around their dusty playground completely covered with smiling children.

they wear square backpacks with cartoon characters on them. they look like uncomfortable briefcases with two, small, shoulder straps. they are red and yellow and pink and the children look impressively important when they carry them by their side. they look like miniature businessmen with colorful cases. i’m sure they’re all full of crumpled up papers, crayons and an assortment of old candy wrappers.

my life is different but only subtly. my universe still revolves around my physical experiences and my needs are generally satisfied by people who sell sweets. oh, and my briefcase is full of old candy wrappers. i’ve moved on from crayons though, to colored pens.