-^-for posterity-^-

eleven hours on a bus with jota. things like this shouldn't happen to anyone who is civilized or has any sense of pre-planning. we went with around 80 students to da lat and there was no one to take care of the dog. there was no one else that the dog would listen to. the lady who used to take care of the dog wouldn't do it anymore because she said it was too big and she was afraid it would bite her.

the trip started out terribly. we boarded the bus at around 2 in the morning and set off on the bumpy, one-lane bridged trip north. the dog sat on the back bench between jack and me while we tried to sleep. it wasn't a comfortable ride by any account. the dog began vomiting about an hour into the trip. he vomited on jack's pants and in my hair (i fell asleep laying down and the dog sat by my head. he didn't have much room to puke and i guess my hair looked inviting.) the rest of the trip the dog sat solemnly on the back seat looking straight ahead. it was a blank stare. he kept drooling too. he doesn't usually drool. there was also music on the bus but the speakers were directly above our heads. the music was loud and pop and continued throughout the night even though the entire bus was trying to sleep. the bumps, vomit and loud music really created a macabre scene.

the sun rose to our right as we passed through saigon. it was a beautiful sight but we were all exhausted. the scenery changed drastically in the remaining five or six hours of the trip. the jungle faded away and coniferous trees began to emerge. the flat mekong gave way to a quite hilly countryside. our bus slowed down a bit and began to negotiate turns plagued with veering motorcycle drivers. the hills were beautiful. the dirt is every shade of orange and red. the trees remind me of northern carolina and we began to enter a new world. we were now in "middle vietnam".

the streets of da lat are narrow and the atmosphere is a strange combination of europian design and vietnamese culture. i'm working very hard on placing my finger on exactly how to define.

the weather in da lat is gorgeous. i could stay here forever. it is cool but not cold. it is warm but not hot. it reminds me of home in so many ways (except for our blistering julys and our frigid februarys). i walk around the town in a short sleeved shirt and long pants and feel absurdly comfortable. it is a world away from our 100 degree days in long xuyen.

the trip, as are most school organized trips, is chocked full of events. today we went to the famous da lat gardens. we went to a huge monastery with beautiful buildings. it was serene and peaceful. i could have fallen asleep there after such a night as last night staring aimlessly at ancient banzai trees and listening to peaceful gongs being sounded. we also visited some strange taxidermy museum. i have no idea why you would take a group of students to such a museum but they did. it was full of ratty dead things. the teeth on most of the animals were protruding and they were fitted with strange glass eyes. the eyes added to the eerie effect. we also visited the "valley of love". it really should be renamed the "valley of commercialism and chintz". i sat on a pony, held jota and jack took a picture. that should be a classic. we also visited a jam factory which wasn't a factory at all. it was a series of tables that sold jam.

we also visited the university here. it is a majestic university and the buildings are all set up on hills making them seem like ominous fortresses. we entered one of the largest and were greeted by a large group of students. we sat through an incredibly strange morning session of songs, games and introductions. i was asked to introduce myself in vietnamese. most foreigners can't speak it and i was incredibly nervous. i couldn't believe how much i was shaking simply by saying a few simple things in vietnamese and then sitting down. i tried to hide it but i don't know if i was successful.

we have a day and a half here before we head back to long xuyen. jota seems to be okay and is enjoying sniffing other dogs, eating dirt and leading us around when he's on a leash. i can only hope the bus ride home is less traumatic for all involved. does anyone know a good doggie sedative?