-^-for posterity-^-

saigon.

tourists everywhere and everything's wonderful. everyone smiles and talks to you and tries to sell you all sorts of strange things.

i've been asking some of the bluffton college students what they had expected when they arrived in vietnam. for the most part, they had expected a very different country. some of them had expected a poor, drab and grey place. they expected moscow in the 80's except much hotter. they were pleased to realize that ho chi minh city is nothing close to that perception. there are lights and neon and flashy things everywhere. there are huge billboards and lots of movement. the city is more vibrant than they thought.

it's fascinating to see a place through someone else's eyes. i'm taking this opportunity to really see vietnam through the eyes of these students. they'll see things that i've overlooked. they'll notice things that have become old-hat to me. they will make vietnam fresh again. they'll be here for a month.

it's raining outside but it's a fresh, light rain. the sky is grey but it's a cool grey. it's hot and muggy but the heat surrounds you like a blanket.

life is wonderful. smile and live.