-^-for posterity-^-

thing are getting out of hand. a second person has made the hajj to long xuyen.

i came barreling through the school gates on my ancient motorcycle and the security guard stopped me. he said someone was looking for me and pointed to a lonely bench under a giant tree where a frail boy was sitting. i drove up to him and we introduced ourselves. he had read a small article written about me in the saigon times and made the six hour trip from ho chi minh city to long xuyen to see me. he was going to make the six hour trip back this afternoon.

he saw me and half jogged over to me and majestically bowed. he had a wonderful grin on his face and proudly held his copy of the saigon times. he wanted to talk to me about everything and wanted to go to coffee and spend his life at my side. we went back to my room and talked.

this morning he woke up at 3 and started his pilgrimage. he drove through chaotic traffic for five and a half hours before finally arriving in long xuyen. driving a motorcycle through vietnamese traffic is not like driving a car down i-95. i am physically exhausted after an hour of driving let alone five and a half hours. he drove the whole way just to meet me because he read something in the saigon times. (this is an english language weekly magazine geared for businessmen. lots of english students read it.)

he is a frail person with a wonderful smile and very tired eyes. he is studying english and is 22 years old. he sat on my bench and fidgeted. he kept playing with his hands and looking up longingly. he kept repeating the phrase that was in the article, ‘if you have a chance to travel down to long xuyen…’ he repeated that over and over again.

after his hajj, i asked him if he wanted to take a nap. his eyes were heavy and he had another five and a half hour trip back up to ho chi minh city this evening. he went to sleep in my bedroom.

after he woke up, i wasn’t sure what i should do with him. i told him i had to get some work done this afternoon and he sat on my big wooden chair patiently waiting for me. we went for coffee, chatted and i bought him a sandwich. the rest of the day was very, very strange. it consisted of both of us trying to think of things to talk about. he said he was leaving at 7 and i kept looking at my watch to see what time it was.

he spent a lot of time asking me, ‘why are you so famous?’ his point was simple. there are many foreign teachers here and, for some reason, i have been singled out. he thought it had something to do with my vietnamese and i had no adequate answer.

he eventually headed back up to the big city waving goodbye to us all as he drove down our dusty lane. he said he was thankful that he came down to see me. after reading the article he said he couldn’t have lived with himself if he didn’t take the time out of a lazy sunday to drive five and a half hours down to long xuyen. he will drive home in the dark and arrive at 2 or 3 in the morning. tomorrow he goes to school at 7.