Gooooooooood Morning, Vietnam!

Yes, this week I'm headed to Vietnam.  I leave very early Thursday morning and am unbelievably excited. For those of you who didn't go to school with me or just don't know, I'm a huge American history buff.  Going to a country that has left such a lasting memory in the conscience of America should be a great learning experience, but also a lot of fun for my inner nerd.

I'm a little bit confused about our agenda, but I know the general plan is Hanoi, some city in the middle, and to end the week long trip a couple days in what you Americans will know as Saigon.  On the way home we're stopping in Angkor Wat in Cambodia for two days to see all of the spectacular ruins it has to offer.  As I mentioned when discussing Lopburi, I'm a huge fan of ruins so I'm definitely excited for that as well.

It'll be nice to get out of Bangkok for awhile.  I've been in the city for about two weeks straight now, and though it's good to be acquainted with where you're actually living while you're abroad, I do need a break. I'm a little sad I didn't travel more in the beginning, but my travel plans for the rest of the semester are pretty intense so I should be making up for lost time.Don't get me wrong, Thailand is amazing, and I'm definitely glad I came here.  It's just I want to see and experience other places in southeast Asia as well.

The one thing I do admire about Thai society that isn't really available elsewhere is the kindness that seems to be deeply instilled in every Thai person.  Honestly, being taken advantage of here is definitely not the norm.  Most people are just really nice and totally willing to help.  Cab drivers almost always try and talk to me about where I'm from and what I'm doing in Thailand, and every time I go to a bus station all of the workers somehow miraculously can tell where I'm going and point me in the right direction.  Even the airport is full of nice people.  Going through security there was one of the best experiences I've had.  The nickname is correct -this place definitely is the land of smiles.

I had to buy a backpack for the Vietnam trip and other excursions coming up which was very interesting.  Being a negative on the scale of 0 - Bear Grills I had no idea what to look for.  I honestly stood there debating whether or not it was worth it to pay 200 THB extra to get the backpack in purple.  I decided against it.

Finally and unfortuantely, I have to end the post on a sad note.  One of my favorite teachers of all time, Mrs. Dr. DeJovine, and probably the wisest woman I've ever met died recently.  May she rest in peace and I hope your praryers go out to her husband, Mr. Dr. Dejovine, the inventor of low-remission fuel aka the gas we drive.