Bearly Rescued!

We rescued this little guy from the middle of a busy street (actually, a busy bridge) today. There's no way to reunite him with the child who may be very sad at losing a special friend, but we will give him a good home. His tiny sweater is for real knitted which shows how loved he probably was, is, and will be. Welcome, small bear!

Is This for Real?

I've sent this photo to a friend whose daughter is studying abroad at St. Andrews this year. It will be interesting to learn if this is really their logo or if it's some knockoff to capitalize on the whole Prince William went there thing.

There's Something about a Kid with a Sword

I'm going to see if I can backdate this for yesterday, which I spent in bed after lunch with chills and a fever. Spent much of the earlier part of today there as well. This is not the way I wanted to finish my visit here.

A Study in Contrasts

The last two nights we've sat at chairs such as these to eat dinner at small, locals-only sidewalk cafes. The food is plentiful and good not to mention cheap. We would not be able to do this without some young people connected with the Advanced Program in Physics who have been shuttling us all around the past few days. Life is good. I will miss Hue, but it really is time to move on. I do hope to come back someday, making Hue and Iceland the only two international places I have visited that I ache at the thought of not returning.

Water Water Everywhere

I just don't drink enough of it in my attempt to balance water in and water out. Why? Two of the three restrooms I've visited at Hue University only had squat toilets and filthy ones at that. You can't necessarily count on finding a real toilet at a restaurant either. My usual mild level of dehydration went well past that overnight and after a very rocky start to the day, I've just been resting, reading, doing crossword puzzles, and, most importantly, drinking water. I've emptied the bottles shown in the photo and lost count of the number of times I filled and emptied the glass. I feel so much better now, though, and will try not to let this happen again in the time we have left here.

This Tree Has a Face

Actually, I don't have photos of the most significant part of my day. I had coffee with a Vietnamese woman today then went with her as she picked up her kids (ages 3 and 7) from two different schools and took them home (four of us on one motorbike!). The three of them (her husband is teaching in a city 200km from here) live in one room that is smaller than my kitchen. Plumbing? Whatever there is is elsewhere. It felt like a home, though, and the kids seemed quite happy. Travel. Priceless.

Stops along My Train of Thought

I looked up and saw this cyclo, and thought, "Amish buggy." I've always been fascinated by the Amish and the simplicity of their lives. I wish I could be more simple, focusing just on what I'm doing and not looking ahead and back, mentally checking this or that. I know I'd do a much better job at what I was doing if I could.