Getting Ready to Leave Vietnam (or Not)

I am leaving VN in the morning – leaving the hotel at 4:30 am, in fact. John is staying on, in a guesthouse at the university; what comprises guesthouse living is not clear, as we’ve heard conflicting reports. But he is braver than I, so he will stay on for four more weeks to try new adventures. My contribution to his comfort? A small stash of American foods that I just took over to his room – crackers, peanut butter, and cereal that I didn’t eat while I was here, plus some bug repellent wipes for good measure (in case he has no air con and has to sleep with open windows – there are no screens here). On the reverse side, I met the wife of one of our Cantho colleagues who is now a PhD student at MSU and am taking him some books and some spices for the cooking he is learning to do on his own. I feel a bit like Dolly Madison – filling my suitcase with food to give to other people’s husbands. And I’m glad to do it – in their own ways, they’re each on a big adventure, far from home and family and familiar food.

My sadness at leaving – possibly my last visit to Vietnam – is mediated by excitement and nervousness about my trip home. I scheduled one day in Bangkok to sightsee – who knows when I’ll get back there? And now I need to screw up my courage and not wimp out – I have simple instructions to follow to be able to visit the Grand Palace and maybe some temples, so there’s no reason (other than a possible coup, of course) not to Just Do It. (Can you hear Julie Andrews? Can you see me dancing through the streets of Bangkok: “Besides which you see, I have CONfidence in ME!”?)

But enough musical theater for now.

If I have internet access and can blog from Bangkok, I may try to do it. If not, I’ll be offline for a few days, until I get back to Michigan on Friday afternoon. John will be blogging during his extended stay, assuming he can figure out web access at the university (there’s rumored to be a post office with internet across the road from his guesthouse). So stay tuned for more from Cantho.